Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God Implored to Confound His Enemies.
A Song, a Psalm of Asaph.
83 O God, (A)do not remain quiet;
(B)Do not be silent and, O God, do not be still.
2 For behold, Your enemies (C)make an uproar,
And (D)those who hate You have [a](E)exalted themselves.
3 They (F)make shrewd plans against Your people,
And [b]conspire together against (G)Your [c]treasured ones.
4 They have said, “Come, and (H)let us wipe them out [d]as a nation,
That the (I)name of Israel be remembered no more.”
13 O my God, make them like the [a](A)whirling dust,
Like (B)chaff before the wind.
14 Like (C)fire that burns the forest
And like a flame that (D)sets the mountains on fire,
15 So pursue them (E)with Your tempest
And terrify them with Your storm.
16 (F)Fill their faces with dishonor,
That they may seek Your name, O Lord.
17 Let them be (G)ashamed and dismayed forever,
And let them be humiliated and perish,
18 That they may (H)know that (I)You alone, whose name is the Lord,
Are the (J)Most High over all the earth.
Water Is Turned to Blood
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is [a]stubborn; he refuses to let the people go. 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning [b]as (A)he is going out to the water, and station yourself to meet him on the bank of the Nile; and you shall take in your hand (B)the staff that was turned into a serpent. 16 (C)You shall say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, “(D)Let My people go, that they may serve Me in the wilderness. But behold, you have not listened until now.” 17 Thus says the Lord, “(E)By this you shall know that I am the Lord: behold, I will strike [c]the water that is in the Nile with the staff that is in my hand, and (F)it will be turned to blood. 18 (G)The fish that are in the Nile will die, and the Nile will [d]become foul, and the Egyptians will [e](H)find difficulty in drinking water from the Nile.”’” 19 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and (I)stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their [f]streams, and over their pools, and over all their reservoirs of water, that they may become blood; and there will be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.’”
20 So Moses and Aaron did even as the Lord had commanded. And he lifted up [g](J)the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, and (K)all the water that was in the Nile was turned to blood. 21 The fish that were in the Nile died, and the Nile [h]became foul, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. And the blood was through all the land of Egypt. 22 (L)But the [i]magicians of Egypt did [j]the same with their secret arts; and Pharaoh’s heart was [k]hardened, and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had said. 23 Then Pharaoh turned and went into his house [l]with no concern even for this. 24 So all the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink of the water of the Nile. 25 Seven days [m]passed after the Lord had struck the Nile.
The Pharisees Rebuked
22 (A)Then a (B)demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to [a]Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw. 23 All the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “This man cannot be the (C)Son of David, can he?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man (D)casts out demons only by [b]Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”
25 (E)And (F)knowing their thoughts Jesus said to them, “[c]Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and [d]any city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26 If (G)Satan casts out Satan, he [e]is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? 27 If I (H)by [f]Beelzebul cast out demons, (I)by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges. 28 But (J)if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.
The Unpardonable Sin
30 (K)He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
31 “(L)Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. 32 (M)Whoever [g]speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever [h]speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in (N)this age or in the age to come.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.