Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
19 Now the angel of God that usually traveled in front of ·Israel’s army [L them] moved behind them. Also, the pillar of cloud [13:21] moved from in front of the people and stood behind them. 20 So the cloud came between the camp of the Egyptians and camp of the Israelites. This made it dark for the Egyptians but gave light to the Israelites. So the cloud kept ·the two armies [L them] apart all night.
21 Then Moses ·held [extended; stretched] his hand over the sea. All that night the Lord drove back the sea with a strong east wind, making the sea become dry ground. The water was split, 22 and the ·Israelites [L the sons/T children of Israel] went through the sea on dry land, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.
23 Then all ·the king’s [L Pharaoh’s] horses, chariots, and chariot drivers ·followed [pursued] them into the sea. 24 ·When morning came [L At the morning watch], the Lord looked down from the pillar of cloud and fire at the Egyptian army and made them panic. 25 He clogged their chariot wheels,[a] making it hard to ·drive the chariots [L turn]. The Egyptians shouted, “Let’s ·get away [flee] from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them and against Egypt [15:3].”
26 Then the Lord told Moses, “·Hold [Extend; Stretch] your hand over the sea so that the water will come back over the Egyptians, their chariots, and chariot drivers.” 27 So Moses ·raised [extended; stretched] his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea returned to its ·place [or normal depth]. The Egyptians tried to ·run [flee] from it, but the Lord ·swept them away [tossed; overthrew them] into the sea. 28 The water returned, covering the chariots, chariot drivers, and all ·the king’s [L Pharaoh’s] army that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them ·survived [remained].
29 But the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] crossed the sea on dry land, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. 30 So that day the Lord saved the Israelites from the Egyptians, and the Israelites saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore. 31 When the Israelites saw ·the great power the Lord had used [L what God did with his strong hand] against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord, and they ·trusted [had confidence in] the Lord and his servant Moses.
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 Song of Moses
15 Then Moses and the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] sang this song to the Lord:
“I will sing to the Lord,
because he ·is worthy of great honor [is highly exalted; has triumphed gloriously].
He has ·thrown the horse and its rider
into the sea.
2 The Lord ·gives me strength and makes me sing [L is my strength and my song];
he ·has saved me [L is my salvation].
He is my God,
and I will praise him.
He is the God of my ·ancestors [fathers],
and I will ·honor [exalt] him.
3 The Lord is a ·warrior [L man of war];
·the Lord [L Yahweh; 3:14–17] is his name.
4 The chariots and soldiers of ·the king of Egypt [L Pharaoh]
he has ·thrown [cast] into the sea.
·The king’s [L His] ·best [handpicked; elite] officers
are drowned in the ·Red [or Reed; 10:19] Sea.
5 The ·deep waters [floods] covered them,
and they sank ·to the bottom [L into the depths] like a ·rock [stone].
6 Your right hand, Lord,
is ·amazingly [gloriously] strong.
Lord, your right hand
broke the enemy to pieces.
7 In your great victory
you ·destroyed [demolished] those who ·were [L rose up] against you.
·Your anger destroyed them [L You sent out your anger],
·like fire burning straw [L it consumed them like chaff/stubble/straw].
8 Just a blast of your ·breath [or anger],
and the waters piled up.
The moving water stood like a ·wall [or heap];
the ·deep waters [floods] ·became solid [congealed] in the ·middle [L heart] of the sea.
9 “The enemy ·bragged [L said],
‘I’ll ·chase them [L pursue] and ·catch them [L overtake].
I’ll ·take all their riches [L divide the plunder];
·I’ll take all I want [L My desire/appetite will have my fill of them].
I’ll ·pull out [draw] my sword,
and my hand will destroy them.’
10 But you blew on them with your ·breath [or wind]
and covered them with the sea.
They sank like lead
in the ·raging water [mighty waters].
11 “·Are there any gods like you [L Who is like you among the gods], Lord?
·There are no gods [L Who is…?] like you.
You are ·wonderfully holy [splendid/majestic in holiness],
·amazingly powerful [awesome in power],
·a worker of miracles [doing wonders].
20 Then Aaron’s sister Miriam, a prophetess, took a tambourine in her hand. All the women followed her, playing tambourines and dancing. 21 Miriam told them:
“Sing to the Lord,
because he ·is worthy of great honor [is highly exalted; or has triumphed gloriously];
he has thrown the horse and its rider
into the sea.”
Do Not Criticize Other People
14 ·Accept into your group [L Welcome; Receive] someone who is weak in ·faith [or convictions; C on debatable issues], and do not argue about ·opinions [doubtful/debatable issues]. 2 One person believes it is right to eat all kinds of food. But another, who is weak, believes it is right to eat only vegetables [C possibly the issue of whether to keep the OT dietary laws, and/or whether to avoid food sacrificed to idols (see 1 Cor. 8—10)]. 3 The one who ·knows that it is right to eat any kind of food [L eats; v. 14; see Mark 7:18–19] must not ·reject [despise; look down on] the one who ·eats only vegetables [L does not eat]. And the person who ·eats only vegetables [L does not eat] must not ·think that the one who eats all foods is wrong [L judge the one who eats], because God has accepted that person. 4 ·You cannot [L Who are you to…?] judge another person’s servant. ·The master decides if the servant is doing well or not [L Before his own lord/master he stands or falls]. And the Lord’s servant will ·do well [stand] because the Lord ·helps him do well [L can make him stand].
5 Some ·think [decide; judge] that one day is more ·important [sacred; holy] than another, and others think that every day is the same [C the issue is whether to observe the Jewish Sabbath]. Let all be ·sure [fully convinced] ·in their own mind [according to their convictions/conscience]. 6 Those who ·think one day is more important than other days [L observe the day] are doing that for the Lord. And those who ·eat all kinds of food [L eat] are doing that for the Lord, ·and [since; for] they give thanks to God. Others who ·refuse to eat some foods [L do not eat] do that for the Lord, and they give thanks to God. 7 [L For] We do not live for ourselves, and we do not die for ourselves. 8 If we live, we are living for the Lord, and if we die, we are dying for the Lord. So living or dying, we belong to the Lord.
9 The reason Christ died and ·rose from the dead to live again [L lived] was so he would be Lord over both the dead and the living. 10 So why do you judge your brothers or sisters in Christ? And why do you ·think you are better than they are [L despise/look down on your brother or sister]? [L For] We will all stand before ·God to be judged [the judgment seat of God], 11 because it is written in the Scriptures:
“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,
‘·Everyone [L Every knee] will bow before me;
·everyone [L every tongue] will ·say that I am [confess; acknowledge; or praise] God [Is. 45:23].’”
12 So each of us will ·have to answer [give an account of ourselves] to God.
An Unforgiving Servant(A)
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, when my ·fellow believer [L brother (or sister)] sins against me, how many times ·must [should] I forgive him? Should I forgive him as many as seven times?”
22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, you must forgive him not just seven times, but ·seventy times seven times [or seventy-seven times; C the Greek can mean either 490 or 77; the point is unlimited forgiveness]!
23 “[L Therefore; For this reason] The kingdom of heaven is like a king who decided to ·collect the money his servants owed him [L settle accounts with his servants/slaves]. 24 When the king began ·to collect his money [the settlement/reckoning], a ·servant [slave] who owed him ·several million dollars [or billions of dollars; L ten thousand talents; C a talent was worth about six thousand days’ wages; this is an impossibly high debt] was brought to him. 25 But ·the servant [L he] did not have enough money to pay his master. So the master ordered that ·the servant [L he] be sold, together with his wife and children and everything he owned, and the debt paid.
26 “But the ·servant [slave] fell ·on his knees [face down; in obeisance] and begged, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything I owe.’ 27 The master felt ·sorry [compassion] for ·his servant [that slave], so he let him go free and ·forgave [canceled] the debt.
28 “·Later [L After departing], that same ·servant [slave] found ·another servant [a fellow servant/slave] who owed him a ·few dollars [hundred denarii]. ·The servant [L He] grabbed him ·around the neck [L and began choking him] and said, ‘Pay me the money you owe me!’
29 “The ·other servant [fellow servant/slave] fell on his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything I owe.’
30 “But ·the first servant [L he] refused. He threw ·the other servant [him] into prison until he could pay everything he owed. 31 When ·the other servants [his fellow servants/slaves] saw what had happened, they were very ·sorry [upset; distressed]. So they went and ·told [reported to] their master all that had happened.
32 “Then the master called ·his servant [L him] in and said, ‘You ·evil [wicked] ·servant [slave]! Because you ·begged [pleaded with] me, I forgave [canceled] all that debt. 33 ·You should have [L Shouldn’t you have…?] showed mercy to ·that other servant [your fellow servant/slave], just as I showed mercy to you.’ 34 The master was very angry and ·put the servant in prison to be punished [L delivered him to the tormenters/torturers] until he could pay everything he owed.
35 “·This king did what [L So also] my heavenly Father will do to you if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
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