Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 78
Lessons from Israel’s Past
A Maskil of Asaph.(A)
1 My people, hear my instruction;
listen to what I say.(B)
2 I will declare wise sayings;
I will speak mysteries from the past(C)—
3 things we have heard and known
and that our fathers have passed down to us.(D)
4 We must not hide them from their children,
but must tell a future generation
the praises of the Lord,
His might, and the wonderful works
He has performed.(E)
5 He established a testimony in Jacob
and set up a law in Israel,
which He commanded our fathers
to teach to their children(F)
6 so that a future generation—
children yet to be born—might know.
They were to rise and tell their children(G)
7 so that they might put their confidence in God
and not forget God’s works,
but keep His commands.(H)
Food from the Land
10 While the Israelites camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, they kept the Passover on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month.[a] 11 The day after Passover they ate unleavened bread and roasted grain from the produce of the land. 12 And the day after they ate from the produce of the land, the manna ceased.(A) Since there was no more manna for the Israelites, they ate from the crops of the land of Canaan that year.
6 And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.
The First Trumpet
7 The first angel[a] blew his trumpet, and hail and fire, mixed with blood, were hurled to the earth. So a third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.
The Second Trumpet
8 The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain ablaze with fire was hurled into the sea.(A) So a third of the sea became blood, 9 a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
The Third Trumpet
10 The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from heaven.(B) It fell on a third of the rivers and springs of water. 11 The name of the star is Wormwood, and a third of the waters became wormwood. So, many of the people died from the waters, because they had been made bitter.
The Fourth Trumpet
12 The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third of the day was without light, and the night as well.(C)
13 I looked again and heard an eagle[b] flying high overhead, crying out in a loud voice, “Woe!(D) Woe! Woe to those who live on the earth, because of the remaining trumpet blasts that the three angels are about to sound!”
The Fifth Trumpet
9 The fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to earth.(E) The key to the shaft of the abyss(F) was given to him. 2 He opened the shaft of the abyss, and smoke came up out of the shaft like smoke from a great[c] furnace so that the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke from the shaft. 3 Then locusts came out of the smoke on to the earth, and power[d] was given to them(G) like the power that scorpions have on the earth. 4 They were told not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green plant, or any tree, but only people who do not have God’s seal on their foreheads. 5 They were not permitted to kill them but were to torment them for five months; their torment is like the torment caused by a scorpion when it strikes a man. 6 In those days people will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, but death will flee from them.
7 The appearance of the locusts was like horses equipped for battle.(H) Something like gold crowns was on their heads; their faces were like men’s faces; 8 they had hair like women’s hair; their teeth were like lions’ teeth;(I) 9 they had chests like iron breastplates; the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots with many horses rushing into battle; 10 and they had tails with stingers like scorpions, so that with their tails they had the power[e] to harm people for five months. 11 They had as their king[f] the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon,[g] and in Greek he has the name Apollyon.[h] 12 The first woe has passed. There are still two more woes to come after this.
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