Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 149

¹ Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, praise Him in the assembly of His saints!

² Let Israel rejoice in Him, their Maker; let Zion’s children triumph and be joyful in their King!^(A)

³ Let them praise His name in chorus and choir and with the [single or group] dance; let them sing praises to Him with the tambourine and lyre!

⁴ For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation and adorn the wretched with victory.

⁵ Let the saints be joyful in the glory and beauty [which God confers upon them]; let them sing for joy upon their beds.

⁶ Let the high praises of God be in their throats and a two-edged sword in their hands,^(B)

⁷ To wreak vengeance upon the nations and chastisement upon the peoples,

⁸ To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron,

⁹ To execute upon them the judgment written. He [the Lord] is the honor of all His saints. Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)

9 Then the Lord said to Moses, Go to Pharaoh and tell him, Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews: Let My people go, that they may serve Me.

² If you refuse to let them go and still hold them,

³ Behold, the hand of the Lord [will fall] upon your livestock which are out in the field, upon the horses, the donkeys, the camels, the herds and the flocks; there shall be a very severe plague.

⁴ But the Lord shall make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, and nothing shall die of all that belongs to the Israelites.

⁵ And the Lord set a time, saying, Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.

⁶ And the Lord did that the next day, and all [kinds of] the livestock of Egypt died; but of the livestock of the Israelites not one died.

⁷ Pharaoh sent to find out, and behold, there was not one of the cattle of the Israelites dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened [his mind was set] and he did not let the people go.

¹¹ Now I have been [speaking like] a fool! But you forced me to it, for I ought to have been [^[a]saved the necessity and] commended by you. For I have not fallen short one bit or proved myself at all inferior to those superlative [false] apostles [of yours], even if I am nothing (a nobody).

¹² Indeed, the signs that indicate a [genuine] apostle were performed among you fully and most patiently in miracles and wonders and mighty works.

¹³ For in what respect were you put to a disadvantage in comparison with the rest of the churches, unless [it was for the fact] that I myself did not burden you [with my financial support]? Pardon me [for doing you] this injustice!

¹⁴ Now for the third time I am ready to come to [visit] you. And I will not burden you [financially], for it is not your [money] that I want but you; for children are not duty bound to lay up store for their parents, but parents for their children.

¹⁵ But I will most gladly spend [myself] and be utterly spent for your souls. If I love you exceedingly, am I to be loved [by you] the less?

¹⁶ But though granting that I did not burden you [with my support, some say that] I was crafty [and that] I cheated and got the better of you with my trickery.

¹⁷ Did I [then] take advantage of you or make any money out of you through any of those [messengers] whom I sent to you?

¹⁸ [Actually] I urged Titus [to go], and I sent the brother with [him]. Did Titus overreach or take advantage of you [in anything]? Did he and I not act in the same spirit? Did we not [take the] same steps?

¹⁹ Have you been supposing [all this time] that we have been defending ourselves and apologizing to you? [It is] in the sight and the [very] presence of God [and as one] in Christ (the Messiah) that we have been speaking, dearly beloved, and all in order to build you up [spiritually].

²⁰ For I am fearful that somehow or other I may come and find you not as I desire to find you, and that you may find me too not as you want to find me—that perhaps there may be factions (quarreling), jealousy, temper (wrath, intrigues, rivalry, divided loyalties), selfishness, whispering, gossip, arrogance (self-assertion), and disorder among you.

²¹ [I am fearful] that when I come again, my God may humiliate and humble me in your regard, and that I may have to sorrow over many of those who sinned before and have not repented of the impurity, sexual vice, and sensuality which they formerly practiced.