Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 139[a]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
139 O Lord, you examine me[b] and know me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I get up;
even from far away you understand my motives.
3 You carefully observe me when I travel or when I lie down to rest;[c]
you are aware of everything I do.[d]
4 Certainly[e] my tongue does not frame a word
without you, O Lord, being thoroughly aware of it.[f]
5 You squeeze me in from behind and in front;
you place your hand on me.
6 Your knowledge is beyond my comprehension;
it is so far beyond me, I am unable to fathom it.[g]
7 Where can I go to escape your Spirit?
Where can I flee to escape your presence?[h]
8 If I were to ascend[i] to heaven, you would be there.
If I were to sprawl out[j] in Sheol, there you would be.[k]
9 If I were to fly away[l] on the wings of the dawn,[m]
and settle down on the other side[n] of the sea,
10 even there your hand would guide me,
your right hand would grab hold of me.
11 If I were to say, “Certainly the darkness will cover me,[o]
and the light will turn to night all around me,”[p]
12 even the darkness is not too dark for you to see,[q]
and the night is as bright as[r] day;
darkness and light are the same to you.[s]
9 The Egyptians chased after them, and all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh and his horsemen and his army overtook them camping by the sea, beside Pi Hahiroth, before Baal Zephon. 10 When[a] Pharaoh got closer,[b] the Israelites looked up,[c] and there were the Egyptians marching after them,[d] and they were terrified.[e] The Israelites cried out to the Lord,[f] 11 and they said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the desert?[g] What in the world[h] have you done to us by bringing[i] us out of Egypt? 12 Isn’t this what we told you[j] in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone so that we can serve the Egyptians,[k] because it is better for us to serve[l] the Egyptians than to die in the desert!’”[m]
13 Moses said to the people, “Do not fear![n] Stand firm[o] and see[p] the salvation[q] of the Lord that he will provide[r] for you today; for the Egyptians that you see today you will never, ever see again.[s] 14 The Lord[t] will fight for you, and you can be still.”[u]
15 The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.[v] 16 And as for you,[w] lift up your staff and extend your hand toward the sea and divide it, so that[x] the Israelites may go through the middle of the sea on dry ground. 17 And as for me, I am going to harden[y] the hearts of the Egyptians so that[z] they will come after them, that I may be honored[aa] because[ab] of Pharaoh and his army and his chariots and his horsemen. 18 And the Egyptians will know[ac] that I am the Lord when I have gained my honor[ad] because of Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”
19 The angel of God, who was going before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them, and the pillar[ae] of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them. 20 It came between the Egyptian camp and the Israelite camp; it was a dark cloud[af] and it lit up the night so that one camp did not come near the other[ag] the whole night.[ah] 21 Moses stretched out his hand toward the sea, and the Lord drove the sea apart[ai] by a strong east wind all that night, and he made the sea into dry land, and the water was divided. 22 So the Israelites went through the middle of the sea on dry ground, the water forming a wall[aj] for them on their right and on their left.
23 The Egyptians chased them and followed them into the middle of the sea—all the horses of Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen. 24 In the morning watch[ak] the Lord looked down[al] on the Egyptian army[am] through the pillar of fire and cloud, and he threw the Egyptian army[an] into a panic.[ao] 25 He jammed[ap] the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving,[aq] and the Egyptians said, “Let’s flee[ar] from Israel, for the Lord fights[as] for them against Egypt!”
A Tree and Its Fruit
15 “Watch out for false prophets,[a] who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are voracious wolves.[b] 16 You will recognize them by their fruit. Grapes are not gathered[c] from thorns or figs from thistles, are they?[d] 17 In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad[e] tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree is not able to bear bad fruit, nor a bad tree to bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So then, you will recognize them by their fruit.
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