Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
BOOK 4
God’s Eternity and the Brevity of Human Life.
A Prayer of [a]Moses, the man of God.
90 Lord, You have been our [b](A)dwelling place in all generations.
2 Before (B)the mountains were born
[c]Or You (C)gave birth to the earth and the world,
Even (D)from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.
3 You (E)turn mortals back into dust
And say, “Return, you sons of mankind.”
4 For (F)a thousand years in Your sight
Are like (G)yesterday when it passes by,
[d]Or like a (H)watch in the night.
5 You (I)have [e]swept them away like a flood, they [f](J)fall asleep;
In the morning they are like (K)grass that [g]sprouts anew.
6 In the morning it (L)flourishes and [h]sprouts anew;
Toward evening it (M)wilts and (N)withers away.
13 Do (A)return, Lord; (B)how long will it be?
And [a]be (C)sorry for Your servants.
14 (D)Satisfy us in the morning with Your graciousness,
That we may (E)sing for joy and rejoice all our days.
15 (F)Make us glad [b]according to the days You have afflicted us,
And the (G)years we have seen [c]evil.
16 Let Your (H)work appear to Your servants
And Your (I)majesty [d]to their children.
17 May the (J)kindness of the Lord our God be upon us;
And [e](K)confirm for us the work of our hands;
Yes, [f]confirm the work of our hands.
Israel Will Fall Away
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, [a](A)the time for you to die is near; call Joshua and present yourselves at the tent of meeting, and I will commission him.” (B)So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the tent of meeting. 15 (C)And the Lord appeared in the tent in a pillar of cloud, and the pillar of cloud stood at the entrance of the tent. 16 The Lord said to Moses, “Behold, (D)you are about to [b]lie down with your fathers; and (E)this people will arise and play the prostitute with the foreign gods of the land into the midst of which they are going, and (F)they will abandon Me and break My covenant which I have made with them. 17 (G)Then My anger will be kindled against them on that day, and (H)I will abandon them and (I)hide My face from them, and they will be consumed, and many evils and troubles will find them; so they will say on that day, ‘(J)Is it not because our God is not among us that these evils have found us?’ 18 But I will assuredly hide My face on that day because of all the evil that they will have done, for they will have turned away to other gods.
19 “Now then, (K)write this song for yourselves, and teach it to the sons of Israel; put it [c]on their lips, so that this song may be a witness for Me against the sons of Israel. 20 (L)For when I bring them into the land flowing with milk and honey, which I swore to their fathers, and they eat and are satisfied and (M)become [d]prosperous, then they will turn to other gods and serve them, and spurn Me and break My covenant. 21 Then it will come about, (N)when many evils and troubles find them, that this song will testify before them as a witness (for it shall not be forgotten from the mouth of their [e]descendants); for (O)I know their inclination which they are [f]developing today, before I bring them into the land which I swore.” 22 (P)So Moses wrote down this song on the same day, and taught it to the sons of Israel.
Qualifications of Elders
5 For this reason I left you in (A)Crete, that you would set in order what remains and (B)appoint (C)elders in every city as I directed you, 6 namely, (D)if any man is beyond reproach, the (E)husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of (F)indecent behavior or (G)rebellion. 7 For the [a](H)overseer must be beyond reproach as (I)God’s steward, not (J)self-willed, not quick-tempered, not (K)overindulging in wine, not [b]a bully, (L)not greedy for money, 8 but (M)hospitable, (N)loving what is good, self-controlled, righteous, holy, disciplined, 9 (O)holding firmly the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to [c]exhort in (P)sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict it.
10 (Q)For there are many (R)rebellious people, (S)empty talkers and deceivers, especially (T)those of the circumcision, 11 who must be silenced because they are upsetting (U)whole families, teaching (V)things they should not teach (W)for the sake of [d]dishonest gain. 12 One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “(X)Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” 13 This testimony is true. For this reason (Y)reprimand them (Z)severely so that they may be (AA)sound in the faith, 14 not paying attention to Jewish (AB)myths and (AC)commandments of men who (AD)turn away from the truth. 15 (AE)To the pure, all things are pure; but (AF)to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their (AG)mind and their conscience are defiled. 16 (AH)They profess to know God, but by their deeds they (AI)deny Him, being (AJ)detestable and (AK)disobedient and (AL)worthless (AM)for any good deed.
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