Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A psalm by David when he was in the wilderness of Judah.
63 O God, you are my God.
At dawn I search for you.
My soul thirsts for you.
My body longs for you
in a dry, parched land where there is no water.
2 So I look for you in the holy place
to see your power and your glory.
3 My lips will praise you
because your mercy is better than life ⌞itself⌟.
4 So I will thank you as long as I live.
I will lift up my hands ⌞to pray⌟ in your name.
5 You satisfy my soul with the richest foods.
My mouth will sing ⌞your⌟ praise with joyful lips.
6 As I lie on my bed, I remember you.
Through the long hours of the night, I think about you.
7 You have been my help.
In the shadow of your wings, I sing joyfully.
8 My soul clings to you.
Your right hand supports me.
Miriam and Aaron Oppose Moses
12 Miriam and Aaron began to criticize Moses because he was married to a woman from Sudan. 2 They asked, “Did the Lord speak only through Moses? Didn’t he also speak through us?” The Lord heard their complaint.
3 (Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on earth.)
4 Suddenly, the Lord said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “All three of you come to the tent of meeting.” So all three of them came. 5 Then the Lord came down in the column of smoke and stood at the entrance to the tent. He called to Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward.
6 He said, “Listen to my words: When there are prophets of the Lord among you, I make myself known to them in visions or speak to them in dreams. 7 But this is not the way I treat my servant Moses. He is the most faithful person in my household.[a] 8 I speak with him face to face, plainly and not in riddles. He even sees the form of the Lord. Why weren’t you afraid to criticize my servant Moses?”
9 The Lord was angry with them, so he left.
21 Then a powerful angel picked up a stone that was like a large millstone. He threw it into the sea and said,
“The important city Babylon will be thrown down with the same force.
It will never be found again.
22 The sound of harpists, musicians, flutists, and trumpeters
will never be heard in it again.
A skilled craftsman—regardless of the type of craft—
will never be found in it again.
The sound of a millstone
will never be heard in it again.
23 Light from lamps
will never shine in it again.
Voices of brides and grooms
will never be heard in it again.
Its merchants were the important people of the world,
because all the nations were deceived by its witchcraft.
24 “The blood of prophets, God’s people, and everyone who had been murdered on earth was found in it.”
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