Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Prayer for Help—Praise for the Answer

28 O Lord, to You I call. O my Rock, listen to me. If You will not hear me, I will be like those who have gone down to the grave. ² Hear my cry for loving-kindness as I call to You for help, and when I lift up my hands to Your holy place. ³ Do not drag me away with the sinful and with those who do bad things. They speak peace with their neighbors, while sin is in their hearts. ⁴ Pay them for their work and for the sins they do. Pay them for the works of their hands. Give them what they have earned. ⁵ They do not think about the works of the Lord and what His hands have done. So He will pull them down and not build them up again.

⁶ May honor and thanks be given to the Lord, because He has heard my prayer. ⁷ The Lord is my strength and my safe cover. My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. So my heart is full of joy. I will thank Him with my song. ⁸ The Lord is the strength of His people. He is a safe place for His chosen one. ⁹ Save Your people and bring good to what is Yours. Be their shepherd and carry them forever.

The Two Shepherds

⁴ The Lord my God said, “Take care of the flock that is to be killed. ⁵ Those who buy them kill them and are not punished. And those who sell them say, ‘Thanks and honor be to the Lord, for I have become rich!’ Their own shepherds have no pity on them. ⁶ For I will no longer have pity on the people who live in this land,” says the Lord. “I will give everyone over to the power of his neighbor and his king. They will bring trouble to the land, and I will not save them from their power.”

⁷ So I took care of the flock that was to be killed, and those of the flock who suffered. I took two walking sticks. One I called Favor, and the other I called Agreement. I took care of the flock. ⁸ I destroyed the three shepherds in one month. I was angry with them, and they hated me. ⁹ Then I said, “I will not take care of you. Let those die who are to die. And what is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed. Let those who are left eat each other’s flesh.” ¹⁰ And I took my walking stick Favor and cut it in pieces, to break the agreement I had made with all the people. ¹¹ So it was broken on that day. And those of the flock who suffered and were watching me knew that it was the Word of the Lord. ¹² I said to them, “If you think it is right, give me my pay. But if not, keep it.” So they weighed out thirty pieces of silver as my pay. ¹³ Then the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the one who makes pots—the great price they thought I was worth.” So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the pot maker in the house of the Lord. ¹⁴ Then I cut my second walking stick, Agreement, in pieces, to break the agreement between Judah and Israel.

¹⁵ Then the Lord said to me, “Take again the tools of a foolish shepherd. ¹⁶ For I am going to have a shepherd rule over the land who will not care for the dying. He will not look for those who were sent everywhere or heal the hurt, or feed those who are well. But he will eat the flesh of the fat sheep and tear off their feet. ¹⁷ It is bad for the shepherd who has no worth and who leaves the flock! A sword will destroy his arm and his right eye! His arm will be all dried up, and his right eye will be blind.”

Giving Thanks in Heaven

19 After this I heard what sounded like the voices of many people in heaven, saying, “Thanks to our God, the One Who saves. Honor and power belong to Him. ² For the way He punishes people is right and true. He has punished the powerful woman who sold the use of her body. She was making the earth sinful with her sex sins. She killed those who worked for God. He has punished her for it.” ³ Again they said, “Thanks to our God. The smoke from her burning goes up forever.” ⁴ The twenty-four leaders and the four living beings got down and worshiped God Who was sitting on the throne. They said, “Let it be so. Thanks to our God!”

⁵ A voice came from the throne, saying, “Give thanks to our God, you servants who are owned by Him. Give thanks to our God, you who honor Him with love and fear, both small and great.”

The Wedding Supper of the Lamb

⁶ Then I heard what sounded like the voices of many people. It was like the sound of powerful rushing water. And it was like loud thunder. It said, “Thanks to our God. For the Lord our God is King. He is the All-powerful One. ⁷ Let us be full of joy and be glad. Let us honor Him, for the time has come for the wedding supper of the Lamb. His bride has made herself ready. ⁸ She was given clean, white, fine linen clothes to wear. The fine linen is the right living of God’s people.”

⁹ The angel said to me, “Write this: ‘Those who are asked to the wedding supper of the Lamb are happy.’” And he said, “These are the true words of God.”