Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Yahweh Takes Pleasure in His People

The Plague of Dying Egyptian Livestock

9 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Come to Pharaoh and speak to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, “^(A)Let My people go, that they may serve Me. ² For ^(B)if you refuse to let them go and ^[a]continue to hold them, ³ behold, ^(C)the hand of Yahweh ^[b]will come with a very heavy pestilence on your livestock which are in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the herds, and on the flocks. ^4 (D)But Yahweh will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that ^(E)nothing will die of all that belongs to the sons of Israel.”’” ⁵ Yahweh also set a definite time, saying, “Tomorrow Yahweh will do this thing in the land.” ⁶ So Yahweh did this thing on the next day, and ^(F)all the livestock of Egypt died; ^(G)but of the livestock of the sons of Israel, not one died. ⁷ And Pharaoh sent, and behold, there was not even one of the livestock of Israel dead. But ^(H)the heart of Pharaoh was ^[c]hardened with firmness, and he did not let the people go.

Concern for the Corinthian Church

¹¹ I have become ^(A)foolish; you yourselves compelled me. For I ought to have been commended by you, for ^(B)in no respect was I inferior to the ^[a]most-eminent apostles, even if ^(C)I am nothing. ¹² The ^[b](D)signs ^[c]of a true apostle were worked out among you with all perseverance, by ^[d]signs and wonders and ^[e]miracles. ¹³ For in what respect were you treated as less than the rest of the churches, except that ^(E)I myself did not become a burden to you? ^[f]Forgive me ^(F)this wrong!

¹⁴ Here ^(G)for this third time I am ready to come to you, and I ^(H)will not be a burden to you; for I ^(I)do not seek what is yours, but ^(J)you. For ^(K)children ought not to save up for their parents, but ^(L)parents for their children. ¹⁵ So I will ^(M)most gladly spend and be fully spent for your souls. If ^(N)I love you more, am I to be loved less? ¹⁶ But be that as it may, I ^(O)did not burden you myself. Nevertheless, crafty fellow that I am, I ^(P)took you in by deceit. ^17 (Q)Have I taken advantage of you through any of those whom I have sent to you? ¹⁸ I ^(R)encouraged ^(S)Titus to go, and I sent ^(T)the brother with him. Did Titus take any advantage of you? Did we not walk ^[g]in the same ^(U)spirit—^(V)in the very same steps?

¹⁹ All this time ^[h]you think we are defending ourselves to you. We speak in Christ ^(W)in the sight of God. ^(X)And all these things, ^(Y)beloved, are for your building up. ²⁰ For I am afraid that perhaps ^(Z)when I come I may find you to be not what I wish and may be found by you to be not what you wish; that perhaps there will be ^(AA)strife, jealousy, ^(AB)outbursts of anger, ^(AC)selfish ambition, ^(AD)slanders, ^(AE)gossip, ^(AF)arrogance, ^(AG)disturbances. ²¹ I am afraid that when I come again my God may humiliate me before you, and I may mourn over many of those who have ^(AH)sinned in the past and not repented of the ^(AI)impurity, sexual immorality, and sensuality which they have practiced.