Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 121

A Song of ^[a]Ascents.

¹ I will lift up my eyes to the hills [around Jerusalem, to sacred Mount Zion and Mount Moriah]—From whence shall my help come?^(A)

² My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.

³ He will not allow your foot to slip or to be moved; He Who keeps you will not slumber.^(B)

⁴ Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵ The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand [the side not carrying a shield].^(C)

⁶ The sun shall not smite you by day, nor the moon by night.^(D)

⁷ The Lord will keep you from all evil; He will keep your life.

⁸ The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.^(E)

²⁹ At midnight the Lord slew every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the prisoner in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock.

³⁰ Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead.

³¹ He called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, get out from among my people, both you and the Israelites; and go, serve the Lord, as you said.

³² Also take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone! And [ask your God to] bless me also.

³³ The Egyptians were urgent with the people to depart, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We are all dead men.

³⁴ The people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading bowls being bound up in their clothes on their shoulders.

³⁵ The Israelites did according to the word of Moses; and they [urgently] asked of the Egyptians jewels of silver and of gold, and clothing.

³⁶ The Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they gave them what they asked. And they stripped the Egyptians [of those things].

³⁷ The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about 600,000 men on foot, besides women and children.

³⁸ And a mixed multitude went also with them, and very much livestock, both flocks and herds.

³⁹ They baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought from Egypt; it was not leavened because they were driven from Egypt and could not delay, nor had they prepared for themselves any food.

⁴⁰ Now the time the Israelites dwelt in Egypt was 430 years.^(A)

⁴¹ At the end of the 430 years, even that very day, all the hosts of the Lord went out of Egypt.

⁴² It was a night of watching unto the Lord and to be much observed for bringing them out of Egypt; this same night of watching unto the Lord is to be observed by all the Israelites throughout their generations.

13 Let every person be loyally subject to the governing (civil) authorities. For there is no authority except from God [by His permission, His sanction], and those that exist do so by God’s appointment.^(A)

² Therefore he who resists and sets himself up against the authorities resists what God has appointed and arranged [in divine order]. And those who resist will bring down judgment upon themselves [receiving the penalty due them].

³ For civil authorities are not a terror to [people of] good conduct, but to [those of] bad behavior. Would you have no dread of him who is in authority? Then do what is right and you will receive his approval and commendation.

⁴ For he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, [you should dread him and] be afraid, for he does not bear and wear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant to execute His wrath (punishment, vengeance) on the wrongdoer.

⁵ Therefore one must be subject, not only to avoid God’s wrath and escape punishment, but also as a matter of principle and for the sake of conscience.

⁶ For this same reason you pay taxes, for [the civil authorities] are official servants under God, devoting themselves to attending to this very service.

⁷ Render to all men their dues. [Pay] taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, and honor to whom honor is due.