Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Lord is holy![a]
99 The Lord rules as king!
People on earth should shake with fear!
The Lord sits on his throne as king
above the cherubs![b]
The earth itself should shake!
2 The Lord is a great king in Zion.
He rules with power
over all the world's nations.
3 So they should all praise your great name.
It is a name that brings fear!
The Lord is holy!
4 You are a strong king who loves justice.
You have made fair rules,
so that people in Israel do what is right.
5 Praise the Lord our God!
Worship him as king.
He is holy!
6 Moses and Aaron were two of his priests.[c]
Samuel was among those who prayed to him.
They prayed to the Lord
and he answered them.
7 He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud.[d]
They obeyed his rules and his commands.
8 Yes, you answered them, Lord our God.
You forgave the sins of your people.
But when they did wrong things,
you punished them.[e]
9 Praise the Lord our God!
Go and worship him on his holy hill,
because the Lord our God is holy!
41 But on the next day, all the Israelites together complained against Moses and Aaron. They said, ‘You have killed the Lord's people!’ 42 When the people came together to stand against Moses and Aaron, they turned to look at the Tent of Meeting. The Lord's cloud covered the Tent and his glory appeared. 43 Moses and Aaron went to stand at the front of the Tent of Meeting.
44 The Lord said to Moses, 45 ‘Get away from the people so that I can destroy them immediately!’ Moses and Aaron threw themselves down so that their faces touched the ground. 46 Moses said to Aaron, ‘Pick up your pot. Take coals with fire from the altar and put incense with them in the pot. Then take it quickly among all the people. Remove their sin so that God will forgive them. Be quick! The Lord is so angry with the people that he is already punishing them with a bad disease!’
47 The bad disease was already killing some of the people. But Aaron did what Moses had told him to do. He took the pot of incense among the people to remove their sin. 48 In that way, he stood between the people who had died and those who were still living. The bad disease stopped killing people. 49 But 14,700 people died because of the disease, as well as the people who had died with Korah. 50 After the disease stopped, Aaron went back to Moses at the door of the Tent of Meeting.
We must use God's gifts properly
7 All things in this world will soon come to an end. So you must think clearly. Then you will be able to pray in a serious way. 8 Continue to love each other very much. That is more important than anything else. If you love people, you will forgive them for any wrong things that they have done. 9 Always be happy to have other believers as visitors in your homes.
10 God has helped each of you in a certain way. Think carefully about how to use that gift from God well. Remember that God has given many different gifts to his people so that they can help each other. 11 Has God helped you to speak well? Then speak God's messages to people. Or has God helped you to serve other people? Then let God make you strong to do that. Do everything so that people will praise God. They will say that God is great, because of Jesus Christ. He is the one who has all authority and power for ever. Everyone should praise him! Amen! This is true!
EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2019 - Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved.