Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
149 Hallelujah!
Sing a new song to the Lord.
Sing his praise in the assembly of godly people.
2 Let Israel find joy in their creator.
Let the people of Zion rejoice over their king.
3 Let them praise his name with dancing.
Let them make music to him with tambourines and lyres,
4 because the Lord takes pleasure in his people.
He crowns those who are oppressed with victory.
5 Let godly people triumph in glory.
Let them sing for joy on their beds.
6 Let the high praises of God be in their throats
and two-edged swords in their hands
7 to take vengeance on the nations,
to punish the people of the world,
8 to put their kings in chains
and their leaders in iron shackles,
9 to carry out the judgment that is written against them.
This is an honor that belongs to all his godly ones.
Hallelujah!
The Ninth Plague—Darkness
21 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Lift your hand toward the sky, and a darkness ⌞so thick⌟ that it can be felt will come over Egypt.” 22 Moses lifted his hand toward the sky, and throughout Egypt there was total darkness for three days. 23 People couldn’t see each other, and no one went anywhere for three days. But all the Israelites had light where they were living.
24 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and said, “Go, worship the Lord! Even your women and children may go with you, but your flocks and herds must stay behind.”
25 But Moses said, “You must allow us to take ⌞our animals⌟ for the sacrifices and burnt offerings we have to make to the Lord our God. 26 All our livestock must go with us. Not one animal must be left behind. We’ll have to use some of them for worshiping the Lord our God, and we won’t know what we’ll need until we get there.”
27 But the Lord made Pharaoh stubborn, so he refused to let them go. 28 Pharaoh said to Moses, “Get out of my sight! Don’t ever let me see your face again. The day I do, you will die.”
29 “You’re right!” Moses answered. “You’ll never see my face again.”
15 How can people tell the Good News if no one sends them? As Scripture says, “How beautiful are the feet of the messengers who announce the Good News.” 16 But not everyone has believed the Good News.
Isaiah asks, “Lord, who has believed our message?” 17 So faith comes from hearing the message, and the message that is heard is what Christ spoke.
18 But I ask, “Didn’t they hear that message?” Certainly they did! “The voice of the messengers has gone out into the whole world and their words to the ends of the earth.”
19 Again I ask, “Didn’t Israel understand ⌞that message⌟?” Moses was the first to say, “I will make you jealous of people who are not a nation. I will make you angry about a nation that doesn’t understand.” 20 Isaiah said very boldly, “I was found by those who weren’t looking for me. I was revealed to those who weren’t asking for me.” 21 Then Isaiah said about Israel, “All day long I have stretched out my hands to disobedient and rebellious people.”
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