Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
7 Keep silent before the Lord God, for the Day of the Lord is at hand. Yes, the Lord has prepared a sacrifice. He has consecrated those who will attend it.
12 At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, to deal with the men who are complacent, like wine resting on its dregs, who say in their hearts, “The Lord will not do anything good. Neither will he do anything bad.” 13 Therefore their wealth will become plunder, and their houses a ruin. They will build houses but never live in them. They will plant vineyards, but they will not drink the wine.
Judgment Against the Nations
14 The great Day of the Lord is near. It is near and coming very quickly. Listen! The sound of the Day of the Lord! The cry of the warrior is bitter.[a] 15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of devastation and total destruction, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, 16 a day for the ram’s horn and for the battle cry against the fortified cities and against the high towers.
17 I will bring distress upon all people, so that they walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord. That is why their blood will be poured out like dust, and their bowels will be spread like manure. 18 Their silver and their gold will not be able to deliver them on the day of the Lord’s wrath. Instead, the whole earth will be consumed by the fire of his jealousy, because he will make an end—yes, a terrifying end of all who dwell on the earth.
Book IV
Psalms 90–106
Psalm 90
Teach Us to Number Our Days
Heading
A prayer of Moses, the man of God.
God Is Eternal
1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.
2 Before the mountains were born,
before you gave birth to the earth and the world,
from eternity to eternity you are God.
Man Is Mortal
3 You grind people to dust,
and you say, “Return, children of Adam.”
4 For a thousand years in your sight are like a day,
like yesterday that has gone by,
or like a watch in the night.
5 You sweep them away like a flood.
They are like sleep in the morning,
like grass which changes quickly.
6 In the morning it sprouts and grows.
By evening it is cut down, and it withers.
7 Surely, we are consumed by your anger,
and by your wrath we are terrified.
8 You have laid out our guilty deeds in front of you.
Our hidden sins are revealed in the light of your face.
9 For all our days pass away under your fury.
We finish our years like a sigh.
10 The days of our lives add up to seventy years,
or eighty years if we are strong.
Yet the best of them are trouble and sorrow,
for they disappear quickly, and we fly away.
11 Who can understand the power of your anger?
But your fury is consistent with the fear that is owed to you.
Mortal Man Needs God’s Grace
12 Teach us to number our days in such a way
that we bring a heart of wisdom.
Instruction Concerning the Signs of the End Times
5 Concerning the times and dates, brothers, there is no need to write to you, 2 for you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 When people are saying, “Peace and security,” destruction will suddenly come on them, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will certainly not escape. 4 But you, brothers, are not in the dark so that this day takes you by surprise like a thief, 5 for you are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or the darkness. 6 So then let us not sleep like everyone else, but rather let us remain alert and sober.
7 To be sure, 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 sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. 9 You see, God did not appoint us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 10 He died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. 11 Therefore, encourage one another and build each other up, just as you are also doing.
The Parable of the Talents
14 “You see, the kingdom of heaven is like a man going on a journey. He called his servants and entrusted his possessions to them. 15 To one he gave five talents,[a] to another two talents, and to still another one talent, each according to his own ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The servant who had received the five talents immediately put them to work and gained five more talents. 17 In the same way, the servant who had received the two talents gained two more. 18 But the servant who had received one talent went away, 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 servant who received the five talents came and brought five more talents. He said, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’
21 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master.’
22 “The servant who received the two talents came and said, ‘Master, you entrusted me with two talents. See, I have gained two more talents.’
23 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master.’
24 “Then the servant who received one talent came and said, ‘Master, I knew that you are a hard man, reaping where you did not plant and gathering where you did not scatter seed. 25 Since I was afraid, I went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’
26 “His master answered him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! You knew that I reap where I did not plant and gather where I did not scatter seed? 27 Well then, you should have deposited my money with the bankers so that when I came I would get my money back with interest. 28 Take the talent away from him and give it to the servant who has the ten talents. 29 Because everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. But the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 30 Throw that worthless servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.