Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Song of Ascents
A Prayer for Relief
123 To you, who sit enthroned in heaven,
I lift up my eyes.
2 Consider this: as the eyes of a servant focus
on what his master provides,[a]
and as the eyes of a female servant focus[b]
on what her mistress provides,[c]
so our eyes focus on the Lord our God,
until he has mercy on us.
3 Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy,
for we have had more than enough of contempt.
4 Our lives overflow
with scorn from those who live at ease,
with contempt from those who are proud.
6 After Joshua had dismissed the people, the Israelis returned to their respective inheritances to take possession of the land.
The Death of Joshua(A)
7 The people served the Lord during the entire lifetime of Joshua as well as the lifetimes of all the elders who outlived Joshua and who had observed all the great deeds that the Lord had done for Israel. 8 But then Nun’s son Joshua, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110 years. 9 They buried him in Timnath-heres, within the boundaries of his inheritance in the mountainous region[a] of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. 10 After that whole generation had died,[b] another generation grew up after them that was not acquainted with the Lord or with what he had done for Israel.
The Rise of the Judges
11 So the Israelis practiced what the Lord considered to be evil by worshiping Canaanite deities.[c] 12 They abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They followed other gods from among the gods of the peoples who surrounded them. They bowed down in worship of them, and by doing so angered the Lord. 13 As a result, they abandoned the Lord by serving both Baal[d] and Ashtaroth.[e] 14 So in his burning anger against Israel, the Lord gave them into the domination of marauders who plundered them. The enemies who surrounded the Israelis[f] controlled them, and they were no longer able to withstand their adversaries. 15 Wherever they went, the Lord worked[g] against them to bring misfortune, just as the Lord had warned, and just as the Lord had promised them. As a result, they suffered greatly.
The Vision of the Seven Angels Pouring Out Their Bowls
16 Then I heard a loud voice from the Temple saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour the seven bowls of God’s wrath on the earth.” 2 So the first angel went and poured his bowl on the earth. A horrible, painful sore appeared on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshipped the image.
3 The second angel poured his bowl into the sea. It became like the blood of a dead body, and every living thing in the sea died.
4 The third angel poured his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they turned into blood. 5 Then I heard the angel in charge[a] of the water say,
“You are just. You are the one who is
and who was, the Holy One,
because you have judged these things.
6 You have given them blood to drink
because they spilled the blood of saints and prophets.
This is what they deserve.”
7 Then I heard the altar reply,
“Yes, Lord God Almighty,
your judgments are true and just.”
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.