Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
8 You have brought (A)a vine out of Egypt;
(B)You have cast out the [a]nations, and planted it.
9 You prepared room for it,
And caused it to take deep root,
And it filled the land.
10 The hills were covered with its shadow,
And the [b]mighty cedars with its (C)boughs.
11 She sent out her boughs to [c]the Sea,
And her branches to [d]the River.
12 Why have You (D)broken down her [e]hedges,
So that all who pass by the way pluck her fruit?
13 The boar out of the woods uproots it,
And the wild beast of the field devours it.
14 Return, we beseech You, O God of hosts;
(E)Look down from heaven and see,
And visit this vine
15 And the vineyard which Your right hand has planted,
And the branch that You made strong (F)for Yourself.
16 It is burned with fire, it is cut down;
(G)They perish at the rebuke of Your countenance.
17 (H)Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand,
Upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself.
18 Then we will not turn back from You;
Revive us, and we will call upon Your name.
19 Restore us, O Lord God of hosts;
Cause Your face to shine,
And we shall be saved!
18 In that day the Lord will take away the finery:
The jingling anklets, the [a]scarves, and the (A)crescents;
19 The pendants, the bracelets, and the veils;
20 The headdresses, the leg ornaments, and the headbands;
The perfume boxes, the charms,
21 and the rings;
The nose jewels,
22 the festal apparel, and the mantles;
The outer garments, the purses,
23 and the mirrors;
The fine linen, the turbans, and the robes.
24 And so it shall be:
Instead of a sweet smell there will be a stench;
Instead of a sash, a rope;
Instead of well-set hair, (B)baldness;
Instead of a rich robe, a girding of sackcloth;
And [b]branding instead of beauty.
25 Your men shall fall by the sword,
And your [c]mighty in the war.
Jerusalem’s Glorious Future
4 And (E)in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying,
“We will (F)eat our own food and wear our own apparel;
Only let us be called by your name,
To take away (G)our reproach.”
The Renewal of Zion
2 In that day (H)the Branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious;
And the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and appealing
For those of Israel who have escaped.
3 And it shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem (I)will be called holy—everyone who is (J)recorded among the living in Jerusalem. 4 When (K)the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the [d]blood of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning, 5 then the Lord will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and above her assemblies, (L)a cloud and smoke by day and (M)the shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all the glory there will be a [e]covering. 6 And there will be a tabernacle for shade in the daytime from the heat, (N)for a place of refuge, and for a shelter from storm and rain.
The Great Tribulation(A)
15 (B)“Therefore when you see the (C)‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (D)(whoever reads, let him understand), 16 “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. 18 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 19 But (E)woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For (F)then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; (G)but for the [a]elect’s sake those days will be shortened.
23 (H)“Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. 24 For (I)false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, (J)if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand.
26 “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. 27 (K)For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.