Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 102[a]
The prayer of an oppressed man, as he grows faint and pours out his lament before the Lord.
102 O Lord, hear my prayer.
Pay attention to my cry for help.[b]
2 Do not ignore me in my time of trouble.[c]
Listen to me.[d]
When I call out to you, quickly answer me.
3 For my days go up in smoke,[e]
and my bones are charred as in a fireplace.[f]
4 My heart is parched[g] and withered like grass,
for I am unable[h] to eat food.[i]
5 Because of the anxiety that makes me groan,
my bones protrude from my skin.[j]
6 I am like an owl[k] in the wilderness;
I am like a screech owl[l] among the ruins.[m]
7 I stay awake;[n]
I am like a solitary bird on a roof.
8 All day long my enemies taunt me;
those who mock me use my name in their curses.[o]
9 For I eat ashes as if they were bread,[p]
and mix my drink with my tears,[q]
10 because of your anger and raging fury.
Indeed,[r] you pick me up and throw me away.
11 My days are coming to an end,[s]
and I am withered like grass.
12 But you, O Lord, rule forever,[t]
and your reputation endures.[u]
13 You will rise up and have compassion on Zion.[v]
For it is time to have mercy on her,
for the appointed time has come.
14 Indeed,[w] your servants take delight in her stones,
and feel compassion for[x] the dust of her ruins.[y]
15 The nations will respect the reputation of the Lord,[z]
and all the kings of the earth will respect[aa] his splendor,
16 when the Lord rebuilds Zion,
and reveals his splendor,
17 when he responds to the prayer of the destitute,[ab]
and does not reject[ac] their request.[ad]
The Leading of God
17 [a] When Pharaoh released[b] the people, God did not lead them[c] by the way to the land[d] of the Philistines,[e] although[f] that was nearby, for God said,[g] “Lest[h] the people change their minds[i] and return to Egypt when they experience[j] war.” 18 So God brought the people around by the way of the wilderness to the Red Sea,[k] and the Israelites went up from the land of Egypt prepared for battle.[l]
19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph[m] had made the Israelites solemnly swear,[n] “God will surely attend to[o] you, and you will carry[p] my bones up from this place with you.”
20 They journeyed from Sukkoth and camped in Etham, on the edge of the desert. 21 Now the Lord was going before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them in the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light,[q] so that they could[r] travel day or night.[s] 22 He did not remove the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night from before the people.[t]
17 “But as the time drew near for God to fulfill the promise he had declared to Abraham,[a] the people increased greatly in number[b] in Egypt, 18 until another king who did not know about[c] Joseph ruled[d] over Egypt.[e] 19 This was the one who exploited[f] our people[g] and was cruel to our ancestors,[h] forcing them to abandon[i] their infants so they would die.[j] 20 At that time Moses was born, and he was beautiful[k] to God. For[l] three months he was brought up in his father’s house, 21 and when he had been abandoned,[m] Pharaoh’s daughter adopted[n] him and brought him up[o] as her own son. 22 So Moses was trained[p] in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful[q] in his words and deeds. 23 But when he was about forty years old, it entered his mind[r] to visit his fellow countrymen[s] the Israelites.[t] 24 When[u] he saw one of them being hurt unfairly,[v] Moses[w] came to his defense[x] and avenged the person who was mistreated by striking down the Egyptian. 25 He thought his own people[y] would understand that God was delivering them[z] through him,[aa] but they did not understand.[ab] 26 The next day Moses[ac] saw two men[ad] fighting, and tried to make peace between[ae] them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers; why are you hurting one another?’ 27 But the man who was unfairly hurting his neighbor pushed[af] Moses[ag] aside, saying, ‘Who made[ah] you a ruler and judge over us? 28 You don’t want to kill me the way you killed the Egyptian yesterday, do you?’[ai] 29 When the man said this,[aj] Moses fled and became a foreigner[ak] in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.
30 “After[al] forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the desert[am] of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning bush.[an] 31 When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and when he approached to investigate, there came the voice of the Lord, 32 ‘I am the God of your forefathers,[ao] the God of Abraham, Isaac,[ap] and Jacob.’[aq] Moses began to tremble and did not dare to look more closely.[ar] 33 But the Lord said to him, ‘Take the sandals off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.[as] 34 I have certainly seen the suffering[at] of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to rescue them.[au] Now[av] come, I will send you to Egypt.’[aw] 35 This same[ax] Moses they had rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and judge?’[ay] God sent as both ruler and deliverer[az] through the hand of the angel[ba] who appeared to him in the bush. 36 This man led them out, performing wonders and miraculous signs[bb] in the land of Egypt,[bc] at[bd] the Red Sea, and in the wilderness[be] for forty years. 37 This is the Moses who said to the Israelites,[bf] ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers.’[bg] 38 This is the man who was in the congregation[bh] in the wilderness[bi] with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors,[bj] and he[bk] received living oracles[bl] to give to you.[bm] 39 Our[bn] ancestors[bo] were unwilling to obey[bp] him, but pushed him aside[bq] and turned back to Egypt in their hearts, 40 saying to Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go in front of us, for this Moses, who led us out of the land of Egypt[br] —we do not know what has happened to him!’[bs]
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.