Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 78[a]
God’s Goodness in the Face of Ingratitude
1 A maskil[b] of Asaph.
[c]Give ear, my people, to my teaching;
pay attention to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth in parables[d]
and expound the mysteries of the past.
3 [e]These things we have heard and know,
for our ancestors have related them to us.
4 We will not conceal them from our children;
we will relate them to the next generation,
the glorious and powerful deeds of the Lord
and the wonders he has performed.
5 He instituted a decree in Jacob
and established a law in Israel,
which he commanded our ancestors
to make known to their descendants,
6 so that they would be known to future generations,
to children yet to be born.
In turn they were to tell their children,
7 so that they would place their trust in God,
and never forget his works
but keep his commandments.
Chapter 20
The Cities of Refuge.[a] 1 The Lord then said to Joshua, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and say, ‘Choose refuge cities for yourselves, just as I told you to do through Moses. 3 This way anyone who kills another accidentally or unintentionally can flee there and take refuge from the relative who seeks blood vengeance. 4 When he flees to one of those cities, he is to stand at the entrance to the city gate and state his case in the hearing of the elders of the city. They will then let him enter the city, and they are to give him a place where he can live with them. 5 If the relative who seeks blood vengeance pursues him, they are not to surrender the man who killed another into his hands, for he killed his neighbor unintentionally and he had not previously shown him any enmity. 6 He will continue to live in that city until he stands trial before the assembly, and until the death of the high priest who is then in office. At that point the man who killed another can go back to his own city, to his home, to the city from which he had fled.’ ”
7 So they set apart Kadesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah. 8 On the other side of the Jordan, to the east of Jericho, they set aside Bezer in the wilderness upon the plateau of the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead among the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan among the tribe of Manasseh. 9 These cities were designated so that any Israelite or foreigner who lived among them and who accidentally killed another person might flee there, so that he would not be killed by the relative who seeks blood vengeance before he could stand trial before the assembly.
Instructions for the Coming of the Kingdom[a]
Chapter 24
The Time of the End[b]
Jesus Announces the Destruction of the Temple.[c] 1 As Jesus left the temple and was walking away, his disciples came up to him to call his attention to the buildings of the temple. 2 He thereupon said to them, “Do you see all these? Amen, I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another; every one will be thrown down.”
The End Has Not Yet Come.[d] 3 As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples approached and spoke to him when they were alone. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
4 Jesus answered them, “Take care that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. Do not be alarmed, for those things are bound to happen, but the end is still to come. 7 For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are only the beginning of the labor pains.
9 “Then you will be handed over to be tortured and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of my name. 10 At that time, many will fall away from the faith; they will betray and hate one another. 11 Many false prophets will appear and lead many astray, 12 and with the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But whoever endures to the end will be saved. 14 And the good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the entire world as a testimony offered to all the nations. And then the end will come.
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