Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Joshua Reviews Israel’s History
24 Then (A)Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel and for their heads and their judges and their officers; and they presented themselves before God. 2 Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘From ancient times your fathers lived beyond the [a]River, namely, (B)Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, and they served other gods. 3 Then (C)I took your father Abraham from beyond the [b]River, and led him through all the land of Canaan, and (D)multiplied his [c]descendants and gave him (E)Isaac.
“We Will Serve the Lord”
14 “Now, therefore, [a](A)fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and [b]truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the [c]River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or (B)the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
16 The people answered and said, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods; 17 for the Lord our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of [d]bondage, and who did these great signs in our sight and preserved us through all the way in which we went and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed. 18 The Lord drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites who lived in the land. We also will serve the Lord, for He is our God.”
19 Then Joshua said to the people, “You will not be able to serve the Lord, (C)for He is a holy God. He is (D)a jealous God; (E)He will not forgive your transgression or your sins. 20 (F)If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you after He has done good to you.” 21 The people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the Lord.” 22 Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that (G)you have chosen for yourselves the Lord, to serve Him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” 23 “Now therefore, put away the foreign gods which are in your midst, and (H)incline your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.” 24 (I)The people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God and we will [e]obey His voice.” 25 (J)So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.
God’s Guidance of His People in Spite of Their Unfaithfulness.
A [a]Maskil of Asaph.
78 (A)Listen, O my people, to my [b]instruction;
(B)Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2 I will (C)open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter (D)dark sayings of old,
3 Which we have heard and known,
And (E)our fathers have told us.
4 We will (F)not conceal them from their children,
But (G)tell to the generation to come the praises of the Lord,
And His strength and His (H)wondrous works that He has done.
5 For He established a (I)testimony in Jacob
And appointed a (J)law in Israel,
Which He (K)commanded our fathers
That they should [c](L)teach them to their children,
6 (M)That the generation to come might know, even (N)the children yet to be born,
That they may arise and (O)tell them to their children,
7 That they should put their confidence in God
And (P)not forget the works of God,
But (Q)keep His commandments,
Those Who Died in Christ
13 But (A)we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who (B)are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do (C)the rest who have (D)no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, (E)even so God will bring with Him (F)those who have fallen asleep [a]in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you (G)by the word of the Lord, that (H)we who are alive [b]and remain until (I)the coming of the Lord, will not precede (J)those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord (K)Himself (L)will descend from heaven with a [c](M)shout, with the voice of (N)the archangel and with the (O)trumpet of God, and (P)the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then (Q)we who are alive [d]and remain will be (R)caught up together with them (S)in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always (T)be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
Parable of Ten Virgins
25 “Then (A)the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their (B)lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were (C)prudent. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the (D)prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. 5 Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. 6 But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the (E)prudent answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ 10 And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were (F)ready went in with him to (G)the wedding feast; and (H)the door was shut. 11 Later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘(I)Lord, lord, open up for us.’ 12 But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 (J)Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.
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