Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

A Prayer for Help against Enemies^{[a] (A)}

³ Samuel said to the people of Israel, “If you are going to turn to the Lord with all your hearts, you must get rid of all the foreign gods and the images of the goddess Astarte. Dedicate yourselves completely to the Lord and worship only him, and he will rescue you from the power of the Philistines.” ⁴ So the Israelites got rid of their idols of Baal and Astarte, and worshiped only the Lord.

⁵ Then Samuel called for all the Israelites to meet at Mizpah, telling them, “I will pray to the Lord for you there.” ⁶ So they all gathered at Mizpah. They drew some water and poured it out as an offering to the Lord and fasted that whole day. They said, “We have sinned against the Lord.” (It was at Mizpah where Samuel settled disputes among the Israelites.)

⁷ When the Philistines heard that the Israelites had gathered at Mizpah, the five Philistine kings started out with their men to attack them. The Israelites heard about it and were afraid, ⁸ and said to Samuel, “Keep praying to the Lord our God to save us from the Philistines.” ^9 (A)Samuel killed a young lamb and burned it whole as a sacrifice to the Lord. Then he prayed to the Lord to help Israel, and the Lord answered his prayer. ¹⁰ While Samuel was offering the sacrifice, the Philistines moved forward to attack; but just then the Lord thundered from heaven against them. They became completely confused and fled in panic. ¹¹ The Israelites marched out from Mizpah and pursued the Philistines almost as far as Bethcar, killing them along the way.

¹² Then Samuel took a stone, set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and said, “The Lord has helped us all the way”—and he named it “Stone of Help.” ¹³ So the Philistines were defeated, and the Lord prevented them from invading Israel's territory as long as Samuel lived. ¹⁴ All the cities which the Philistines had captured between Ekron and Gath were returned to Israel, and so Israel got back all its territory. And there was peace also between the Israelites and the Canaanites.

¹⁵ Samuel ruled Israel as long as he lived.

The Thousand Years

20 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key of the abyss and a heavy chain. ^2 (A)He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent—that is, the Devil, or Satan—and chained him up for a thousand years. ³ The angel threw him into the abyss, locked it, and sealed it, so that he could not deceive the nations any more until the thousand years were over. After that he must be set loose for a little while.

^4 (B)Then I saw thrones, and those who sat on them were given the power to judge. I also saw the souls of those who had been executed because they had proclaimed the truth that Jesus revealed and the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image, nor had they received the mark of the beast on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and ruled as kings with Christ for a thousand years. ⁵ (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were over.) This is the first raising of the dead. ⁶ Happy and greatly blessed are those who are included in this first raising of the dead. The second death has no power over them; they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and they will rule with him for a thousand years.