Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God’s Rescue of Israel from Egypt.
114 When Israel came out of Egypt,
The house of Jacob from a people of strange language,
2
Judah became His sanctuary,
And Israel His dominion.(A)
3
The [Red] Sea [a]looked and fled;
The Jordan turned back.(B)
4
The mountains leaped like rams,
The [little] hills, like lambs.
5
What ails you, O sea, that you flee?
O Jordan, that you turn back?
6
O mountains, that you leap like rams,
O [little] hills, like lambs?
7
Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
At the presence of the God of Jacob (Israel),
8
Who turned the rock into a pool of water,
The flint into a fountain of water.(C)
Pharaoh in Pursuit
14 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Tell the sons of Israel to turn back and camp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. You shall camp in front of Baal-zephon, opposite it, by the sea. 3 For Pharaoh will say of the Israelites, ‘They are wandering aimlessly in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’ 4 I will harden (make stubborn, defiant) Pharaoh’s heart, so that he will pursue them; and I will be glorified and honored through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians shall know [without any doubt] and acknowledge that I am the Lord.” And they did so.
5 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his servants had a change of heart toward the people, and they said, “What is this that we have done? We have let Israel go from serving us!” 6 So Pharaoh harnessed horses to his war-chariots [for battle] and took his [a]army with him; 7 and he took six hundred chosen war-chariots, and all the other war-chariots of Egypt with [b]fighting charioteers over all of them. 8 The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he pursued the Israelites, as they were leaving confidently and defiantly.(A) 9 The Egyptians chased them with all the horses and war-chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and they overtook them as they camped by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.
10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw the Egyptians marching after them, and they were very frightened; so the Israelites cried out to the Lord. 11 Then they said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What is this that you have done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Did we not say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians?’ For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians [as slaves] than to die in the wilderness.”
The Sea Is Divided
13 Then Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid! Take your stand [be firm and confident and undismayed] and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today; for those Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you while you [only need to] keep silent and remain calm.”
15 The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to move forward [toward the sea]. 16 As for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, so that the sons of Israel may go through the middle of the sea on dry land. 17 As for Me, hear this: I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they will go in [the sea] after them; and I will be glorified and honored through Pharaoh and all his army, and his war-chariots and his horsemen. 18 And the Egyptians shall know [without any doubt] and acknowledge that I am the Lord, when I am glorified and honored through Pharaoh, through his war-chariots and his charioteers.”
9 “The [ten elder] patriarchs, overwhelmed with jealousy, sold [their younger brother] Joseph into [slavery in] Egypt; but God was with him,(A) 10 and He rescued him from all his suffering, and gave him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he made Joseph governor over Egypt and over his entire household.(B)
11 “Now a famine came over all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great distress and our fathers could not find food [for their households and livestock].(C) 12 But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers there the first time.(D) 13 And on the second visit Joseph identified himself to his brothers, and Joseph’s family and background were revealed to Pharaoh.(E) 14 Then Joseph sent and invited Jacob his father and all his relatives to come to him, seventy-five persons in all.(F) 15 And Jacob (Israel) went down into Egypt, and [a]there he died, as did our fathers;(G) 16 and [from Egypt] [b]their bodies were taken back to Shechem and placed in the tomb which Abraham had purchased for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.(H)
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