Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
(A song and a psalm by Asaph.)
God Rules All the Earth
1 Our God, don't just sit there,
silently doing nothing!
2 Your hateful enemies
are turning against you
and rebelling.
3 They are sly, and they plot
against those you treasure.
4 They say, “Let's wipe out
the nation of Israel
and make sure that no one
remembers its name!”
13 Our God, scatter them around
like dust in a whirlwind.
14 Just as flames destroy forests
on the mountains,
15 pursue and terrify them
with storms of your own.
16 Make them blush with shame,
until they turn and worship
you, our Lord.
17 Let them be forever ashamed
and confused.
Let them die in disgrace.
18 Make them realize that you
are the Lord Most High,
the only ruler of earth!
Moses and Aaron Go to the King of Egypt
5 Moses and Aaron went to the king[a] of Egypt and told him, “The Lord God says, ‘Let my people go into the desert, so they can honor me with a celebration there.’ ”
2 “Who is this Lord and why should I obey him?” the king replied. “I refuse to let you and your people go!”
3 They answered, “The Lord God of the Hebrews has appeared to us. Please let us walk three days into the desert where we can offer sacrifices to him. If you don't, he may strike us down with terrible troubles or with war.”
4-5 The king said, “Moses and Aaron, why are you keeping these people from working? Look how many you are keeping from doing their work. Now everyone get back to work!”
6 That same day the king gave orders to his Egyptian slave bosses and to the Israelite men directly in charge of the Israelite slaves. He told them:
7 Don't give the slaves any more straw[b] to put in their bricks. Force them to find their own straw wherever they can, 8 but they must make the same number of bricks as before. They are lazy, or else they would not beg me to let them go and sacrifice to their God. 9 Make them work so hard that they won't have time to listen to these lies.
10 The slave bosses and the men in charge of the slaves went out and told them, “The king says he will not give you any more straw. 11 Go and find your own straw wherever you can, but you must still make as many bricks as before.”
12 The slaves went all over Egypt, looking for straw. 13 But the slave bosses were hard on them and kept saying, “Each day you have to make as many bricks as you did when you were given straw.” 14 The bosses beat the men in charge of the slaves and said, “Why didn't you force the slaves to make as many bricks yesterday and today as they did before?”
15 Finally, the men in charge of the slaves went to the king and said, “Why are you treating us like this? 16 No one brings us any straw, but we are still ordered to make the same number of bricks. We are beaten with whips, and your own people are to blame.”
17 The king replied, “You are lazy—nothing but lazy! That's why you keep asking me to let you go and sacrifice to your Lord. 18 Get back to work! You won't be given straw, but you must still make the same number of bricks.”
19 The men knew they were in deep trouble when they were ordered to make the same number of bricks each day. 20 After they left the king, they went to see Moses and Aaron, who had been waiting for them. 21 Then the men said, “We hope the Lord will punish both of you for making the king and his officials hate us. Now they even have an excuse to kill us.”
The Lord's Promise to Moses
22 Moses left them and prayed, “Our Lord, why have you brought so much trouble on your people? Is that why you sent me here? 23 Ever since you told me to speak to the king,[c] he has caused nothing but trouble for these people. And you haven't done a thing to help.”
6 The Lord God told Moses:
Soon you will see what I will do to the king. Because of my mighty power, he will let my people go, and he will even chase them out of his country.
2 (A) My name is the Lord.[d] 3 But when I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, I came as God All-Powerful and did not use my name. 4 I made an agreement and promised them the land of Canaan, where they were living as foreigners. 5 Now I have seen how the people of Israel are suffering because of the Egyptians, and I will keep my promise.
6 Here is my message for Israel: “I am the Lord! And with my mighty power I will punish the Egyptians and free you from slavery. 7 I will accept you as my people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I was the one who rescued you from the Egyptians. 8 I will bring you into the land that I solemnly promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and it will be yours. I am the Lord!”
9 When Moses told this to the Israelites, they were too discouraged and mistreated to believe him.
10 Then the Lord told Moses 11 to demand that the king of Egypt let the Israelites leave. 12 But Moses replied, “I'm not a powerful speaker. If the Israelites won't listen to me, why should the king of Egypt?” 13 But the Lord sent Aaron and Moses with a message for the Israelites and for the king. He also ordered Aaron and Moses to free the people from Egypt.
The Letter to Philadelphia
7 (A) This is what you must write to the angel of the church in Philadelphia:
I am the one who is holy and true, and I have the keys that belonged to David.[a] When I open a door, no one can close it. And when I close a door, no one can open it. Listen to what I say.
8 I know everything you have done. And I have placed before you an open door no one can close. You were not very strong, but you obeyed my message and did not deny you are my followers.[b] 9 (B) Now you will see what I will do with those people who belong to Satan's group. They claim to be God's people, but they are liars. I will make them come and kneel down at your feet. Then they will know that I love you.
10 You obeyed my message and endured. So I will protect you from the time of testing everyone in all the world must go through. 11 I am coming soon. So hold firmly to what you have, and no one will take away the crown you will be given as your reward.
12 (C) Everyone who wins the victory will be made into a pillar in the temple of my God, and they will stay there forever. I will write on each of them the name of my God and the name of his city. It is the new Jerusalem my God will send down from heaven. I will also write on them my own new name.
13 If you have ears, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.
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