Friday in Season after Pentecost

1Verse 1. On the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left the land of Egypt, the whole congregation of Israel set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai. 2Verse 2. And there in the desert the whole congregation of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 3Verse 3. “If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in the land of Egypt!” they said. “There we sat by pots of meat and ate our fill of bread, but you have brought us into this desert to starve this whole assembly to death!” 4Verse 4. Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain down bread from heaven for you. Each day the people are to go out and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test whether or not they will follow My instructions. 5Verse 5. Then on the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather on the other days.” 6Verse 6. So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “This evening you will know that it was the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, 7Verse 7. and in the morning you will see the LORD’s glory, because He has heard your grumbling against Him. For who are we, that you should grumble against us?” 8Verse 8. And Moses added, “The LORD will give you meat to eat this evening and bread to fill you in the morning, for He has heard your grumbling against Him. Who are we? Your grumblings are not against us but against the LORD.” 9Verse 9. Then Moses said to Aaron, “Tell the whole congregation of Israel, ‘Come before the LORD, for He has heard your grumbling.’” 10Verse 10. And as Aaron was speaking to the whole congregation of Israel, they looked toward the desert, and there in a cloud the glory of the LORD appeared. 11Verse 11. Then the LORD said to Moses, 12Verse 12. “I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.’” 13Verse 13. That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14Verse 14. When the layer of dew had evaporated, there were thin flakes on the desert floor, as fine as frost on the ground. 15Verse 15. When the Israelites saw it, they asked one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. So Moses told them, “It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat. 16Verse 16. This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Each one is to gather as much as he needs. You may take an omer for each person in your tent.’” 17Verse 17. So the Israelites did this. Some gathered more, and some less. 18Verse 18. When they measured it by the omer, he who gathered much had no excess, and he who gathered little had no shortfall. Each one gathered as much as he needed to eat. 19Verse 19. Then Moses said to them, “No one may keep any of it until morning.” 20Verse 20. But they did not listen to Moses; some people left part of it until morning, and it became infested with maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them. 21Verse 21. Every morning each one gathered as much as was needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away.

3Verse 3. The shields of his mighty men are red; the valiant warriors are dressed in scarlet. The fittings of the chariots flash like fire on the day they are prepared, and the spears of cypress have been brandished. 4Verse 4. The chariots dash through the streets; they rush around the plazas, appearing like torches, darting about like lightning. 5Verse 5. He summons his nobles; they stumble as they advance. They race to its wall; the protective shield is set in place. 6Verse 6. The river gates are thrown open and the palace collapses. 7Verse 7. It is decreed that the city be exiled and carried away; her maidservants moan like doves, and beat upon their breasts. 8Verse 8. Nineveh has been like a pool of water throughout her days, but now it is draining away. “Stop! Stop!” they cry, but no one turns back. 9Verse 9. “Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold!” There is no end to the treasure, an abundance of every precious thing. 10Verse 10. She is emptied! Yes , she is desolate and laid waste! Hearts melt, knees knock, bodies tremble, and every face grows pale! 11Verse 11. Where is the lions’ lair or the feeding ground of the young lions, where the lion and lioness prowled with their cubs, with nothing to frighten them away? 12Verse 12. The lion mauled enough for its cubs and strangled prey for the lioness. It filled its dens with the kill, and its lairs with mauled prey. 13Verse 13. “Behold, I am against you,” declares the LORD of Hosts. “I will reduce your chariots to cinders, and the sword will devour your young lions. I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voices of your messengers will no longer be heard.”