Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
12 And at that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps
and punish those who settle down comfortably,[a](A)
who say to themselves:
The Lord will do nothing—good or bad.(B)
13 Their wealth will become plunder
and their houses a ruin.
They will build houses but never live in them,
plant vineyards but never drink their wine.(C)
14 The great day of the Lord is near,(D)
near and rapidly approaching.
Listen, the day of the Lord—
then the warrior’s cry is bitter.
15 That day is a day of wrath,
a day of trouble and distress,
a day of destruction and desolation,
a day of darkness(E) and gloom,
a day of clouds and total darkness,(F)
16 a day of ram’s horn and battle cry
against the fortified cities,
and against the high corner towers.
17 I will bring distress on mankind,
and they will walk like the blind(G)
because they have sinned against the Lord.
Their blood will be poured out like dust
and their flesh like dung.
18 Their silver and their gold
will be unable to rescue them
on the day of the Lord’s wrath.(H)
The whole earth will be consumed
by the fire of his jealousy,(I)
for he will make a complete,
yes, a horrifying end
of all the inhabitants of the earth.
BOOK IV
(Psalms 90–106)
Psalm 90
Eternal God and Mortal Man
A prayer of Moses, the man of God.
1 Lord, you have been our refuge[a]
in every generation.(A)
2 Before the mountains were born,
before you gave birth to the earth and the world,
from eternity to eternity, you are God.(B)
3 You return mankind to the dust,
saying, “Return, descendants of Adam.”(C)
4 For in your sight a thousand years
are like yesterday that passes by,
like a few hours of the night.(D)
5 You end their lives;[b] they sleep.(E)
They are like grass that grows in the morning—
6 in the morning it sprouts and grows;
by evening it withers and dries up.(F)
9 For all our days ebb away under your wrath;
we end our years like a sigh.(A)
10 Our lives last[a] seventy years
or, if we are strong, eighty years.
Even the best of them are[b] struggle and sorrow;
indeed, they pass quickly and we fly away.(B)
11 Who understands the power of your anger?
Your wrath matches the fear that is due you.(C)
The Day of the Lord
5 About the times and the seasons:(A) Brothers and sisters, you do not need anything to be written to you. 2 For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord(B) will come just like a thief(C) in the night. 3 When they say, “Peace and security,” then sudden destruction(D) will come upon them, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4 But you, brothers and sisters, are not in the dark, for this day to surprise you like a thief.(E) 5 For you are all children of light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or the darkness.(F) 6 So then, let us not sleep, like the rest, but let us stay awake and be self-controlled. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled(G) and put on the armor(H) of faith and love, and a helmet(I) of the hope of salvation. 9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord(J) Jesus Christ,(K) 10 who died for us,(L) so that whether we are awake or asleep,(M) we may live together with him.(N) 11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up as you are already doing.
The Parable of the Talents
14 “For it is just like a man about to go on a journey.(A) He called his own servants and entrusted his possessions to them. 15 To one he gave five talents,[a] to another two talents, and to another one talent, depending on each one’s ability. Then he went on a journey.(B) Immediately 16 the man who had received five talents went, put them to work, and earned five more. 17 In the same way the man with two earned two more. 18 But the man who had received one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money.
19 “After a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five talents approached, presented five more talents, and said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents. See, I’ve earned five more talents.’
21 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy.’(C)
22 “The man with two talents also approached. He said, ‘Master, you gave me two talents. See, I’ve earned two more talents.’
23 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy.’
24 “The man who had received one talent also approached and said, ‘Master, I know you. You’re a harsh man, reaping where you haven’t sown and gathering where you haven’t scattered seed.(D) 25 So I was afraid and went off and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’
26 “His master replied to him, ‘You evil, lazy servant!(E) If you knew that I reap where I haven’t sown and gather where I haven’t scattered, 27 then[b] you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and I would have received my money[c] back with interest when I returned.
28 “‘So take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have more than enough. But from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.(F) 30 And throw this good-for-nothing servant into the outer darkness,(G) where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.