Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

² Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel ^(A)complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. ³ And the children of Israel said to them, ^(B)“Oh, that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, ^(C)when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain ^(D)bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather ^[a]a certain quota every day, that I may ^(E)test them, whether they will ^(F)walk in My law or not. ⁵ And it shall be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what they bring in, and ^(G)it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.”

⁶ Then Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, ^(H)“At evening you shall know that the Lord has brought you out of the land of Egypt. ⁷ And in the morning you shall see ^(I)the glory of the Lord; for He ^(J)hears your complaints against the Lord. But ^(K)what are we, that you complain against us?” ⁸ Also Moses said, “This shall be seen when the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to the full; for the Lord hears your complaints which you make against Him. And what are we? Your complaints are not against us but ^(L)against the Lord.”

⁹ Then Moses spoke to Aaron, “Say to all the congregation of the children of Israel, ^(M)‘Come near before the Lord, for He has heard your complaints.’ ” ¹⁰ Now it came to pass, as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord ^(N)appeared in the cloud.

¹¹ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ^12 (O)“I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, ^(P)‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and ^(Q)in the morning you shall be filled with bread. And you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’ ”

¹³ So it was that ^(R)quail came up at evening and covered the camp, and in the morning ^(S)the dew lay all around the camp. ¹⁴ And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilderness, was ^(T)a small round ^(U)substance, as fine as frost on the ground. ¹⁵ So when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was.

And Moses said to them, ^(V)“This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat.

The Eternal Faithfulness of the Lord^(A)

²¹ For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. ²² But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I ^[a]cannot tell. ^23 [b]For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a ^(A)desire to depart and be with Christ, which is ^(B)far better. ²⁴ Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. ²⁵ And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith, ²⁶ that ^(C)your rejoicing for me may be more abundant in Jesus Christ by my coming to you again.

Striving and Suffering for Christ

²⁷ Only ^(D)let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, ^(E)with one mind ^(F)striving together for the faith of the gospel, ²⁸ and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but ^[c]to you of salvation, and that from God. ²⁹ For to you ^(G)it has been granted on behalf of Christ, ^(H)not only to believe in Him, but also to ^(I)suffer for His sake, ^30 (J)having the same conflict ^(K)which you saw in me and now hear is in me.

The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard

20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. ² Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. ³ And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, ⁴ and said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. ⁵ Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise. ⁶ And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing ^[a]idle, and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’ ⁷ They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, ^[b]and whatever is right you will receive.’

⁸ “So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.’ ⁹ And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. ¹⁰ But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. ¹¹ And when they had received it, they ^[c]complained against the landowner, ¹² saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.’ ¹³ But he answered one of them and said, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? ¹⁴ Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. ^15 (A)Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or ^(B)is your eye evil because I am good?’ ^16 (C)So the last will be first, and the first last. ^(D)For^[d] many are called, but few chosen.”