Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Israel Invoked to Praise the Lord.
149 Praise the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a new song,
And praise Him in the congregation of His godly ones (believers).
2
Let Israel rejoice in their Maker;
Let Zion’s children rejoice in their King.(A)
3
Let them praise His name with dancing;
Let them sing praises to Him with the tambourine and lyre.
4
For the Lord takes pleasure in His people;
He will beautify the humble with salvation.
5
Let the godly ones exult in glory;
Let them sing for joy on their beds.
6
Let the high praises of God be in their throats,
And a two-edged sword in their hands,(B)
7
To execute vengeance on the nations
And punishment on the peoples,
8
To bind their kings with chains
And their nobles with fetters of iron,
9
To execute on them the judgment written.
This is the honor for all His godly ones.
Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)
The Last Plague
11 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will bring yet one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt; after that he will let you go. When he lets you go, he will most certainly drive you out of here completely. 2 Speak so that all of the people [of Israel] may hear, and tell every man to ask from his neighbor, and every woman to ask from her neighbor, articles of silver, and articles of gold.” 3 The Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was greatly esteemed in the land of Egypt, [both] in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people.
4 Then Moses said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘At midnight I am going out into the midst of Egypt, 5 and all the firstborn in the land [the pride, hope, and joy] of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the hand-mill, and all the firstborn of cattle as well. 6 There shall be a great cry [of heartache and sorrow] throughout the land of Egypt, such as has never been before and such as shall never be again. 7 But not even a dog will [a]threaten any of the Israelites, whether man or animal, so that you may know [without any doubt] and acknowledge how the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.’ 8 All these servants of yours will come down to me and bow down before me, saying, ‘Get out, you and all the people who follow you.’ After that I will leave.” And he left Pharaoh in the heat of anger.
9 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not listen to you, so that My wonders (miracles) may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.” 10 Moses and Aaron did all these wonders (miracles) before Pharaoh; yet the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the Israelites go out of his land.
29 “Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build tombs for the prophets and decorate and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30 and you say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have joined them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the [allotted] measure of the guilt of your fathers’ sins. 33 You [a]serpents, you spawn of vipers, how can you escape the penalty of hell?
34 “Therefore, take notice, I am sending you prophets and wise men [interpreters, teachers] and scribes [men educated in the Mosaic Law and the writings of the prophets]; some of them you will kill and even crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues, and pursue and persecute from city to city, 35 so that on you will come the guilt of all the blood of the righteous shed on earth, from the blood of righteous [b]Abel to the blood of Zechariah [the priest], the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.(A) 36 I assure you and most solemnly say to you, [the judgment for] all these things [these vile and murderous deeds] will come on this generation.(B)
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