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 Ninth Plague: Darkness
21 Then the Lord said to Moses, (A)“Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, [a]darkness which may even be felt.” 22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was (B)thick darkness in all the land of Egypt (C)three days. 23 They did not see one another; nor did anyone rise from his place for three days. (D)But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.
24 Then Pharaoh called to Moses and (E)said, “Go, serve the Lord; only let your flocks and your herds be kept back. Let your (F)little ones also go with you.”
25 But Moses said, “You must also give [b]us sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God. 26 Our (G)livestock also shall go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind. For we must take some of them to serve the Lord our God, and even we do not know with what we must serve the Lord until we arrive there.”
27 But the Lord (H)hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go. 28 Then Pharaoh said to him, (I)“Get away from me! Take heed to yourself and see my face no more! For in the day you see my face you shall die!”
29 So Moses said, “You have spoken well. (J)I will never see your face again.”
15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:
(A)“How beautiful are the feet of those who [a]preach the gospel of peace,
Who bring glad tidings of good things!”
16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, (B)“Lord, who has believed our report?” 17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
18 But I say, have they not heard? Yes indeed:
(C)“Their sound has gone out to all the earth,
And their words to the ends of the world.”
19 But I say, did Israel not know? First Moses says:
(D)“I will provoke you to jealousy by those who are not a nation,
I will move you to anger by a (E)foolish nation.”
20 But Isaiah is very bold and says:
(F)“I was found by those who did not seek Me;
I was made manifest to those who did not ask for Me.”
21 But to Israel he says:
(G)“All day long I have stretched out My hands
To a disobedient and contrary people.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.