Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 100

A Psalm of thanksgiving.

Aaron to Speak for Moses

²⁸ On the day when the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, ²⁹ the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “I am the Lord. Speak to Pharaoh the king of Egypt all that I say to you.”

³⁰ However, Moses said before the Lord, “Listen! I am unskilled in speech, so how will Pharaoh listen to me?”

7 So the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you a god to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother will be your prophet. ² You shall speak all that I command you, and Aaron your brother shall tell Pharaoh to send the children of Israel out of his land. ³ But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart and multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt. ⁴ Nevertheless, Pharaoh will not listen to you, so that I may lay My hand upon Egypt and bring forth My armies and My people, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. ⁵ And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord when I stretch forth My hand upon Egypt and bring out the children of Israel from among them.”

⁶ So Moses and Aaron did it. Just as the Lord commanded them, so they did. ⁷ Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron was eighty-three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh.

Aaron’s Rod Becomes a Snake

⁸ Now the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, ⁹ “When Pharaoh shall speak to you, saying, ‘Show a miracle,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod, and throw it before Pharaoh,’ and it shall become a serpent.”

¹⁰ So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh, and they did what the Lord had commanded. And Aaron threw down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent. ¹¹ Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers. Then the magicians of Egypt likewise performed with their secret arts. ¹² For every man threw down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods. ¹³ Nonetheless, Pharaoh’s heart hardened so that he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.

The Tradition of the Elders^(A)

7 The Pharisees and certain scribes who came from Jerusalem gathered around Him. ² When they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, ritually unwashed hands, they found fault. ³ For the Pharisees and all the Jews, unless they wash their hands ritually, do not eat, keeping the tradition of the elders. ⁴ When they come from the market, unless they wash, they do not eat. And there are many other traditions which they have received and observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and bronze vessels and dining couches.

⁵ So the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?”

⁶ He answered, “Well has Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written:

⁸ For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men—the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do.”

⁹ And He said to them, “You full well reject the commandment of God so that you may keep your own tradition. ¹⁰ For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’^[b] and, ‘Whoever curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’^{[c] 11} But you say, ‘If a man says to his father or mother, “It is Corban,” that is to say, “What you would have profited from me is a gift to God,” he shall be free.’ ¹² Then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, ¹³ making the word of God of no effect through your tradition, which you have delivered. And you do many similar things.”