Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Gifts at Gathering Time

26 “When you go into the land the Lord your God gives you, it will be yours and you will live in it. ² You must take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you gather from the land the Lord your God gives you, and put it in a basket and go to the place where the Lord your God chooses to have His name. ³ Go to the religious leader who is working at that time, and say to him, ‘I make known this day to the Lord my God that I have come into the land which the Lord promised to our fathers to give us.’ ⁴ Then the religious leader will take the basket from your hand and set it down in front of the altar of the Lord your God. ⁵ And you will say before the Lord your God, ‘My father was a traveling Aramean. He went to Egypt, few in number, and stayed there. But there he became a nation, great, powerful, and with many people. ⁶ The Egyptians made it hard for us. They brought us much trouble and made us work very hard. ⁷ Then we cried to the Lord, the God of our fathers. The Lord heard our voice and saw our troubles, our work, and how hard our lives were. ⁸ And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand and a long arm, causing much fear by doing powerful works. ⁹ He has brought us to this place. He has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. ¹⁰ Now see, I have brought the first of the fruit of the ground that You have given me, O Lord.’ Then you will set it down before the Lord your God, and worship Him. ¹¹ You and the Levite and the stranger who is among you will be full of joy because of all the good the Lord your God has given you and those of your house.

The Lord—the One We Trust

91 He who lives in the safe place of the Most High will be in the shadow of the All-powerful. ² I will say to the Lord, “You are my safe and strong place, my God, in Whom I trust.”

⁹ Because you have made the Lord your safe place, and the Most High the place where you live, ¹⁰ nothing will hurt you. No trouble will come near your tent.

¹¹ For He will tell His angels to care for you and keep you in all your ways. ¹² They will hold you up in their hands. So your foot will not hit against a stone. ¹³ You will walk upon the lion and the snake. You will crush under your feet the young lion and the snake.

¹⁴ Because he has loved Me, I will bring him out of trouble. I will set him in a safe place on high, because he has known My name. ¹⁵ He will call upon Me, and I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble. I will take him out of trouble and honor him. ¹⁶ I will please him with a long life. And I will show him My saving power.

⁸ This is what it says, “The Good News is near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart.” ^(A) This Good News tells about putting your trust in Christ. This is what we preach to you. ⁹ If you say with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved from the punishment of sin. ¹⁰ When we believe in our hearts, we are made right with God. We tell with our mouth how we were saved from the punishment of sin. ¹¹ The Holy Writings say, “No one who puts his trust in Christ will ever be put to shame.” ^{(B) 12} There is no difference between the Jews and the people who are not Jews. They are all the same to the Lord. And He is Lord over all of them. He gives of His greatness to all who call on Him for help. ¹³ For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved from the punishment of sin.

Jesus Was Tempted ^(A)

4 Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit when He returned from the Jordan River. Then He was led by the Holy Spirit to a desert. ² He was tempted by the devil for forty days and He ate nothing during that time. After that He was hungry. ³ The devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to be made into bread.” ⁴ Jesus said to him, “It is written, ‘Man is not to live by bread alone.’” ^{(B) 5} The devil took Jesus up on a high mountain. He had Jesus look at all the nations of the world at one time. ⁶ The devil said to Jesus, “I will give You all this power and greatness. It has been given to me. I can give it to anyone I want to. ⁷ If You will worship me, all this will be Yours.” ⁸ Jesus said to the devil, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You must worship the Lord your God. You must obey Him only.’” ^{(C) 9} Then the devil took Jesus up to Jerusalem. He had Jesus stand on the highest part of the house of God. The devil said to Jesus, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. ¹⁰ For it is written, ‘He has told His angels to care for You and to keep You. ¹¹ In their hands they will hold You up. Then Your foot will not hit against a stone.’” ^{(D) 12} Jesus said to the devil, “It is written, ‘You must not tempt the Lord your God.’” ^{(E) 13} When the devil finished tempting Jesus in every way, he went away from Jesus for awhile.