Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God Brought Israel from Egypt
114 When ·the Israelites [Israel] went out of Egypt,
the ·people [L house] of Jacob left ·that foreign country [L a people of incomprehensible language].
2 Then Judah became God’s holy place [Ex. 19:6];
Israel became ·the land he ruled [his dominion].
3 The Sea [C Red (or Reed) Sea; Ex. 14–15] looked and ·ran away [fled];
the Jordan River turned back [Josh. 3].
4 The mountains ·danced [skipped] like ·sheep [rams]
and the hills like little lambs.
5 Sea, why did you ·run away [flee]?
Jordan, why did you turn back?
6 Mountains, why did you ·dance [skip] like ·sheep [rams]?
Hills, why did you ·dance [skip] like little lambs?
7 Earth, ·shake with fear [writhe; tremble] before the Lord,
before the God of Jacob.
8 He turned a rock into a pool of water,
a hard ·rock [flint] into a spring of water [Ex. 17:1–7; Num. 20:1–13].
The Way Out of Egypt
17 When ·the king [L Pharaoh] ·sent the people out of Egypt [L let the people go], God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was the shortest way. God said, “If they ·have to fight [L see battle], they might change their minds and go back to Egypt.” 18 So God led them through the ·desert [wilderness] toward the ·Red [or Reed; 10:19] Sea. The Israelites were ·dressed for fighting [prepared for battle] when they left the land of Egypt.
19 Moses carried the bones of Joseph with him, because before Joseph died, he had made the ·Israelites [L sons of Israel; C here Joseph’s brothers, the sons of Israel (Jacob)] promise to do this [Gen. 50:22–26]. He had said, “When God ·saves [shows concern toward; visits] you, remember to carry my bones with you out of Egypt.”
20 The Israelites left Succoth and camped at Etham [C its exact location is undetermined], on the edge of the ·desert [wilderness]. 21 The Lord showed them the way; during the day he went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud, and during the night he was in a pillar of fire to give them light. In this way they could travel during the day or night. 22 The pillar of cloud ·was always with [L never withdrew from] them during the day, and the pillar of fire ·was always with [L never withdrew from] them at night.
We Must Love Each Other
11 This is the ·teaching [message] you have heard from the beginning: We must love each other [C as Jesus himself taught: John 13:34–35; 15:12]. 12 Do not be like Cain who belonged to the Evil One and ·killed [murdered] his brother [Gen. 4; John 8:44]. And why did he ·kill [murder] him? Because the things Cain did were evil, and the things his brother did were ·good [righteous; just].
13 Brothers and sisters [C fellow believers], do not ·be surprised [be amazed; wonder] ·when [or that; or if] ·the people of the world hate [L the world hates] you. 14 We know we have ·left death and have come into life [passed/crossed from death to life; John 5:24] because we love ·each other [L the brothers and sisters]. Whoever does not love ·is still dead [abides/remains/continues in death]. 15 Everyone who hates a brother or sister [C fellow believer] is a murderer [C because they have killed that person in their heart; Matt. 5:21–26], and you know that no murderers have eternal life [L abiding; remaining] in them. 16 This is how we know what real love is: ·Jesus [L he] ·gave [laid down] his life for us [John 15:13]. So we should ·give [lay down] our lives for our brothers and sisters [C fellow believers; John 15:12].
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.