Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Israel’s Rebelliousness and the Lord’s Deliverances.
106 Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
For His mercy and lovingkindness endure forever!(A)
2
Who can put into words the mighty deeds of the Lord?
Or who can proclaim all His praise [that is due Him]?
3
Blessed are those who observe justice [by honoring God’s precepts],
Who practice righteousness at all times.
4
Remember me, O Lord, when You favor Your people.
Visit me with Your salvation [when You rescue them],
5
That I may see the prosperity of Your chosen ones,
That I may rejoice in the gladness of Your nation,
That I may glory with Your inheritance.
6
We have sinned like our fathers;
We have committed iniquity, we have behaved wickedly.(B)
7
Our fathers in Egypt did not understand nor appreciate Your miracles;
They did not remember the abundance of Your mercies nor imprint Your lovingkindnesses on their hearts,
But they were rebellious at the sea, at the [a]Red Sea.(C)
8
Nevertheless He saved them for His name’s sake,
That He might make His [supreme] power known.
9
He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up;
And He led them through the depths as through a pasture.(D)
10
So He saved them from the hand of the one that hated them,
And redeemed them from the hand of the [Egyptian] enemy.(E)
11
And the waters covered their adversaries;
Not one of them was left.(F)
12
Then Israel believed in [the validity of] His words;
They sang His praise.
A Law of Inheritance
27 Then the [five] daughters of Zelophehad the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, from the [a]tribes of Manasseh [who was] the son of Joseph, approached [with a request]. These are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 2 They stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders, and all the congregation at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle), saying, 3 “Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among those who assembled together against the Lord in the company of Korah, but he died for his own sin [as did all those who rebelled at Kadesh], and he had no sons.(A) 4 Why should the name of our father be removed from his family because he had no son? Give to us a possession (land) among our father’s brothers.” 5 So Moses brought their case before the Lord.
6 Then the Lord said to Moses, 7 “The request of the daughters of Zelophehad is justified. You shall certainly give them a possession as an inheritance among their father’s brothers, and you shall transfer their father’s inheritance to them. 8 Further, you shall say to the Israelites, ‘If a man dies and has no son, you shall transfer his inheritance to his daughter. 9 If a man has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers. 10 If a man has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. 11 If his father has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his nearest relative in his own family, and he shall take possession of it. It shall be a statute and ordinance to the Israelites, just as the Lord has commanded Moses.’”
33 “No one lights a lamp and then puts it in a cellar nor under a basket [hiding the light], but [instead it is put] on the lampstand, so that those who come in may see the light.(A) 34 The eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is clear [spiritually perceptive, focused on God], your whole body also is full of light [benefiting from God’s precepts]. But when it is bad [spiritually blind], your body also is full of darkness [devoid of God’s word]. 35 Be careful, therefore, that the light that is in you is not darkness. 36 So if your whole body is illuminated, with no dark part, it will be entirely bright [with light], as when the lamp gives you light with its bright rays.”
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