Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

My Soul Thirsts for You

A Psalm of David, ^(A)when he was in the wilderness of Judah.

Spies Sent into Canaan

13 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ^2 (A)“Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel. From each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a chief among them.”

¹⁷ Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan and said to them, “Go up into ^(A)the Negeb and go up into ^(B)the hill country, ¹⁸ and see what the land is, and whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many, ¹⁹ and whether the land that they dwell in is good or bad, and whether the cities that they dwell in are camps or strongholds, ²⁰ and whether the land is ^(C)rich or poor, and whether there are trees in it or not. ^(D)Be of good courage and bring some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes.

²¹ So they went up and spied out the land ^(E)from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, ^(F)near Lebo-hamath. ²² They went up into ^(G)the Negeb and came to ^(H)Hebron. ^(I)Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the ^(J)descendants of Anak, were there. (^(K)Hebron was built seven years before ^(L)Zoan in Egypt.) ²³ And ^(M)they came to the Valley of Eshcol and cut down from there a branch with a single cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a pole between two of them; they also brought some pomegranates and figs. ²⁴ That place was called the Valley of Eshcol,^[a] because of the cluster that the people of Israel cut down from there.

Report of the Spies

²⁵ At the end of forty days they returned from spying out the land. ²⁶ And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at ^(N)Kadesh. They brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. ²⁷ And they told him, “We came to the land to which you sent us. It ^(O)flows with milk and honey, ^(P)and this is its fruit. ^28 (Q)However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. ^29 (R)The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country. ^(S)And the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan.”

³⁰ But ^(T)Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.” ^31 (U)Then the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.” ³² So ^(V)they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and ^(W)all the people that we saw in it are of great height. ³³ And there we saw the ^(X)Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the ^(Y)Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves ^(Z)like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.”

The People Rebel

14 Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people ^(AA)wept that night. ² And all the people of Israel ^(AB)grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or ^(AC)would that we had died in this wilderness! ³ Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? ^(AD)Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” ⁴ And they said to one another, ^(AE)“Let us choose a leader and ^(AF)go back to Egypt.”

⁵ Then ^(AG)Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the people of Israel. ^6 (AH)And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes ⁷ and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, ^(AI)“The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. ⁸ If ^(AJ)the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, ^(AK)a land that flows with milk and honey. ⁹ Only ^(AL)do not rebel against the Lord. And ^(AM)do not fear the people of the land, for ^(AN)they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.”

Jesus Again Foretells Death, Resurrection

^22 (A)As they were gathering^[a] in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, ²³ and they will kill him, and he will be raised on ^(B)the third day.” And they were greatly distressed.

The Temple Tax

^24 (C)When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of ^(D)the two-drachma tax went up to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the tax?” ²⁵ He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, ^(E)“What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or ^(F)tax? From their sons or from others?” ²⁶ And when he said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. ²⁷ However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel.^[b] Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself.”