Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 97[a]
The Divine Ruler of All
I
1 The Lord is king; let the earth rejoice;
let the many islands be glad.(A)
2 Cloud and darkness surround him;
justice and right are the foundation of his throne.(B)
3 Fire goes before him,
consuming his foes on every side.
4 His lightening illumines the world;
the earth sees and trembles.(C)
5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of all the earth.(D)
6 The heavens proclaim his justice;
all peoples see his glory.(E)
II
7 All who serve idols are put to shame,
who glory in worthless things;
all gods[b] bow down before him.(F)
8 Zion hears and is glad,
and the daughters of Judah rejoice
because of your judgments, O Lord.(G)
9 For you, Lord, are the Most High over all the earth,(H)
exalted far above all gods.
10 You who love the Lord, hate evil,
he protects the souls of the faithful,(I)
rescues them from the hand of the wicked.
11 Light dawns for the just,
and gladness for the honest of heart.(J)
12 Rejoice in the Lord, you just,
and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.(K)
15 Moses then turned and came down the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in his hands,(A) tablets that were written on both sides, front and back. 16 The tablets were made by God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.(B) 17 Now, when Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, “That sounds like a battle in the camp.” 18 But Moses answered,
“It is not the noise of victory,
it is not the noise of defeat;
the sound I hear is singing.”
19 As he drew near the camp, he saw the calf and the dancing. Then Moses’ anger burned, and he threw the tablets down and broke them on the base of the mountain.(C) 20 Taking the calf they had made, he burned it in the fire and then ground it down to powder, which he scattered on the water[a] and made the Israelites drink.(D)
21 [b]Moses asked Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you should lead them into a grave sin?” 22 Aaron replied, “Do not let my lord be angry. You know how the people are prone to evil. 23 They said to me, ‘Make us a god to go before us; as for this man Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.’ 24 So I told them, ‘Whoever is wearing gold, take it off.’ They gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and this calf came out.”
25 Moses saw that the people were running wild because Aaron had lost control—to the secret delight of their foes. 26 Moses stood at the gate of the camp and shouted, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me!” All the Levites(E) then rallied to him, 27 and he told them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Each of you put your sword on your hip! Go back and forth through the camp, from gate to gate, and kill your brothers, your friends, your neighbors!” 28 The Levites did as Moses had commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people fell. 29 Then Moses said, “Today you are installed as priests[c] for the Lord, for you went against your own sons and brothers, to bring a blessing upon yourselves this day.”
The Atonement. 30 On the next day Moses said to the people,(F) “You have committed a grave sin. Now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I may be able to make atonement for your sin.” 31 So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Ah, this people has committed a grave sin in making a god of gold for themselves! 32 Now if you would only forgive their sin! But if you will not, then blot me out of the book that you have written.”[d] 33 The Lord answered Moses: Only the one who has sinned against me will I blot out of my book. 34 Now, go and lead the people where I have told you. See, my angel will go before you. When it is time for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.
35 Thus the Lord struck the people for making the calf, the one that Aaron made.
Exhortations. 17 But you, beloved, remember the words spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ,(A) 18 for they told you,(B) “In [the] last time there will be scoffers who will live according to their own godless desires.”[a] 19 These are the ones who cause divisions; they live on the natural plane, devoid of the Spirit.(C) 20 But you, beloved, build yourselves up in your most holy faith; pray in the holy Spirit.(D) 21 Keep yourselves in the love of God and wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.(E) 22 On those who waver, have mercy;[b] 23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; on others have mercy with fear,[c] abhorring even the outer garment stained by the flesh.
Doxology.[d] 24 To the one who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you unblemished and exultant, in the presence of his glory,(F) 25 to the only God, our savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord be glory, majesty, power, and authority from ages past, now, and for ages to come. Amen.(G)
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.