Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Prayer in Troubled Times
Of David.
28 Lord, my Rock, I call out to you for help.
Do not be deaf to me.
If you are silent,
I will be like those in the grave.
2 Hear the sound of my prayer,
when I cry out to you for help.
I raise my hands
toward your Most Holy Place.
3 Don’t drag me away with the wicked,
with those who do evil.
They say “Peace” to their neighbors,
but evil is in their hearts.
4 Pay them back for what they have done,
for their evil deeds.
Pay them back for what they have done;
give them their reward.
5 They don’t understand what the Lord has done
or what he has made.
So he will knock them down
and not lift them up.
6 Praise the Lord,
because he heard my prayer for help.
7 The Lord is my strength and shield.
I trust him, and he helps me.
I am very happy,
and I praise him with my song.
8 The Lord is powerful;
he gives victory to his chosen one.
9 Save your people
and bless those who are your own.
Be their shepherd and carry them forever.
The Two Shepherds
4 This is what the Lord my God says: “Feed the flock that are about to be killed. 5 Their buyers kill them and are not punished. Those who sell them say, ‘Praise the Lord, I am rich.’ Even the shepherds don’t feel sorry for their sheep. 6 I don’t feel sorry anymore for the people of this country,” says the Lord. “I will let everyone be under the power of his neighbor and king. They will bring trouble to the country, and I will not save anyone from them.”
7 So I fed the flock about to be killed, particularly the weakest ones. Then I took two sticks; I called one Pleasant and the other Union, and I fed the flock. 8 In one month I got rid of three shepherds. The flock did not pay attention to me, and I got impatient with them. 9 I said, “I will no longer take care of you like a shepherd. Let those that are dying die, and let those that are to be destroyed be destroyed. Let those that are left eat each other.”
10 Then I broke the stick named Pleasant to break the agreement God made with all the nations. 11 That day it was broken. The weak ones in the flock who were watching me knew this message was from the Lord.
12 Then I said, “If you want to pay me, pay me. If not, then don’t.” So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.
13 The Lord said to me, “Throw the money to the potter.” That is how little they thought I was worth.[a] So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter in the Temple of the Lord.
14 Then I broke the second stick, named Union, to break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
15 Then the Lord said to me, “Get the things used by a foolish shepherd again, 16 because I am going to get a new shepherd for the country. He will not care for the dying sheep, or look for the young ones, or heal the injured ones, or feed the healthy. But he will eat the best sheep and tear off their hoofs.
17 “How terrible it will be for the useless shepherd
who abandoned the flock.
A sword will strike his arm and his right eye.
His arm will lose all its strength,
and his right eye will go blind.”
People in Heaven Praise God
19 After this vision and announcement I heard what sounded like a great many people in heaven saying:
“Hallelujah![a]
Salvation, glory, and power belong to our God,
2 because his judgments are true and right.
He has punished the prostitute
who made the earth evil with her sexual sin.
He has paid her back for the death of his servants.”
3 Again they said:
“Hallelujah!
She is burning, and her smoke will rise forever and ever.”
4 Then the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures bowed down and worshiped God, who sits on the throne. They said:
“Amen, Hallelujah!”
5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying:
“Praise our God, all you who serve him
and all you who honor him, both small and great!”
6 Then I heard what sounded like a great many people, like the noise of flooding water, and like the noise of loud thunder. The people were saying:
“Hallelujah!
Our Lord God, the Almighty, rules.
7 Let us rejoice and be happy
and give God glory,
because the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and the Lamb’s bride has made herself ready.
8 Fine linen, bright and clean, was given to her to wear.”
(The fine linen means the good things done by God’s holy people.)
9 And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who have been invited to the wedding meal of the Lamb!” And the angel said, “These are the true words of God.”
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.