Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
God’s Guidance of His People in Spite of Their Unfaithfulness.
A [a]Maskil of Asaph.
78 (A)Listen, O 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 utter (D)dark sayings 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 (G)tell to the generation to come the praises of the Lord,
And His strength and His (H)wondrous works that He has done.
52 But He (A)led forth His own people like sheep
And guided them in the wilderness (B)like a flock;
53 He led them (C)safely, so that they did not fear;
But (D)the sea engulfed their enemies.
54 So (E)He brought them to His holy [a]land,
To this [b](F)hill country (G)which His right hand had gained.
55 He also (H)drove out the nations before them
And (I)apportioned them for an inheritance by measurement,
And made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents.
56 Yet they [c](J)tempted and (K)rebelled against the Most High God
And did not keep His testimonies,
57 But turned back and (L)acted treacherously like their fathers;
They (M)turned aside like a treacherous bow.
58 For they (N)provoked Him with their (O)high places
And (P)aroused His jealousy with their (Q)graven images.
59 When God heard, He [d]was filled with (R)wrath
And greatly (S)abhorred Israel;
60 So that He (T)abandoned the (U)dwelling place at Shiloh,
The tent [e]which He had pitched among men,
61 And gave up His (V)strength to captivity
And His glory (W)into the hand of the adversary.
62 He also (X)delivered His people to the sword,
And [f]was filled with wrath at His inheritance.
63 (Y)Fire devoured [g]His young men,
And [h]His (Z)virgins had no wedding songs.
64 [i]His (AA)priests fell by the sword,
And [j]His (AB)widows could not weep.
65 Then the Lord (AC)awoke as if from sleep,
Like a (AD)warrior [k]overcome by wine.
66 He [l](AE)drove His adversaries backward;
He put on them an everlasting reproach.
67 He also (AF)rejected the tent of Joseph,
And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
68 But chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount (AG)Zion which He loved.
69 And He (AH)built His sanctuary like the heights,
Like the earth which He has founded forever.
70 He also (AI)chose David His servant
And took him from the sheepfolds;
71 From [m](AJ)the care of the [n]ewes (AK)with suckling lambs He brought him
To (AL)shepherd Jacob His people,
And Israel (AM)His inheritance.
72 So he shepherded them according to the (AN)integrity of his heart,
And guided them with his skillful hands.
27 It came about on the seventh day that some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. 28 Then the Lord said to Moses, “(A)How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My [a]instructions? 29 See, [b]the Lord has given you the sabbath; therefore He gives you bread for two days on the sixth day. Remain every man in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
31 The house of (B)Israel named it [c]manna, and it was like (C)coriander seed, white, and its taste was like wafers with honey. 32 Then Moses said, “This is [d]what the Lord has commanded, ‘Let an omerful of it be kept throughout your generations, that they may see the bread that I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’” 33 Moses said to Aaron, “(D)Take a jar and put an omerful of manna in it, and place it before the Lord to be kept throughout your generations.” 34 As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before (E)the Testimony, to be kept. 35 (F)The sons of Israel ate the manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land; they ate the manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan. 36 (Now (G)an omer is a tenth of an [e]ephah.)
The Council at Jerusalem
15 (A)Some men came down from Judea and began teaching (B)the brethren, “Unless you are (C)circumcised according to (D)the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 And when Paul and Barnabas had [a]great dissension and (E)debate with them, (F)the brethren determined that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the (G)apostles and elders concerning this issue. 3 Therefore, being (H)sent on their way by the church, they were passing through both (I)Phoenicia and Samaria, (J)describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and were bringing great joy to all (K)the brethren. 4 When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were received by the church and (L)the apostles and the elders, and they (M)reported all that God had done with them. 5 But some of (N)the sect of the (O)Pharisees who had believed stood up, saying, “It is necessary to (P)circumcise them and to direct them to observe the Law of Moses.”
22 Then it seemed good to (A)the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them to send to (B)Antioch with Paul and Barnabas—Judas called Barsabbas, and (C)Silas, leading men among (D)the brethren, 23 and they [a]sent this letter by them,
“(E)The apostles and the brethren who are elders, to (F)the brethren in (G)Antioch and (H)Syria and (I)Cilicia who are from the Gentiles, (J)greetings.
24 “Since we have heard that (K)some [b]of our number to whom we gave no instruction have (L)disturbed you with their words, unsettling your souls, 25 (M)it seemed good to us, having [c]become of one mind, to select men to send to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 men who have [d](N)risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 “Therefore we have sent (O)Judas and (P)Silas, who themselves will also report the same things by word of mouth. 28 “For (Q)it seemed good to (R)the Holy Spirit and to (S)us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials: 29 that you abstain from (T)things sacrificed to idols and from (U)blood and from (V)things strangled and from (W)fornication; [e]if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well. Farewell.”
30 So when they were sent away, (X)they went down to Antioch; and having gathered the [f]congregation together, they delivered the letter. 31 When they had read it, they rejoiced because of its [g]encouragement. 32 (Y)Judas and (Z)Silas, also being (AA)prophets themselves, [h]encouraged and strengthened (AB)the brethren with a lengthy message. 33 After they had spent time there, they were sent away from the brethren (AC)in peace to those who had (AD)sent them out. 34 [[i]But it seemed good to Silas to remain there.] 35 But (AE)Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch, teaching and (AF)preaching with many others also, (AG)the word of the Lord.
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