Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Lord’s Power and Dominion.
97 (A)The Lord [a]reigns, let the (B)earth rejoice;
Let the many [b](C)islands be glad.
2 (D)Clouds and thick darkness surround Him;
(E)Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.
3 (F)Fire goes before Him
And (G)burns up His adversaries round about.
4 His (H)lightnings lit up the world;
The earth saw and (I)trembled.
5 The mountains (J)melted like wax at the presence of the Lord,
At the presence of the (K)Lord of the whole earth.
6 The (L)heavens declare His righteousness,
And (M)all the peoples have seen His glory.
7 Let all those be ashamed who serve (N)graven images,
Who boast themselves of (O)idols;
[c](P)Worship Him, all you [d]gods.
8 Zion [e]heard this and (Q)was glad,
And the daughters of Judah have rejoiced
Because of Your judgments, O Lord.
9 For You are the Lord (R)Most High over all the earth;
You are exalted far (S)above all [f]gods.
10 (T)Hate evil, you who love the Lord,
Who (U)preserves the souls of His godly ones;
He (V)delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
11 (W)Light is sown like seed for the righteous
And (X)gladness for the upright in heart.
12 Be (Y)glad in the Lord, you righteous ones,
And (Z)give thanks [g]to His holy name.
15 (A)Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, (B)tablets which were written on both [a]sides; they were written on one side and the other. 16 The tablets were God’s work, and the writing was God’s writing engraved on the tablets. 17 Now when Joshua heard the sound of the people [b]as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a sound of war in the camp.” 18 But he said,
“It is not the sound of the cry of triumph,
Nor is it the sound of the cry of defeat;
But the sound of singing I hear.”
Moses’ Anger
19 It came about, as soon as [c]Moses came near the camp, that (C)he saw the calf and the dancing; and Moses’ anger burned, and (D)he threw the tablets from his hands and shattered them [d]at the foot of the mountain. 20 (E)He took the calf which they had made and burned it with fire, and ground it to powder, and scattered it over the surface of the water and made the sons of Israel drink it.
21 Then Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you, that you have brought such great sin upon them?” 22 Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord burn; you know the people yourself, (F)that they are [e]prone to evil. 23 For (G)they said to me, ‘Make [f]a god for us who will go before us; for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ 24 I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them tear it off.’ So they gave it to me, and (H)I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”
25 Now when Moses saw that the people were [g]out of control—for Aaron had (I)let them [h]get out of control to be a derision among [i]their enemies— 26 then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered together to him. 27 He said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Every man of you put his sword upon his thigh, and go back and forth from gate to gate in the camp, and kill every man his brother, and every man his friend, and every man his [j]neighbor.’” 28 So (J)the sons of Levi did [k]as Moses instructed, and about three thousand men of the people fell that day. 29 Then Moses said, “[l]Dedicate yourselves today to the Lord—for every man has been against his son and against his brother—in order that He may bestow a blessing upon you today.”
30 On the next day Moses said to the people, “(K)You yourselves have [m]committed a great sin; and now I am going up to the Lord, perhaps I can (L)make atonement for your sin.” 31 Then Moses returned to the Lord, and said, “Alas, this people has [n]committed a great sin, and they have made [o]a (M)god of gold for themselves. 32 But now, if You will, forgive their sin—and if not, please blot me out from Your (N)book which You have written!” 33 The Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against Me, (O)I will blot him out of My book. 34 But go now, lead the people (P)where I told you. Behold, (Q)My angel shall go before you; nevertheless (R)in the day when I [p]punish, (S)I will [q]punish them for their sin.” 35 (T)Then the Lord smote the people, because of (U)what they did with the calf which Aaron had made.
Keep Yourselves in the Love of God
17 But you, (A)beloved, (B)ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by (C)the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, 18 that they were saying to you, “(D)In the last time there will be mockers, (E)following after their own ungodly lusts.” 19 These are the ones who cause divisions, [a](F)worldly-minded, [b]devoid of the Spirit. 20 But you, (G)beloved, (H)building yourselves up on your most holy (I)faith, (J)praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, (K)waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. 22 And have mercy on some, who are doubting; 23 save others, (L)snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, (M)hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.
24 (N)Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to (O)make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with (P)great joy, 25 to the (Q)only (R)God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, (S)be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, (T)before all time and now and [c]forever. Amen.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.