Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 105[a]
God’s Fidelity to the Promise
I
1 Give thanks to the Lord, invoke his name;(A)
make known among the peoples his deeds!(B)
2 Sing praise to him, play music;
proclaim all his wondrous deeds!
3 Glory in his holy name;
let hearts that seek the Lord rejoice!
4 Seek out the Lord and his might;
constantly seek his face.(C)
5 Recall the wondrous deeds he has done,
his wonders and words of judgment,
6 You descendants of Abraham his servant,
offspring of Jacob the chosen one!
37 He brought his people out,
laden with silver and gold;(A)
no one among the tribes stumbled.
38 Egypt rejoiced when they left,
for fear had seized them.
VI
39 He spread a cloud out as a cover,
and made a fire to light up the night.(B)
40 They asked and he brought them quail;
with bread from heaven he filled them.(C)
41 He split the rock and water gushed forth;
it flowed through the desert like a river.(D)
42 For he remembered his sacred promise
to Abraham his servant.
43 He brought his people out with joy,
his chosen ones with shouts of triumph.
44 He gave them the lands of the nations,
they took possession of the wealth of the peoples,(E)
45 That they might keep his statutes
and observe his teachings.(F)
Hallelujah!
Chapter 16
The Wilderness of Sin. 1 Having set out from Elim, the whole Israelite community came into the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month[a] after their departure from the land of Egypt. 2 Here in the wilderness the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died at the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, as we sat by our kettles of meat and ate our fill of bread! But you have led us into this wilderness to make this whole assembly die of famine!”
The Quail and the Manna. 4 Then the Lord said to Moses:(A) I am going to rain down bread from heaven[b] for you. Each day the people are to go out and gather their daily portion; thus will I test them, to see whether they follow my instructions or not. 5 On the sixth day, however, when they prepare what they bring in, let it be twice as much as they gather on the other days. 6 So Moses and Aaron told all the Israelites,(B) “At evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt; 7 and in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, when he hears your grumbling against him. But who are we that you should grumble against us?” 8 And Moses said, “When the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening and in the morning your fill of bread, and hears the grumbling you utter against him, who then are we? Your grumbling is not against us, but against the Lord.”
9 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Tell the whole Israelite community: Approach the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling.” 10 But while Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they turned in the direction of the wilderness, and there the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud! 11 The Lord said to Moses: 12 I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them: In the evening twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will have your fill of bread, and then you will know that I, the Lord, am your God.
13 In the evening, quail(C) came up and covered the camp. In the morning there was a layer of dew all about the camp, 14 and when the layer of dew evaporated, fine flakes were on the surface of the wilderness, fine flakes like hoarfrost on the ground. 15 On seeing it, the Israelites asked one another, “What is this?”[c] for they did not know what it was. But Moses told them, “It is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat.(D)
Regulations Regarding the Manna. 16 “Now, this is what the Lord has commanded. Gather as much of it as each needs to eat, an omer[d] for each person for as many of you as there are, each of you providing for those in your own tent.” 17 The Israelites did so. Some gathered a large and some a small amount. 18 [e]But when they measured it out by the omer, the one who had gathered a large amount did not have too much, and the one who had gathered a small amount did not have too little. They gathered as much as each needed to eat. 19 Moses said to them, “Let no one leave any of it over until morning.” 20 But they did not listen to Moses, and some kept a part of it over until morning, and it became wormy and stank. Therefore Moses was angry with them.
21 Morning after morning they gathered it, as much as each needed to eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted away.
5 [a]Examine yourselves to see whether you are living in faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless, of course, you fail the test. 6 I hope you will discover that we have not failed. 7 But we pray to God that you may not do evil, not that we may appear to have passed the test but that you may do what is right, even though we may seem to have failed. 8 For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. 9 For we rejoice when we are weak but you are strong. What we pray for is your improvement.
10 [b](A)I am writing this while I am away, so that when I come I may not have to be severe in virtue of the authority that the Lord has given me to build up and not to tear down.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.