Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

God Is Good to His People

78 O my people, hear my teaching. Listen to the words of my mouth. ² I will open my mouth in picture-stories. I will tell things which have been kept secret from long ago, ³ which we have heard and known because our fathers have told us. ⁴ We will not hide them from their children. But we will tell the children-to-come the praises of the Lord, and of His power and the great things He has done.

⁵ For He has made His will known to Jacob. He made the Law in Israel, which He told our fathers to teach their children. ⁶ So the children-to-come might know, even the children yet to be born. So they may rise up and tell it to their children. ⁷ Then they would put their trust in God and not forget the works of God. And they would keep His Law.

¹⁰ The people of Israel stayed at Gilgal. They kept the Passover on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month on the desert plains of Jericho. ¹¹ On the very next day after the Passover, they ate some of the food of the land. They ate bread without yeast, and dry grain. ¹² The bread from heaven stopped on the day after they had eaten some of the food of the land. So the people of Israel no longer had bread from heaven. But they ate food of the land of Canaan during that year.

⁶ The seven angels that had the seven horns got ready to blow them.

The First Horn—Hail and Fire

⁷ So the first angel blew his horn. Hail and fire mixed with blood came down on the earth. One-third part of the earth was burned up. One-third part of the trees were burned up. All the green grass was burned up.

The Second Horn—the Burning Mountain

⁸ The second angel blew his horn. Something like a large mountain was burning with fire. It was thrown into the sea. One-third part of the sea turned into blood. ⁹ One-third part of all sea life died. One-third part of all the ships were destroyed.

The Third Horn—the Star of Poison

¹⁰ The third angel blew his horn. A large star fell from heaven. It was burning with a fire that kept burning like a bright light. It fell on one-third part of the rivers and on the places where water comes out of the earth. ¹¹ The name of the star is Wormwood. One-third part of the water became poison. Many men died from drinking the water because it had become poison.

The Fourth Horn—Not As Much Light

¹² The fourth angel blew his horn. One-third part of the sun and one-third part of the moon and one-third part of the stars were hurt. One-third part of them was made dark so that one-third part of the day and night had no light.

¹³ Then I looked and saw a very large bird flying in the sky. It said with a loud voice, “It is bad! It is bad! It is bad for those who live on the earth when the sound comes from the horns that the other three angels will blow!”

The Fifth Horn—the Hole Without a Bottom

9 The fifth angel blew his horn. I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to earth. The key to the hole without a bottom was given to the angel. ² He opened the hole and smoke came out like the smoke from a place where there is much fire. The sun and the air became dark because of the smoke from the hole. ³ Locusts came down to the earth out of the smoke. They were given power to hurt like small animals that sting. ⁴ They were told not to hurt the grass or any green plant or any tree. They were to hurt only the men who did not have the mark of God on their foreheads. ⁵ The locusts were not allowed to kill these men. They were to give them much pain for five months like the pain that comes from a small animal that stings. ⁶ Men will look for ways to die during those days, but they will not find any way. They will want to die, but death will be kept from them. ⁷ The locusts looked like horses ready for war. They had on their heads what looked like crowns of gold. Their faces were like men’s faces. ⁸ Their hair was like the hair of women. Their teeth were like the teeth of lions. ⁹ Their chests were covered with what looked like pieces of iron. The sound their wings made was like the sound of many wagons rushing to war. ¹⁰ They had tails like a small animal that stings. The sting came from their tails. They were given power to hurt men for five months. ¹¹ These locusts have a king over them. He is the head angel of the hole that has no bottom. His name in the Hebrew language is Abbadon. In the Greek language it is Apollyon. (It means the one who destroys.)

¹² The first time of trouble is past. But see, there are two more times of trouble coming after this.