Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
2 The entire company[a] of Israelites murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died[b] by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by[c] the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full,[d] for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill[e] this whole assembly with hunger!”
4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to rain[f] bread from heaven for you, and the people will go out[g] and gather the amount for each day, so that I may test them.[h] Will they walk in my law[i] or not? 5 On the sixth day[j] they will prepare what they bring in, and it will be twice as much as they gather every other day.”[k]
6 Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening[l] you will know that the Lord has brought you out of the land of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you will see[m] the glory of the Lord, because he has heard[n] your murmurings against the Lord. As for us, what are we,[o] that you should murmur against us?”
8 Moses said, “You will know this[p] when the Lord gives you[q] meat to eat in the evening and bread in the morning to satisfy you, because the Lord has heard your murmurings that you are murmuring against him. As for us, what are we?[r] Your murmurings are not against us,[s] but against the Lord.”
9 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Tell the whole community[t] of the Israelites, ‘Come[u] before the Lord, because he has heard your murmurings.’”
10 As Aaron spoke[v] to the whole community of the Israelites and they looked toward the wilderness, there the glory of the Lord[w] appeared[x] in the cloud, 11 and the Lord spoke to Moses, 12 “I have heard the murmurings of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘During the evening[y] you will eat meat,[z] and in the morning you will be satisfied[aa] with bread, so that you may know[ab] that I am the Lord your God.’”[ac]
13 In the evening the quail[ad] came up and covered the camp, and in the morning a layer of dew was all around the camp. 14 When[ae] the layer of dew had evaporated,[af] there on the surface of the wilderness was a thin flaky substance,[ag] thin like frost on the earth. 15 When[ah] the Israelites saw it, they said to one another,[ai] “What is it?” because they did not know what it was.[aj] Moses said to them, “It is the bread[ak] that the Lord has given you for food.[al]
Psalm 105[a]
105 Give thanks to the Lord.
Call on his name.
Make known his accomplishments among the nations.
2 Sing to him.
Make music to him.
Tell about all his miraculous deeds.
3 Boast about his holy name.
Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
4 Seek the Lord and the strength he gives.
Seek his presence continually.
5 Recall the miraculous deeds he performed,
his mighty acts and the judgments he decreed,[b]
6 O children[c] of Abraham,[d] God’s[e] servant,
you descendants[f] of Jacob, God’s[g] chosen ones.
37 He brought his people[a] out enriched[b] with silver and gold;
none of his tribes stumbled.
38 Egypt was happy when they left,
for they were afraid of them.[c]
39 He spread out a cloud for a cover,[d]
and provided a fire to light up the night.
40 They asked for food,[e] and he sent quail;
he satisfied them with food from the sky.[f]
41 He opened up a rock and water flowed out;
a river ran through dry regions.
42 Yes,[g] he remembered the sacred promise[h]
he made to Abraham his servant.
43 When he led his people out, they rejoiced;
his chosen ones shouted with joy.[i]
44 He handed the territory of nations over to them,
and they took possession of what other peoples had produced,[j]
45 so that they might keep his commands
and obey[k] his laws.
Praise the Lord.
21 For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. 22 Now if I am to go on living in the body,[a] this will mean productive work[b] for me, yet I don’t know which I prefer:[c] 23 I feel torn between the two,[d] because I have a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far, 24 but it is more vital for your sake that I remain[e] in the body.[f] 25 And since I am sure of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for the sake of your progress[g] and joy in the faith,[h] 26 so that what you can be proud of may increase[i] because of me in Christ Jesus, when I come back to you.[j]
27 Only conduct yourselves[k] in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ so that—whether I come and see you or whether I remain absent—I should hear that[l] you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, by contending side by side for the faith of the gospel,[m] 28 and by not being intimidated in any way by your opponents. This is[n] a sign of their[o] destruction, but of your salvation—a sign which[p] is from God. 29 For it has been granted to you[q] not only to believe in Christ but also to suffer for him, 30 since you are encountering[r] the same conflict that you saw me face and now hear that I am facing.[s]
Workers in the Vineyard
20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner[a] who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 And after agreeing with the workers for the standard wage,[b] he sent them into his vineyard. 3 When it was about nine o’clock in the morning,[c] he went out again and saw others standing around in the marketplace[d] without work. 4 He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and I will give you whatever is right.’ 5 So they went. When[e] he went out again about noon and three o’clock that afternoon,[f] he did the same thing. 6 And about five o’clock that afternoon[g] he went out and found others standing around, and said to them, ‘Why are you standing here all day without work?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go and work in the vineyard too.’ 8 When[h] it was evening[i] the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages[j] starting with the last hired until the first.’ 9 When those hired about five o’clock came, each received a full day’s pay.[k] 10 And when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more. But each one also received the standard wage. 11 When[l] they received it, they began to complain[m] against the landowner, 12 saying, ‘These last fellows worked one hour, and you have made them equal to us who bore the hardship and burning heat of the day.’ 13 And the landowner[n] replied to one of them,[o] ‘Friend, I am not treating you unfairly. Didn’t you agree with me to work for the standard wage?[p] 14 Take what is yours and go. I[q] want to give to this last man[r] the same as I gave to you. 15 Am I not[s] permitted to do what I want with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’[t] 16 So the last will be first, and the first last.”
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