Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Lord, the Psalmist’s Shepherd.
A Psalm of David.
23 The Lord is my (A)shepherd,
I will (B)not be in need.
2 He lets me lie down in (C)green pastures;
He (D)leads me beside [a](E)quiet waters.
3 He (F)restores my soul;
He (G)guides me in the [b](H)paths of righteousness
For the sake of His name.
4 Even though I (I)walk through the [c]valley of the shadow of death,
I (J)fear no [d]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 the presence of my enemies;
You [e]have (N)anointed my head with oil;
My (O)cup overflows.
6 [f]Certainly (P)goodness and [g]faithfulness will follow me all the days of my life,
And my (Q)dwelling will be in the house of the Lord [h]forever.
39 “As for you, house of Israel,” this is what the Lord God says: “(A)Go, serve, everyone of you his idols; [a]but later you will certainly listen to Me, and My holy name you will no longer (B)defile with your gifts and your idols. 40 For on My holy mountain, on the high mountain of Israel,” declares the Lord God, “there the entire house of Israel, (C)all of them, will serve Me in the land; there I will (D)accept them and there I will demand your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your holy things. 41 [b]As a soothing aroma I will accept you when I (E)bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered; and I will show Myself to be (F)holy among you in the sight of the nations. 42 And (G)you will know that I am the Lord, (H)when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the (I)land which I swore to give to your forefathers. 43 And there you will (J)remember your ways and all your deeds by which you have defiled yourselves; and you will (K)loathe yourselves in your own [c]sight for all the evil things that you have done. 44 Then (L)you will know that I am the Lord, when I have dealt with you (M)in behalf of My name, not according to your evil ways or according to your corrupt deeds, house of Israel,” declares the Lord God.’”
The First Seal: Conqueror on a White Horse
6 Then I saw when the (A)Lamb broke one of the (B)seven seals, and I heard one of the (C)four living creatures saying as with a (D)voice of thunder, “Come[a]!” 2 I looked, and behold, a (E)white horse, and the one who sat on it had a bow; and (F)a crown was given to him, and he went out (G)conquering and to conquer.
The Second Seal: War
3 When He broke the second seal, I heard the (H)second living creature saying, “Come[b]!” 4 And another, (I)a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to (J)take peace from the earth, and that people would kill one another; and a large sword was given to him.
The Third Seal: Famine
5 When He broke the third seal, I heard the (K)third living creature saying, “Come[c]!” I looked, and behold, a (L)black horse, and the one who sat on it had a (M)pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard something like a voice in the center of the (N)four living creatures saying, “A [d]quart of wheat for a [e]denarius, and three [f]quarts of barley for a [g]denarius; and (O)do not damage the oil and the wine.”
The Fourth Seal: Death
7 When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the (P)fourth living creature saying, “Come[h]!” 8 I looked, and behold, [i]an (Q)ashen horse; and the one who sat on it had the name (R)Death, and (S)Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, (T)to kill with sword, and famine, and [j]plague, and by the wild animals of the earth.
The Fifth Seal: Martyrs
9 When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw (U)underneath the (V)altar the (W)souls of those who had been killed (X)because of the word of God, and because of the (Y)testimony which they had maintained; 10 and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “(Z)How long, O [k](AA)Lord, (AB)holy and true, [l]will You refrain from (AC)judging and avenging our blood on (AD)those who live on the earth?” 11 And a (AE)white robe was given to each of them; and they were told that they were to (AF)rest for a little while longer, (AG)until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers and sisters who were to be killed even as they had been, was (AH)completed also.
The Sixth Seal: Terror
12 And I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great (AI)earthquake; and the (AJ)sun became as black as (AK)sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; 13 and (AL)the stars of the sky fell to the earth, (AM)as a fig tree drops its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. 14 (AN)The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and (AO)every mountain and island was removed from its place. 15 Then (AP)the kings of the earth and the eminent people, and the commanders and the wealthy and the strong, and every slave and free person hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; 16 and they *(AQ)said to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the [m]sight of Him (AR)who sits on the throne, and from the (AS)wrath of the Lamb; 17 for (AT)the great day of Their wrath has come, and (AU)who is able to stand?”
An Interlude
7 After this I saw (AV)four angels standing at the (AW)four corners of the earth, holding back (AX)the four winds of the earth (AY)so that no wind would blow on the earth, or on the sea, or on any tree. 2 And I saw another angel ascending (AZ)from the rising of the sun, holding the (BA)seal of (BB)the living God; and he called out with a loud voice to the (BC)four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, 3 saying, “(BD)Do not harm the earth, or the sea, or the trees until we have (BE)sealed the bond-servants of our God on their (BF)foreheads.”
The 144,000
4 And I heard the (BG)number of those who were sealed: (BH)144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:
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