Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 149
Praise for God’s Triumph
1 Hallelujah!
Sing to the Lord a new song,(A)
his praise in the assembly of the faithful.(B)
2 Let Israel celebrate its Maker;
let the children of Zion rejoice in their King.(C)
3 Let them praise his name with dancing
and make music to him with tambourine and lyre.(D)
4 For the Lord takes pleasure in his people;(E)
he adorns the humble with salvation.(F)
5 Let the faithful celebrate in triumphal glory;
let them shout for joy on their beds.(G)
6 Let the exaltation of God be in their mouths[a]
and a double-edged sword in their hands,(H)
7 inflicting vengeance on the nations
and punishment on the peoples,(I)
8 binding their kings with chains
and their dignitaries with iron shackles,(J)
9 carrying out the judgment decreed against them.
This honor is for all his faithful people.(K)
Hallelujah!
The Fifth Plague: Death of Livestock
9 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him: This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. 2 But if you refuse to let them go and keep holding them, 3 then the Lord’s hand will bring a severe plague against your livestock in the field—the horses, donkeys, camels, herds, and flocks. 4 But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing of all that the Israelites own will die.” 5 And the Lord set a time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.”(A) 6 The Lord did this the next day. All the Egyptian livestock died,(B) but none among the Israelite livestock died. 7 Pharaoh sent messengers who saw that not a single one of the Israelite livestock was dead. But Pharaoh’s heart was hard,(C) and he did not let the people go.
Signs of an Apostle
11 I have been a fool; you forced it on me. You ought to have commended me, since I am not in any way inferior to those “super-apostles,” even though I am nothing.(A) 12 The signs(B) of an apostle(C) were performed with unfailing endurance among you, including signs and wonders(D) and miracles.(E) 13 So in what way are you worse off than the other churches, except that I personally did not burden you? Forgive me for this wrong!
Paul’s Concern for the Corinthians
14 Look, I am ready to come to you this third time.(F) I will not burden you, since I am not seeking what is yours, but you. For children ought not save up for their parents, but parents for their children. 15 I will most gladly spend and be spent for you.[a](G) If I love you more, am I to be loved less? 16 Now granted, I did not burden(H) you; yet sly as I am, I took you in by deceit!(I) 17 Did I take advantage of you by any of those I sent you? 18 I urged Titus(J) to go, and I sent the brother with him. Titus didn’t take advantage of you, did he? Didn’t we walk in the same spirit(K) and in the same footsteps?
19 Have you been thinking all along that we were defending ourselves to you? No, in the sight of God we are speaking in Christ, and everything, dear friends, is for building you up.(L) 20 For I fear that perhaps when I come I will not find you to be what I want, and you may not find me to be what you want. Perhaps there will be quarreling,(M) jealousy,(N) angry outbursts, selfish ambitions,(O) slander,(P) gossip, arrogance, and disorder.(Q) 21 I fear that when I come my God will again[b] humiliate me in your presence, and I will grieve for many who sinned before and have not repented(R) of the moral impurity, sexual immorality,(S) and sensuality(T) they practiced.
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