Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

24 And Joshua gathereth all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and calleth for the elders of Israel, and for its heads, and for its judges, and for its authorities, and they station themselves before God.

² And Joshua saith unto all the people, `Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, Beyond the River have your fathers dwelt of old -- Terah father of Abraham and father of Nachor -- and they serve other gods;

³ and I take your father Abraham from beyond the River, and cause him to go through all the land of Canaan, and multiply his seed, and give to him Isaac.

¹⁴ `And now, fear ye Jehovah, and serve Him, in perfection and in truth, and turn aside the gods which your fathers served beyond the River, and in Egypt, and serve ye Jehovah;

¹⁵ and if wrong in your eyes to serve Jehovah -- choose for you to-day whom ye do serve; -- whether the gods whom your fathers served, which [are] beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorite in whose land ye are dwelling; and I and my house -- we serve Jehovah.'

¹⁶ And the people answer and say, `Far be it from us to forsake Jehovah, to serve other gods;

¹⁷ for Jehovah our God [is] He who is bringing us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, out of a house of servants, and who hath done before our eyes these great signs, and doth keep us in all the way in which we have gone, and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed;

¹⁸ and Jehovah casteth out the whole of the peoples, even the Amorite inhabiting the land, from our presence; we also do serve Jehovah, for He [is] our God.'

¹⁹ And Joshua saith unto the people, `Ye are not able to serve Jehovah, for a God most holy He [is]; a zealous God He [is]; He doth not bear with your transgression and with your sins.

²⁰ When ye forsake Jehovah, and have served gods of a stranger, then He hath turned back and done evil to you, and consumed you, after that He hath done good to you.'

²¹ And the people saith unto Joshua, `No, but Jehovah we do serve.'

²² And Joshua saith unto the people, `Witnesses ye are against yourselves, that ye have chosen for you Jehovah to serve Him (and they say, `Witnesses!')

²³ and, now, turn aside the gods of the stranger which [are] in your midst, and incline your heart unto Jehovah, God of Israel.'

²⁴ And the people say unto Joshua, `Jehovah our God we serve, and to His voice we hearken.'

²⁵ And Joshua maketh a covenant with the people on that day, and layeth on it a statute and an ordinance, in Shechem.

78 An Instruction of Asaph. Give ear, O my people, to my law, Incline your ear to sayings of my mouth.

² I open with a simile my mouth, I bring forth hidden things of old,

³ That we have heard and do know, And our fathers have recounted to us.

⁴ We do not hide from their sons, To a later generation recounting praises of Jehovah, And His strength, and His wonders that He hath done.

⁵ And He raiseth up a testimony in Jacob, And a law hath placed in Israel, That He commanded our fathers, To make them known to their sons.

⁶ So that a later generation doth know, Sons who are born, do rise and recount to their sons,

⁷ And place in God their confidence, And forget not the doings of God, But keep His commands.

¹³ And I do not wish you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, that ye may not sorrow, as also the rest who have not hope,

¹⁴ for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so also God those asleep through Jesus he will bring with him,

¹⁵ for this to you we say in the word of the Lord, that we who are living -- who do remain over to the presence of the Lord -- may not precede those asleep,

¹⁶ because the Lord himself, in a shout, in the voice of a chief-messenger, and in the trump of God, shall come down from heaven, and the dead in Christ shall rise first,

¹⁷ then we who are living, who are remaining over, together with them shall be caught away in clouds to meet the Lord in air, and so always with the Lord we shall be;

¹⁸ so, then, comfort ye one another in these words.

25 `Then shall the reign of the heavens be likened to ten virgins, who, having taken their lamps, went forth to meet the bridegroom;

² and five of them were prudent, and five foolish;

³ they who were foolish having taken their lamps, did not take with themselves oil;

⁴ and the prudent took oil in their vessels, with their lamps.

⁵ `And the bridegroom tarrying, they all nodded and were sleeping,

⁶ and in the middle of the night a cry was made, Lo, the bridegroom doth come; go ye forth to meet him.

⁷ `Then rose all those virgins, and trimmed their lamps,

⁸ and the foolish said to the prudent, Give us of your oil, because our lamps are going out;

⁹ and the prudent answered, saying -- Lest there may not be sufficient for us and you, go ye rather unto those selling, and buy for yourselves.

¹⁰ `And while they are going away to buy, the bridegroom came, and those ready went in with him to the marriage-feasts, and the door was shut;

¹¹ and afterwards come also do the rest of the virgins, saying, Sir, sir, open to us;

¹² and he answering said, Verily I say to you, I have not known you.

¹³ `Watch therefore, for ye have not known the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man doth come.