Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
118 Give thanks to the Lord because he is good,
because his mercy endures forever.
2 Israel should say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
14 The Lord is my strength and my song.
He is my savior.
15 The sound of joyful singing and victory is heard
in the tents of righteous people.
The right hand of the Lord displays strength.
16 The right hand of the Lord is held high.
The right hand of the Lord displays strength.
17 I will not die,
but I will live and tell what the Lord has done.
18 The Lord disciplined me severely,
but he did not allow me to be killed.
19 Open the gates of righteousness for me.
I will go through them ⌞and⌟ give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord
through which righteous people will enter.
21 I give thanks to you,
because you have answered me.
You are my savior.
22 The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
23 The Lord is responsible for this,
and it is amazing for us to see.
24 This is the day the Lord has made.
Let’s rejoice and be glad today!
10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw that the Egyptians were coming after them. Terrified, the Israelites cried out to the Lord. 11 They said to Moses, “Did you bring us out into the desert to die because there were no graves in Egypt? Look what you’ve done by bringing us out of Egypt! 12 Didn’t we tell you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone! Let us go on serving the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”
The Lord Divides the Red Sea
13 Moses answered the people, “Don’t be afraid! Stand still, and see what the Lord will do to save you today. You will never see these Egyptians again. 14 The Lord is fighting for you! So be still!”
15 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to start moving. 16 Raise your staff, stretch out your hand over the sea, and divide the water. Then the Israelites will go through the sea on dry ground. 17 I am making the Egyptians so stubborn that they will follow the Israelites. I will receive honor because of what I will do to Pharaoh, his entire army, his chariots, and cavalry. 18 The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I am honored for what I did to Pharaoh, his chariots, and his cavalry.”
19 The Messenger of God, who had been in front of the Israelites, moved behind them. So the column of smoke moved from in front of the Israelites and stood behind them 20 between the Egyptian camp and the Israelite camp. The ⌞column of⌟ smoke was there when darkness came, and it lit up the night. Neither side came near the other all night long.
21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. All that night the Lord pushed back the sea with a strong east wind and turned the sea into dry ground. The water divided, 22 and the Israelites went through the middle of the sea on dry ground. The water stood like a wall on their right and on their left.
23 The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and cavalry followed them into the sea. 24 Just before dawn, the Lord looked down from the column of fire and smoke and threw the Egyptian camp into a panic. 25 He made the wheels of their chariots come off so that they could hardly move. Then the Egyptians shouted, “Let’s get out of here! The Lord is fighting for Israel! He’s against us!”
26 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the water will flow back over the Egyptians, their chariots, and their cavalry.”
27 Moses stretched his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the water returned to its usual place. The Egyptians tried to escape, but the Lord swept them into the sea. 28 The water flowed back and covered Pharaoh’s entire army, as well as the chariots and the cavalry that had followed Israel into the sea. Not one of them survived.
29 Meanwhile, the Israelites had gone through the sea on dry ground while the water stood like a wall on their right and on their left. 30 That day the Lord saved Israel from the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore. 31 When the Israelites saw the great power the Lord had used against the Egyptians, they feared the Lord and believed in him and in his servant Moses.
The Song of Miriam
20 Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand. All the women, dancing with tambourines, followed her. 21 Miriam sang to them:
“Sing to the Lord.
He has won a glorious victory.
He has thrown horses and their riders into the sea.”
5 Therefore, put to death whatever is worldly in you: your sexual sin, perversion, passion, lust, and greed (which is the same thing as worshiping wealth). 6 It is because of these sins that God’s anger comes on those who refuse to obey him.[a] 7 You used to live that kind of sinful life. 8 Also get rid of your anger, hot tempers, hatred, cursing, obscene language, and all similar sins. 9 Don’t lie to each other. You’ve gotten rid of the person you used to be and the life you used to live, 10 and you’ve become a new person. This new person is continually renewed in knowledge to be like its Creator. 11 Where this happens, there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, uncivilized person, slave, or free person. Instead, Christ is everything and in everything.
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