Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Prayer of an Afflicted Man for Mercy on Himself and on Zion.
A Prayer of the Afflicted when he is faint and [a]pours out his complaint before the Lord.
102 (A)Hear my prayer, O Lord!
And let my cry for help (B)come to You.
2 (C)Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my distress;
(D)Incline Your ear to me;
In the day when I call (E)answer me quickly.
3 For my days (F)have been [b]consumed in smoke,
And my (G)bones have been scorched like a hearth.
4 My heart (H)has been smitten like [c]grass and has (I)withered away,
Indeed, I (J)forget to eat my bread.
5 Because of the [d]loudness of my groaning
My (K)bones [e]cling to my flesh.
6 I [f]resemble a (L)pelican of the wilderness;
I have become like an owl of the waste places.
7 I (M)lie awake,
I have become like a lonely bird on a housetop.
8 My enemies (N)have reproached me all day long;
Those who [g](O)deride me [h]have used my name as a (P)curse.
9 For I have eaten ashes like bread
And (Q)mingled my drink with weeping
10 (R)Because of Your indignation and Your wrath,
For You have (S)lifted me up and cast me away.
11 My days are like a [i](T)lengthened shadow,
And [j]I (U)wither away like [k]grass.
12 But You, O Lord, [l](V)abide forever,
And Your [m](W)name to all generations.
13 You will (X)arise and have (Y)compassion on Zion;
For (Z)it is time to be gracious to her,
For the (AA)appointed time has come.
14 Surely Your servants [n]find pleasure in her stones
And feel pity for her dust.
15 [o]So the [p](AB)nations will fear the name of the Lord
And (AC)all the kings of the earth Your glory.
16 For the Lord has (AD)built up Zion;
He has (AE)appeared in His glory.
17 He has (AF)regarded the prayer of the [q]destitute
And has not despised their prayer.
God Leads the People
17 Now when Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near; for God said, “(A)The people might change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.” 18 Hence God led the people around by the way of the wilderness to the [a]Red Sea; and the sons of Israel went up (B)in martial array from the land of Egypt. 19 Moses took (C)the bones of Joseph with him, for he had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, “God will surely [b]take care of you, and you shall carry my bones from here with you.” 20 Then they set out from (D)Succoth and camped in Etham on the edge of the wilderness. 21 (E)The Lord was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might [c]travel by day and by night. 22 [d]He (F)did not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.
17 “But as the (A)time of the promise was approaching which God had assured to Abraham, (B)the people increased and multiplied in Egypt, 18 until (C)there arose another king over Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph. 19 It was he who took (D)shrewd advantage of our race and mistreated our fathers so that they would [a](E)expose their infants and they would not survive. 20 It was at this time that (F)Moses was born; and he was lovely [b]in the sight of God, and he was nurtured three months in his father’s home. 21 And after he had been set outside, (G)Pharaoh’s daughter [c]took him away and nurtured him as her own son. 22 Moses was educated in all (H)the learning of the Egyptians, and he was a man of power in words and deeds. 23 But when he was approaching the age of forty, (I)it entered his [d]mind to visit his brethren, the sons of Israel. 24 And when he saw one of them being treated unjustly, he defended him and took vengeance for the oppressed by striking down the Egyptian. 25 And he supposed that his brethren understood that God was granting them [e]deliverance [f]through him, but they did not understand. 26 (J)On the following day he appeared to them as they were fighting together, and he tried to reconcile them in peace, saying, ‘Men, you are brethren, why do you injure one another?’ 27 But the one who was injuring his neighbor pushed him away, saying, ‘(K)Who made you a ruler and judge over us? 28 (L)You do not mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday, do you?’ 29 At this remark, (M)Moses fled and became an alien in the land of [g]Midian, where he (N)became the father of two sons.
30 “After forty years had passed, (O)an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning thorn bush. 31 When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight; and as he approached to look more closely, there came the voice of the Lord: 32 ‘(P)I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.’ Moses shook with fear and would not venture to look. 33 (Q)But the Lord said to him, ‘(R)Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. 34 (S)I have certainly seen the oppression of My people in Egypt and have heard their groans, and I have come down to rescue them; [h](T)come now, and I will send you to Egypt.’
35 “This Moses whom they (U)disowned, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ is the one whom God [i]sent to be both a ruler and a deliverer with the [j]help of the angel who appeared to him in the thorn bush. 36 (V)This man led them out, performing (W)wonders and [k]signs in the land of Egypt and in the Red Sea and in the (X)wilderness for forty years. 37 This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, ‘(Y)God will raise up for you a prophet [l]like me from your brethren.’ 38 This is the one who was in (Z)the [m]congregation in the wilderness together with (AA)the angel who was speaking to him on Mount Sinai, and who was with our fathers; and he received (AB)living (AC)oracles to pass on to you. 39 Our fathers were unwilling to be obedient to him, but (AD)repudiated him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt, 40 (AE)saying to Aaron, ‘Make for us gods who will go before us; for this Moses who led us out of the land of Egypt—we do not know what happened to him.’
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