Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Prayer to Be Kept Safe

20 May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob keep you safe. ² May He send you help from the house of God, and give you strength from Zion. ³ May He remember all your gifts of grain given on the altar in worship. And may He be pleased with your burnt gifts.

⁴ May He give you the desire of your heart, and make all your plans go well. ⁵ We will sing for joy when you win. In the name of our God we will lift up our flags. May the Lord give you all the things you ask Him for.

⁶ Now I know that the Lord saves His chosen one. He will answer him from His holy heaven, with the saving power of His right hand. ⁷ Some trust in wagons and some in horses. But we will trust in the name of the Lord, our God. ⁸ They have fallen on their knees. But we rise up and stand straight. ⁹ O Lord, save! May the King answer us when we call.

Gifts Given in Worship

25 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Tell the people of Israel to take a gift for Me. Receive the gift for Me from every person whose heart makes him willing. ³ This is the gift you are to receive from them: Gold, silver and brass, ⁴ blue, purple and red cloth, fine linen, goat hair, ⁵ rams’ skins made red, badgers’ skins, acacia wood, ⁶ lamp oil, spices for the oil used in worship and for perfumes, ⁷ onyx stones, and stones to be set in the clothing of the religious leaders. ⁸ Let them make a holy place for Me, so I may live among them. ⁹ Make the meeting tent and all that is in it like the plans I am going to show you.

The Special Box of the Agreement

¹⁰ “They will make a special box of acacia wood, two and a half cubits long, one and a half cubits wide, and one and a half cubits tall. ¹¹ Cover it inside and out with pure gold. And make a piece of gold to put on it all around. ¹² Make four gold rings for it and put them on its four feet. Put two rings on one side of it and two rings on the other side. ¹³ Cut long pieces of acacia wood for carrying and cover them with gold. ¹⁴ Then put the pieces of wood through the rings on the sides of the box, for carrying the box. ¹⁵ The long pieces will stay in the rings of the box. They must not be taken out. ¹⁶ Put into the special box the Law which I will give you. ¹⁷ Then make a mercy-seat from pure gold, two and a half cubits long and one and a half cubits wide. ¹⁸ Make two cherubim out of beaten gold. Make them at the two ends of the mercy-seat. ¹⁹ Make one cherub on one end and one cherub on the other end. Make the top of the mercy-seat, with the cherubim at each end, of one piece. ²⁰ The wings of the cherubim should spread up over the mercy-seat. Their faces should be toward each other, and toward the mercy-seat. ²¹ Put the mercy-seat on top of the box. Put the Law which I will give you into the box. ²² I will meet with you there. Between the two cherubim which are upon the special box of the Law, I will speak to you about all the Laws I will give you for the people of Israel.

Paul Received the Good News from God

2 Christian brothers, when I came to you, I did not preach the secrets of God with big sounding words or make it sound as if I were so wise. ² I made up my mind that while I was with you I would speak of nothing except Jesus Christ and of His death on the cross. ³ When I was with you, I was weak. I was afraid and I shook. ⁴ What I had to say when I preached was not in big sounding words of man’s wisdom. But it was given in the power of the Holy Spirit. ⁵ In this way, you do not have faith in Christ because of the wisdom of men. You have faith in Christ because of the power of God.

True Wisdom Comes from God

⁶ We speak wisdom to full-grown Christians. This wisdom is not from this world or from the leaders of today. They die and their wisdom dies with them. ⁷ What we preach is God’s wisdom. It was a secret until now. God planned for us to have this honor before the world began. ⁸ None of the world leaders understood this wisdom. If they had, they would not have put Christ up on a cross to die. He is the Lord of shining-greatness. ⁹ The Holy Writings say, “No eye has ever seen or no ear has ever heard or no mind has ever thought of the wonderful things God has made ready for those who love Him.” ^{(A) 10} God has shown these things to us through His Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit Who looks into all things, even the secrets of God, and shows them to us.