Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 23
The Good Shepherd
A psalm of David.
1 The Lord is my shepherd;(A)
I have what I need.(B)
2 He lets me lie down in green pastures;(C)
he leads me beside quiet waters.(D)
3 He renews my life;
he leads me along the right paths[a]
for his name’s sake.(E)
4 Even when I go through the darkest valley,[b]
I fear no danger,
for you are with me;(F)
your rod and your staff—they comfort me.(G)
15 When Pharaoh heard about this, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in the land of Midian,(A) and sat down by a well.(B)
16 Now the priest of Midian(C) had seven daughters. They came to draw water and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. 17 Then some shepherds arrived and drove them away, but Moses came to their rescue and watered their flock. 18 When they returned to their father Reuel,[a](D) he asked, “Why have you come back so quickly today?”
19 They answered, “An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds. He even drew water for us and watered the flock.”
20 “So where is he?” he asked his daughters. “Why then did you leave the man behind? Invite him to eat dinner.”
21 Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah(E) to Moses in marriage. 22 She gave birth to a son whom he named Gershom,[b] for he said, “I have been a resident alien(F) in a foreign land.”
23 After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned because of their difficult labor, they cried out,(G) and their cry for help because of the difficult labor ascended to God. 24 God heard their groaning, and God remembered(H) his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.(I) 25 God saw the Israelites, and God knew.(J)
9 But you are a chosen race,[a][b](A) a royal priesthood,[c](B) a holy nation,[d](C) a people for his possession,[e](D) so that you may proclaim the praises[f][g](E) of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.(F) 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; you had not received mercy,(G) but now you have received mercy.
A Call to Good Works
11 Dear friends, I urge you as strangers and exiles(H) to abstain(I) from sinful(J) desires that wage war against the soul.(K) 12 Conduct(L) yourselves honorably among the Gentiles,[h] so that when they slander you as evildoers, they will observe your good works and will glorify God on the day he visits.(M)
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