Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Harvest Offerings
26 “After you have occupied the land that the Lord your God is giving you and have settled there, 2 (A)each of you must place in a basket the first part of each crop that you harvest and you must take it with you to the one place of worship. 3 Go to the priest in charge at that time and say to him, ‘I now acknowledge to the Lord my God that I have entered the land that he promised our ancestors to give us.’
4 “The priest will take the basket from you and place it before the altar of the Lord your God. 5 Then, in the Lord's presence you will recite these words: ‘My ancestor was a wandering Aramean, who took his family to Egypt to live. They were few in number when they went there, but they became a large and powerful nation. 6 The Egyptians treated us harshly and forced us to work as slaves. 7 Then we cried out for help to the Lord, the God of our ancestors. He heard us and saw our suffering, hardship, and misery. 8 By his great power and strength he rescued us from Egypt. He worked miracles and wonders, and caused terrifying things to happen. 9 He brought us here and gave us this rich and fertile land. 10 So now I bring to the Lord the first part of the harvest that he has given me.’
“Then set the basket down in the Lord's presence and worship there. 11 Be grateful for the good things that the Lord your God has given you and your family; and let the Levites and the foreigners who live among you join in the celebration.
God Our Protector
91 Whoever goes to the Lord for safety,
whoever remains under the protection of the Almighty,
2 can say to him,
“You are my defender and protector.
You are my God; in you I trust.”
9 You have made the Lord your[a] defender,
the Most High your protector,
10 and so no disaster will strike you,
no violence will come near your home.
11 (A)God will put his angels in charge of you
to protect you wherever you go.
12 (B)They will hold you up with their hands
to keep you from hurting your feet on the stones.
13 (C)You will trample down lions and snakes,
fierce lions and poisonous snakes.
14 God says, “I will save those who love me
and will protect those who acknowledge me as Lord.
15 When they call to me, I will answer them;
when they are in trouble, I will be with them.
I will rescue them and honor them.
16 I will reward them with long life;
I will save them.”
8 What it says is this: “God's message is near you, on your lips and in your heart”—that is, the message of faith that we preach. 9 If you confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised him from death, you will be saved. 10 For it is by our faith that we are put right with God; it is by our confession that we are saved. 11 (A)The scripture says, “Whoever believes in him will not be disappointed.” 12 This includes everyone, because there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles; God is the same Lord of all and richly blesses all who call to him. 13 (B)As the scripture says, “Everyone who calls out to the Lord for help will be saved.”
The Temptation of Jesus(A)
4 Jesus returned from the Jordan full of the Holy Spirit and was led by the Spirit into the desert, 2 where he was tempted by the Devil for forty days. In all that time he ate nothing, so that he was hungry when it was over.
3 The Devil said to him, “If you are God's Son, order this stone to turn into bread.”
4 (B)But Jesus answered, “The scripture says, ‘Human beings cannot live on bread alone.’”
5 Then the Devil took him up and showed him in a second all the kingdoms of the world. 6 “I will give you all this power and all this wealth,” the Devil told him. “It has all been handed over to me, and I can give it to anyone I choose. 7 All this will be yours, then, if you worship me.”
8 (C)Jesus answered, “The scripture says, ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve only him!’”
9 Then the Devil took him to Jerusalem and set him on the highest point of the Temple, and said to him, “If you are God's Son, throw yourself down from here. 10 (D)For the scripture says, ‘God will order his angels to take good care of you.’ 11 It also says, ‘They will hold you up with their hands so that not even your feet will be hurt on the stones.’”
12 (E)But Jesus answered, “The scripture says, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
13 When the Devil finished tempting Jesus in every way, he left him for a while.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.