Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Praise to God for His Salvation and Judgment
149 Praise[a] the Lord!
(A)Sing to the Lord a new song,
And His praise in the assembly of saints.
2 Let Israel rejoice in their Maker;
Let the children of Zion be joyful in their (B)King.
3 (C)Let them praise His name with the dance;
Let them sing praises to Him with the timbrel and harp.
4 For (D)the Lord takes pleasure in His people;
(E)He will beautify the [b]humble with salvation.
5 Let the saints be joyful in glory;
Let them (F)sing aloud on their beds.
6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth,
And (G)a two-edged sword in their hand,
7 To execute vengeance on the nations,
And punishments on the peoples;
8 To bind their kings with chains,
And their nobles with fetters of iron;
9 (H)To execute on them the written judgment—
(I)This honor have all His saints.
[c]Praise the Lord!
The Fifth Plague: Livestock Diseased
9 Then the Lord said to Moses, (A)“Go in to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews: “Let My people go, that they may (B)serve Me. 2 For if you (C)refuse to let them go, and still hold them, 3 behold, the (D)hand of the Lord will be on your cattle in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the oxen, and on the sheep—a very severe pestilence. 4 And (E)the Lord will make a difference between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt. So nothing shall die of all that belongs to the children of Israel.” ’ ” 5 Then the Lord appointed a set time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.”
6 So the Lord did this thing on the next day, and (F)all the livestock of Egypt died; but of the livestock of the children of Israel, not one died. 7 Then Pharaoh sent, and indeed, not even one of the livestock of the Israelites was dead. But the (G)heart of Pharaoh became hard, and he did not let the people go.
Signs of an Apostle
11 I have become (A)a fool [a]in boasting; you have compelled me. For I ought to have been commended by you; for (B)in nothing was I behind the most eminent apostles, though (C)I am nothing. 12 (D)Truly the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you with all perseverance, in signs and (E)wonders and mighty (F)deeds. 13 For what is it in which you were inferior to other churches, except that I myself was not burdensome to you? Forgive me this wrong!
Love for the Church
14 (G)Now for the third time I am ready to come to you. And I will not be burdensome to you; for (H)I do not seek yours, but you. (I)For the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children. 15 And I will very gladly spend and be spent (J)for your souls; though (K)the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved.
16 But be that as it may, (L)I did not burden you. Nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you by cunning! 17 Did I take advantage of you by any of those whom I sent to you? 18 I urged Titus, and sent our (M)brother with him. Did Titus take advantage of you? Did we not walk in the same spirit? Did we not walk in the same steps?
19 (N)Again, [b]do you think that we excuse ourselves to you? (O)We speak before God in Christ. (P)But we do all things, beloved, for your edification. 20 For I fear lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I wish, and that (Q)I shall be found by you such as you do not wish; lest there be contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, backbitings, whisperings, conceits, tumults; 21 lest, when I come again, my God (R)will humble me among you, and I shall mourn for many (S)who have sinned before and have not repented of the uncleanness, (T)fornication, and lewdness which they have practiced.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.