Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God Saved Israel from Egypt
A ·maskil [skillful psalm; meditation] of Asaph [C a Levitical musician, a descendant of Gershon, at the time of David; 1 Chr. 6:39; 15:17; 2 Chr. 5:12].
78 My people, ·listen [give ear] to my ·teaching [instruction; law];
·listen [L incline your ear] to ·what I say [L the words of my mouth].
2 I will ·speak [L open my mouth] ·using stories [L with a proverb/parable];
I will ·tell [expound] ·secret things [L riddles] from long ago [C the past contains lessons for the present generation].
3 We have heard them and known them
by what our ·ancestors [fathers] have ·told [recounted to] us.
4 We will not ·keep [hide] them from our children;
we will ·tell [recount them to] ·those who come later [a later generation]
about the praises of the Lord.
We will tell about his power
and the ·miracles [wonderful acts] he has done.
12 He did ·miracles [wonderful acts] while their ·ancestors [fathers] watched,
in the fields of Zoan [C a city in the Nile Delta also known as Tanis] in Egypt [C the plagues; Ex. 7–12].
13 He divided the ·Red Sea [L Sea; C probably a lake north of the Gulf of Suez] and led them through [Ex. 14–15].
He made the water stand up like a ·wall [or heap; Ex. 15:8].
14 He led them with a cloud by day
and by the light of a fire by night [105:39; Ex. 13:21; Num. 10:34].
15 He split the rocks in the ·desert [wilderness]
and gave them more ·than enough water, as if from the deep ocean [L water, as much as the deeps].
16 He brought streams out of the rock
and caused water to flow down like rivers [Ex. 17:6; Num. 20:8; 1 Cor. 10:4].
Joshua Is the New Leader
12 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Climb this mountain in the Abarim Mountains, and look at the land I have given to the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel]. 13 After you have seen it, you will ·die and join your ancestors [L be gathered to your people] as your brother Aaron ·did [L was gathered; 20:22–29], 14 because you both ·acted [rebelled] against my command in the ·Desert [Wilderness] of Zin. You did not honor me as holy before the people at the waters of Meribah [20:1–13].” (This was at Meribah in Kadesh in the ·Desert [L Wilderness] of Zin.)
Leaders Doubt Jesus’ Authority(A)
27 Jesus and his ·followers [disciples] went again to Jerusalem. As Jesus was walking in the Temple [complex; area; courts; see 11:15], the ·leading [T chief] priests, the ·teachers of the law [scribes], and the elders came to him. 28 They said to him, “What authority do you have to do these things? Who gave you this authority?”
29 Jesus answered, “I will ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you what authority I have to do these things. 30 Tell me: When John baptized people, was that authority from ·God [L heaven; C a reverential Jewish way of referring to God] or just from ·other people [human beings]?”
31 They argued about Jesus’ question, saying, “If we answer, ‘John’s baptism was from ·God [L heaven],’ Jesus will say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 32 But if we say, ‘It was from ·other people [human beings],’ the crowd will be against us.” (These leaders were afraid of the people, because all the people believed that John was a prophet.)
33 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”
Jesus said to them, “Then I won’t tell you what authority I have to do these things.”
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.