Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

The God of Israel at Sinai

68 May God rise up. May those who hate Him be divided. And may they run away from Him. ² Drive them away like smoke in the wind. Let the sinful be destroyed before God like a candle melts by the fire. ³ But let those who are right and good be glad. Let them be happy before God. Yes, let them be full of joy. ⁴ Sing to God. Sing praises to His name. Make a road for Him Who goes through the deserts. The Lord is His name. Be full of joy before Him.

⁵ God in His holy house is a father to those who have no father. And He keeps the women safe whose husbands have died. ⁶ God makes a home for those who are alone. He leads men out of prison into happiness and well-being. But those who fight against Him live in an empty desert.

⁷ O God, when You went out before Your people, when You walked through the desert, ⁸ the earth shook. The heavens poured down rain before God. And Sinai shook before God, the God of Israel. ⁹ You sent a heavy rain, O God. You brought life back to Your promised land when it was dry. ¹⁰ Your people made it their home. O God, You gave the poor what they needed because You are good.

¹⁹ Honor and thanks be to the Lord, Who carries our heavy loads day by day. He is the God Who saves us. ²⁰ Our God is a God Who sets us free. The way out of death belongs to God the Lord.

⁹ Others take from the breast the child who has no father. They take the child from the poor as a promise that they will pay what they owe. ¹⁰ They make the poor go about without clothing, making them carry loads of cut grain while they are hungry. ¹¹ Among the olive trees they make oil. They crush grapes but they are thirsty. ¹² Men from the city cry inside themselves. The souls of those who are hurt cry out. Yet God does not listen to their prayer.

¹³ “Then there are those who turn against the light. They do not want to know its ways or stay in its paths. ¹⁴ The one who kills people gets up early in the morning. He kills the poor and those in need. And during the night he is like a robber. ¹⁵ The eye of the one who is not faithful in marriage waits for the evening, saying, ‘No one will see me.’ And he covers his face. ¹⁶ In the dark they dig into houses. They shut themselves up during the day and do not know the light. ¹⁷ For midnight is morning to them. They are not afraid of the fears of darkness.

¹⁸ “They are taken away on the top of the waters. Their part of the earth is cursed. They do not go to their grape-fields. ¹⁹ Dry weather and heat take away the water from the snow, just as the place of the dead takes away those who have sinned. ²⁰ A mother will forget him. The worm is pleased to eat him until he is remembered no more. Sin will be broken like a tree. ²¹ He does wrong to the woman who cannot give birth. And he does no good for the woman whose husband has died. ²² But God by His power gives long life to the strong. They rise again, even when they had no hope of life. ²³ He makes them safe and gives them strength, and His eyes are on their ways. ²⁴ They are given honor for a little while, and then they are gone. They are brought low and gathered up as all others are. They are cut off like the heads of grain. ²⁵ If it is not so, who can prove me a liar, and show that what I say means nothing?”

¹¹ But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to stand up against him because he was guilty. ¹² Peter had been eating with the people who are not Jews. But after some men came who had been with James, he kept away from them. He was afraid of those who believe in the religious act of becoming a Jew. ¹³ Then the rest of the Jews followed him because they were afraid to do what they knew they should do. Even Barnabas was fooled by those who pretended to be someone they were not. ¹⁴ When I saw they were not honest about the truth of the Good News, I spoke to Peter in front of them all. I said, “If you are a Jew, but live like the people who are not Jews, why do you make the people who are not Jews live like the Jews?”