Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Lord Is My Shepherd
A Psalm of David.
23 The Lord is my (A)shepherd; I shall not (B)want.
2 He makes me lie down in green (C)pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.[a]
3 He (D)restores my soul.
He (E)leads me in (F)paths of righteousness[b]
for his (G)name's sake.
4 Even though I (H)walk through the valley of (I)the shadow of death,[c]
I will (J)fear no evil,
for (K)you are with me;
your (L)rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You (M)prepare a table before me
in (N)the presence of my enemies;
you (O)anoint my head with oil;
my (P)cup overflows.
6 Surely[d] goodness and mercy[e] shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall (Q)dwell[f] in the house of the Lord
(R)for ever.[g]
39 “As for you, O house of Israel, thus says the Lord God: (A)Go serve every one of you his idols, now and hereafter, if you will not listen to me; (B)but my holy name you shall no more profane with your gifts and your idols.
40 (C)“For on my holy mountain, the mountain height of Israel, declares the Lord God, there (D)all the house of Israel, all of them, shall serve me in the land. (E)There I will accept them, and there I will require your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your sacred offerings. 41 As a pleasing aroma I will accept you, when (F)I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered. And (G)I will manifest my holiness among you in the sight of the nations. 42 (H)And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, the country that (I)I swore to give to your fathers. 43 (J)And there you shall remember your ways and all your deeds with which you have defiled yourselves, (K)and you shall loathe yourselves for all the evils that you have committed. 44 And you shall know that I am the Lord, (L)when I deal with you for my name's sake, (M)not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the Lord God.”
The Seven Seals
6 Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of (A)the seven seals, and I heard (B)one of the four living creatures say (C)with a voice like thunder, (D)“Come!” 2 And I looked, and behold, (E)a white horse! And (F)its rider had a bow, and (G)a crown was given to him, and he came out (H)conquering, and to conquer.
3 When he opened the second seal, I heard (I)the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, (J)bright red. Its rider was permitted (K)to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.
5 When he opened the third seal, I heard the (L)third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, (M)a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, (N)“A quart[a] of wheat for a denarius,[b] and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and (O)do not harm the oil and wine!”
7 When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of (P)the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 And I looked, and behold, (Q)a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a quarter of the earth, to kill (R)with sword and with famine and with pestilence and (S)by wild beasts of the earth.
9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under (T)the altar (U)the souls of those who had been slain (V)for the word of God and for (W)the witness they had borne. 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, (X)holy and true, (Y)how long (Z)before you will judge and (AA)avenge our blood on (AB)those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then they were each given (AC)a white robe and (AD)told to rest a little longer, (AE)until the number of their fellow servants[c] and their brothers[d] (AF)should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.
12 When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, (AG)there was a great earthquake, and (AH)the sun became black as (AI)sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, 13 and (AJ)the stars of the sky fell to the earth (AK)as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. 14 (AL)The sky vanished (AM)like a scroll that is being rolled up, and (AN)every mountain and island was removed from its place. 15 Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave[e] and free, (AO)hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, 16 (AP)calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of (AQ)him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17 for (AR)the great day of their wrath has come, and (AS)who can stand?”
The 144,000 of Israel Sealed
7 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back (AT)the four winds of the earth, (AU)that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel ascending (AV)from the rising of the sun, with (AW)the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, 3 saying, (AX)“Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants[f] of our God (AY)on their foreheads.” 4 And (AZ)I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.