Matthew 12:38-50
[38]
Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher,
we wish to see a sign from you.” [39] But he answered them, “An evil and
adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it
except the sign of the prophet Jonah. [40] For just as Jonah was three
days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of
Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. [41] The
men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and
condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold,
something greater than Jonah is here. [42] The queen of the South will
rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she
came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and
behold, something greater than Solomon is here.
[43]
“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through
waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. [44] Then it says, ‘I
will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds
the house empty, swept, and put in order. [45] Then it goes and brings
with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and
dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first.
So also will it be with this evil generation.”
[46]
While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his
brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. [48] But he replied to
the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” [49]
And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my
mother and my brothers! [50] For whoever does the will of my Father in
heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”
Acts 18:1-17
[1]
After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. [2] And he found a Jew
named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his
wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave
Rome. And he went to see them, [3] and because he was of the same trade
he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. [4]
And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade
Jews and Greeks.
[5]
When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with
the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus. [6] And when
they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to
them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I
will go to the Gentiles.” [7] And he left there and went to the house of
a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. His house was next door
to the synagogue. [8] Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in
the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the
Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized. [9] And the Lord
said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on
speaking and do not be silent, [10] for I am with you, and no one will
attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.”
[11] And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God
among them.
[12]
But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack
on Paul and brought him before the tribunal, [13] saying, “This man is
persuading people to worship God contrary to the law.” [14] But when
Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a
matter of wrongdoing or vicious crime, O Jews, I would have reason to
accept your complaint. [15] But since it is a matter of questions about
words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves. I refuse to be a
judge of these things.” [16] And he drove them from the tribunal. [17]
And they all seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him
in front of the tribunal. But Gallio paid no attention to any of this.
Psalm 29
A Psalm of David.
[1] Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
[2] Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.
[3] The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the LORD, over many waters.
[4] The voice of the LORD is powerful;
the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
[5] The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;
the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
[6] He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf,
and Sirion like a young wild ox.
[7] The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire.
[8] The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness;
the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
[9] The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth
and strips the forests bare,
and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”
[10] The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;
the LORD sits enthroned as king forever.
[11] May the LORD give strength to his people!
May the LORD bless his people with peace!
Exodus 16
[1]
They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of
Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai,
on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from
the land of Egypt. [2] And the whole congregation of the people of
Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, [3] and the
people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of
the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate
bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to
kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
[4]
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from
heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion
every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or
not. [5] On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will
be twice as much as they gather daily.” [6] So Moses and Aaron said to
all the people of Israel, “At evening you shall know that it was the
LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, [7] and in the morning
you shall see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your grumbling
against the LORD. For what are we, that you grumble against us?” [8]
And Moses said, “When the LORD gives you in the evening meat to eat and
in the morning bread to the full, because the LORD has heard your
grumbling that you grumble against him—what are we? Your grumbling is
not against us but against the LORD.”
[9]
Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the people
of Israel, ‘Come near before the LORD, for he has heard your
grumbling.’” [10] And as soon as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation
of the people of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold,
the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. [11] And the LORD said to
Moses, [12] “I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to
them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be
filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.’”
[13]
In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning
dew lay around the camp. [14] And when the dew had gone up, there was on
the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on
the ground. [15] When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one
another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said
to them, “It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat. [16] This
is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Gather of it, each one of you, as much
as he can eat. You shall each take an omer, according to the number of
the persons that each of you has in his tent.’” [17] And the people of
Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less. [18] But when they
measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over,
and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much
as he could eat. [19] And Moses said to them, “Let no one leave any of
it over till the morning.” [20] But they did not listen to Moses. Some
left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses
was angry with them. [21] Morning by morning they gathered it, each as
much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted.
[22]
On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers each. And
when all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, [23] he
said to them, “This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Tomorrow is a day
of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD; bake what you will bake and
boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept
till the morning.’” [24] So they laid it aside till the morning, as
Moses commanded them, and it did not stink, and there were no worms in
it. [25] Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the LORD;
today you will not find it in the field. [26] Six days you shall gather
it, but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none.”
[27]
On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they
found none. [28] And the LORD said to Moses, “How long will you refuse
to keep my commandments and my laws? [29] See! The LORD has given you
the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days.
Remain each of you in his place; let no one go out of his place on the
seventh day.” [30] So the people rested on the seventh day.
[31]
Now the house of Israel called its name manna. It was like coriander
seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. [32]
Moses said, “This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Let an omer of it be
kept throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread with
which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of
Egypt.’” [33] And Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar, and put an omer of
manna in it, and place it before the LORD to be kept throughout your
generations.” [34] As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it
before the testimony to be kept. [35] The people of Israel ate the manna
forty years, till they came to a habitable land. They ate the manna
till they came to the border of the land of Canaan. [36] (An omer is the
tenth part of an ephah.)
Exodus 17
[1]
All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the
wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the LORD,
and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.
[2] Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water
to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do
you test the LORD?” [3] But the people thirsted there for water, and the
people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of
Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” [4]
So Moses cried to the LORD, “What shall I do with this people? They are
almost ready to stone me.” [5] And the LORD said to Moses, “Pass on
before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and
take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. [6]
Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you
shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people
will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. [7]
And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the
quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the LORD by
saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?”
[8]
Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. [9] So Moses said
to Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek.
Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my
hand.” [10] So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek,
while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. [11]
Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he
lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. [12] But Moses’ hands grew weary, so
they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron
and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other
side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. [13] And
Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.
[14]
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and
recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory
of Amalek from under heaven.” [15] And Moses built an altar and called
the name of it, The LORD Is My Banner, [16] saying, “A hand upon the
throne of the LORD! The LORD will have war with Amalek from generation
to generation.”
Exodus 18
[1]
Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that
God had done for Moses and for Israel his people, how the LORD had
brought Israel out of Egypt. [2] Now Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, had
taken Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her home, [3] along with
her two sons. The name of the one was Gershom (for he said, “I have been
a sojourner in a foreign land”), [4] and the name of the other, Eliezer
(for he said, “The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from
the sword of Pharaoh”). [5] Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his
sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was encamped at
the mountain of God. [6] And when he sent word to Moses, “I, your
father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons
with her,” [7] Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down
and kissed him. And they asked each other of their welfare and went into
the tent. [8] Then Moses told his father-in-law all that the LORD had
done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship
that had come upon them in the way, and how the LORD had delivered
them. [9] And Jethro rejoiced for all the good that the LORD had done to
Israel, in that he had delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians.
[10]
Jethro said, “Blessed be the LORD, who has delivered you out of the
hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh and has delivered
the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. [11] Now I know that
the LORD is greater than all gods, because in this affair they dealt
arrogantly with the people.” [12] And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law,
brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God; and Aaron came with all
the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before God.
[13]
The next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around
Moses from morning till evening. [14] When Moses’ father-in-law saw all
that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are
doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand
around you from morning till evening?” [15] And Moses said to his
father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God; [16]
when they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one
person and another, and I make them know the statutes of God and his
laws.” [17] Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not
good. [18] You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves
out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it
alone. [19] Now obey my voice; I will give you advice, and God be with
you! You shall represent the people before God and bring their cases to
God, [20] and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, and
make them know the way in which they must walk and what they must do.
[21] Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God,
who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people
as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. [22] And
let them judge the people at all times. Every great matter they shall
bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it
will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. [23] If
you do this, God will direct you, you will be able to endure, and all
this people also will go to their place in peace.”
[24]
So Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he
had said. [25] Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them
heads over the people, chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and
of tens. [26] And they judged the people at all times. Any hard case
they brought to Moses, but any small matter they decided themselves.
[27] Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went away to his
own country.
