Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 78[a]
A well-written song[b] by Asaph.
78 Pay attention, my people, to my instruction.
Listen to the words I speak.[c]
2 I will sing a song that imparts wisdom;
I will make insightful observations about the past.[d]
3 What we have heard and learned[e]—
that which our ancestors[f] have told us—
4 we will not hide from their[g] descendants.
We will tell the next generation
about the Lord’s praiseworthy acts,[h]
about his strength and the amazing things he has done.
5 He established a rule[i] in Jacob;
he set up a law in Israel.
He commanded our ancestors
to make his deeds known to their descendants,[j]
6 so that the next generation, children yet to be born,
might know about them.
They will grow up and tell their descendants about them.[k]
7 Then they will place their confidence in God.
They will not forget the works of God,
and they will obey[l] his commands.
8 Then they will not be like their ancestors,
who were a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation that was not committed
and faithful to God.[m]
17 Yet they continued to sin against him,
and rebelled against the Most High[a] in the desert.
18 They willfully challenged God[b]
by asking for food to satisfy their appetite.
19 They insulted God, saying,[c]
“Is God really able to give us food[d] in the wilderness?
20 Yes,[e] he struck a rock and water flowed out;
streams gushed forth.
But can he also give us food?
Will he provide meat for his people?”
21 When[f] the Lord heard this, he was furious.
A fire broke out against Jacob,
and his anger flared up[g] against Israel,
22 because they did not have faith in God,
and did not trust his ability to deliver them.[h]
23 He gave a command to the clouds above,
and opened the doors in the sky.
24 He rained down manna for them to eat;
he gave them the grain of heaven.[i]
25 Man ate the food of the mighty ones.[j]
He sent them more than enough to eat.[k]
26 He brought the east wind through the sky,
and by his strength led forth the south wind.
27 He rained down meat on them like dust,
birds as numerous as the sand on the seashores.[l]
28 He caused them to fall right in the middle of their camp,
all around their homes.
29 They ate until they were beyond full;[m]
he gave them what they desired.
2 The entire company[a] of Israelites murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died[b] by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by[c] the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full,[d] for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill[e] this whole assembly with hunger!”
4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to rain[f] bread from heaven for you, and the people will go out[g] and gather the amount for each day, so that I may test them.[h] Will they walk in my law[i] or not? 5 On the sixth day[j] they will prepare what they bring in, and it will be twice as much as they gather every other day.”[k]
6 Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening[l] you will know that the Lord has brought you out of the land of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you will see[m] the glory of the Lord, because he has heard[n] your murmurings against the Lord. As for us, what are we,[o] that you should murmur against us?”
8 Moses said, “You will know this[p] when the Lord gives you[q] meat to eat in the evening and bread in the morning to satisfy you, because the Lord has heard your murmurings that you are murmuring against him. As for us, what are we?[r] Your murmurings are not against us,[s] but against the Lord.”
9 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Tell the whole community[t] of the Israelites, ‘Come[u] before the Lord, because he has heard your murmurings.’”
10 As Aaron spoke[v] to the whole community of the Israelites and they looked toward the wilderness, there the glory of the Lord[w] appeared[x] in the cloud, 11 and the Lord spoke to Moses, 12 “I have heard the murmurings of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘During the evening[y] you will eat meat,[z] and in the morning you will be satisfied[aa] with bread, so that you may know[ab] that I am the Lord your God.’”[ac]
13 In the evening the quail[ad] came up and covered the camp, and in the morning a layer of dew was all around the camp. 14 When[ae] the layer of dew had evaporated,[af] there on the surface of the wilderness was a thin flaky substance,[ag] thin like frost on the earth. 15 When[ah] the Israelites saw it, they said to one another,[ai] “What is it?” because they did not know what it was.[aj] Moses said to them, “It is the bread[ak] that the Lord has given you for food.[al]
31 The house of Israel[a] called its name “manna.”[b] It was like coriander seed and was white, and it tasted[c] like wafers with honey.
32 Moses said, “This is what[d] the Lord has commanded: ‘Fill an omer with it to be kept[e] for generations to come,[f] so that they may see[g] the food I fed you in the wilderness when I brought you out from the land of Egypt.’” 33 Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put in it an omer full of manna, and place it before the Lord to be kept for generations to come.” 34 Just as the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the ark of the testimony[h] for safekeeping.[i]
35 Now the Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land that was inhabited; they ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.
The Feeding of the Four Thousand
32 Then Jesus called his disciples and said, “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have already been here with me three days and they have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry since they may faint on the way.” 33 The disciples said to him, “Where can we get enough bread in this desolate place to satisfy so great a crowd?” 34 Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They replied, “Seven—and a few small fish.” 35 After instructing the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36 he took the seven loaves and the fish, and after giving thanks, he broke them and began giving them to the disciples, who then gave them to the crowds.[a] 37 They[b] all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. 38 Not counting children and women,[c] there were 4,000 men who ate.[d] 39 After sending away the crowd, he got into the boat[e] and went to the region of Magadan.[f]
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