Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 97[a]
97 The Lord reigns.
Let the earth be happy.
Let the many coastlands rejoice.
2 Dark clouds surround him;
equity and justice are the foundation of his throne.[b]
3 Fire goes before him;
on every side[c] it burns up his enemies.
4 His lightning bolts light up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of the whole earth.
6 The sky declares his justice,
and all the nations see his splendor.
7 All who worship idols are ashamed,
those who boast about worthless idols.
All the gods bow down before him.[d]
8 Zion hears and rejoices,
the towns[e] of Judah are happy,
because of your judgments, O Lord.
9 For you, O Lord, are the Most High[f] over the whole earth;
you are elevated high above all gods.
10 You who love the Lord, hate evil!
He protects[g] the lives of his faithful followers;
he delivers them from the power[h] of the wicked.
11 The godly bask in the light;
the morally upright experience joy.[i]
12 You godly ones, rejoice in the Lord.
Give thanks to his holy name.[j]
15 Moses turned and went down from the mountain with[a] the two tablets of the testimony in his hands. The tablets were written on both sides—they were written on the front and on the back. 16 Now the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. 17 When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted,[b] he said to Moses, “It is the sound of war in the camp!” 18 Moses[c] said, “It is not the sound of those who shout for victory,[d] nor is it the sound of those who cry because they are overcome,[e] but the sound of singing[f] I hear.”[g]
19 When he approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses became extremely angry.[h] He threw the tablets from his hands and broke them to pieces at the bottom of the mountain.[i] 20 He took the calf they had made and burned it in the fire, ground it[j] to powder, poured it out on the water, and made the Israelites drink it.[k]
21 Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you, that you have brought on them so great a sin?” 22 Aaron said, “Do not let your anger burn hot, my lord;[l] you know these people, that they tend to evil.[m] 23 They said to me, ‘Make us gods that will go before us, for as for this fellow Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.’ 24 So I said to them, ‘Whoever has gold, break it off.’ So they gave it[n] to me, and I threw it into the fire, and this calf came out.”[o]
25 Moses saw that the people were running wild,[p] for Aaron had let them get completely out of control, causing derision from their enemies.[q] 26 So Moses stood at the entrance of the camp and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come[r] to me.”[s] All the Levites gathered around him, 27 and he said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, has said ‘Each man fasten[t] his sword on his side, and go back and forth[u] from entrance to entrance throughout the camp, and each one kill his brother, his friend, and his neighbor.’”[v]
28 The Levites did what Moses ordered,[w] and that day about 3,000 men of the people died.[x] 29 Moses said, “You have been consecrated[y] today for the Lord, for each of you was against his son or against his brother, so he has given a blessing to you today.”[z]
30 The next day Moses said to the people,[aa] “You have committed a very serious sin,[ab] but now I will go up to the Lord—perhaps I can make atonement[ac] on behalf of your sin.”
31 So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Alas, this people has committed a very serious sin,[ad] and they have made for themselves gods of gold. 32 But now, if you will forgive their sin…,[ae] but if not, wipe me out[af] from your book that you have written.”[ag] 33 The Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me—that person I will wipe out of my book. 34 So now go, lead the people to the place I have spoken to you about. See,[ah] my angel will go before you. But on the day that I punish, I will indeed punish them for their sin.”[ai]
35 And the Lord sent a plague on the people because they had made the calf[aj]—the one Aaron made.[ak]
Exhortation to the Faithful
17 But you, dear friends—recall the predictions[a] foretold by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.[b] 18 For they said to you, “At the end of time[c] there will come[d] scoffers, propelled by their own ungodly desires.”[e] 19 These people are divisive,[f] worldly,[g] devoid of the Spirit.[h] 20 But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith, by praying in the Holy Spirit,[i] 21 maintain[j] yourselves in the love of God, while anticipating[k] the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that brings eternal life.[l] 22 And have mercy on those who waver; 23 save[m] others by snatching them out of the fire; have mercy[n] on others, coupled with a fear of God,[o] hating even the clothes stained[p] by the flesh.[q]
Final Blessing
24 Now to the one who is able to keep you from falling,[r] and to cause you to stand, rejoicing,[s] without blemish[t] before his glorious presence,[u] 25 to the only God our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time, and now, and for all eternity. Amen.
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