Book of Common Prayer

There appeared in heaven a woman clothed with the sun. Michael fights with the dragon, who persecutes the woman.

12 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of 12 stars. ² And she was with child and cried out, travailing in birth, and pained, ready to be delivered. ³ And there appeared another wonder in heaven, for behold: a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and crowns upon his heads. ⁴ And his tail drew the third part of the stars and cast them to the earth.

And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to be delivered in order to devour her child as soon as it was born. ⁵ And she brought forth a man child who was to rule all the nations with a rod of iron. And her Son was taken up to God and to his seat. ⁶ And the woman fled into wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there 1,260 days.

³⁷ And as he spoke, a certain Pharisee asked him to dine with him, and Jesus went in and sat down to food. ³⁸ When the Pharisee saw that, he was shocked that he had not first washed before dinner. ³⁹ And the Lord said to him, Now you Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter, but your inward parts are full of greed and wickedness. ⁴⁰ O foolish men, did not he who made the outside also make that which is within? ⁴¹ But rather give alms of what you have, and behold, all is clean to you. ⁴² But woe is to you Pharisees. For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, but pass over justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, but yet not have left the others undone.

⁴³ Woe to you, Pharisees, for you love the uppermost seats in the synagogues and greetings in the markets. ⁴⁴ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like graves that are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them.

⁴⁵ Then one of the wise men of the law answered and said to him, Teacher, by so saying, you put us to rebuke also.

⁴⁶ Then he said, Woe is to you also, doctors of the law. For you load men with burdens grievous to be borne, and you yourselves do not touch the packs with one of your fingers. ⁴⁷ Woe to you! You build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them; ⁴⁸ truly you bear witness that you accept the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their sepulchres. ⁴⁹ Therefore the wisdom of God spoke: I will send them prophets and apostles, and some they will slay, and some persecute, ⁵⁰ so that the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the beginning of the world, may be required of this generation, ⁵¹ from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the temple. Truly I say to you, it shall be required of this nation.

⁵² Woe to you, doctors of the law, for you have taken away the key of knowledge. You yourselves did not enter in, and those who came in, you opposed.