Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Praise the God of Israel
149 Praise the Lord!
Sing a new song to the Lord;
sing his praise in the meeting of his people.
2 Let the Israelites be happy because of God, their Maker.
Let the people of Jerusalem rejoice because of their King.
3 They should praise him with dancing.
They should sing praises to him with tambourines and harps.
4 The Lord is pleased with his people;
he saves the humble.
5 Let those who worship him rejoice in his glory.
Let them sing for joy even in bed!
6 Let them shout his praise
with their two-edged swords in their hands.
7 They will punish the nations
and defeat the people.
8 They will put those kings in chains
and those important men in iron bands.
9 They will punish them as God has written.
God is honored by all who worship him.
Praise the Lord!
The Darkness
21 Then the Lord told Moses, “Raise your hand toward the sky, and darkness will cover the land of Egypt. It will be so dark you will be able to feel it.” 22 Moses raised his hand toward the sky, and total darkness was everywhere in Egypt for three days. 23 No one could see anyone else, and no one could go anywhere for three days. But the Israelites had light where they lived.
24 Again the king of Egypt called for Moses. He said, “All of you may go and worship the Lord. You may take your women and children with you, but you must leave your flocks and herds here.”
25 Moses said, “You must let us have animals to use as sacrifices and burnt offerings, because we have to offer them to the Lord our God. 26 So we must take our animals with us; not a hoof will be left behind. We have to use some of the animals to worship the Lord our God. We won’t know exactly what we will need to worship the Lord until we get there.”
27 But the Lord made the king stubborn again, so he refused to let them go. 28 Then he told Moses, “Get out of here, and don’t come again! The next time you see me, you will die.”
29 Then Moses told the king, “I’ll do what you say. I will not come to see you again.”
15 and before someone can go and tell them, that person must be sent. It is written, “How beautiful is the person who comes to bring good news.”[a] 16 But not all the Jews accepted the good news. Isaiah said, “Lord, who believed what we told them?”[b] 17 So faith comes from hearing the Good News, and people hear the Good News when someone tells them about Christ.
18 But I ask: Didn’t people hear the Good News? Yes, they heard—as the Scripture says:
“Their message went out through all the world;
their words go everywhere on earth.” Psalm 19:4
19 Again I ask: Didn’t the people of Israel understand? Yes, they did understand. First, Moses says:
“I will use those who are not a nation to make you jealous.
I will use a nation that does not understand to make you angry.” Deuteronomy 32:21
20 Then Isaiah is bold enough to say:
“I was found by those who were not asking me for help.
I made myself known to people who were not looking for me.” Isaiah 65:1
21 But about Israel God says,
“All day long I stood ready to accept
people who disobey and are stubborn.” Isaiah 65:2
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.