Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
12
Blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored by God] is the nation whose God is the Lord,
The people whom He has chosen as His own inheritance.(A)
13
The Lord looks [down] from heaven;
He sees all the sons of man;
14
From His dwelling place He looks closely
Upon all the inhabitants of the earth—
15
He who fashions the hearts of them all,
Who considers and understands all that they do.
16
The king is not saved by the great size of his army;
A warrior is not rescued by his great strength.
17
A horse is a false hope for victory;
Nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength.
18
Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon those who fear Him [and worship Him with awe-inspired reverence and obedience],
On those who hope [confidently] in His compassion and lovingkindness,
19
To rescue their lives from death
And keep them alive in famine.
20
We wait [expectantly] for the Lord;
He is our help and our shield.
21
For in Him our heart rejoices,
Because we trust [lean on, rely on, and are confident] in His holy name.
22
Let Your [steadfast] lovingkindness, O Lord, be upon us,
In proportion as we have [a]hoped in You.
Moses on Sinai
19 In the third month after the children of Israel had left the land of Egypt, the very same day, they came into the Wilderness of Sinai. 2 When they moved out from Rephidim, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai and they camped there; Israel camped at the base of the mountain [of Sinai]. 3 Moses went up to God [on the mountain], and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “Say this to the house of Jacob and tell the Israelites: 4 ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will in fact obey My voice and keep My covenant (agreement), then you shall be My own special possession and treasure from among all peoples [of the world], for all the earth is Mine; 6 and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation [set apart for My purpose].’ These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites.”
7 So Moses called for the elders of the people, and told them all these words which the Lord commanded him. 8 All the people answered together and said, “We will do everything that the Lord has spoken.” And Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord. 9 The Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will come to you in a thick cloud, so that the people may hear when I speak with you and may believe and trust in you forever.” Then Moses repeated the words of the people to the Lord.
The Day of Pentecost
2 When the day of [a]Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place, 2 and suddenly a sound came from heaven like a rushing violent wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 There appeared to them tongues resembling fire, which were being distributed [among them], and they rested on each one of them [as each person received the Holy Spirit]. 4 And they were all filled [that is, diffused throughout their being] with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other [b]tongues (different languages), as the Spirit was giving them the ability to speak out [clearly and appropriately].
5 Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout and God-fearing men from every nation under heaven. 6 And when this sound was heard, a crowd gathered, and they were bewildered because each one was hearing those in the upper room speaking in his own language or dialect. 7 They were completely astonished, saying, “Look! Are not all of these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears in our own language or native dialect? 9 [Among us there are] Parthians, Medes and Elamites, and people of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and [c]Asia [Minor], 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya around Cyrene, and the visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes (Gentile converts to Judaism), 11 Cretans and Arabs—we all hear them speaking in our [native] tongues about the mighty works of God!”
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