Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 149[a]
Praise God with Song and Sword
1 Hallelujah!
Sing to the Lord a new song,
his praise in the assembly of the faithful.(A)
2 Let Israel be glad in its maker,
the people of Zion rejoice in their king.
3 Let them praise his name in dance,
make music with tambourine and lyre.[b](B)
4 For the Lord takes delight in his people,
honors the poor with victory.
5 Let the faithful rejoice in their glory,
cry out for joy on their couches,[c]
6 With the praise of God in their mouths,
and a two-edged sword in their hands,(C)
7 To bring retribution on the nations,
punishment on the peoples,(D)
8 To bind their kings in shackles,
their nobles in chains of iron,
9 To execute the judgments decreed for them—
such is the glory[d] of all God’s faithful.
Hallelujah!
Chapter 9
Fifth Plague: The Pestilence. 1 Then the Lord said to Moses: Go to Pharaoh and tell him: Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: Let my people go to serve me. 2 For if you refuse to let them go and persist in holding them, 3 the hand of the Lord will strike your livestock in the field—your horses, donkeys, camels, herds and flocks—with a very severe pestilence. 4 But the Lord will distinguish between the livestock of Israel and that of Egypt, so that nothing belonging to the Israelites will die. 5 And the Lord set a definite time, saying: Tomorrow the Lord will do this in the land. 6 And on the next day the Lord did it. All the livestock of the Egyptians died,(A) but not one animal belonging to the Israelites died. 7 But although Pharaoh found upon inquiry that not even so much as one of the livestock of the Israelites had died, he remained obstinate and would not let the people go.
11 I have been foolish. You compelled me, for I ought to have been commended by you. For I am in no way inferior to these “superapostles,”(A) even though I am nothing. 12 [a]The signs of an apostle were performed among you with all endurance, signs and wonders, and mighty deeds.(B) 13 [b]In what way were you less privileged than the rest of the churches, except that on my part I did not burden you? Forgive me this wrong!(C)
14 Now I am ready to come to you this third time. And I will not be a burden, for I want not what is yours, but you. Children ought not to save for their parents, but parents for their children. 15 I will most gladly spend and be utterly spent for your sakes. If I love you more, am I to be loved less? 16 But granted that I myself did not burden you, yet I was crafty and got the better of you by deceit.(D) 17 Did I take advantage of you through any of those I sent to you? 18 I urged Titus to go and sent the brother with him. Did Titus take advantage of you? Did we not walk in the same spirit? And in the same steps?(E)
Final Warnings and Appeals.[c] 19 Have you been thinking all along that we are defending[d] ourselves before you? In the sight of God we are speaking in Christ, and all for building you up, beloved. 20 For I fear that[e] when I come I may find you not such as I wish, and that you may find me not as you wish; that there may be rivalry, jealousy, fury, selfishness, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder.(F) 21 I fear that when I come again[f] my God may humiliate me before you, and I may have to mourn over many of those who sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, immorality, and licentiousness they practiced.
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