Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

A Song of Praise

100 Call out with joy to the Lord, all the earth. ² Be glad as you serve the Lord. Come before Him with songs of joy. ³ Know that the Lord is God. It is He Who made us, and not we ourselves. We are His people and the sheep of His field.

⁴ Go into His gates giving thanks and into His holy place with praise. Give thanks to Him. Honor His name. ⁵ For the Lord is good. His loving-kindness lasts forever. And He is faithful to all people and to all their children-to-come.

¹⁵ Then he prayed that good would come to Joseph, and said, “The God with Whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God Who has been my Shepherd all my life to this day, ¹⁶ the Angel Who has set me free from all sin, bring good to the boys. May my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac live on in them. May they become a great nation on the earth.”

¹⁷ When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on Ephraim’s head, he was not pleased. He took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. ¹⁸ Joseph said to his father, “Not this way, my father, for this one is the first-born. Place your right hand on his head.” ¹⁹ But his father would not, and said, “I know, my son, I know. He will become a nation also, and he also will be great. But his younger brother will be greater than he. His children and their children’s children will become many nations.” ²⁰ Then he prayed that day that good would come to them. He said, “By you Israel will pray that good will come, saying, ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh!’” So he placed Ephraim before Manasseh.

²¹ Then Israel said to Joseph, “See, I am about to die. But God will be with you. He will return you to the land of your fathers. ²² I have given you more than your brothers. I have given you the side of the mountain that I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow.”

The Lamb Stands in Jerusalem

14 Then I looked and saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion. There were 144,000 people with Him. These people had His name and His Father’s name written on their foreheads. ² I heard a voice coming from heaven. It was like the sound of rushing water and of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like people playing music on their harps. ³ This large group sang a new song. They sang before the throne and in front of the four living beings and the twenty-four leaders. Only the 144,000 could learn this song. They had been bought by the blood of Christ and made free from the earth. ⁴ These are men who have kept themselves pure by not being married. They follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They have been bought by the blood of Christ and have been made free from among men. They are the first ones to be given to God and to the Lamb. ⁵ No lie has come from their mouths. They are without blame.

The Three Angels

⁶ Then I saw another angel flying in the heavens. He was carrying the Good News that lasts forever. He was preaching to every nation and to every family group and to the people of every language and to all the people of the earth. ⁷ He said with a loud voice, “Honor God with love and fear. The time has come for Him to judge all men. Worship Him Who made heaven and earth and the sea and the places where water comes out of the earth.”

⁸ A second angel followed, saying, “Babylon has fallen! The great city Babylon has fallen! She made all the nations drink of the wine of her sinful sex life.”

⁹ A third angel followed, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the wild animal and his false god and receives a mark on his forehead or hand, ¹⁰ he will drink of the wine of the anger of God. It is mixed in full strength in the cup of God’s anger. They will be punished with fire and burning sulphur in front of the holy angels and before the Lamb. ¹¹ The smoke of those who are being punished will go up forever. They have no rest day or night. It is because they have worshiped the wild animal and his false god and have received the mark of his name.