Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 83
A song. A psalm of Asaph.
83 God, don’t be silent!
Don’t be quiet or sit still, God,
2 because—look!—your enemies are growling;
those who hate you are acting arrogantly.
3 They concoct crafty plans against your own people;
they plot against the people you favor.
4 “Come on,” they say, “let’s wipe them out as a nation!
Let the name Israel be remembered no more!”
13 My God, make them like tumbleweeds,
like chaff blown by wind.
14 Just like a fire consumes a forest,
just like flames set mountains ablaze,
15 pursue them with your storm,
terrify them with your hurricane.
16 Cover their faces with shame, Lord, so that they might seek your name.
17 Let them be shamed and terrified forever.
Let them die in disgrace.
18 Let them know that you—
your name is the Lord!—
you alone are Most High over all the earth.
First meeting with Pharaoh
5 Afterward, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord, Israel’s God, says: ‘Let my people go so that they can hold a festival for me in the desert.’”
2 But Pharaoh said, “Who is this Lord whom I’m supposed to obey by letting Israel go? I don’t know this Lord, and I certainly won’t let Israel go.”
3 Then they said, “The Hebrews’ God has appeared to us. Let us go on a three-day journey into the desert so we can offer sacrifices to the Lord our God. Otherwise, the Lord will give us a deadly disease or violence.”
4 The king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why are you making the people slack off from their work? Do the hard work yourselves!” 5 Pharaoh continued, “The land’s people are now numerous. Yet you want them to stop their hard work?”
6 On the very same day Pharaoh commanded the people’s slave masters and supervisors, 7 “Don’t supply the people with the straw they need to make bricks like you did before. Let them go out and gather the straw for themselves. 8 But still make sure that they produce the same number of bricks as they made before. Don’t reduce the number! They are weak and lazy, and that’s why they cry, ‘Let’s go and offer sacrifices to our God.’ 9 Make the men’s work so hard that it’s all they can do, and they can’t focus on these empty lies.”
10 So the people’s slave masters and supervisors came out and spoke to the people, “This is what Pharaoh says, ‘I’m not giving you straw anymore. 11 Go and get the straw on your own, wherever you can find it. But your work won’t be reduced at all.’” 12 So the people spread out all through the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. 13 The slave masters drove them hard and said, “Make sure you make the same daily quota as when you had the straw.” 14 The Israelite supervisors, whom Pharaoh’s slave masters had set over them, were also beaten and asked, “Why didn’t you produce the same number of bricks yesterday and today as you did before?”
15 Then the Israelite supervisors came and pleaded to Pharaoh, “Why do you treat your servants like this? 16 No straw is supplied to your servants, yet they say to us, ‘Make bricks!’ Look at how your servants are being beaten! Your own people are to blame!”
17 Pharaoh replied, “You are lazy bums, nothing but lazy bums. That’s why you say, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifices to the Lord.’ 18 Go and get back to work! No straw will be given to you, but you still need to make the same number of bricks.”
19 The Israelite supervisors saw how impossible their situation was when they were commanded, “Don’t reduce your daily quota of bricks.” 20 When they left Pharaoh, they met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting for them. 21 The supervisors said to them, “Let the Lord see and judge what you’ve done! You’ve made us stink in the opinion of Pharaoh and his servants. You’ve given them a reason to kill us.”
22 Then Moses turned to the Lord and said, “My Lord, why have you abused this people? Why did you send me for this? 23 Ever since I first came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has abused this people. And you’ve done absolutely nothing to rescue your people.”
God reassures Moses
6 The Lord replied to Moses, “Now you will see what I’ll do to Pharaoh. In fact, he’ll be so eager to let them go that he’ll drive them out of his land by force.”
2 God also said to Moses: “I am the Lord. 3 I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty,[a] but I didn’t reveal myself to them by my name ‘The Lord.’ 4 I also set up my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan where they lived as immigrants. 5 I’ve also heard the cry of grief of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians have turned into slaves, and I’ve remembered my covenant. 6 Therefore, say to the Israelites, ‘I am the Lord. I’ll bring you out from Egyptian forced labor. I’ll rescue you from your slavery to them. I’ll set you free with great power and with momentous events of justice. 7 I’ll take you as my people, and I’ll be your God. You will know that I, the Lord, am your God, who has freed you from Egyptian forced labor. 8 I’ll bring you into the land that I promised to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I’ll give it to you as your possession. I am the Lord.’” 9 Moses told this to the Israelites. But they didn’t listen to Moses, because of their complete exhaustion and their hard labor.
10 Then the Lord said to Moses, 11 “Go and tell Pharaoh, Egypt’s king, to let the Israelites out of his land.”
12 But Moses said to the Lord, “The Israelites haven’t even listened to me. How can I expect Pharaoh to listen to me, especially since I’m not a very good speaker?” 13 Nevertheless, the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron about the Israelites and Pharaoh, Egypt’s king, giving them orders to let the Israelites go from the land of Egypt.
Message to Philadelphia
7 “Write this to the angel of the church in Philadelphia:
These are the words of the one who is holy and true, who has the key of David. Whatever he opens, no one will shut; and whatever he shuts, no one opens. 8 I know your works. Look! I have set in front of you an open door that no one can shut. You have so little power, and yet you have kept my word and haven’t denied my name. 9 Because of this I will make the people from Satan’s synagogue (who say they are Jews and really aren’t, but are lying)—I will make them come and bow down at your feet and realize that I have loved you. 10 Because you kept my command to endure, I will keep you safe through the time of testing that is about to come over the whole world, to test those who live on earth. 11 I’m coming soon. Hold on to what you have so that no one takes your crown. 12 As for those who emerge victorious, I will make them pillars in the temple of my God, and they will never leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the New Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from my God. I will also write on them my own new name. 13 If you can hear, listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible