Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God’s Omnipresence and Omniscience.
For the music director. A Psalm of David.
139 Lord, You have (A)searched me and known me.
2 You (B)know [a]when I sit down and [b]when I get up;
You (C)understand my thought from far away.
3 You [c](D)scrutinize my [d]path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
4 [e]Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, Lord, You (E)know it all.
5 You have (F)encircled me behind and in front,
And (G)placed Your hand upon me.
6 Such (H)knowledge is (I)too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot comprehend it.
7 (J)Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 (K)If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in [f]Sheol, behold, (L)You are there.
9 If I take up the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
10 Even there Your hand will (M)lead me,
And Your right hand will take hold of me.
11 If I say, “Surely the (N)darkness will [g]overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be night,”
12 Even (O)darkness is not dark [h]to You,
And the night is as bright as the day.
(P)Darkness and light are alike to You.
9 Then (A)the Egyptians chased after them with all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and they overtook them camping by the sea, (B)beside Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.
10 As Pharaoh approached, the sons of Israel [a]looked, and behold, the Egyptians were coming after them, and they became very frightened; (C)so the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord. 11 Then (D)they said to Moses, “Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way, [b]bringing us out of Egypt? 12 (E)Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘[c]Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness!”
The Sea Is Divided
13 But Moses said to the people, “(F)Do not fear! [d]Stand by and see (G)the salvation of the Lord, which He will perform for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again, ever. 14 (H)The Lord will fight for you, while (I)you keep silent.”
15 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward. 16 As for you, lift up (J)your staff and reach out with your hand over the sea and divide it, and the sons of Israel shall [e]go through the midst of the sea on dry land. 17 And as for Me, behold, (K)I will [f]harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them; and I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. 18 (L)Then the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord, when I am honored through Pharaoh, through his chariots, and through his horsemen.”
19 Then (M)the angel of God, who had been going before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them. 20 So it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel; and there was the cloud [g]along with the darkness, yet it gave light at night. Therefore the one did not approach the other all night.
21 (N)Then Moses reached out with his hand over the sea; and the Lord [h]swept the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into (O)dry land, and (P)the waters were divided. 22 So (Q)the sons of Israel [i]went through the midst of the sea on the dry land, and (R)the waters were like a wall to them on their right and on their left. 23 Then (S)the Egyptians took up the pursuit, and all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen went in after them into the midst of the sea. 24 But at the morning watch, (T)the Lord looked down on the [j]army of the Egyptians [k]through the pillar of fire and cloud, and brought the [l]army of the Egyptians into confusion. 25 He [m]caused their chariot wheels to swerve, and He made them drive with difficulty; so the Egyptians each said, “Let me flee from Israel, (U)for the Lord is fighting for them against the Egyptians.”
A Tree and Its Fruit
15 “Beware of the (A)false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are (B)ravenous wolves. 16 You will [a](C)know them by their fruits. [b]Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? 17 So (D)every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 (E)Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So then, you will [c]know them (F)by their fruits.
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