Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Prayer for Yahweh’s Action in the Face of Scorn
A song of ascents.[a]
123 I lift up my eyes to you,
the one enthroned[b] in the heavens.
2 Behold, as the eyes of servants
look to the hand of their master,[c]
as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to Yahweh our God,
until he is gracious to us.
3 Be gracious to us, O Yahweh, be gracious to us,
for long enough we have had our fill of contempt.
4 For long enough our soul has had its fill of
the derision of the self-confident,
the contempt of the arrogant.
16 Then Yahweh raised up leaders,[a] and they delivered them from the hand of their plunderers. 17 But they did not listen to their leaders,[b] but lusted after other gods and bowed down to them. They turned away quickly from the way that their ancestors[c] went, who had obeyed the commandment of Yahweh; they did not do as their ancestors. 18 And when Yahweh raised leaders[d] for them, Yahweh was with the leader,[e] and he delivered them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the leader,[f] for Yahweh was moved by their groaning because of their persecutors and oppressors. 19 But when the leader[g] died they relapsed and acted corruptly, more than their ancestors,[h] following other gods, serving them,[i] and bowing down to them. They would not give up their deeds or their stubborn ways. 20 So the anger of Yahweh burned[j] against Israel, and he said, “Because this people transgressed my covenant that I commanded their ancestors,[k] and have not obeyed my voice, 21 I will not again drive out anyone from before them from the nations that Joshua left when he died, 22 in order to test Israel whether or not they would observe the way of Yahweh, to walk in it just as their ancestors[l] did.” 23 So Yahweh left those nations; he did not drive them out at once, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua.
8 And the fourth poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was granted to it to burn up people with fire. 9 And people were burned up by the great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has the authority over these plagues, and they did not repent to give him glory.
10 And the fifth poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became darkened, and they began chewing their tongues because of the pain. 11 And they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pain and because of their sores, and they did not repent of their deeds.
12 And the sixth poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, in order that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east[a]. 13 And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet three unclean spirits like frogs. 14 For they are the spirits of demons performing signs that go out to the kings of the whole inhabited world, to gather them for the battle of the great day of God the All-Powerful. 15 (Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who is on the alert and who keeps his clothing, so that he does not walk around naked and they see his shamefulness!) 16 And he gathered them to the place called in Hebrew Armageddon.
17 And the seventh poured out his bowl on the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, “It is done!” 18 And there were lightnings and sounds and thunders, and there was a great earthquake, as has not happened from the time humanity has been on the earth—so great in this way was the earthquake. 19 And the great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of his furious wrath.[b] 20 And every island fled, and mountains were not found. 21 And large hailstones, weighing about a hundred pounds,[c] came down from the sky upon people, and the people blasphemed God because of the plague of hail, because the plague of it was very great.
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