Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
90 A Prayer of Moses, the man of God. Lord, a habitation Thou -- Thou hast been, To us -- in generation and generation,
2 Before mountains were brought forth, And Thou dost form the earth and the world, Even from age unto age Thou [art] God.
3 Thou turnest man unto a bruised thing, And sayest, Turn back, ye sons of men.
4 For a thousand years in Thine eyes [are] as yesterday, For it passeth on, yea, a watch by night.
5 Thou hast inundated them, they are asleep, In the morning as grass he changeth.
6 In the morning it flourisheth, and hath changed, At evening it is cut down, and hath withered.
7 For we were consumed in Thine anger, And in Thy fury we have been troubled.
8 Thou hast set our iniquities before Thee, Our hidden things at the light of Thy face,
9 For all our days pined away in Thy wrath, We consumed our years as a meditation.
10 Days of our years, in them [are] seventy years, And if, by reason of might, eighty years, Yet [is] their enlargement labour and vanity, For it hath been cut off hastily, and we fly away.
11 Who knoweth the power of Thine anger? And according to Thy fear -- Thy wrath?
12 To number our days aright let [us] know, And we bring the heart to wisdom.
13 Turn back, O Jehovah, till when? And repent concerning Thy servants.
14 Satisfy us at morn [with] Thy kindness, And we sing and rejoice all our days.
15 Cause us to rejoice according to the days Wherein Thou hast afflicted us, The years we have seen evil.
16 Let Thy work appear unto Thy servants, And Thine honour on their sons.
17 And let the pleasantness of Jehovah our God be upon us, And the work of our hands establish on us, Yea, the work of our hands establish it!
17 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,
2 `Speak unto the sons of Israel, and take from them each a rod, for a father's house, from all their princes, for the house of their fathers, twelve rods; the name of each thou dost write on his rod,
3 and Aaron's name thou dost write on the tribe of Levi; for one rod [is] for the head of their fathers' house:
4 and thou hast placed them in the tent of meeting, before the testimony, where I meet with you.
5 `And it hath come to pass, the man's rod on whom I fix doth flourish, and I have caused to cease from off me the murmurings of the sons of Israel, which they are murmuring against you.'
6 And Moses speaketh unto the sons of Israel, and all their princes give unto him one rod for a prince, one rod for a prince, for their fathers' house, twelve rods, and the rod of Aaron [is] in the midst of their rods;
7 and Moses placeth the rods before Jehovah, in the tent of the testimony.
8 And it cometh to pass, on the morrow, that Moses goeth in unto the tent of the testimony, and lo, the rod of Aaron hath flourished for the house of Levi, and is bringing out flourishing, and doth blossom blossoms, and doth produce almonds;
9 and Moses bringeth out all the rods from before Jehovah, unto all the sons of Israel, and they look, and take each his rod.
10 And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Put back the rod of Aaron, before the testimony, for a charge, for a sign to the sons of rebellion, and thou dost remove their murmurings from off me, and they do not die;'
11 and Moses doth as Jehovah hath commanded him; so he hath done.
3 This, now, beloved, a second letter to you I write, in both which I stir up your pure mind in reminding [you],
2 to be mindful of the sayings said before by the holy prophets, and of the command of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour,
3 this first knowing, that there shall come in the latter end of the days scoffers, according to their own desires going on,
4 and saying, `Where is the promise of his presence? for since the fathers did fall asleep, all things so remain from the beginning of the creation;'
5 for this is unobserved by them willingly, that the heavens were of old, and the earth out of water and through water standing together by the word of God,
6 through which the then world, by water having been deluged, was destroyed;
7 and the present heavens and the earth, by the same word are treasured, for fire being kept to a day of judgment and destruction of the impious men.
8 And this one thing let not be unobserved by you, beloved, that one day with the Lord [is] as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day;
9 the Lord is not slow in regard to the promise, as certain count slowness, but is long-suffering to us, not counselling any to be lost but all to pass on to reformation,
10 and it will come -- the day of the Lord -- as a thief in the night, in which the heavens with a rushing noise will pass away, and the elements with burning heat be dissolved, and earth and the works in it shall be burnt up.
11 All these, then, being dissolved, what kind of persons doth it behove you to be in holy behaviours and pious acts?
12 waiting for and hasting to the presence of the day of God, by which the heavens, being on fire, shall be dissolved, and the elements with burning heat shall melt;
13 and for new heavens and a new earth according to His promise we do wait, in which righteousness doth dwell;
14 wherefore, beloved, these things waiting for, be diligent, spotless and unblameable, by Him to be found in peace,
15 and the long-suffering of our Lord count ye salvation, according as also our beloved brother Paul -- according to the wisdom given to him -- did write to you,
16 as also in all the epistles, speaking in them concerning these things, among which things are certain hard to be understood, which the untaught and unstable do wrest, as also the other Writings, unto their own destruction.
17 Ye, then, beloved, knowing before, take heed, lest, together with the error of the impious being led away, ye may fall from your own stedfastness,
18 and increase ye in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; to him [is] the glory both now, and to the day of the age! Amen.