Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

8 O Lord our God, the majesty and glory of your name fills all the earth and overflows the heavens. ² You have taught the little children to praise you perfectly. May their example shame and silence your enemies!

³ When I look up into the night skies and see the work of your fingers—the moon and the stars you have made— ⁴ I cannot understand how you can bother with mere puny man, to pay any attention to him!

⁵ And yet you have made him only a little lower than the angels^[a] and placed a crown of glory and honor upon his head.

⁶ You have put him in charge of everything you made; everything is put under his authority: ⁷ all sheep and oxen, and wild animals too, ⁸ the birds and fish, and all the life in the sea. ⁹ O Jehovah, our Lord, the majesty and glory of your name fills the earth.

1 ^1-4 This is the list of the sons of Jacob who accompanied him to Egypt, with their families: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher.

⁵ So the total number who went with him was seventy (for Joseph was already there). ⁶ In due season Joseph and each of his brothers died, ending that generation. ⁷ Meanwhile, their descendants were very fertile, increasing rapidly in numbers; there was a veritable population explosion so that they soon became a large nation, and they filled the land of Goshen.

2 “Well,” you may be saying, “what terrible people you have been talking about!” But wait a minute! You are just as bad. When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are talking about yourselves, for you do these very same things. ² And we know that God, in justice, will punish anyone who does such things as these. ³ Do you think that God will judge and condemn others for doing them and overlook you when you do them, too? ⁴ Don’t you realize how patient he is being with you? Or don’t you care? Can’t you see that he has been waiting all this time without punishing you, to give you time to turn from your sin? His kindness is meant to lead you to repentance.

⁵ But no, you won’t listen; and so you are saving up terrible punishment for yourselves because of your stubbornness in refusing to turn from your sin; for there is going to come a day of wrath when God will be the just Judge of all the world. ⁶ He will give each one whatever his deeds deserve. ⁷ He will give eternal life to those who patiently do the will of God,^[a] seeking for the unseen glory and honor and eternal life that he offers. ⁸ But he will terribly punish those who fight against the truth of God and walk in evil ways—God’s anger will be poured out upon them. ⁹ There will be sorrow and suffering for Jews and Gentiles alike who keep on sinning. ¹⁰ But there will be glory and honor and peace from God for all who obey him,^[b] whether they are Jews or Gentiles. ¹¹ For God treats everyone the same.