Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The First Harvest
26 “You will soon enter the land that the Lord your God is giving you. You will take that land and live there. 2 You will gather the crops that grow in the land the Lord your God is giving you. You must take some of the first crops you gather and put them in baskets. Then take that part of your harvest to the place that the Lord your God chooses to be the home for his name. 3 Go to the priest who is serving at that time. Tell him, ‘The Lord promised our ancestors that he would give us some land. Today I come to announce to the Lord your God that I have come to that land.’
4 “Then the priest will take the basket from you. He will put it down in front of the altar of the Lord your God. 5 Then there before the Lord your God you will say: ‘My ancestor was a wandering Aramean.[a] He went down into Egypt and stayed there. When he went there, he had only a few people in his family. But in Egypt he became a great nation—a powerful nation with many people. 6 The Egyptians treated us badly. They made us slaves. They hurt us and forced us to work very hard. 7 Then we prayed to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, and complained about them. And the Lord heard us. He saw our trouble, our hard work, and our suffering. 8 Then the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his great power and strength. He used great miracles and wonders and did amazing things. 9 So he brought us to this place. He gave us this land—a land filled with many good things.[b] 10 Now, Lord, I bring you the first harvest from the land that you gave me.’
“Then you must put the harvest down before the Lord your God and bow down to worship him. 11 Then you must have a meal together and enjoy all the good things that the Lord your God has given to you and your family. You must share them with the Levites and the foreigners living among you.
91 You can go to God Most High to hide.
You can go to God All-Powerful for protection.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my place of safety, my fortress.
My God, I trust in you.”
9 You trust in the Lord for protection.
You have made God Most High your place of safety.
10 So nothing bad will happen to you.
No diseases will come near your home.
11 He will command his angels to protect you wherever you go.
12 Their hands will catch you
so that you will not hit your foot on a rock.
13 You will have power to trample on lions
and poisonous snakes.
14 The Lord says, “If someone trusts me, I will save them.
I will protect my followers who call to me for help.
15 When my followers call to me, I will answer them.
I will be with them when they are in trouble.
I will rescue them and honor them.
16 I will give my followers a long life
and show them my power to save.”
8 This is what the Scripture says: “God’s teaching is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart.”[a] It is the teaching of faith that we tell people. 9 If you openly say, “Jesus is Lord” and believe in your heart that God raised him from death, you will be saved. 10 Yes, we believe in Jesus deep in our hearts, and so we are made right with God. And we openly say that we believe in him, and so we are saved.
11 Yes, the Scriptures say, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disappointed.”[b] 12 It says this because there is no difference between those who are Jews and those who are not. The same Lord is the Lord of all people. And he richly blesses everyone who looks to him for help. 13 Yes, “everyone who trusts in the Lord[c] will be saved.”[d]
Jesus Is Tempted by the Devil(A)
4 Now filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan River. And then the Spirit led him into the desert. 2 There the devil tempted Jesus for 40 days. Jesus ate nothing during this time, and when it was finished, he was very hungry.
3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this rock to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “The Scriptures say,
‘It is not just bread that keeps people alive.’” (B)
5 Then the devil took Jesus and in a moment of time showed him all the kingdoms of the world. 6 The devil said to him, “I will make you king over all these places. You will have power over them, and you will get all the glory. It has all been given to me. I can give it to anyone I want. 7 I will give it all to you, if you will only worship me.”
8 Jesus answered, “The Scriptures say,
‘You must worship the Lord your God.
Serve only him.’” (C)
9 Then the devil led Jesus to Jerusalem and put him on a high place at the edge of the Temple area. He said to him, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! 10 The Scriptures say,
‘God will command his angels
to take care of you.’ (D)
11 It is also written,
‘Their hands will catch you
so that you will not hit your foot on a rock.’” (E)
12 Jesus answered, “But the Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’”[a]
13 The devil finished tempting Jesus in every way and went away to wait until a better time.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International