Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
18 Alas, you who are longing for the (A)day of the Lord,
For what purpose will the day of the Lord be to you?
It will be (B)darkness and not light;
19 As when a man (C)flees from a lion
And a bear meets him,
[a]Or goes home, leans his hand against the wall
And a snake bites him.
20 Will not the day of the Lord be (D)darkness instead of light,
Even gloom with no brightness in it?
21 “I hate, I (E)reject your festivals,
Nor do I [b](F)delight in your solemn assemblies.
22 “Even though you (G)offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings,
I will not accept them;
And I will not even look at the (H)peace offerings of your fatlings.
23 “Take away from Me the noise of your songs;
I will not even listen to the sound of your harps.
24 “But let (I)justice roll down like waters
And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
Prayer for Help against Persecutors.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David; for a memorial.
Those Who Died in Christ
13 But (A)we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who (B)are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do (C)the rest who have (D)no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, (E)even so God will bring with Him (F)those who have fallen asleep [a]in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you (G)by the word of the Lord, that (H)we who are alive [b]and remain until (I)the coming of the Lord, will not precede (J)those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord (K)Himself (L)will descend from heaven with a [c](M)shout, with the voice of (N)the archangel and with the (O)trumpet of God, and (P)the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then (Q)we who are alive [d]and remain will be (R)caught up together with them (S)in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always (T)be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
Parable of Ten Virgins
25 “Then (A)the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their (B)lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were (C)prudent. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the (D)prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. 5 Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. 6 But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the (E)prudent answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ 10 And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were (F)ready went in with him to (G)the wedding feast; and (H)the door was shut. 11 Later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘(I)Lord, lord, open up for us.’ 12 But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 (J)Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.