Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

² Then the whole community of Israelites began complaining again. They complained to Moses and Aaron in the desert. ³ They said, “It would have been better if the Lord had just killed us in the land of Egypt. At least there we had plenty to eat. We had all the food we needed. But now you have brought us out here into this desert to make us all die from hunger.”

⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will cause food to fall from the sky. This food will be for you to eat. Every day the people should go out and gather the food they need that day. I will do this to see if they will do what I tell them. ⁵ Every day the people will gather only enough food for one day. But on Friday, when the people prepare their food, they will see that they have enough food for two days.”^[a]

⁶ So Moses and Aaron said to the Israelites, “Tonight you will see the power of the Lord. You will know that he is the one who brought you out of Egypt. ⁷ You have been complaining about the Lord, and he heard you. So tomorrow morning you will see the Glory of the Lord. You have been complaining and complaining about us. Maybe now we can have a little rest.”^[b]

⁸ Then Moses said, “In the evening the Lord will give you meat to eat, and in the morning you will have all the bread you want. The Lord will do this because he has heard your complaining, which was against him, not us. What can we do? We do only what he tells us to do, so your complaints are really against the Lord.”

⁹ Then Moses said to Aaron, “Tell the whole community of Israelites to come together before the Lord, because he has heard their complaints.”

¹⁰ So Aaron spoke to all the Israelites. While he was talking, the people turned and looked into the desert. And they saw the Glory of the Lord appear in a cloud.

¹¹ The Lord said to Moses, ¹² “I have heard the complaints of the Israelites. So tell them, ‘Tonight you will eat meat. And in the morning you will have all the bread you want. Then you will know you can trust the Lord, your God.’”

¹³ That evening, flocks of quail came and filled the camp, and in the morning dew lay on the ground all around it. ¹⁴ After the dew was gone, something like thin flakes of frost was on the ground. ¹⁵ When the Israelites saw it, they asked each other, “What is that?” because they did not know what it was. So Moses told them, “This is the food the Lord is giving you to eat.

²¹ To me, the only important thing about living is Christ. And even death would be for my benefit.^{[a] 22} If I continue living here on earth, I will be able to work for the Lord. But what would I choose—to live or to die? I don’t know. ²³ It would be a hard choice. Sometimes I want to leave this life and be with Christ. That would be much better for me; ²⁴ however, you people need me here alive. ²⁵ I am sure of this, so I know that I will stay here and be with you to help you grow and have joy in your faith. ²⁶ When I am there with you again, you will be bursting with pride over what Christ Jesus did to help me.

²⁷ Just be sure you live as God’s people in a way that honors the Good News of Christ. Then if I come and visit you or if I am away from you, I will hear good things about you. I will know that you stand together with the same purpose and that you work together like a team to help others believe the Good News. ²⁸ And you will not be afraid of those who are against you. All of this is proof from God that you are being saved and that your enemies will be lost. ²⁹ God has blessed you in ways that serve Christ. He allowed you to believe in Christ. But that is not all. He has also given you the honor of suffering for Christ. Both of these bring glory to Christ. ³⁰ You saw the difficulties I had to face, and you hear that I am still having troubles. Now you must face them too.

Jesus Uses a Story About Farm Workers

20 “God’s kingdom is like a man who owned some land. One morning, the man went out very early to hire some people to work in his vineyard. ² He agreed to pay the workers one silver coin for working that day. Then he sent them into the vineyard to work.

³ “About nine o’clock the man went to the marketplace and saw some other people standing there. They were doing nothing. ⁴ So he said to them, ‘If you go and work in my field, I will pay you what your work is worth.’ ⁵ So they went to work in the vineyard.

“The man went out again about twelve o’clock and again at three o’clock. Both times he hired some others to work in his vineyard. ⁶ About five o’clock the man went to the marketplace again. He saw some other people standing there. He asked them, ‘Why did you stand here all day doing nothing?’

⁷ “They said, ‘No one gave us a job.’

“The man said to them, ‘Then you can go and work in my vineyard.’

⁸ “At the end of the day, the owner of the field said to the boss of all the workers, ‘Call the workers and pay them all. Start by paying the last people I hired. Then pay all of them, ending with the ones I hired first.’

⁹ “The workers who were hired at five o’clock came to get their pay. Each worker got one silver coin. ¹⁰ Then the workers who were hired first came to get their pay. They thought they would be paid more than the others. But each one of them also received one silver coin. ¹¹ When they got their silver coin, they complained to the man who owned the land. ¹² They said, ‘Those people were hired last and worked only one hour. But you paid them the same as us. And we worked hard all day in the hot sun.’

¹³ “But the man who owned the field said to one of them, ‘Friend, I am being fair with you. You agreed to work for one silver coin. Right? ¹⁴ So take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same pay I gave you. ¹⁵ I can do what I want with my own money. Why would you be jealous because I am generous?’

¹⁶ “So those who are last now will be first in the future. And those who are first now will be last in the future.”