Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
12 How blessed[a] is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people whom he has chosen to be his special possession.[b]
13 The Lord watches[c] from heaven;
he sees all people.[d]
14 From the place where he lives he looks carefully
at all the earth’s inhabitants.
15 He is the one who forms every human heart,[e]
and takes note of all their actions.
16 No king is delivered by his vast army;
a warrior is not saved by his great might.
17 A horse disappoints those who trust in it for victory;[f]
despite its great strength, it cannot deliver.
18 Look, the Lord takes notice of his loyal followers,[g]
those who wait for him to demonstrate his faithfulness[h]
19 by saving their lives from death[i]
and sustaining them during times of famine.[j]
20 We[k] wait for the Lord;
he is our deliverer[l] and shield.[m]
21 For our hearts rejoice in him,
for we trust in his holy name.
22 May we experience your faithfulness, O Lord,[n]
for[o] we wait for you.
Israel at Sinai
19 [a] In the third month after the Israelites went out[b] from the land of Egypt, on the very day,[c] they came to the desert of Sinai. 2 After they journeyed[d] from Rephidim, they came to the desert of Sinai, and they camped in the desert; Israel camped there in front of the mountain.[e]
3 Moses[f] went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, “Thus you will tell the house of Jacob, and declare to the people[g] of Israel: 4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt and how I lifted you on eagles’ wings[h] and brought you to myself.[i] 5 And now, if you will diligently listen to me[j] and keep[k] my covenant, then you will be my[l] special possession[m] out of all the nations, for all the earth is mine, 6 and you will be to me[n] a kingdom of priests[o] and a holy nation.’[p] These are the words that you will speak to the Israelites.”
7 So Moses came and summoned the elders of Israel. He set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him, 8 and all the people answered together, “All that the Lord has commanded we will do!”[q] So Moses brought the words of the people back to the Lord.
9 The Lord said to Moses, “I am going to come[r] to you in a dense cloud,[s] so that the people may hear when I speak with you and so that they will always believe in you.”[t] And Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.
The Holy Spirit and the Day of Pentecost
2 Now[a] when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly[b] a sound[c] like a violent wind blowing[d] came from heaven[e] and filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And tongues spreading out like a fire[f] appeared to them and came to rest on each one of them. 4 All[g] of them were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak in other languages[h] as the Spirit enabled them.[i]
5 Now there were devout Jews[j] from every nation under heaven residing in Jerusalem.[k] 6 When this sound[l] occurred, a crowd gathered and was in confusion,[m] because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7 Completely baffled, they said,[n] “Aren’t[o] all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that each one of us hears them[p] in our own native language?[q] 9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and the province of Asia,[r] 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene,[s] and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and proselytes,[t] Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own languages about the great deeds God has done!”[u]
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.