Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 31
For the choir director; a psalm by David.
1 I have taken refuge in you, O Yahweh.
Never let me be put to shame.
Save me because of your righteousness.
2 Turn your ear toward me.
Rescue me quickly.
Be a rock of refuge for me,
a strong Metsuda to save me.
3 Indeed, you are my rock and my Metsuda.
For the sake of your name, lead me and guide me.
4 You are my refuge,
so pull me out of the net that they have secretly laid for me.
5 Into your hands I entrust my spirit.
You have rescued me, O Yahweh, El of truth.
15 My future is in your hands.
Rescue me from my enemies, from those who persecute me.
16 Smile on me.
Save me with your mercy.
Moses at the Burning Bush
3 Moses was taking care of the sheep of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. As he led the sheep to the far side of the desert, he came to Horeb, the mountain of Elohim.
2 The Messenger of Yahweh appeared to him there as flames of fire coming out of a bush. Moses looked, and although the bush was on fire, it was not burning up. 3 So he thought, “Why isn’t this bush burning up? I must go over there and see this strange sight.”
4 When Yahweh saw that Moses had come over to see it, Elohim called to him from the bush, “Moses, Moses!”
Moses answered, “Here I am!”
5 Elohim said, “Don’t come any closer! Take off your sandals because this place where you are standing is holy ground. 6 I am the Elohim of your ancestors,[a] the Elohim of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at Elohim.
7 Yahweh said, “I have seen the misery of my people in Egypt, and I have heard them crying out because of the slave drivers. I know how much they’re suffering. 8 I have come to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and to bring them from that land to a good land with plenty of room for everyone. It is a land flowing with milk and honey where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites live. 9 I have heard the cry of the people of Israel. I have seen how the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 Now, go! I am sending you to Pharaoh so that you can bring my people Israel out of Egypt.”
11 But Moses said to Elohim, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the people of Israel out of Egypt?”
12 Elohim answered, “I will be with you. And this will be the proof that I sent you: When you bring the people out of Egypt, all of you will worship Elohim on this mountain.”
Stephen Speaks in His Own Defense
7 Then the chief priest asked Stephen, “Is this true?”
2 Stephen answered, “Brothers and fathers, listen to me. The God who reveals his glory appeared to our ancestor Abraham in Mesopotamia. This happened before Abraham lived in Haran. 3 God told him, ‘Leave your land and your relatives. Go to the land that I will show you.’
4 “Then Abraham left the country of Chaldea and lived in the city of Haran. After his father died, God made him move from there to this land where we now live.
5 “Yet, God didn’t give Abraham anything in this land to call his own, not even a place to rest his feet. But God promised to give this land to him and to his descendants, even though Abraham didn’t have a child. 6 God told Abraham that his descendants would be foreigners living in another country and that the people there would make them slaves and mistreat them for 400 years. 7 God also told him, ‘I will punish the people whom they will serve. After that, they will leave that country and worship me here.’
8 “God gave Abraham circumcision to confirm his promise.[a] So when Abraham’s son Isaac was born, Abraham circumcised him on the eighth day. Isaac did the same to his son Jacob, and Jacob did the same to his twelve sons (the ancestors of our tribes).
9 “Jacob’s sons were jealous of their brother Joseph. They sold him into slavery, and he was taken to Egypt. But God was with Joseph 10 and rescued him from all his suffering. When Joseph stood in the presence of Pharaoh (the king of Egypt), God gave Joseph divine favor[b] and wisdom so that he became ruler of Egypt and of Pharaoh’s whole palace. 11 Then a famine throughout Egypt and Canaan brought a lot of suffering. Our ancestors couldn’t find any food. 12 When Jacob heard that Egypt had food, he sent our ancestors there. That was their first trip. 13 On the second trip, Joseph told his brothers who he was, and Pharaoh learned about Joseph’s family. 14 Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his relatives, 75 people in all. 15 So Jacob went to Egypt, and he and our ancestors died there. 16 They were taken to Shechem for burial in the tomb that Abraham purchased in Shechem from Hamor’s sons.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.