Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

¹⁹ The angel of God usually traveled in front of Israel’s army. Now the angel of God moved behind them. Also, the pillar of cloud moved from in front of the people and stood behind them. ²⁰ So the cloud came between the Egyptians and the people of Israel. The cloud made it dark for the Egyptians. But it gave light to the Israelites. So the cloud kept the two armies apart all night.

²¹ Moses held his hand over the sea. All that night the Lord drove back the sea with a strong east wind. And so he made the sea become dry ground. The water was split. ²² And the Israelites went through the sea on dry land. A wall of water was on both sides.

²³ Then all the king’s horses, chariots and chariot drivers followed them into the sea. ²⁴ Between two and six o’clock in the morning, the Lord looked down from the pillar of cloud and fire at the Egyptian army. He made them panic. ²⁵ He kept the wheels of the chariots from turning. This made it hard to drive the chariots. The Egyptians shouted, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them and against us Egyptians.”

²⁶ Then the Lord told Moses, “Hold your hand over the sea. Then the water will come back over the Egyptians, their chariots and chariot drivers.” ²⁷ So Moses raised his hand over the sea. And at dawn the water became deep again. The Egyptians were trying to run from it. But the Lord swept them away into the sea. ²⁸ The water became deep again. It covered the chariots and chariot drivers. So all the king’s army that had followed the Israelites into the sea was covered. Not one of them survived.

²⁹ But the people of Israel crossed the sea on dry land. There was a wall of water on their right and on their left. ³⁰ So that day the Lord saved the Israelites from the Egyptians. And the Israelites saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore. ³¹ When the people of Israel saw the great power that the Lord had used against the Egyptians, they feared the Lord. And they trusted the Lord and his servant Moses.

God Brought Israel from Egypt

The Song of Moses

15 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord:

²⁰ Then Aaron’s sister Miriam, who was a prophetess, took a tambourine in her hand. All the women followed her, playing tambourines and dancing. ²¹ Miriam told them:

Do Not Criticize Other People

14 Do not refuse to accept into your group someone who is weak in faith. And do not argue with him about opinions. ² One person believes that he can eat all kinds of food.^[a] But if another man’s faith is weak, then he believes he can eat only vegetables. ³ The one who knows that he can eat any kind of food must not feel that he is better than the one who eats only vegetables. And the person who eats only vegetables must not think that the one who eats all foods is wrong. God has accepted him. ⁴ You cannot judge another man’s servant. His own master decides if he is doing well or not. And the Lord’s servant will do well because the Lord helps him do well.

⁵ One person thinks that one day is more important than another. And someone else thinks that every day is the same. Each one should be sure in his own mind. ⁶ The person who thinks one day is more important than other days is doing that for the Lord. And the one who eats all kinds of food is doing that for the Lord. Yes, he gives thanks to God for that food. And the man who refuses to eat some foods does that for the Lord, and he gives thanks to God. ⁷ For we do not live or die for ourselves. ⁸ If we live, we are living for the Lord. And if we die, we are dying for the Lord. So living or dying, we belong to the Lord.

⁹ That is why Christ died and rose from death to live again. He did this so that he would be Lord over both the dead and the living. ¹⁰ So why do you judge your brother in Christ? And why do you think that you are better than he is? We will all stand before God, and he will judge us all. ¹¹ Yes, it is written in the Scriptures:

¹² So each of us will have to answer to God for what he has done.

An Unforgiving Servant

²¹ Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, when my brother sins against me, how many times must I forgive him? Should I forgive him as many as 7 times?”

²² Jesus answered, “I tell you, you must forgive him more than 7 times. You must forgive him even if he does wrong to you 70 times 7.

²³ “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who decided to collect the money his servants owed him. ²⁴ So the king began to collect his money. One servant owed him several million dollars. ²⁵ But the servant did not have enough money to pay his master, the king. So the master ordered that everything the servant owned should be sold, even the servant’s wife and children. The money would be used to pay the king what the servant owed.

²⁶ “But the servant fell on his knees and begged, ‘Be patient with me. I will pay you everything I owe.’ ²⁷ The master felt sorry for his servant. So the master told the servant he did not have to pay. He let the servant go free.

²⁸ “Later, that same servant found another servant who owed him a few dollars. The servant grabbed the other servant around the neck and said, ‘Pay me the money you owe me!’

²⁹ “The other servant fell on his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me. I will pay you everything I owe.’

³⁰ “But the first servant refused to be patient. He threw the other servant into prison until he could pay everything he owed. ³¹ All the other servants saw what happened. They were very sorry. So they went and told their master all that had happened.

³² “Then the master called his servant in and said, ‘You evil servant! You begged me to forget what you owed. So I told you that you did not have to pay anything. ³³ I had mercy on you. You should have had the same mercy on that other servant.’ ³⁴ The master was very angry, and he put the servant in prison to be punished. The servant had to stay in prison until he could pay everything he owed.

³⁵ “This king did what my heavenly Father will do to you if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”