Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
God Stands in Judgment
A Psalm of Asaph.
82 God takes His (A)stand in the congregation of [a]God;
He (B)judges in the midst of [b](C)gods.
2 How long will you (D)judge unrighteously
And (E)show partiality to the wicked? [c]Selah.
3 (F)Give justice to the poor and the orphan;
Justify the afflicted and destitute.
4 (G)Protect the poor and needy;
Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked.
5 They (H)do not know and do not understand;
They (I)walk about in darkness;
All the (J)foundations of the earth are shaken.
6 [d]I (K)said, “You are gods,
And all of you are (L)sons of the Most High.
7 Nevertheless (M)you will die like men
And you will fall like any (N)one of the princes.”
8 (O)Arise, O God, (P)judge the earth!
For it is You who (Q)will inherit all the nations.
The Ark Returned to Israel
6 Now the ark of Yahweh had been in the [a]fields of the Philistines seven months. 2 And (A)the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, “What shall we do with the ark of Yahweh? Make us know [b]how we shall send it to its place.” 3 So they said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, (B)do not send it empty; but you shall surely (C)return to Him a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why His hand is not turned away from you.” 4 Then they said, “What shall be the guilt offering which we shall return to Him?” And they said, “Five golden (D)tumors and five golden mice (E)according to the number of the lords of the Philistines, for one plague was on all of [c]you and on your lords. 5 So you shall make likenesses of your tumors and likenesses of your mice that bring the land to ruin, and (F)you shall give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps (G)He will ease His hand from you, (H)your gods, and your land. 6 Why then do you [d]harden your hearts (I)as the Egyptians and Pharaoh [e]hardened their hearts? When He had abused them, (J)did they not allow [f]the people to go, and they went? 7 So now, take and (K)make a new cart and two milch cows on which there (L)has never been a yoke; and hitch the cows to the cart and take their calves home, away from them. 8 And take the ark of Yahweh and place it on the cart; and put (M)the articles of gold which you return to Him as (N)a guilt offering in a box by its side. Then send it away that it may go. 9 See, if it goes up by the way of its own territory to (O)Beth-shemesh, then He has done us this great evil. But if not, then (P)we will know that it was not His hand that smote us; it happened to us by chance.”
10 Then the men did so and took two milch cows and hitched them to the cart and shut up their calves at home. 11 And they put the ark of Yahweh on the cart, as well as the box with the golden mice and the likenesses of their tumors. 12 And the cows took the straight way in the [g]direction of (Q)Beth-shemesh; they went along (R)the highway, lowing as they went, and did not turn aside to the right or to the left. And the lords of the Philistines went after them to the border of Beth-shemesh.
13 Now the people of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley, and they raised their eyes and saw the ark and were glad to see it. 14 And the cart came into the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite and stood there, and a large stone was there; and they split the wood of the cart and (S)offered the cows as a burnt offering to Yahweh. 15 (T)And the Levites took down the ark of Yahweh and the box that was with it, in which were the articles of gold, and put them on the large stone; and the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices that day to Yahweh. 16 So the (U)five lords of the Philistines saw it and returned to Ekron that day.
Abomination of Desolation and the Tribulation
15 “Therefore when you see the (A)abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in (B)the holy place ((C)let the reader understand), 16 then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. 17 [a]Whoever is on (D)the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. 18 And [b]whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his garment. 19 But (E)woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. 21 For then there will be a (F)great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. 22 And unless those days had been cut short, no [c]life would have been saved; but for (G)the sake of the [d]elect those days will be cut short. 23 (H)Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the [e]Christ,’ or ‘[f]There He is,’ do not believe him. 24 For false christs and (I)false prophets will arise and will [g]show great [h](J)signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even (K)the [i]elect. 25 Behold, I have told you in advance. 26 Therefore, if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. 27 (L)For just as the lightning comes from the east and appears even to the west, so will the (M)coming of the (N)Son of Man be.
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