Deuteronomy 32:28-52
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
28 They are a nation void of sense;
there is no understanding in them.
29 If they were wise, they would understand this;
they would discern what their end would be.(A)
30 How could one have routed a thousand
and two put a myriad to flight,
unless their Rock had sold them,
the Lord had given them up?(B)
31 Indeed, their rock is not like our Rock;
our enemies are fools.[a](C)
32 Their vine comes from the vinestock of Sodom,
from the vineyards of Gomorrah;
their grapes are grapes of poison;
their clusters are bitter;
33 their wine is the poison of serpents,
the cruel venom of asps.(D)
34 Is not this laid up in store with me,
sealed up in my treasuries,(E)
35 for the day of vengeance[b] and recompense,
for the time when their foot shall slip?
Because the day of their calamity is at hand;
their doom comes swiftly.(F)
36 Indeed, the Lord will vindicate his people,
have compassion on his servants,
when he sees that their power is gone,
neither bond nor free remaining.(G)
37 Then he will say, ‘Where are their gods,
the rock in which they took refuge,(H)
38 who ate the fat of their sacrifices
and drank the wine of their libations?
Let them rise up and help you;
let them be your protection!
39 See now that I, even I, am he;
there is no god besides me.
I kill, and I make alive;
I wound, and I heal;
and no one can deliver from my hand.(I)
40 For I lift up my hand to heaven
and swear, As I live forever,
41 when I whet my flashing sword
and my hand takes hold on judgment,
I will take vengeance on my adversaries
and will repay those who hate me.(J)
42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood,
and my sword shall devour flesh—
with the blood of the slain and the captives,
from the long-haired enemy.’(K)
43 Praise, O heavens,[c] his people;
worship him, all you gods![d]
For he will avenge the blood of his children[e]
and take vengeance on his adversaries;
he will repay those who hate him[f]
and cleanse the land for his people.”[g](L)
44 Moses came and recited all the words of this song in the hearing of the people, he and Joshua[h] son of Nun. 45 When Moses had finished reciting all these words to all Israel, 46 he said to them, “Take to heart all the words that I am giving in witness against you today; give them as a command to your children, so that they may diligently observe all the words of this law.(M) 47 This is no trifling matter for you but rather your very life; through it you may live long in the land that you are crossing over the Jordan to possess.”(N)
Moses’s Death Foretold
48 On that very day the Lord addressed Moses as follows: 49 “Ascend this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab across from Jericho, and view the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites for a possession;(O) 50 you shall die there on the mountain that you ascend and shall be gathered to your kin, as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his kin, 51 because both of you broke faith with me among the Israelites at the waters of Meribath-kadesh in the wilderness of Zin, by failing to maintain my holiness among the Israelites.(P) 52 Although you may view the land from a distance, you shall not enter it, the land that I am giving to the Israelites.”(Q)
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Luke 12:35-59
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Watchful Slaves
35 “Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit;(A) 36 be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. 37 Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them.(B) 38 If he comes during the middle of the night or near dawn and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.
39 “But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he[a] would not have let his house be broken into.(C) 40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”(D)
The Faithful or the Unfaithful Slave
41 Peter said, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for everyone?” 42 And the Lord said, “Who, then, is the faithful and prudent manager whom his master will put in charge of his slaves, to give them their allowance of food at the proper time?(E) 43 Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives. 44 Truly I tell you, he will put that one in charge of all his possessions. 45 But if that slave says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the other slaves, men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk, 46 the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour that he does not know and will cut him in pieces[b] and put him with the unfaithful. 47 That slave who knew what his master wanted but did not prepare himself or do what was wanted will receive a severe beating.(F) 48 But the one who did not know and did what deserved a beating will receive a light beating. From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required, and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.(G)
Jesus the Cause of Division
49 “I have come to cast fire upon the earth, and how I wish it were already ablaze! 50 I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what constraint I am under until it is completed!(H) 51 Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!(I) 52 From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; 53 they will be divided:
father against son
and son against father,
mother against daughter
and daughter against mother,
mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law
and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”(J)
Interpreting the Time
54 He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, ‘It is going to rain,’ and so it happens.(K) 55 And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens.(L) 56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?(M)
Settling with Your Opponent
57 “And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? 58 Thus when you go with your accuser before a magistrate, on the way make an effort to reach a settlement,[c] or you may be dragged before the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer throw you in prison.(N) 59 I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny.”(O)
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Psalm 78:56-64
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
56 Yet they tested the Most High God
and rebelled against him.
They did not observe his decrees(A)
57 but turned away and were faithless like their ancestors;
they twisted like a treacherous bow.(B)
58 For they provoked him to anger with their high places;
they moved him to jealousy with their idols.(C)
59 When God heard, he was full of wrath,
and he utterly rejected Israel.
60 He abandoned his dwelling at Shiloh,
the tent where he dwelt among mortals,(D)
61 and delivered his power to captivity,
his glory to the hand of the foe.(E)
62 He gave his people to the sword
and vented his wrath on his heritage.(F)
63 Fire devoured their young men,
and their young women had no marriage song.(G)
64 Their priests fell by the sword,
and their widows made no lamentation.(H)
Proverbs 12:24
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
24 The hand of the diligent will rule,
while the lazy will be put to forced labor.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.