Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 105[a]
God’s Faithfulness to the Covenant
1 [b]Give thanks to the Lord, invoke his name;[c]
proclaim his deeds among the peoples.
2 Offer him honor with songs of praise;
recount all his marvelous deeds.
3 Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts[d] of those who seek the Lord exult.
4 Reflect on the Lord and his strength;
seek his face continually.
5 Remember the marvels he has wrought,
his portents, and the judgments[e] he has set forth.
6 You are the offspring of his servant Abraham,
the children of Jacob, his chosen ones.[f]
37 Then he led out his people with silver and gold,
and there was not one among their tribes who stumbled.
38 Egypt was glad when they departed,
for dread of Israel had overwhelmed them.
39 He spread a cloud over his people as a cover[a]
and a fire to give light by night.
40 At their request he supplied them with quail,
and he filled them with bread from heaven.[b]
41 He split open a rock and water gushed forth,
flowing through the wilderness like a river.[c]
42 For he remembered the sacred promise
that he had made to Abraham, his servant.
43 He led forth his people with rejoicing,
his chosen ones with exultation.[d]
44 He gave them the lands of the nations,
and they inherited the fruit of other people’s toil,
45 so that they might keep his decrees
and observe his laws.
Alleluia.
Chapter 16[a]
Manna and Quail. 1 The entire community of the children of Israel set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is found between Elim and the Sinai on the fifteenth day of the second month after they left the land of Egypt. 2 In the desert the entire community of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron. 3 The children of Israel said to them, “Would that the hand of the Lord had killed us in the land of Egypt where we were seated by our pots filled with meat and where we had more than enough bread to eat. Instead you brought us out into this desert to slay the whole assembly with hunger.”
4 The Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread down from the heavens for you. The people should go out each day to collect the amount they need for that day so that I might test them to see whether they follow my law or not. 5 But on the sixth day, when they are gathering what they will bring home, they are to collect double what they collect on the other days.”
6 Moses and Aaron said this to the children of Israel: “This evening you will know that the Lord brought you out of the land of Egypt, 7 and tomorrow morning you will see the glory of the Lord, for he has heard your murmuring against him. For what are we, that you murmur against us?” 8 Moses also said, “When the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening and bread to fill you in the morning, it will be because the Lord has heard the murmuring that you utter against him. What are we, after all? Your murmurings are not against us, but against the Lord.”
9 Moses said to Aaron, “Give this command to the whole community of Israel: ‘Draw near to the presence of the Lord, for he has heard your murmurings.’ ” 10 While Aaron spoke to the entire community of the children of Israel, they turned toward the desert and, behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the clouds.
11 The Lord said to Moses, 12 “I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel. Say this to them: ‘At dusk you will eat meat, and in the morning you will have your fill of bread. You will know that I am the Lord, your God.’ ”
13 In the evening quail rose up and covered the camp. In the morning there was a layer of dew on the ground around the camp. 14 The layer of dew evaporated, and on the surface of the desert there was something small and flaky, as small as hoarfrost on the ground. 15 The children of Israel saw it and said to one another, “What is it?”[b] because they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given us as food.
16 “This is what the Lord commands: ‘Collect as much as each person can eat, an omer[c] per person. Let every person take as much as needed for the people living with him, for as many as there are in his tent.’ ”
17 This is what the children of Israel did. Some collected quite a bit and others much less. 18 They measured it with the omer. Those who had collected more did not have too much, while those who collected less did not have too little. They had collected just as much as each person could eat.
19 Then Moses said to them, “Nothing should be left till the morning.” 20 However, some did not obey Moses and saved a bit of it until the morning, but it grew rancid and had worms. Moses was angry with them.
21 They therefore collected it each morning, as much as each one would eat. When the sun warmed up, it melted away.
Examine Yourselves. 5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you? If he is not, then you have failed the test. 6 It is my hope that you will come to the realization that we have not failed. 7 But we pray to God that you may not do anything wrong—not so that we may appear to have passed the test, but so that you may do what is right, even though we may appear to have failed.
8 We have no power to do anything against the truth but only for the truth. 9 We rejoice when we are weak, just as long as you are strong. This is what we desire—that you may become perfect.
10 I am writing this letter prior to my arrival so that when I come I may not have to treat you harshly in exercising the authority that the Lord has given me to build up and not to tear down.
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