Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
God’s Guidance of His People in Spite of Their Unfaithfulness.
A [a]Maskil of Asaph.
78 (A)Listen, my people, to my [b]instruction;
(B)Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2 I will (C)open my mouth in a parable;
I will tell (D)riddles of old,
3 Which we have heard and known,
And (E)our fathers have told us.
4 We will (F)not conceal them from their children,
But we will (G)tell the generation to come the praises of the Lord,
And His power and His (H)wondrous works that He has done.
5 For He established a (I)testimony in Jacob,
And appointed a (J)law in Israel,
Which He (K)commanded our fathers
That they were to [c](L)teach them to their children,
6 (M)So that the generation to come would know, (N)the children yet to be born,
That they would arise and (O)tell them to their children,
7 So that they would put their confidence in God
And (P)not forget the works of God,
But (Q)comply with His commandments,
8 And (R)not be like their fathers,
A (S)stubborn and rebellious generation,
A generation that (T)did not [d]prepare its heart
And whose spirit was not (U)faithful to God.
17 Yet they still continued to sin against Him,
To (A)rebel against the Most High in the desert.
18 And in their heart they (B)put God to the test
By asking for (C)food [a]that suited their taste.
19 Then they spoke against God;
They said, “(D)Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?
20 Behold, He (E)struck the rock so that waters gushed out,
And streams were overflowing;
Can He also provide bread?
Will He prepare (F)meat for His people?”
21 Therefore the Lord heard and [b]was (G)full of wrath;
And a fire was kindled against Jacob,
And anger also mounted against Israel,
22 Because they (H)did not believe in God
And did not trust in His salvation.
23 Yet He commanded the clouds above
And (I)opened the doors of heaven;
24 He (J)rained down manna upon them to eat,
And gave them [c](K)food from heaven.
25 Man ate the bread of [d]angels;
He sent them [e]food [f](L)in abundance.
26 He (M)made the east wind blow in the sky
And by His [g]power He directed the south wind.
27 When He rained meat upon them like the dust,
Even (N)winged fowl like the sand of the seas,
28 He let them fall in the midst of [h]their camp,
All around their dwellings.
29 So they (O)ate and were well filled,
And He [i]satisfied their longing.
Offering First Fruits
26 “Then it shall be, when you enter the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you take possession of it and live in it, 2 that you shall take some of (A)the first of all the produce of the ground which you bring in from your land that the Lord your God gives you, and you shall put it in a basket and (B)go to the place where the Lord your God chooses to establish His name. 3 And you shall go to the priest who is in office at that time and say to him, ‘I declare today to the Lord [a]my God that I have entered the land which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.’ 4 Then the priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it before the altar of the Lord your God. 5 And you shall respond and say before the Lord your God, ‘(C)My father was a [b]wandering Aramean, and he went down to Egypt and [c]resided there, (D)few in number; but there he became a (E)great, mighty, and populous nation. 6 And the (F)Egyptians treated us badly and oppressed us, and imposed hard labor on us. 7 Then (G)we cried out to the Lord, the God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our wretched condition, our trouble, and our oppression; 8 (H)and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand, an outstretched arm, and with great terror, and with signs and wonders; 9 and He has brought us to this place, and has given us this land, (I)a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 And now behold, I have brought the first of the produce of the ground (J)which You, Lord have given me.’ Then you shall set it before the Lord your God, and worship before the Lord your God; 11 and you, (K)the Levite, and the stranger who is among you shall (L)rejoice in all the good which the Lord your God has given you and your household.
12 “(M)When you have finished paying all the tithe of your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, then you shall give it to the Levite, to the stranger, to the [d]orphan, and to the widow, so that they may eat in your [e]towns and be satisfied. 13 And you shall say before the Lord your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion from my house, and have also given it to the Levite, the stranger, the [f]orphan, and the widow, in accordance with all Your commandments which You have commanded me; (N)I have not violated or forgotten any of Your commandments. 14 I have not eaten of it while mourning, nor have I removed any of it while I was unclean, nor offered any of it to the dead. I have listened to the voice of the Lord my God; I have acted in accordance with everything that You have commanded me. 15 (O)Look down from Your holy dwelling place, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel, and the ground which You have given us, (P)a land flowing with milk and honey just as You swore to our fathers.’
37 Now when they heard this, they were [a]pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “[b]Brothers, (A)what are we to do?” 38 Peter said to them, “(B)Repent, and each of you be (C)baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For (D)the promise is for you and your children and for all who are (E)far away, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” 40 And with many other words he solemnly (F)testified and kept on urging them, saying, “[c]Be saved from this (G)perverse generation!” 41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand [d](H)souls. 42 They were (I)continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to (J)the breaking of bread and (K)to [e]prayer.
43 [f]Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many (L)wonders and [g]signs were taking place through the apostles. 44 And all the believers [h]were together and (M)had all things in common; 45 and they (N)would sell their property and possessions and share them with all, to the extent that anyone had need. 46 (O)Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and (P)breaking bread [i]from house to house, they were taking their [j]meals together with gladness and [k]sincerity of heart, 47 praising God and (Q)having favor with all the people. And the Lord (R)was adding to [l]their number day by day (S)those who were being saved.
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