Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A song. A Psalm of Asaph
A Plea for Judgment
83 God, do not rest!
Don’t be silent!
Don’t stay inactive, God!
2 See! Your enemies rage;
those who hate you issue threats.[a]
3 They plot against[b] your people
and conspire against your cherished ones.
4 They say, “Let us go and erase them as a nation
so the name of Israel will not be remembered anymore.”
13 God, set them up like dried thistles,
like straw before the wind.
14 Like a fire burning a forest,
and a flame setting mountains ablaze.
15 Pursue them with your storm and
terrify them with your whirlwind.
16 Fill their faces with shame
until they seek your name, God.
17 Let them be humiliated and terrified permanently
until they die in shame.[a]
18 Then they will know that you alone—
whose name is Lord—
are the Most High over all the earth.
10 Then Moses told the Lord, “Please, Lord, I’m not eloquent.[a] I never was in the past[b] nor am I now since you spoke to your servant. In fact, I talk too slowly[c] and I have a speech impediment.”[d]
11 Then God asked him, “Who gives a person a mouth? Who makes him unable to speak, or deaf, or able to see, or blind, or lame? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now, go! I myself will help you with your speech,[e] and I’ll teach you what you are to say.”
13 Moses said, “Please, Lord, send somebody else.”[f]
14 Then the Lord was angry with Moses and said, “There’s your brother Aaron, a descendant of Levi, isn’t there? I know that he certainly is eloquent.[g] Right now he’s coming to meet you and he will be pleased to see you. 15 You’re to speak to him and tell him what to say.[h] I’ll help both you and him with your speech,[i] and I’ll teach both of you what you are to do. 16 He is to speak to the people for you as your spokesman[j] and you are to act in the role of[k] God for him. 17 Now pick up that staff with your hand. You’ll use it to perform the signs.”
Moses Decides to Return to Egypt
18 Moses left and returned to his father-in-law Jethro. Moses[l] told him, “Please let me go and return to my own people[m] in Egypt so I can see whether they’re still alive.”
Jethro told Moses, “Go in peace.”
19 The Lord told Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, because all the men who wanted to kill you are dead.” 20 So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on donkeys, and headed back to the land of Egypt. Moses took the staff of God in his hand.
21 Then the Lord told Moses, “When you set out to return to Egypt, keep in mind[n] all the wonders that I’ve put in your power,[o] so that you may do them before Pharaoh. But I’ll harden his heart so that he won’t let the people go. 22 You are to say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Israel is my firstborn son. 23 And I say to you, ‘Let my son go so he may serve me. If you refuse to let him go, then I will kill your firstborn son.’”’”
Zipporah Circumcises Moses’ Son
24 But later on, at the lodging place along the way, the Lord met Moses[p] and was about to kill him. 25 Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin, and touched Moses’[q] feet with it, saying while doing so,[r] “…because you are a bridegroom of blood to me.” 26 Then the Lord[s] withdrew from him, and she said, “…a bridegroom of blood because of circumcision.”
Moses and Aaron Meet and Return to Egypt
27 The Lord told Aaron, “Go meet Moses in the desert.” So Aaron[t] went, found[u] him at the mountain of God, and embraced[v] him. 28 Moses told Aaron all of the Lord’s messages that he had sent with Moses, and all of the signs that he commanded him to do.[w] 29 Later, Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of Israel. 30 Aaron spoke everything that the Lord had spoken to Moses, and Moses[x] performed the miracles[y] before the very eyes of the people. 31 The people believed and understood[z] that the Lord had paid attention to the Israelis and had seen their affliction. They bowed their heads and prostrated themselves in worship.
The Letter to the Church in Sardis
3 “To the messenger[a] of the church in Sardis, write:
‘The one who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars says this:
‘I know what you’ve been doing. You are known for being alive, but you are dead. 2 Be alert, and strengthen the things that are left, which are about to die. I note that your actions are incomplete before my God. 3 So remember what you received and heard. Obey it, and repent. If you are not alert, I will come like a thief, and you won’t know the time when I will come to you. 4 But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me in white clothes because they are worthy. 5 The person who overcomes[b] in this way will wear white clothes, and I will never erase his name from the Book of Life. I will acknowledge his name in the presence of my Father and his angels.
6 ‘Let everyone[c] listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.’”
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