Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 80[a]
For the director of music. To the tune of “The Lilies of the Covenant.” Of Asaph. A psalm.
1 Hear us, Shepherd of Israel,
you who lead Joseph like a flock.(A)
You who sit enthroned between the cherubim,(B)
shine forth 2 before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.(C)
Awaken(D) your might;
come and save us.(E)
4 How long,(I) Lord God Almighty,
will your anger smolder(J)
against the prayers of your people?
5 You have fed them with the bread of tears;(K)
you have made them drink tears by the bowlful.(L)
6 You have made us an object of derision[b] to our neighbors,
and our enemies mock us.(M)
7 Restore us, God Almighty;
make your face shine on us,
that we may be saved.(N)
Cleansing From Sin
13 “On that day a fountain(A) will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse(B) them from sin and impurity.
2 “On that day, I will banish the names of the idols(C) from the land, and they will be remembered no more,”(D) declares the Lord Almighty. “I will remove both the prophets(E) and the spirit of impurity from the land. 3 And if anyone still prophesies, their father and mother, to whom they were born, will say to them, ‘You must die, because you have told lies(F) in the Lord’s name.’ Then their own parents will stab the one who prophesies.(G)
4 “On that day every prophet will be ashamed(H) of their prophetic vision. They will not put on a prophet’s garment(I) of hair(J) in order to deceive.(K) 5 Each will say, ‘I am not a prophet. I am a farmer; the land has been my livelihood since my youth.[a]’(L) 6 If someone asks, ‘What are these wounds on your body[b]?’ they will answer, ‘The wounds I was given at the house of my friends.’
The Shepherd Struck, the Sheep Scattered
7 “Awake, sword,(M) against my shepherd,(N)
against the man who is close to me!”
declares the Lord Almighty.
“Strike the shepherd,
and the sheep will be scattered,(O)
and I will turn my hand against the little ones.
8 In the whole land,” declares the Lord,
“two-thirds will be struck down and perish;
yet one-third will be left in it.(P)
9 This third I will put into the fire;(Q)
I will refine them like silver(R)
and test them like gold.(S)
They will call(T) on my name(U)
and I will answer(V) them;
I will say, ‘They are my people,’(W)
and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.(X)’”
The Three Angels
6 Then I saw another angel flying in midair,(A) and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth(B)—to every nation, tribe, language and people.(C) 7 He said in a loud voice, “Fear God(D) and give him glory,(E) because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made(F) the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”(G)
8 A second angel followed and said, “‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great,’[a](H) which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.”(I)
9 A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast(J) and its image(K) and receives its mark on their forehead(L) or on their hand, 10 they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury,(M) which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath.(N) They will be tormented with burning sulfur(O) in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever.(P) There will be no rest day or night(Q) for those who worship the beast and its image,(R) or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”(S) 12 This calls for patient endurance(T) on the part of the people of God(U) who keep his commands(V) and remain faithful to Jesus.
13 Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord(W) from now on.”
“Yes,” says the Spirit,(X) “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”
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