Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
An instruction[a] of Asaph
Remembering God in Times of Trouble
78 Listen, my people, to my instruction.
Hear[b] the words of my mouth.
2 I will tell[c] a parable,
speaking riddles from long ago—
3 things that we have heard and known
and that our ancestors related to us.
4 We will not withhold them from their descendants;
we’ll declare to the next generation the praises of the Lord—
his might and awesome deeds that he has performed.
5 He established a decree in Jacob,
and established the Law in Israel,
that he commanded our ancestors
to reveal to their children
6 in order that the next generation—
children yet to be born—
will know them and
in turn teach them to their children.
7 Then they will put their trust in God
and they will not forget his awesome deeds.
Instead, they will keep his commandments.
Joshua Renews the Covenant
30 Then Joshua built an altar to the Lord God of Israel, on Mount Ebal, 31 just the way Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the Israelis in the Book of the Law of Moses: “…an altar of uncut[a] stones that hasn’t been worked with iron tools…”[b] and they offered burnt offerings to the Lord on it, along with peace offerings.
32 There Joshua[c] inscribed on stones a copy of the Law of Moses that Moses had presented to[d] the Israelis. 33 All Israel, both foreigners and citizens, together with their elders, officers, and judges, stood on opposite sides of the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. Half stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half stood in front of Mount Ebal, just as Moses, the Lord’s servant had commanded at the first, so that they could bless the people of Israel.[e] 34 Afterwards, Joshua[f] read all the words of the Law—both the blessings and the curses—according to everything written in the Book of the Law.[g] 35 There wasn’t one word of everything Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read in front of the entire assembly of Israel, including the women, their little ones, and the foreigners who lived among them.
The Vision of the Sixth Trumpet
13 When the sixth angel blew his trumpet, I heard a voice from the four[a] horns of the gold altar in front of God. 14 It told the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are held at the great Euphrates River.” 15 So the four angels who were ready for that hour, day, month, and year were released to kill one-third of humanity. 16 The number of cavalry troops was 200,000,000. I heard how many there were.[b]
17 This was how I saw the horses in my vision: The riders wore breastplates that had the color of fire, sapphire, and sulfur. The heads of the horses were like lions’ heads, and fire, smoke, and sulfur came out of their mouths. 18 By these three plagues—the fire, the smoke, and the sulfur that came out of their mouths—one-third of humanity was killed. 19 For the power of these horses is in their mouths and their tails. Their tails have heads like snakes, which they use to inflict pain.
20 The rest of the people who survived these plagues did not repent from their evil actions[c] or stop worshiping demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which cannot see, hear, or walk. 21 They did not repent from their murders, their witchcraft, their sexual immorality, or their thefts.
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