Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

A psalm by David when he was in the wilderness of Judah.

Moses Sends Out 12 Spies

13 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Send men to explore Canaan, which I’m giving to the Israelites. Send one leader from each of their ancestors’ tribes.”

¹⁷ When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he told them, “Go through the Negev and then into the mountain region. ¹⁸ See what the land is like and whether the people living there are strong or weak, few or many. ¹⁹ Is the land they live in good or bad? Do their cities have walls around them or not? ²⁰ Is the soil rich or poor? Does the land have trees or not? Do your best to bring back some fruit from the land.” (It was the season when grapes were beginning to ripen.)

²¹ So the men explored the land from the Desert of Zin to the border of Hamath. ²² They went through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai lived. They are descendants of Anak. (Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) ²³ When they came to the Eshcol Valley, they cut off a branch with only one bunch of grapes on it. They carried it on a pole between two of them. They also brought some pomegranates and figs. ²⁴ So they called that valley Eshcol [Bunch of Grapes] because of the bunch of grapes the Israelites cut off there.

²⁵ Forty days later, they came back from exploring the land. ²⁶ They came back to Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of Israel at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. They gave their report and showed them the fruit from the land.

²⁷ This is what they reported to Moses: “We went to the land where you sent us. It really is a land flowing with milk and honey. Here’s some of its fruit. ²⁸ But the people who live there are strong, and the cities have walls and are very large. We even saw the descendants of Anak there. ²⁹ The Amalekites live in the Negev. The Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the mountain region. And the Canaanites live along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and all along the Jordan River.”

³⁰ Caleb told the people to be quiet and listen to Moses. Caleb said, “Let’s go now and take possession of the land. We should be more than able to conquer it.”

³¹ But the men who had gone with him said, “We can’t attack those people! They’re too strong for us!” ³² So they began to spread lies among the Israelites about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored is one that devours those who live there. All the people we saw there are very tall. ³³ We saw Nephilim there. (The descendants of Anak are Nephilim.) We felt as small as grasshoppers, and that’s how we must have looked to them.”

The People Rebel against the Lord

14 Then all the people in the Israelite community raised their voices and cried out loud all that night. ² They complained to Moses and Aaron, “If only we had died in Egypt or this desert! ³ Why is the Lord bringing us to this land—just to have us die in battle? Our wives and children will be taken as prisoners of war! Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” ⁴ They said to each other, “Let’s choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”

⁵ Immediately, Moses and Aaron bowed with their faces touching the ground in front of the whole community of Israel assembled there. ⁶ At the same time, two of those who had explored the land, Joshua (son of Nun) and Caleb (son of Jephunneh), tore their clothes in despair. ⁷ They said to the whole community of Israel, “The land we explored is very good. ⁸ If the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us. This is a land flowing with milk and honey! ⁹ Don’t rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land. We will devour them like bread. They have no protection, and the Lord is with us. So don’t be afraid of them.”

Jesus Again Foretells That He Will Die and Come Back to Life^(A)

²² While they were traveling together in Galilee, Jesus told them, “The Son of Man will be betrayed and handed over to people. ²³ They will kill him, but on the third day he will be brought back to life.” Then the disciples became very sad.

Paying the Temple Tax

²⁴ When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax came to Peter. They asked him, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?”

²⁵ “Certainly,” he answered.

Peter went into the house. Before he could speak, Jesus asked him, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the world collect fees or taxes? Is it from their family members or from other people?”

²⁶ “From other people,” Peter answered.

Jesus said to him, “Then the family members are exempt. ²⁷ However, so that we don’t create a scandal, go to the sea and throw in a hook. Take the first fish that you catch. Open its mouth, and you will find a coin. Give that coin to them for you and me.”