Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

A Song of degrees.

¹ ¶ Unto thee I lift up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens.

² Behold, as the eyes of slaves look unto the hand of their masters and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress, so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God, until he shall have mercy upon us.

³ Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us, for we are exceedingly weary of being held in contempt.

⁴ Our soul is exceedingly weary of the scorning of those that are at ease and of the contempt of the proud.

⁶ ¶ For Joshua had let the people go, and the sons of Israel had each gone unto his inheritance to possess the land.

⁷ And the people had served the LORD all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua who had seen all the great works of the LORD that he had done with Israel.

⁸ And Joshua, the son of Nun, the slave of the LORD, died, being one hundred and ten years old.

⁹ And they buried him within the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres in the mount of Ephraim on the north side of the mount of Gaash.

¹⁰ And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers, and there arose another generation after them which did not know the LORD nor the work which he had done to Israel.

¹¹ And the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baalim.

¹² And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the peoples that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them and provoked the LORD to anger.

¹³ And they forsook the LORD and served Baal and Ashtaroth.

¹⁴ And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies.

¹⁵ Wherever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil, as the LORD had said and as the LORD had sworn unto them; and thus they were greatly distressed.

16 ¶ And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.

² And the first went and poured out his vial upon the earth; and an evil and grievous sore fell upon the men who had the mark of the beast and upon those who worshipped its image.

³ And the second angel poured out his vial into the sea; and it became blood as of a dead man, and every living soul died in the sea.

⁴ And the third angel poured out his vial into the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.

⁵ And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, who art and wast the Holy one because thou hast judged these things;

⁶ for they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they deserve it.

⁷ And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.