Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 63
My Soul Thirsts for You
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A psalm by David. When he was in the wilderness of Judah.[a]
Thirsting for God
1 God, you are my God. Eagerly I seek you.
My soul thirsts for you. My flesh longs for you,
in a dry and dreary land without water.
2 Yes, in the sanctuary I have watched you
to see your power and your glory.
Joy Even in Adversity
3 Because your mercy is better than life,
my lips will worship you.
4 Yes, I will bless you as long as I live.
In your name I will lift up my hands.
5 My soul will be satisfied with rich food.[b]
My mouth will praise you with lips filled with songs.
6 Whenever I remember you on my bed,
throughout the watches of the night I meditate on you.
7 Because you are a help for me,
I sing for joy under the shade of your wings.
8 My soul clings to you.
Your right hand upholds me.
Scouting Canaan
13 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Send men to scout the land of Canaan, which I myself am giving to the Israelites. You are to send one man from each ancestral tribe, each one a tribal chief among the people of Israel.”
17 Moses sent them to scout the land of Canaan and said to them, “Go up this way through the Negev[a] and go up into the hill country.[b] 18 See what the land is like. See if the people who live in the land are strong or weak. See if they are few or many. 19 See if the land that they live in is good or bad. See what kind of cities they live in. See if the cities are camps or fortified places. 20 See what the land is like. See if the land is fertile or poor. See if there are trees in the land or not. Be courageous and bring back some of the fruit of the land.” This happened at the season of the first ripe grapes.
21 So they went up and scouted the land from the Wilderness of Zin to Rehob, toward Lebo Hamath. 22 They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron. Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, were there. (Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) 23 The scouts came to the Valley of Eshcol, and there they cut down a branch with one cluster of grapes. They carried it on a pole between two men, along with some pomegranates and figs. 24 They named that place the Valley of Eshcol,[c] because of the cluster which the Israelites had cut down from there. 25 At the end of forty days, they returned from scouting the land.
The Report About Canaan
26 They came back to Moses, Aaron, and the entire community of the Israelites at Kadesh in the Wilderness of Paran. They brought back a report to them and to the entire community. They showed them some of the fruit of the land. 27 They reported to him and said, “We went to the land where you sent us. It really does flow with milk and honey, and here is its fruit. 28 However, the people who live in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. We also saw the descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites are living in the land of the Negev. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites are living in the hill country. The Canaanites are living by the sea and along the Jordan.”
30 Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “We should go up now and take possession of it, because we can certainly conquer it!”
31 But the men who had gone up with Caleb said, “We are not able to go up against the people, because they are stronger than we are.” 32 So they spread a negative report to the Israelites about the land that they had scouted. They said, “The land that we explored and scouted is a land that eats up its inhabitants. All the people we saw in the land were huge. 33 We saw there the Nephilim[d] (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). In our own eyes we seemed like grasshoppers. We seemed like grasshoppers in their eyes too.”
The People Rebel
14 The entire community raised a loud cry. The people wept that night. 2 All of the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The entire community said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! If only we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why is the Lord bringing us to this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and our children will be taken as captives! Wouldn’t it be better for us to return to Egypt?” 4 So they said to one another, “Let’s put someone in charge and return to Egypt.”
5 Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown before the entire assembly of the Israelite community.
6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, two of those who had scouted the land, tore their clothes. 7 They spoke to the entire Israelite community, “The land that we explored and scouted is a very good land. 8 If the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that is flowing with milk and honey. 9 Only do not revolt against the Lord. Do not fear the people of the land, for we will eat them up.[e] Their protection is taken away from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them.”
Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection Again
22 While they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men. 23 They will kill him, but on the third day he will be raised.” And they were greatly distressed.
A Coin in a Fish’s Mouth
24 When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the temple tax[a] came to Peter and said, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?” 25 He said, “Yes.”
When he came into the house, Jesus spoke first, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect tolls or a tax? From their own sons or from others?”
26 Peter said to him, “From others.”
Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are exempt. 27 But, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea, cast a hook, and take the first fish that you pull up. When you open its mouth, you will find a silver coin.[b] Take that coin and give it to them for me and for you.”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.