Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 78[a]
A New Beginning in Zion and David
1 A maskil of Asaph.
I
Attend, my people, to my teaching;
listen to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth in a parable,[b]
unfold the puzzling events of the past.(A)
3 What we have heard and know;
things our ancestors have recounted to us.(B)
4 We do not keep them from our children;
we recount them to the next generation,
The praiseworthy deeds of the Lord and his strength,
the wonders that he performed.(C)
II
A
12 In the sight of their ancestors God did wonders,
in the land of Egypt, the plain of Zoan.[a](A)
13 He split the sea and led them across,(B)
making the waters stand like walls.(C)
14 He led them with a cloud by day,
all night with the light of fire.(D)
15 He split rocks in the desert,
gave water to drink, abundant as the deeps of the sea.(E)
16 He made streams flow from crags,
caused rivers of water to flow down.
17 Thus says the Lord, your redeemer,
the Holy One of Israel:
I am the Lord, your God,
teaching you how to prevail,
leading you on the way you should go.
18 If only you would attend to my commandments,
your peace would be like a river,
your vindication like the waves of the sea,
19 Your descendants like the sand,
the offspring of your loins like its grains,
Their name never cut off
or blotted out from my presence.
20 Go forth from Babylon, flee from Chaldea!
With shouts of joy declare this, announce it;
Make it known to the ends of the earth,
Say: “The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob.
21 They did not thirst
when he led them through dry lands;
Water from the rock he set flowing for them;
he cleft the rock, and waters welled forth.”(A)
11 Do not speak evil of one another, brothers. Whoever speaks evil of a brother or judges his brother speaks evil of the law and judges the law.[a] If you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save or to destroy. Who then are you to judge your neighbor?(A)
Warning Against Presumption.[b] 13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we shall go into such and such a town, spend a year there doing business, and make a profit”— 14 you have no idea what your life will be like tomorrow.[c] You are a puff of smoke that appears briefly and then disappears.(B) 15 Instead you should say, “If the Lord wills it,[d] we shall live to do this or that.” 16 But now you are boasting in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
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.