Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Prayer of an Afflicted Man for Mercy on Himself and on Zion.
A Prayer of the afflicted; when he is overwhelmed and pours out his complaint to God.
102 Hear my prayer, O Lord,
And let my cry for help come to You!
2
Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my distress!
Incline Your ear to me;
In the day when I call, answer me quickly.
3
For my days have vanished in smoke,
And my bones have been scorched like a hearth.
4
My heart has been struck like grass and withered,
Indeed, [absorbed by my heartache] I forget to eat my food.
5
Because of the sound of my groaning [in suffering and trouble]
My bones cling to my flesh.
6
I am like a [mournful] [a]vulture of the wilderness;
I am like a [desolate] owl of the wasteland.
7
I am sleepless and lie awake [mourning],
I have become like a lonely bird on a housetop.
8
My enemies taunt me all day long;
Those who ridicule me use my name as a curse.
9
For I have eaten ashes like bread,
And have mingled my drink with tears(A)
10
Because of Your indignation and Your wrath,
For You have lifted me up and thrown me away.
11
My days are like an evening shadow that lengthens and vanishes [with the sun];
And as for me, I wither away like grass.
12
But You, O Lord, are enthroned forever [ruling eternally as sovereign];
And [the fame and glory of] Your name [endures] to all generations.
13
You will arise and have compassion on Zion,
For it is time to be gracious and show favor to her;
Yes, the appointed time [the moment designated] has come.(B)
14
For Your servants find [melancholy] pleasure in the stones [of her ruins]
And feel pity for her dust.
15
So the nations will fear the name of the Lord,
And all the kings of the earth [will recognize] Your glory.(C)
16
For the Lord has built up Zion;
He has appeared in His glory and brilliance;
17
He has regarded the prayer of the destitute,
And has not despised their prayer.
God Leads the People
17 So it happened, when Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was nearer; for God said, “The people might change their minds when they see war [that is, that there will be war], and return to Egypt.” 18 But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the [a]Red Sea; the sons of Israel went up in battle array (orderly ranks, marching formation) out of the land of Egypt. 19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had solemnly ordered (placed under an oath) the Israelites, saying, “God will assuredly take care of you, and you must carry my bones away from here with you.”(A) 20 They journeyed from Succoth [in Goshen] and camped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness. 21 The [presence of the] Lord was going before them by day in a pillar (column) of cloud to lead them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, so that they could travel by day and by night. 22 He did not withdraw the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from going before the people.
17 “But as the time [for the fulfillment] of the promise which God had made to Abraham was approaching, the [Hebrew] people increased and multiplied in Egypt,(A) 18 until [the time when] there arose another king over egypt who did not know joseph [nor his history and the merit of his service to Egypt].(B) 19 He shrewdly exploited our race and mistreated our fathers, forcing them to expose their [male] babies so that they would die.(C) 20 It was at this [critical] time that Moses was born; and he was lovely in the sight of God, and for three months he was nourished in his father’s house.(D) 21 Then when he was set outside [to die], Pharaoh’s daughter rescued him and claimed him for herself, and cared for him as her own son.(E) 22 So Moses was educated in all the wisdom and culture of the Egyptians, and he was a man of power in words and deeds. 23 But when he reached the age of forty, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the sons of Israel. 24 And when he saw one [of them] being treated unfairly, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking and killing the Egyptian. 25 He expected his countrymen to understand that God was granting them freedom through him [assuming that they would accept him], but they did not understand. 26 Then on the next day he suddenly appeared to two of them as they were fighting, and he tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers; why do you wrong one another?’ 27 But the man who was injuring his neighbor pushed Moses away, saying, ‘Who appointed you ruler and judge over us? 28 Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ 29 At this remark Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he fathered two sons.(F)
30 “After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount [a]Sinai, in the flame of a burning thorn bush. 31 When Moses saw it, he was astonished at the sight; but as he went near to look more closely, the voice of the Lord came [to him, saying]: 32 ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.’ Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look. 33 Then the Lord said to him, ‘Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground [worthy of reverence and respect]. 34 I have most certainly seen the oppression of My people in Egypt and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to rescue them. Now come, and I will send you to Egypt [as My messenger].’(G)
35 “This Moses whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ is the very one whom God sent to be both a ruler and a deliverer, with the [protecting and helping] hand of the Angel who appeared to him in the thorn bush.(H) 36 This man led them out [of Egypt] after performing wonders and signs in the land of Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years.(I) 37 This is the Moses who said to the children of Israel, ‘God will raise up for you a Prophet [b]like me from your countrymen.’(J) 38 This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness together with the Angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and who was with our fathers; and he received living oracles [divine words that still live] to be handed down to you.(K) 39 Our fathers were unwilling to be subject to him [and refused to listen to him]. They rejected him, and in their hearts turned back to Egypt.(L) 40 They said to Aaron, ‘Make for us gods who will go before us; for this Moses who led us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.’(M)
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