Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Prayer to Frustrate Conspiracy Against Israel
A Song. A Psalm of Asaph.
83 Do(A) not keep silent, O God!
Do not hold Your peace,
And do not be still, O God!
2 For behold, (B)Your enemies make a [a]tumult;
And those who hate You have [b]lifted up their head.
3 They have taken crafty counsel against Your people,
And consulted together (C)against Your sheltered ones.
4 They have said, “Come, and (D)let us cut them off from being a nation,
That the name of Israel may be remembered no more.”
13 (A)O my God, make them like the whirling dust,
(B)Like the chaff before the wind!
14 As the fire burns the woods,
And as the flame (C)sets the mountains on fire,
15 So pursue them with Your tempest,
And frighten them with Your storm.
16 Fill their faces with shame,
That they may seek Your name, O Lord.
17 Let them be [a]confounded and dismayed forever;
Yes, let them be put to shame and perish,
18 (D)That they may know that You, whose (E)name alone is the Lord,
Are (F)the Most High over all the earth.
The First Plague: Waters Become Blood
14 So the Lord said to Moses: (A)“Pharaoh’s heart is hard; he refuses to let the people go. 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning, when he goes out to the (B)water, and you shall stand by the river’s bank to meet him; and (C)the rod which was turned to a serpent you shall take in your hand. 16 And you shall say to him, (D)‘The Lord God of the Hebrews has sent me to you, saying, “Let My people go, (E)that they may [a]serve Me in the wilderness”; but indeed, until now you would not hear! 17 Thus says the Lord: “By this (F)you shall know that I am the Lord. Behold, I will strike the waters which are in the river with the rod that is in my hand, and (G)they shall be turned (H)to blood. 18 And the fish that are in the river shall die, the river shall stink, and the Egyptians will (I)loathe[b] to drink the water of the river.” ’ ”
19 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and (J)stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their streams, over their rivers, over their ponds, and over all their pools of water, that they may become blood. And there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in buckets of wood and pitchers of stone.’ ” 20 And Moses and Aaron did so, just as the Lord commanded. So he (K)lifted up the rod and struck the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants. And all the (L)waters that were in the river were turned to blood. 21 The fish that were in the river died, the river stank, and the Egyptians (M)could not drink the water of the river. So there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.
22 (N)Then the magicians of Egypt did (O)so with their [c]enchantments; and Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, (P)as the Lord had said. 23 And Pharaoh turned and went into his house. Neither was his heart moved by this. 24 So all the Egyptians dug all around the river for water to drink, because they could not drink the water of the river. 25 And seven days passed after the Lord had struck the river.
A House Divided Cannot Stand(A)
22 (B)Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the [a]blind and mute man both spoke and saw. 23 And all the multitudes were amazed and said, “Could this be the (C)Son of David?”
24 (D)Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by [b]Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”
25 But Jesus (E)knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. 28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, (F)surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 (G)Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. 30 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.
The Unpardonable Sin(H)
31 “Therefore I say to you, (I)every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, (J)but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. 32 Anyone who (K)speaks a word against the Son of Man, (L)it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.