Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

² Then the whole Israelite community grumbled to Moses and Aaron in the desert. ³ The Israelites said to them, “It would have been better if the Lord had killed us in the land of Egypt. There we had meat to eat. We had all the food we wanted. But you have brought us into this desert. You will starve us to death here.”

⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will cause food to fall like rain from the sky. This food will be for all of you. Every day the people must go out and gather what they need for that day. I will do this to see if the people will do what I teach them. ⁵ On the sixth day of each week, they are to gather twice as much as they gather on other days. Then they are to prepare it.”

⁶ So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites: “This evening you will know that the Lord is the one who brought you out of Egypt. ⁷ Tomorrow morning you will see the greatness of the Lord. He has heard you grumble against him. We are nothing. You are not grumbling against us, but against the Lord.” ⁸ And Moses said, “Each evening the Lord will give you meat to eat. And every morning he will give you all the bread you want. He will do this because he has heard you grumble against him. You are not grumbling against Aaron and me. You are grumbling against the Lord.”

⁹ Then Moses said to Aaron, “Speak to the whole community of the Israelites. Say to them, ‘Meet together in front of the Lord because he has heard your grumblings.’”

¹⁰ So Aaron spoke to the whole community of the Israelites. While he was speaking, they looked toward the desert. There the greatness of the Lord appeared in a cloud.

¹¹ The Lord said to Moses, ¹² “I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel. So tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat. And every morning you will eat all the bread you want. Then you will know I am the Lord, your God.’”

¹³ That evening, quail came and covered the camp. And in the morning dew lay around the camp. ¹⁴ When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost were on the desert ground. ¹⁵ When the Israelites saw it, they asked each other, “What is that?” They asked this question because they did not know what it was.

So Moses told them, “This is the bread the Lord has given you to eat.

God’s Love for Israel

²¹ To me the only important thing about living is Christ. And even death would be profit for me. ²² If I continue living in the body, I will be able to work for the Lord. But what should I choose—living or dying? I do not know. ²³ It is hard to choose between the two. I want to leave this life and be with Christ. That is much better. ²⁴ But you need me here in my body. ²⁵ I know that you need me, and so I know that I will stay with you. I will help you grow and have joy in your faith. ²⁶ You will be very happy in Christ Jesus when I am with you again.

²⁷ Be sure that you live in a way that brings honor to the Good News of Christ. Then whether I come and visit you or am away from you, I will hear good things about you. I will hear that you continue strong with one purpose and that you work together as a team for the faith of the Good News. ²⁸ And you will not be afraid of those who are against you. All of these things are proof from God that you will be saved and that your enemies will be lost. ²⁹ God gave you the honor both of believing in Christ and suffering for Christ. Both these things bring glory to Christ. ³⁰ When I was with you, you saw the struggles I had. And you hear about the struggles I am having now. You yourselves are having the same kind of struggles.

A Story About Vineyard Workers

20 “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who owned some land. One morning, he went out very early to hire some people to work in his vineyard. ² The man agreed to pay the workers one silver coin^[a] 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, doing nothing. ⁴ So he said to them, ‘If you go and work in my vineyard, 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 people to work in his vineyard. ⁶ About five o’clock the man went to the marketplace again. He saw others standing there. He asked them, ‘Why did you stand here all day doing nothing?’ ⁷ They answered, ‘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 vineyard said to the boss of all the workers, ‘Call the workers and pay them. Start by paying the last people I hired. Then pay all of them, ending with the workers I hired first.’

⁹ “The workers who were hired at five o’clock came to get their pay. Each worker received 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 you paid us. And we worked hard all day in the hot sun.’ ¹³ But the man who owned the vineyard said to one of those workers, ‘Friend, I am being fair to you. You agreed to work for one silver coin. ¹⁴ So take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same pay that I gave you. ¹⁵ I can do what I want with my own money. Are you jealous because I am good to those people?’

¹⁶ “So those who are last now will someday be first. And those who are first now will someday be last.”