Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 128

The Happy Home of the Faithful

A Song of Ascents.

⁴ From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea,^[a] to go around the land of Edom, but the people became discouraged on the way.^{(A) 5} The people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food.”^{(B) 6} Then the Lord sent poisonous^[b] serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many Israelites died.^{(C) 7} The people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord to take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.^{(D) 8} And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a poisonous^[c] serpent, and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live.” ⁹ So Moses made a serpent of bronze and put it upon a pole, and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live.^(E)

Moses a Servant, Christ a Son

3 Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, partners in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession,^{(A) 2} who was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses also “was faithful in all^[a] God’s^[b] house.” ³ Yet Jesus^[c] is worthy of more glory than Moses, just as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself.^{(B) 4} (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.)^{(C) 5} Now Moses was faithful in all God’s^[d] house as a servant, to testify to the things that would be spoken later.^{(D) 6} Christ, however, was faithful over God’s^[e] house as a son, and we are his house if we hold firm^[f] the boldness and the pride inspired by hope.^(E)