Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Blessedness of the Fear of the Lord.

A Song of Ascents.

⁴ Then they set out from Mount Hor by the way of the ^[a]Red Sea, to ^(A)go around the land of Edom; and the ^[b]people became impatient because of the journey. ⁵ So the people spoke against God and Moses: “^(B)Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no ^[c]food and no water, and ^[d](C)we are disgusted with ^[e]this miserable food.”

The Bronze Serpent

^6 (D)Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people and ^(E)they bit the people, so that ^(F)many people of Israel died. ^7 (G)So the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord and against you; ^(H)intercede with the Lord, that He will remove the serpents from us.” And Moses interceded for the people. ⁸ Then the Lord said to Moses, “^[f]Make a ^(I)fiery serpent, and put it on a flag pole; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, and looks at it, will live.” ⁹ So Moses made a ^(J)bronze serpent and put it on the flag pole; and it came about, that if a serpent bit someone, and he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.

Jesus Our High Priest

3 Therefore, ^(A)holy brothers and sisters, partakers of a ^(B)heavenly calling, consider ^(C)the Apostle and ^(D)High Priest of our ^(E)confession: Jesus; ^2 [a]He was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as ^(F)Moses also was in all His house. ^3 (G)For He has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, by just so much as the builder of the house has more honor than the house. ⁴ For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. ⁵ Now ^(H)Moses was faithful in all ^[b]God’s house as ^(I)a servant, ^(J)for a testimony of those things ^(K)which were to be spoken later; ⁶ but Christ was faithful as ^(L)a Son over His house—^(M)whose house we are, ^(N)if we hold firmly to our ^(O)confidence and the boast of our ^[c](P)hope.