Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

65 ^1-2 O God in Zion, we wait before you in silent praise, and thus fulfill our vow. And because you answer prayer, all mankind will come to you with their requests. ³ Though sins fill our hearts, you forgive them all. ⁴ How greatly to be envied are those you have chosen to come and live with you within the holy tabernacle courts! What joys await us among all the good things there. ⁵ With dread deeds and awesome power you will defend us from our enemies,^[a] O God who saves us. You are the only hope of all mankind throughout the world and far away upon the sea.

⁶ He formed the mountains by his mighty strength. ⁷ He quiets the raging oceans and all the world’s clamor. ⁸ In the farthest corners of the earth the glorious acts of God shall startle everyone. The dawn and sunset shout for joy! ⁹ He waters the earth to make it fertile. The rivers of God will not run dry! He prepares the earth for his people and sends them rich harvests of grain. ¹⁰ He waters the furrows with abundant rain. Showers soften the earth, melting the clods and causing seeds to sprout across the land. ^11-12 Then he crowns it all with green, lush pastures in the wilderness; hillsides blossom with joy. ¹³ The pastures are filled with flocks of sheep, and the valleys are carpeted with grain. All the world shouts with joy and sings.

2 Sound the alarm in Jerusalem! Let the blast of the warning trumpet be heard upon my holy mountain! Let everyone tremble in fear, for the day of the Lord’s judgment approaches.

² It is a day of darkness and gloom, of black clouds and thick darkness. What a mighty army! It covers the mountains like night! How great, how powerful these “people” are! The likes of them have not been seen before, and never will again throughout the generations of the world! ³ Fire goes before them and follows them on every side! Ahead of them the land lies fair as Eden’s Garden in all its beauty, but they destroy it to the ground; not one thing escapes. ⁴ They look like tiny horses, and they run as fast. ⁵ Look at them leaping along the tops of the mountain! Listen to the noise they make, like the rumbling of chariots, or the roar of fire sweeping across a field, and like a mighty army moving into battle.

⁶ Fear grips the waiting people; their faces grow pale with fright. ⁷ These “soldiers” charge like infantry; they scale the walls like picked and trained commandos. Straight forward they march, never breaking ranks. ⁸ They never crowd each other. Each is right in place. No weapon can stop them. ⁹ They swarm upon the city; they run upon the walls; they climb up into the houses, coming like thieves through the windows. ¹⁰ The earth quakes before them and the heavens tremble. The sun and moon are obscured and the stars are hid.

¹¹ The Lord leads them with a shout. This is his mighty army, and they follow his orders. The day of the judgment of the Lord is an awesome, terrible thing. Who can endure it?

¹⁰ But you know from watching me that I am not that kind of person. You know what I believe and the way I live and what I want. You know my faith in Christ and how I have suffered. You know my love for you, and my patience. ¹¹ You know how many troubles I have had as a result of my preaching the Good News. You know about all that was done to me while I was visiting in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra, but the Lord delivered me. ¹² Yes, and those who decide to please Christ Jesus by living godly lives will suffer at the hands of those who hate him. ¹³ In fact, evil men and false teachers will become worse and worse, deceiving many, they themselves having been deceived by Satan.

¹⁴ But you must keep on believing the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know that you can trust those of us who have taught you. ¹⁵ You know how, when you were a small child, you were taught the holy Scriptures; and it is these that make you wise to accept God’s salvation by trusting in Christ Jesus.