Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Lord’s Day of Judging
18 How terrible it will be for you who want
the Lord’s day of judging to come.
Why do you want that day to come?
It will bring darkness for you, not light.
19 It will be like a man who runs from a lion
and meets a bear.
It will be like him going into his house
and putting his hand on the wall.
And then a snake bites him.
20 So the Lord’s day of judging will bring darkness, not light.
It will be a time of sadness, not joy.
21 The Lord says, “I hate and reject your feasts.
I cannot stand your religious meetings.
22 You offer me burnt offerings and grain offerings.
But I won’t accept them.
You bring the best fellowship offerings.
But I will ignore them.
23 Take the noise of your songs away from here!
I won’t listen to the music of your harps.
24 But let justice flow like a river.
Let goodness flow like a never-ending stream.
A Cry for God to Help Quickly
For the director of music. A song of David. To help people remember.
70 God, save me.
Lord, hurry to help me.
2 People are trying to kill me.
Shame them and disgrace them.
People want to hurt me.
Let them run away in disgrace.
3 People make fun of me.
Stop them and make them ashamed.
4 But let all the people who worship you
rejoice and be glad.
Let the people who love your salvation
always say, “Praise the greatness of God.”
5 I am poor and helpless.
God, hurry to me.
You help me and save me.
Lord, do not wait.
The Lord’s Coming
13 Brothers, we want you to know about those who have died. We do not want you to be sad as others who have no hope. 14 We believe that Jesus died and that he rose again. So, because of Jesus, God will bring together with Jesus those who have died. 15 What we tell you now is the Lord’s own message. We who are living now may still be living when the Lord comes again. We who are living at that time will be with the Lord, but not before those who have already died. 16 The Lord himself will come down from heaven. There will be a loud command with the voice of the archangel[a] and with the trumpet call of God. And those who have died and were in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, those who are still alive at that time will be gathered up with them. We will be taken up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And we will be with the Lord forever. 18 So comfort each other with these words.
A Story About Ten Girls
25 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten girls who went to wait for the bridegroom. They took their lamps with them. 2 Five of the girls were foolish and five were wise. 3 The five foolish girls took their lamps, but they did not take more oil for the lamps to burn. 4 The wise girls took their lamps and more oil in jars. 5 The bridegroom was very late. All the girls became sleepy and went to sleep.
6 “At midnight someone cried out, ‘The bridegroom is coming! Come and meet him!’ 7 Then all the girls woke up and got their lamps ready. 8 But the foolish girls said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil. Our lamps are going out.’ 9 The wise girls answered, ‘No! The oil we have might not be enough for all of us. Go to the people who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’
10 “So the five foolish girls went to buy oil. While they were gone, the bridegroom came. The girls who were ready went in with the bridegroom to the wedding feast. Then the door was closed and locked.
11 “Later the others came back. They called, ‘Sir, sir, open the door to let us in.’ 12 But the bridegroom answered, ‘I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.’
13 “So always be ready. You don’t know the day or the time the Son of Man will come.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.