Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.

¹ ¶ O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee; my soul thirsts for thee; my flesh longs for thee in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water;

² in this manner I beheld thee in holiness when I beheld thy power and thy glory.

³ ¶ Because thy mercy is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.

⁴ Thus will I bless thee in my life; in thy name shall I lift up my hands.

⁵ My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips

⁶ When I remember thee upon my bed and meditate on thee in the night watches.

⁷ ¶ Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.

⁸ My soul has followed hard after thee; thy right hand has upheld me.

13 ¶ And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,

² Send thou men that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I give unto the sons of Israel; of every tribe of their fathers ye shall send a man, each one a prince among them.

¹⁷ And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan and said unto them, Go up this way towards the Negev and go up into the mountain

¹⁸ and see the land, what it is, and the people that dwell therein, whether they are strong or weak, few or many,

¹⁹ and how the land is that they dwell in, whether it is good or bad, and what cities there are that they dwell in, whether in tents, or in strong holds,

²⁰ And what the land is, whether it is fertile or sterile, whether there are trees therein, or not. And be ye of good courage and bring of the fruit of the land. Now the time was the time of the firstripe grapes.

²¹ ¶ So they went up and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath.

²² And they ascended by the Negev and came unto Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the sons of Anak, were. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)

²³ And they came unto the brook of Eshcol, and from there they cut down a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bore it between two upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates and of the figs.

²⁴ The place was called the brook Eshcol because of the cluster of grapes which the sons of Israel cut down from there.

²⁵ And they returned from searching of the land after forty days.

²⁶ ¶ And they went and came to Moses and to Aaron and to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran to Kadesh and brought back word unto them and unto all the congregation and showed them the fruit of the land.

²⁷ And they told him and said, We came unto the land where thou didst send us, and surely it flows with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.

²⁸ Nevertheless the people are strong that dwell in that land, and the cities are very great and strong; and moreover we saw the sons of Anak there.

²⁹ Amalek dwells in the land of the Negev, and the Hittite and the Jebusite and the Amorite dwell in the mountains, and the Canaanite dwells by the sea and by the side of the Jordan.

³⁰ Then Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.

³¹ But the men that went up with him said, We are not able to go up against that people, for they are stronger than we.

³² And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had spied out unto the sons of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone through to spy it out, is a land that eats up its inhabitants; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature.

³³ And there we saw giants, the sons of Anak, of the race of the giants; and we were in our own sight as locusts, and so we were in their sight.

14 ¶ Then all the congregation lifted up their voice and cried, and the people wept that night.

² And all the sons of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, and the whole congregation said unto them, Oh, that we might die in the land of Egypt or that we might die in this wilderness!

³ And why has the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? Would it not be better for us to return into Egypt?

⁴ And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.

⁵ ¶ Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the sons of Israel.

⁶ And Joshua, the son of Nun, and Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, who were of those that had spied out the land, rent their clothes;

⁷ and they spoke unto all the company of the sons of Israel, saying, The land which we passed through to spy out is an exceeding good land.

⁸ If the LORD delights in us, then he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land which flows with milk and honey.

⁹ Therefore, do not be rebels against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land, for they are our bread; their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them.

²² ¶ And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men;

²³ and they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again. And they were exceeding sorry.

²⁴ ¶ And when they were come to Capernaum, those that received the two drachmas came to Peter and said, Does not your master pay the two drachmas?

²⁵ He said, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus spoke unto him first, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own sons or of strangers?

²⁶ Peter said unto him, Of strangers. Jesus said unto him, Then the sons are free.

²⁷ Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea and cast a hook and take up the first fish that comes up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a stater, a coin worth four drachmas; take that, and give it unto them for me and thee.