Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Righteous Reign of the Branch
11 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of (A)Jesse,
and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
2 And (B)the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
(C)He shall not judge by (D)what his eyes see,
or decide disputes by (E)what his ears hear,
4 but (F)with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
and he shall (G)strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and (H)with the breath of his lips (I)he shall kill the wicked.
5 Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist,
and (J)faithfulness the belt of his loins.
6 (K)The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;
and a little child shall lead them.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze;
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,
and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den.
9 (L)They shall not hurt or destroy
in all (M)my holy mountain;
(N)for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
Korah's Rebellion
16 Now (A)Korah the son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, and (B)Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men. 2 And they rose up before Moses, with a number of the people of Israel, 250 chiefs of the congregation, chosen from the assembly, well-known men. 3 (C)They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, (D)“You have gone too far! For (E)all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?” 4 When Moses heard it, (F)he fell on his face, 5 and he said to Korah and all his company, “In the morning the Lord will show (G)who is his,[a] and who is (H)holy, and will bring him near to him. The one (I)whom he chooses he will (J)bring near to him. 6 Do this: take (K)censers, Korah and all his company; 7 put fire in them and put incense on them before the Lord tomorrow, and the man whom the Lord chooses shall be the holy one. (L)You have gone too far, sons of Levi!” 8 And Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi: 9 is it (M)too small a thing for you that the God of Israel has (N)separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself, to do service in the tabernacle of the Lord and to stand before the congregation to minister to them, 10 and that he has brought you near him, and all your brothers the sons of Levi with you? And would you seek the priesthood also? 11 Therefore it is against the Lord that you and all your company have gathered together. What is (O)Aaron that you grumble against him?”
12 And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and they said, “We will not come up. 13 Is it (P)a small thing that you have brought us up out of (Q)a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that you must also (R)make yourself a prince over us? 14 Moreover, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up.” 15 And Moses was very angry and said to the Lord, (S)“Do not respect their offering. (T)I have not taken one donkey from them, and I have not harmed one of them.”
16 And Moses said to Korah, “Be present, you and all your company, (U)before the Lord, you and they, and Aaron, tomorrow. 17 And (V)let every one of you take his censer and put incense on it, and every one of you bring before the Lord his censer, (W)250 censers; you also, and Aaron, each his censer.” 18 So every man took his censer and put fire in them and laid incense on them and stood at the entrance of the tent of meeting with Moses and Aaron. 19 Then Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the entrance of the tent of meeting. (X)And the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation.
7 Remember (A)your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and (B)imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is (C)the same yesterday and today and forever. 9 Do not be (D)led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, (E)not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them. 10 We have an altar (F)from which those who serve the tent[a] have no right to eat. 11 For (G)the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned (H)outside the camp. 12 So Jesus also (I)suffered (J)outside the gate in order to sanctify the people (K)through his own blood. 13 Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear (L)the reproach he endured. 14 For (M)here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. 15 (N)Through him then let us continually offer up (O)a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, (P)the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. 16 Do not neglect to do good and (Q)to share what you have, for such (R)sacrifices are pleasing to God.
17 Obey (S)your leaders and submit to them, (T)for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to (U)give an account. (V)Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.