◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous) / Psalm 83:1-4 9-10 17-18 (Do not be silent O God); Exodus 2:1-10 (Mother and sister protect Moses); 1 Thessalonians 5:12-18 (The Christian life) (New Catholic Bible)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Daily Bible readings that follow the church liturgical year, with sequential stories told across multiple weeks.

Duration: 1245 days

Psalm 83:1-4

Psalm 83^[a]

Against a Hostile Alliance

¹A song. A psalm of Asaph.^[b]

²O God, do not remain silent;^[c]
    do not be quiet and inactive, O God.
³^[d]Note how your enemies rage about,
    how your foes increase in arrogance.^[e]
⁴They formulate shrewd plans against your people,
    conspiring against those you love.

Footnotes

Psalm 83:1 After the deportation in 587 B.C., Israel ceased to exist as a political entity. The community that has been reestablished in Jerusalem after the return is subjected to the tutelage of great powers and the vexation of their neighbors. The communities that had been scattered among foreign peoples have already experienced more than one persecution. In their struggles with pagan religions and cultures, believers feel threatened in their faith. It seems that all forces have formed a coalition to destroy Israel because it wishes to remain faithful to its vocation as the People of God. As a result, the psalmist directs the following challenge to the Lord: May he let himself be known by crushing the pride of the nations; indeed, may the latter meet the cruel fate of the petty kings who wanted to destroy Israel at the time of the Judges (see notes on Pss 5:11; 35).
Obviously, this is a prayer of vengeance, but even more of salvation. It wishes to provoke Heaven: how could a polytheistic and idolatrous world come to worship the one and all-powerful God if he abandons his people? The chosen people could never resign themselves to such a collapse; that would be tantamount to the defeat of the Lord himself.
Although as Christians we are constantly under threat from the godless, we can ceaselessly implore God the Father (by this psalm) to grant his new People a complete victory over our enemies. We do not desire the eternal death of our foes but ask that God will bring them low and lead them to himself as God and Father.
Psalm 83:1 Asaph: see notes on Pss 73–89.
Psalm 83:2 Do not remain silent: i.e., spring into action (see Pss 35:22; 109:1).
Psalm 83:3 The words, Come, let us, are the very ones used by the leaders of the rebels at the tower of Babel when humanity attempted to usurp the power of the Lord (see Gen 11:3f). They obviously identify the enemies of God and of his people who cunningly plot to show their independence from the Lord and to exterminate Israel as a nation. Name: see note on Ps 5:12.
Psalm 83:3 Increase in arrogance: literally, “rear their heads.”

Psalm 83:9-10

⁹Assyria has also joined them as an ally,
offering aid to the descendants of Lot. Selah
¹⁰^[a]Deal with them as you did with Midian,^[b]
and with Sisera and Jabin at the brook of Kishon,^[c]

Psalm 83:17-18

¹⁷Fill their faces with shame
so that they will seek your name,^[a] O Lord.
¹⁸^[b]Let them be humiliated and terrified forever;
let them be disgraced and perish.

Exodus 2:1-10

The Liberator Raised Up by God

Chapter 2

Moses Is Saved.^[a] ¹There was a certain man from the tribe of Levi who took a daughter of the tribe of Levi as his wife. ²The woman conceived and bore a son. She saw that he was handsome and she hid him for three months. ³But, not being able to hide him any longer, she took a basket made of papyrus, caulked it with bitumen and pitch, and placed the baby in it and lay it among the reeds growing on the riverbank of the Nile. ⁴The baby’s sister^[b] hid herself so that she could watch what would happen from a distance.

⁵Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe while her attendants walked along the riverbank. They saw the basket among the reeds and sent a slave to fetch it. ⁶They opened it and saw the baby. It was a small baby boy who was crying. They had compassion on it and said, “This is a Hebrew baby.”

⁷The sister of the baby said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go to call a wet nurse from among the Hebrew women to feed the child for you?”

⁸“Go,” said Pharaoh’s daughter. The girl went and called the baby’s mother. ⁹Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby with you and feed it for me. I will pay you.” The woman took the baby and fed it. ¹⁰When the baby was grown, she brought it to Pharaoh’s daughter. He became a son to her and she named him Moses, saying, “I have saved him from the water.”^[c]

1 Thessalonians 5:12-18

Building Up the Community^[a]

¹²Show Respect for Leaders.^[b]Brethren, we beg you to respect those whose duty it is to labor among you as your leaders in the Lord and to admonish you. ¹³Show the highest esteem for them in love because of their work. Be at peace with one another.

¹⁴^[c]We also exhort you, brethren, to admonish those who are idle, encourage those who are afraid, support those who are weak, and be patient with everybody. ¹⁵Make sure that no one pays back evil for evil. Rather, always aim to achieve what is best for each other and for everyone.

¹⁶^[d]Rejoice always; ¹⁷pray continually; ¹⁸give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.

Footnotes

1 Thessalonians 5:12 In this section Paul gives brief but cogent instructions in building a community. He especially lists the responsibilities of Christians toward leaders (vv. 12-13), toward all (vv. 14-15), toward themselves (vv. 16-18), and toward public worship (vv. 19-22).
1 Thessalonians 5:12 Christians must show respect for their leaders, just as those same leaders must show caring leadership for their people. The leaders were undoubtedly the “bishops” and “presbyters” of 1 Tim 3:1-2; 5:17; Tit 1:5. Christians must hold these leaders in the highest esteem and render them wholehearted support in a spirit of love.
1 Thessalonians 5:14 Christians must warn the recalcitrant, such as those who are lazy and do not pull their weight at Thessalonica. They must also encourage the fainthearted, like those troubled about their friends who had died before the Second Coming of Christ (1 Thes 4:13) and confused about what that event meant for themselves (1 Thes 5:1-11). They must also help those afflicted with moral or spiritual weakness in the face of persecution (1 Thes 3:3-5) or temptation (1 Thes 4:3-8) or the like. Finally, they should show patience with everyone. Above all, they should never pay back evil for evil in accord with the words of Christ (see Mt 5:38-42).
1 Thessalonians 5:16 In order to carry out the regulations given in vv. 12-15, Christians need personal communion with God. They are to be joyful always (see Mt 5:11-12; Acts 5:41; 16:25; Phil 1:18; 4:4). Indeed, they are to be “sorrowful, and yet . . . always rejoicing” (2 Cor 6:10). However, this Christian joy does not depend on earthly circumstances or feelings. It stems from what Jesus has done for us supernaturally, which never goes away.
At the same time, Christians are to be constant in prayer. It is vital for them to lift the heart to God while being occupied with their duties. Concerning prayer, see 1 Thes 1:3; 2:13; Rom 1:9-10; Eph 6:18; Col 1:3; 2 Tim 1:3.
Finally, Christians are to give thanks in all circumstances. Regardless of their human situation, they know that God has called them to eternal salvation and gives them the grace to attain it. Therefore, no matter what the circumstances may be, they can remain in a state of thankfulness (see Eph 5:20).

New Catholic Bible (NCB)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 83[a]

Against a Hostile Alliance

Footnotes

Footnotes

Footnotes

The Liberator Raised Up by God

Chapter 2

Footnotes

Building Up the Community[a]

Footnotes

Psalm 83^[a]

Building Up the Community^[a]