Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

78 (Maskil of Asaph.) Give ear, O my people, to my torah; incline your ears to the words of my mouth.

² I will open my mouth in a mashal; I will utter dark sayings from of old,

³ Which we have heard and known, and Avoteinu have told us.

⁴ We will not hide them from their banim, recounting to the dor acharon the tehillot Hashem, and His power, and His nifla’ot (wonderful works) that He hath done.

¹² Peleh (marvellous things) did He in the sight of their avot, in Eretz Mitzrayim, in the sadeh (area) of Tzoan.

¹³ He divided the yam, and caused them to pass through; and He made the mayim to stand like a heap.

¹⁴ In the daytime also He led them with an anan, and all the lailah with an ohr of eish.

¹⁵ He split the rocks in the midbar, and gave them drink as out of the great tehomot.

¹⁶ He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused mayim to run down like rivers.

20 Then came the Bnei Yisroel, even the kol HaEdah into the Midbar of Tzin in the first month; and the people abode in Kadesh; and Miryam died there, and was buried there.

² And there was no mayim for the Edah; and they gathered themselves together against Moshe and against Aharon.

³ And the people contended with Moshe, and spoke, saying, If only we had died when our brethren died before Hashem!

⁴ And why have ye brought up the Kahal Hashem into this midbar, that we and our livestock should die here?

⁵ And why have ye made us to come up out of Mitzrayim, to bring us in unto this evil place? It is no place of zera (grain), or of te’enah (fig), or of gefen (grapevine), or of pomegranates; neither is there any mayim to drink.

⁶ And Moshe and Aharon went from the presence of the Kahal unto the entrance of the Ohel Mo’ed, and they fell upon their faces; and the kavod Hashem appeared unto them.

⁷ And Hashem spoke unto Moshe, saying,

⁸ Take the rod and gather thou the Edah together, thou and Aharon thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth its mayim, and thou shalt bring forth to them mayim out of the rock; so thou shalt give the Edah and their beasts drink.

⁹ And Moshe took the rod from before Hashem, just as He commanded him.

¹⁰ And Moshe and Aharon gathered the Kahal together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye morim (rebels, contentious ones); must we fetch you mayim out of this rock?

¹¹ And Moshe lifted up his hand, and with his rod he struck the rock twice; and the mayim came out abundantly, and the Edah drank, and their beasts also.

¹² And Hashem spoke unto Moshe and Aharon, Because ye believed Me not, to honor Me as kadosh in the eyes of the Bnei Yisroel, therefore ye shall not bring this Kahal into HaAretz which I have given them.

¹³ These were the Waters of Merivah (Quarreling); because the Bnei Yisroel quarreled with Hashem, and He showed Himself kadosh among them.

³² "And we are preaching to you the Besuras HaGeulah of the Havtachah made to Avoteinu, [YESHAYAH 40:9; 52:7]

³³ "That Hashem has fulfilled this havtachah for us, their banim, having made to stand up alive again Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach Yehoshua, as also in the Tehillim it has been written, BENI ATAH, ANI HAYOM YELIDETICHA ("You are My son; today I have become your father"). [TEHILLIM 2:7]

³⁴ "And that He made him to stand up alive again from the Mesim, no longer to return to decay, thus he has said, ‘I will give you CHASEDEI DOVID HANE’EMANIM. [YESHAYAH 55:3 TARGUM HASHIVIM]

³⁵ "Therefore, also elsewhere in the Tehillim, he says LO TITEN CHASIDECHA LIR’OT SHACHAT ("You will not allow your Chasid (Moshiach) to undergo decay"). [TEHILLIM 15:10; 16:10 TARGUM HASHIVIM]

³⁶ "For Dovid, after in his own dor (generation) he had served birtzon Hashem, fell asleep, and VAYISHKAV DOVID IM AVOTAV (“and Dovid rested with his fathers”) and he experienced decay. [SHMUEL BAIS 7:12; MELACHIM ALEF 2:10; SHOFETIM 2:10; DIVREY HAYAMIM BAIS 29:28]

³⁷ "But whom Hashem made to stand up alive again did not experience decay.

³⁸ "Let it be known, therefore, to you, Anashim Achim, that through this one, selicha (forgiveness) of chatta’im (averos [sins]) is proclaimed to you; and from all things of which by the Torah of Moshe Rabbenu you were not able to be justified,

³⁹ "By this one everyone having emunah is justified.

⁴⁰ "Be shomer then that the thing having been spoken by the Nevi’im (Prophets) may not come upon you,

⁴¹ "Look," scoffers, "And be amazed and marvel, and stand in awe" and perish, "because I am working a work in your yamim, a work which you may by no means believe if someone should tell you." [CHABAKUK 1:5 TARGUM HASHIVIM]