Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Moses speaks to the people

1 These are the words that Moses spoke to all the Israelites.^[a] They were together in the desert on the east side of the Jordan River. This is in the Jordan Valley near Suph. It is between the towns called Paran, Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth and Dizahab. ² (It is a journey of 11 days from Sinai to Kadesh-Barnea, along the road past Mount Seir.)^{[b] 3} Moses spoke to the Israelites on the first day of the 11th month, in the 40th year of their journey. He told the Israelites the message that the Lord had commanded him to speak.^[c]

⁴ This happened after Moses and the Israelites had won against Sihon, king of the Amorites.^[d] Sihon ruled in Heshbon. They had also won against Og, the king of Bashan, who ruled in Ashtaroth. The Israelites fought against him at Edrei. ⁵ Moses began to speak the Lord's message on the east side of the Jordan River, in Moab's country. This is what he said:

⁶ The Lord our God said to us at Sinai, ‘You have stayed for a long time near this mountain. ⁷ Now you must continue your journey. Go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all the regions near there. Go to the Jordan Valley and the mountains and the low hills in the west. Go to the Negev in the south, and to the Mediterranean coast. Go to the land of Canaan and to Lebanon, even as far as the great Euphrates river. ⁸ Look! I have given you all this land. Go there and take it for yourselves. I, the Lord, promised to give this land to your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and to their descendants.’

Moses chooses leaders

⁹ At that time I, Moses, said this to you: ‘I cannot lead you and help you by myself. It is too difficult for me to do alone. ¹⁰ The Lord your God has caused you to become very many people. You are as many as the stars in the sky! ¹¹ I pray that the Lord, your ancestors' God, will cause you to become a thousand times as many people. That is how he has promised to bless you. ¹² But I cannot help you with your troubles and arguments all by myself. ¹³ You must choose some wise men who understand what is right. Choose people that you know, from each of your tribes. Then I will give them authority as your leaders.’

¹⁴ You answered me, ‘That is a good idea!’

¹⁵ So I chose men that you knew were wise to be the leaders in your tribes. I gave them authority to rule over you. Some were leaders of groups of 1,000 men. Some led groups of 100 men, or 50 men, or ten men. I also chose other officers for each tribe.

¹⁶ At that time, I said to your leaders, ‘Listen to the arguments between the Israelites that you lead. Decide what is right. Do that when the argument is between two Israelites. Do the same thing when the argument is between an Israelite and a foreign person who lives among you. ¹⁷ When you judge them, do not make any difference between important people and poor people. Listen to all of them in a careful way. Do not be afraid of anyone. God is the one who decides what is right. If it is too difficult for you to decide who is right, bring it to me. I will listen and then I will decide what is right.’

¹⁸ So, at that time, I told you about everything that you should do.

King Herod dies

²⁰ At that time, King Herod was angry with the people who lived in Tyre and Sidon. A group of men from these cities went together to speak to Herod about the problem. A man called Blastus was an important servant in King Herod's house. The group of men said to Blastus, ‘Please help us when we speak to King Herod.’ Then they went and they said to Herod, ‘Please stop being angry with our people. We want to be friends again.’ They said this because they needed to buy food in King Herod's country.^[a]

²¹ Herod decided on which day he would meet with them. He put on his beautiful clothes and he sat in his special seat as king. Then he spoke his message to all the people. ²² When he spoke, the people shouted, ‘This is not a man who is speaking to us. This is the voice of a god!’

²³ Herod let the people praise him, instead of God. So, immediately, an angel of the Lord God caused him to become very ill. Worms ate his body and later he died.

Barnabas and Saul return to Antioch

²⁴ Everywhere that the believers went, they told people God's message. People heard the message in more and more places and many of them believed in Jesus.

²⁵ Barnabas and Saul had gone to Jerusalem to help the believers there. They finished their work and then they returned to Antioch. They took John Mark with them.