Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
One of Asaph’s songs of praise.
83 God, don’t keep quiet!
Don’t close your ears!
Please say something, God.
2 Your enemies are getting ready to do something.
Those who hate you will soon attack.
3 They are making secret plans against your people.
Your enemies are discussing plans against the people you love.
4 They say, “Come, let us destroy them completely.
Then no one will ever again remember the name Israel.”
13 Make them like weeds blown by the wind.
Scatter them the way wind scatters straw.
14 Be like a fire that destroys a forest
or like a flame that sets the hills on fire.
15 Chase them away with your blasts of wind;
frighten them with your storms.
16 Lord, cover them with shame
until they come to you for help.
17 May they be forever ashamed and afraid.
Disgrace and defeat them.
18 Then they will know that your name is Yahweh—
that you alone are the Lord.
They will know that you are God Most High,
ruler over all the earth!
Moses and Aaron Before Pharaoh
5 After Moses and Aaron talked to the people, they went to Pharaoh and said, “The Lord,[a] the God of Israel, says, ‘Let my people go into the desert so that they can have a festival to honor me.’”
2 But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord? Why should I obey him? Why should I let Israel go? I don’t even know who this Lord is, so I refuse to let Israel go.”
3 Then Aaron and Moses said, “The God of the Hebrews[b] has talked with us. So we beg you to let us travel three days into the desert. There we will offer a sacrifice to the Lord our God. If we don’t do this, he might become angry and destroy us. He might make us die from sickness or war.”
4 But Pharaoh said to them, “Moses and Aaron, you are bothering the workers. Let them do their work. Go back to your own work! 5 There are very many workers, and you are keeping them from doing their jobs.”
Pharaoh Punishes the People
6 That same day Pharaoh gave a command to the slave masters and Hebrew foremen. 7 He said, “You have always given the people straw to use to make bricks. But now, tell them they have to go and find their own straw to make bricks. 8 But they must still make the same number of bricks as they did before. They have gotten lazy. That is why they are asking me to let them go. They don’t have enough work to do. That is why they asked me to let them make sacrifices to their God. 9 So make these people work harder. Keep them busy. Then they will not have enough time to listen to the lies of Moses.”
10 So the Egyptian slave masters and the Hebrew foremen went to the Israelites and said, “Pharaoh has decided that he will not give you straw for your bricks. 11 You must go and get the straw for yourselves. So go and find straw, but you must still make as many bricks as you made before.”
12 So the people went everywhere in Egypt looking for straw. 13 The slave masters forced the people to work even harder. They forced the people to make as many bricks as before. 14 The Egyptian slave masters had chosen the Hebrew foremen and had made them responsible for the work the people did. The Egyptian slave masters beat these foremen and said to them, “Why aren’t you making as many bricks as you made in the past? If you could do it then, you can do it now!”
15 Then the Hebrew foremen went to Pharaoh. They complained and said, “We are your servants. Why are you treating us like this? 16 You give us no straw, but you tell us to make as many bricks as before. And now our masters are beating us. Your people are wrong for doing this.”
17 Pharaoh answered, “You are lazy, and you don’t want to work! That is why you ask me to let you go. And that is why you want to leave here and make sacrifices to the Lord. 18 Now, go back to work! We will not give you any straw. And you must still make as many bricks as you did before.”
19 The Hebrew foremen knew they were in trouble, because the Pharaoh had told them, “You must still make as many bricks as you made before.”
20 When they were leaving the meeting with Pharaoh, they passed Moses and Aaron. Moses and Aaron were waiting for them. 21 So they said to Moses and Aaron, “May the Lord judge and punish you for what you did! You made Pharaoh and his rulers hate us. You have given them an excuse to kill us.”
Moses Complains to God
22 Then Moses prayed to the Lord and said, “Lord, why have you done this terrible thing to your people? Why did you send me here? 23 I went to Pharaoh and said what you told me to say. But since that time he has made the people suffer, and you have done nothing to help them!”
6 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh. I will use my great power against him, and he will let my people go. He will be so ready for them to leave that he will force them to go.”
2 Then God said to Moses, “I am the Lord. 3 I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They called me God All-Powerful. They did not know my name, the Lord. 4 I made an agreement with them. I promised to give them the land of Canaan. They lived in that land, but it was not their own. 5 Now, I have heard their painful cries. I know that they are slaves in Egypt. And I remember my agreement. 6 So tell the Israelites that I say to them, ‘I am the Lord. I will save you. You will no longer be slaves of the Egyptians. I will use my great power to make you free, and I will bring terrible punishment to the Egyptians. 7 You will be my people and I will be your God. I am the Lord your God, and you will know that I made you free from Egypt. 8 I made a great promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I promised to give them a special land. So I will lead you to that land. I will give you that land. It will be yours. I am the Lord.’”
9 So Moses told this to the Israelites, but the people would not listen to him. They were working so hard that they were not patient with Moses.
10 Then the Lord said to Moses, 11 “Go tell Pharaoh that he must let the Israelites leave his land.”
12 But Moses answered, “Lord, the Israelites refuse to listen to me. So surely Pharaoh will also refuse to listen. I am a very bad speaker.”[c]
13 But the Lord talked with Moses and Aaron and commanded them to go and talk to the Israelites and to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. He commanded them to lead the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.
Jesus’ Letter to the Church in Philadelphia
7 “Write this to the angel of the church in Philadelphia:
“Here is a message from the one who is holy and true, the one who holds the key of David. When he opens something, it cannot be closed. And when he closes something, it cannot be opened.
8 “I know what you do. I have put before you an open door that no one can close. I know you are weak, but you have followed my teaching. You were not afraid to speak my name. 9 Listen! There is a group[a] that belongs to Satan. They say they are Jews, but they are liars. They are not true Jews. I will make them come before you and bow at your feet. They will know that you are the people I have loved. 10 You followed my command to endure patiently. So I will keep you from the time of trouble that will come to the world—a time that will test everyone living on earth.
11 “I am coming soon. Hold on to the faith you have, so that no one can take away your crown. 12 Those who win the victory will be pillars in the temple of my God. I will make that happen for them. They will never again have to leave God’s temple. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God. That city is the new Jerusalem.[b] It is coming down out of heaven from my God. I will also write my new name on them. 13 Everyone who hears this should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International