May 7 Reading

12:1 Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. And they said, “Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” And the LORD heard it. Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth. And suddenly the LORD said to Moses and to Aaron and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tent of meeting.” And the three of them came out. And the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the tent and called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward. And he said, “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the LORD make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them, and he departed.

When the cloud removed from over the tent, behold, Miriam was leprous, like snow. And Aaron turned toward Miriam, and behold, she was leprous. And Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord, do not punish us because we have done foolishly and have sinned. Let her not be as one dead, whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes out of his mother’s womb.” And Moses cried to the LORD, “O God, please heal her—please.” But the LORD said to Moses, “If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be shamed seven days? Let her be shut outside the camp seven days, and after that she may be brought in again.” So Miriam was shut outside the camp seven days, and the people did not set out on the march till Miriam was brought in again. After that the people set out from Hazeroth, and camped in the wilderness of Paran.

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

109:1   Be not silent, O God of my praise!
  For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me,
    speaking against me with lying tongues.
  They encircle me with words of hate,
    and attack me without cause.
  In return for my love they accuse me,
    but I give myself to prayer.
  So they reward me evil for good,
    and hatred for my love.
  Appoint a wicked man against him;
    let an accuser stand at his right hand.
  When he is tried, let him come forth guilty;
    let his prayer be counted as sin!
  May his days be few;
    may another take his office!
  May his children be fatherless
    and his wife a widow!
  May his children wander about and beg,
    seeking food far from the ruins they inhabit!
  May the creditor seize all that he has;
    may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil!
  Let there be none to extend kindness to him,
    nor any to pity his fatherless children!
  May his posterity be cut off;
    may his name be blotted out in the second generation!
  May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD,
    and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out!
  Let them be before the LORD continually,
    that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth!
  For he did not remember to show kindness,
    but pursued the poor and needy
    and the brokenhearted, to put them to death.
  He loved to curse; let curses come upon him!
    He did not delight in blessing; may it be far from him!
  He clothed himself with cursing as his coat;
    may it soak into his body like water,
    like oil into his bones!
  May it be like a garment that he wraps around him,
    like a belt that he puts on every day!
  May this be the reward of my accusers from the LORD,
    of those who speak evil against my life!
  But you, O GOD my Lord,
    deal on my behalf for your name’s sake;
    because your steadfast love is good, deliver me!
  For I am poor and needy,
    and my heart is stricken within me.
  I am gone like a shadow at evening;
    I am shaken off like a locust.
  My knees are weak through fasting;
    my body has become gaunt, with no fat.
  I am an object of scorn to my accusers;
    when they see me, they wag their heads.
  Help me, O LORD my God!
    Save me according to your steadfast love!
  Let them know that this is your hand;
    you, O LORD, have done it!
  Let them curse, but you will bless!
    They arise and are put to shame, but your servant will be glad!
  May my accusers be clothed with dishonor;
    may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a cloak!
  With my mouth I will give great thanks to the LORD;
    I will praise him in the midst of the throng.
  For he stands at the right hand of the needy one,
    to save him from those who condemn his soul to death.