Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Supplication for Mercy
A Song of Ascents.
123 To thee I lift up my eyes,
O thou who art enthroned in the heavens!
2 Behold, as the eyes of servants
look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maid
to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord our God,
till he have mercy upon us.
3 Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us,
for we have had more than enough of contempt.
4 Too long our soul has been sated
with the scorn of those who are at ease,
the contempt of the proud.
The Song of Deborah
5 Then sang Deb′orah and Barak the son of Abin′o-am on that day:
2 “That the leaders took the lead in Israel,
that the people offered themselves willingly,
bless[a] the Lord!
3 “Hear, O kings; give ear, O princes;
to the Lord I will sing,
I will make melody to the Lord, the God of Israel.
4 “Lord, when thou didst go forth from Se′ir,
when thou didst march from the region of Edom,
the earth trembled,
and the heavens dropped,
yea, the clouds dropped water.
5 The mountains quaked before the Lord,
yon Sinai before the Lord, the God of Israel.
6 “In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath,
in the days of Ja′el, caravans ceased
and travelers kept to the byways.
7 The peasantry ceased in Israel, they ceased
until you arose, Deb′orah,
arose as a mother in Israel.
8 When new gods were chosen,
then war was in the gates.
Was shield or spear to be seen
among forty thousand in Israel?
9 My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel
who offered themselves willingly among the people.
Bless the Lord.
10 “Tell of it, you who ride on tawny asses,
you who sit on rich carpets[b]
and you who walk by the way.
11 To the sound of musicians[c] at the watering places,
there they repeat the triumphs of the Lord,
the triumphs of his peasantry in Israel.
“Then down to the gates marched the people of the Lord.
12 “Awake, awake, Deb′orah!
Awake, awake, utter a song!
Arise, Barak, lead away your captives,
O son of Abin′o-am.
The Return of the Unclean Spirit
43 “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he passes through waterless places seeking rest, but he finds none. 44 Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then he goes and brings with him seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. So shall it be also with this evil generation.”
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.