Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Chapter 4
Deborah and Barak. 1 (A)The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord; Ehud was dead. 2 So the Lord sold them into the power of the Canaanite king, Jabin, who reigned in Hazor. The general of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-ha-goiim.(B) 3 (C)But the Israelites cried out to the Lord; for with his nine hundred iron chariots Jabin harshly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years.
4 At that time the prophet Deborah, wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel. 5 She used to sit under Deborah’s palm tree, between Ramah and Bethel in the mountain region of Ephraim, where the Israelites came up to her for judgment. 6 She had Barak, son of Abinoam,(D) summoned from Kedesh of Naphtali. She said to him, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, commands: Go, march against Mount Tabor, and take with you ten thousand men from Naphtali and Zebulun. 7 I will draw Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, out to you at the Wadi Kishon,(E) together with his chariots and troops, and I will deliver them into your power.”
Psalm 123[a]
Reliance on the Lord
1 A song of ascents.
To you I raise my eyes,
to you enthroned in heaven.(A)
2 Yes, like the eyes of servants
on the hand of their masters,
Like the eyes of a maid
on the hand of her mistress,
So our eyes are on the Lord our God,
till we are shown favor.
3 Show us favor, Lord, show us favor,
for we have our fill of contempt.(B)
4 Our souls are more than sated
with mockery from the insolent,
with contempt from the arrogant.
Chapter 5
Vigilance. 1 Concerning times and seasons, brothers, you have no need for anything to be written to you.(A) 2 For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief at night.(B) 3 When people are saying, “Peace and security,” then sudden disaster comes upon them, like labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
4 But you, brothers, are not in darkness, for that day to overtake you like a thief.(C) 5 For all of you are children of the light[a] and children of the day. We are not of the night or of darkness. 6 Therefore, let us not sleep as the rest do, but let us stay alert and sober.(D) 7 Those who sleep go to sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night. 8 But since we are of the day, let us be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love and the helmet that is hope for salvation.(E) 9 For God did not destine us for wrath, but to gain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live together with him.[b] 11 Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up, as indeed you do.(F)
14 (A)“It will be as when a man who was going on a journey[a] called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them. 15 To one he gave five talents;[b] to another, two; to a third, one—to each according to his ability. Then he went away. Immediately 16 the one who received five talents went and traded with them, and made another five. 17 Likewise, the one who received two made another two. 18 [c]But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and buried his master’s money. 19 After a long time the master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them. 20 The one who had received five talents came forward bringing the additional five.[d] He said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents. See, I have made five more.’ 21 (B)His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’ 22 [Then] the one who had received two talents also came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two talents. See, I have made two more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’ 24 Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a demanding person, harvesting where you did not plant and gathering where you did not scatter; 25 so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground. Here it is back.’ 26 His master said to him in reply, ‘You wicked, lazy servant![e] So you knew that I harvest where I did not plant and gather where I did not scatter? 27 Should you not then have put my money in the bank so that I could have got it back with interest on my return? 28 Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten. 29 [f](C)For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 [g]And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’
The Judgment of the Nations.[h]
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.