Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

107 O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy endureth for ever.

² Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy,

³ and gathered them out of the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.

⁴ They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in.

⁵ Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them.

⁶ Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them out of their distresses.

⁷ And He led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city for habitation.

⁸ Oh that men would praise the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!

⁹ For He satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.

¹⁰ They that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and irons,

¹¹ because they rebelled against the words of God and contemned the counsel of the Most High,

¹² therefore He brought down their heart with labor; they fell down and there was none to help.

¹³ Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses.

¹⁴ He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke their bonds asunder.

¹⁵ Oh that men would praise the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!

¹⁶ For He hath broken the gates of brass and cut the bars of iron asunder.

20 Then came the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, into the Desert of Zin in the first month; and the people abode in Kadesh. And Miriam died there, and was buried there.

² And there was no water for the congregation, and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.

³ And the people chided Moses and spoke, saying, “Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the Lord!

⁴ And why have ye brought up the congregation of the Lord into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there?

⁵ And why have ye made us to come up out of Egypt to bring us in unto this evil place? It is no place of seed or of figs or of vines or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink.”

⁶ And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell upon their faces; and the glory of the Lord appeared unto them.

⁷ And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying,

⁸ “Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.”

⁹ And Moses took the rod from before the Lord, as He commanded him.

¹⁰ And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them: “Hear now, ye rebels! Must we fetch you water out of this rock?”

¹¹ And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice; and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.

¹² And the Lord spoke unto Moses and Aaron: “Because ye believed Me not, to sanctify Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.”

¹³ This is the water of Meribah [that is, Strife], because the children of Israel strove with the Lord, and He was sanctified in them.

⁶ Now these things were our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.

⁷ Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.”

⁸ Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed — and three and twenty thousand fell in one day.

⁹ Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted — and were destroyed by serpents.

¹⁰ Neither should ye murmur, as some of them also murmured — and were destroyed by the destroyer.

¹¹ Now all these things happened unto them by way of example, and are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

¹² Therefore let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall.

¹³ There hath no temptation taken hold of you but such as is common to man. But God is faithful; He will not suffer you to be tempted beyond that which ye are able to bear, but with the temptation will also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.