Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

¹² Moses said to the Lord, See, You say to me, Bring up this people, but You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You said, I know you by name and you have also found favor in My sight.

¹³ Now therefore, I pray You, if I have found favor in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You [progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with You, perceiving and recognizing and understanding more strongly and clearly] and that I may find favor in Your sight. And [Lord, do] consider that this nation is Your people.

¹⁴ And the Lord said, My Presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.

¹⁵ And Moses said to the Lord, If Your Presence does not go with me, do not carry us up from here!

¹⁶ For by what shall it be known that I and Your people have found favor in Your sight? Is it not in Your going with us so that we are distinguished, I and Your people, from all the other people upon the face of the earth?

¹⁷ And the Lord said to Moses, I will do this thing also that you have asked, for you have found favor, loving-kindness, and mercy in My sight and I know you personally and by name.^(A)

¹⁸ And Moses said, I beseech You, show me Your glory.

¹⁹ And God said, I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim My name, The Lord, before you; for I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy and loving-kindness on whom I will show mercy and loving-kindness.^(B)

²⁰ But, He said, You can not see My face, for no man shall see Me and live.

²¹ And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place beside Me, and you shall stand upon the rock,

²² And while My glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by.

²³ Then I will take away My hand and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.

Psalm 99

¹ The Lord reigns, let the peoples tremble [with reverential fear]! He sits [enthroned] above the cherubim, let the earth quake!

² The Lord is great in Zion, and He is high above all the peoples.

³ Let them confess and praise Your great name, awesome and reverence inspiring! It is holy, and holy is He!^(A)

⁴ The strength of the king who loves righteousness and equity You establish in uprightness; You execute justice and righteousness in Jacob (Israel).

⁵ Extol the Lord our God and worship at His footstool! Holy is He!

⁶ Moses and Aaron were among His priests, and Samuel was among those who called upon His name; they called upon the Lord, and He answered them.

⁷ He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud; they kept His testimonies and the statutes that He gave them.^(B)

⁸ You answered them, O Lord our God; You were a forgiving God to them, although avenging their evildoing and wicked practices.

⁹ Extol the Lord our God and worship at His holy hill, for the Lord our God is holy!

1 Paul, Silvanus (Silas), and Timothy, to the assembly (church) of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah): Grace (spiritual blessing and divine favor) to you and [heart] peace.

² We are ever giving thanks to God for all of you, continually mentioning [you when engaged] in our prayers,

³ Recalling unceasingly before our God and Father your work energized by faith and service motivated by love and unwavering hope in [the return of] our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah).^(A)

⁴ [O] brethren beloved by God, we recognize and know that He has selected (chosen) you;

⁵ For our [preaching of the] glad tidings (the Gospel) came to you not only in word, but also in [its own inherent] power and in the Holy Spirit and with great conviction and absolute certainty [on our part]. You know what kind of men we proved [ourselves] to be among you for your good.

⁶ And you [set yourselves to] become imitators of us and [through us] of the Lord Himself, for you welcomed our message in [spite of] much persecution, with joy [inspired] by the Holy Spirit;

⁷ So that you [thus] became a pattern to all the believers (those who adhere to, trust in, and rely on Christ Jesus) in Macedonia and Achaia (most of Greece).

⁸ For not only has the Word concerning and from the Lord resounded forth from you unmistakably in Macedonia and Achaia, but everywhere the report has gone forth of your faith in God [of your ^[a]leaning of your whole personality on Him in complete trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness]. So we [find that we] never need to tell people anything [further about it].

⁹ For they themselves volunteer testimony concerning us, telling what an entrance we had among you, and how you turned to God from [your] idols to serve a God Who is alive and true and genuine,

¹⁰ And [how you] look forward to and await the coming of His Son from heaven, Whom He raised from the dead—Jesus, Who personally rescues and delivers us out of and from the wrath [bringing punishment] which is coming [upon the impenitent] and ^[b]draws us to Himself [^[c]investing us with all the privileges and rewards of the new life in Christ, the Messiah].

¹⁵ Then the Pharisees went and consulted and plotted together how they might entangle Jesus in His talk.

¹⁶ And they sent their disciples to Him along with the Herodians, saying, Teacher, we know that You are ^[a]sincere and what You profess to be and that You teach the way of God truthfully, regardless of consequences and being afraid of no man; for You are impartial and do not regard either the person or the position of anyone.

¹⁷ Tell us then what You think about this: Is it lawful to pay tribute [levied on individuals and to be paid yearly] to Caesar or not?

¹⁸ But Jesus, aware of their malicious plot, asked, Why do you put Me to the test and try to entrap Me, you pretenders (hypocrites)?

¹⁹ Show me the money used for the tribute. And they brought Him a denarius.

²⁰ And Jesus said to them, Whose likeness and title are these?

²¹ They said, Caesar’s. Then He said to them, Pay therefore to Caesar the things that are due to Caesar, and pay to God the things that are due to God.

²² When they heard it they were amazed and marveled; and they left Him and departed.