Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Day of the Lord Is Darkness
18 Woe to you that desire
the day of the Lord!
Why do you want the day of the Lord?
It is darkness, and not light,
19 as if someone fled away from a lion,
but a bear attacked him,
or got into the house
and rested his hand on the wall,
but a snake bit him.
20 Will not the day of the Lord be darkness, and not light?
Will it not be deep darkness, with no brightness in it?
21 I hate, I despise your festivals,
and I am not pleased by your solemn assemblies.
22 Though you offer Me burnt offerings or your grain offerings,
I will not accept them,
nor will I regard the offerings
of your fattened animals.
23 Take away from Me the noise of your songs;
I will not listen to the melody of your harps.
24 But let justice roll down like water,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
Psalm 70(A)
For the Music Director. A Psalm of David. To bring remembrance.
1 Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
Make haste to help me, O Lord.
2 May those who seek my life
be ashamed and confused;
may those who desire my harm
be driven back and humiliated.
3 May they turn back as a consequence of their shame
who say “Aha! Aha!”
4 May all those who seek You
rejoice and be glad in You;
and may those who love Your salvation continually say,
“God be magnified!”
5 But I am poor and needy;
make haste to me, O God!
You are my help and my deliverer;
O Lord, do not delay!
The Lord’s Coming
13 But I would not have you ignorant, brothers, concerning those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and arose again, so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we shall be forever with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
The Parable of the Ten Virgins
25 “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be like ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were wise and five were foolish. 3 Those who were foolish took their lamps, but took no oil with them. 4 But the wise took jars of oil with their lamps. 5 While the bridegroom delayed, they all rested and slept.
6 “But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Look, the bridegroom is coming! Come out to meet him!’
7 “Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 But the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps have gone out.’
9 “The wise answered, ‘No, lest there not be enough for us and you. Go rather to those who sell it, and buy some for yourselves.’
10 “But while they went to buy some, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
11 “Afterward, the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open the door for us.’
12 “But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’
13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.