Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God’s Guidance of His People in Spite of Their Unfaithfulness.
A [a]Maskil of Asaph.
78 (A)Listen, my people, to my [b]instruction;
(B)Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2 I will (C)open my mouth in a parable;
I will tell (D)riddles of old,
3 Which we have heard and known,
And (E)our fathers have told us.
4 We will (F)not conceal them from their children,
But we will (G)tell the generation to come the praises of the Lord,
And His power and His (H)wondrous works that He has done.
12 (A)He performed wonders before their fathers
In the land of Egypt, in the (B)field of Zoan.
13 He (C)divided the sea and caused them to pass through,
And He made the waters stand (D)up like a heap.
14 Then He led them with the cloud by (E)day
And all the night with a (F)light of fire.
15 He (G)split the rocks in the wilderness
And gave them plenty to drink like the ocean depths.
16 He (H)brought forth streams from the rock
And made waters run down like rivers.
Death of Miriam
20 Then the sons of Israel, the whole congregation, came to the (A)wilderness of Zin in the first month; and the people stayed at Kadesh. Now Miriam died there and was buried there.
2 (B)There was no water for the congregation, (C)and they assembled against Moses and Aaron. 3 (D)Then the people argued with Moses and spoke, saying, “(E)If only we had perished (F)when our brothers perished before the Lord! 4 (G)Why then have you brought the Lord’s assembly into this wilderness, for us and our livestock to die [a]here? 5 Why did you make us come up from Egypt, to bring us into this wretched place? (H)It is not a place of [b]grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, nor is there water to drink!” 6 Then Moses and Aaron came in from the presence of the assembly to the entrance of the tent of meeting and (I)fell on their faces. And the glory of the Lord appeared to them; 7 then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
The Waters of Meribah
8 “Take (J)the staff; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it shall yield its water. So you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and have the congregation and their livestock drink.”
9 So Moses took the staff (K)from before the Lord, just as He had commanded him; 10 and Moses and Aaron summoned the assembly in front of the rock. And he said to them, “(L)Listen now, you rebels; shall we bring water for you out of this rock?” 11 Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff; and (M)water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their livestock drank. 12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “(N)Since you did not trust in Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, for that reason you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” 13 Those were called the waters of [c](O)Meribah, [d]because the sons of Israel argued with the Lord, and He proved Himself holy among them.
32 And we (A)preach to you the good news of (B)the promise made to the fathers, 33 that God has fulfilled this promise to those of us who are the descendants by (C)raising Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm: ‘(D)You are My Son; today I have fathered You.’ 34 As for the fact that He (E)raised Him from the dead, never again to return to decay, He has spoken in this way: ‘(F)I will give you the holy and faithful mercies of David.’ 35 Therefore, He also says in another Psalm: ‘(G)You will not [a]allow Your [b]Holy One to [c]undergo decay.’ 36 For (H)David, after he had [d]served God’s (I)purpose in his own generation, (J)fell asleep, and was [e]buried among his fathers and [f]underwent decay; 37 but He whom God (K)raised did not [g]undergo decay. 38 Therefore let it be known to you, [h]brothers, that (L)through [i]Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 39 and [j]through Him (M)everyone who believes is [k]freed from all things, from which you could not be [l]freed [m]through the Law of Moses. 40 Therefore, see that the thing spoken of (N)in the Prophets does not come upon you:
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