Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

A Song or Psalm of Asaph.

¹ ¶ Do not keep silence, O God; do not hold thy peace, and do not be still, O God.

² For, behold, thine enemies make a tumult, and those that hate thee have lifted up their head.

³ They have taken prudent counsel in secret against thy people and consulted against thy hidden ones.

⁴ They have said, Come and let us cut them off from being a people that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.

¹³ O my God, make them like a whirlwind, as the stubble before the wind.

¹⁴ As the fire burns a wood and as the flame sets the mountains on fire

¹⁵ so persecute them with thy tempest and make them afraid with thy whirlwind.

¹⁶ Fill their faces with shame that they may seek thy name, O LORD.

¹⁷ Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; let them be put to shame and perish

¹⁸ That they may know that thou, whose name alone is LORD, art the most high over all the earth.

¹⁰ ¶ Then Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither up until now, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy slave; but I am slow of speech and of a slow tongue.

¹¹ And the LORD said unto him, Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the dumb or the deaf or the seeing or the blind? Am not I the LORD?

¹² Now therefore go and I will be with thy mouth and teach thee what thou shalt say.

¹³ And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send.

¹⁴ Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and he said, Do I not know thy brother Aaron, the Levite, and that he can speak well? And also, behold, he comes forth to meet thee, and when he sees thee, he will be glad in his heart.

¹⁵ And thou shalt speak unto him and put words in his mouth; and I will be with thy mouth and with his mouth and will teach you what ye shall do.

¹⁶ And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people; and he shall be unto thee as thy mouth, and thou shalt be unto him as God.

¹⁷ And thou shalt take this rod in thy hand with which thou shalt do the signs.

¹⁸ ¶ Thus Moses went and returned unto Jethro, his father-in-law, and said unto him, I shall go now and return unto my brethren who are in Egypt and see whether they are yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace.

¹⁹ And the LORD also said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt, for all the men are dead who sought thy life.

²⁰ Then Moses took his wife and his sons and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt; and Moses took the rod of God in his hand.

²¹ And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand; but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.

²² And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, The LORD hath said thus: Israel is my son, even my firstborn.

²³ And I have said unto thee, Let my son go that he may serve me, but thou hast refused to let him go; therefore, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.

²⁴ ¶ And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him and sought to kill him.

²⁵ Then Zipporah took a sharp flint and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it at his feet, saying, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me.

²⁶ So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision.

²⁷ And the LORD said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went and met him in the mount of God and kissed him.

²⁸ Then Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD who had sent him and all the signs which he had commanded him.

²⁹ And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the sons of Israel:

³⁰ And Aaron spoke all the words which the LORD had spoken unto Moses and did the signs before the eyes of the people.

³¹ And the people believed; and hearing that the LORD had visited the sons of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed and worshipped.

3 ¶ And unto the angel of the congregation {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} in Sardis write; These things, saith he that has the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars: I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest and art dead.

² Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die; for I have not found thy works perfect before God.

³ Remember, therefore, of that which thou hast received and heard and hold to it and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come to thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.

⁴ Yet thou hast a few persons in Sardis who have not defiled their garments, and they shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy.

⁵ He that overcomes shall likewise be clothed in white raiment, and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.

⁶ He that has an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the congregations. {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones}