Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

4 And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of Jehovah; now Ehud was dead.

² And Jehovah sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; and the captain of his army was Sisera, who dwelt in Harosheth-Goim.

³ And the children of Israel cried to Jehovah; for he had nine hundred chariots of iron, and he mightily oppressed the children of Israel twenty years.

⁴ And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, judged Israel at that time.

⁵ And she dwelt under the palm-tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim; and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.

⁶ And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedesh-Naphtali, and said to him, Hath not Jehovah the God of Israel commanded? Go and draw towards mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun,

⁷ and I will draw unto thee, to the torrent Kishon, Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, and his chariots and his multitude, and I will give him into thy hand.

A Song of degrees.

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

² Behold, as the eyes of servants [look] unto the hand of their masters, as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress, so our eyes [are directed] to Jehovah our God, until he be gracious unto us.

³ Be gracious unto us, O Jehovah, be gracious unto us; for we are exceedingly filled with contempt.

⁴ Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of those that are at ease, with the contempt of the proud.

5 But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that ye should be written to,

² for ye know perfectly well yourselves, that the day of [the] Lord so comes as a thief by night.

³ When they may say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction comes upon them, as travail upon her that is with child; and they shall in no wise escape.

⁴ But *ye*, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you as a thief:

⁵ for all *ye* are sons of light and sons of day; we are not of night nor of darkness.

⁶ So then do not let us sleep as the rest do, but let us watch and be sober;

⁷ for they that sleep sleep by night, and they that drink drink by night;

⁸ but *we* being of [the] day, let us be sober, putting on [the] breastplate of faith and love, and as helmet [the] hope of salvation;

⁹ because God has not set us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,

¹⁰ who has died for us, that whether we may be watching or sleep, we may live together with him.

¹¹ Wherefore encourage one another, and build up each one the other, even as also ye do.

¹⁴ For [it is] as [if] a man going away out of a country called his own bondmen and delivered to them his substance.

¹⁵ And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to each according to his particular ability, and immediately went away out of the country.

¹⁶ And he that had received the five talents went and trafficked with them, and made five other talents.

¹⁷ In like manner also he that [had received] the two, [he also] gained two others.

¹⁸ But he that had received the one went and dug in the earth, and hid the money of his lord.

¹⁹ And after a long time the lord of those bondmen comes and reckons with them.

²⁰ And he that had received the five talents came to [him] and brought five other talents, saying, [My] lord, thou deliveredst me five talents; behold, I have gained five other talents besides them.

²¹ His lord said to him, Well, good and faithful bondman, thou wast faithful over a few things, I will set thee over many things: enter into the joy of thy lord.

²² And he also that had received the two talents came to [him] and said, [My] lord, thou deliveredst me two talents; behold, I have gained two other talents besides them.

²³ His lord said to him, Well, good and faithful bondman, thou wast faithful over a few things, I will set thee over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

²⁴ And he also that had received the one talent coming to [him] said, [My] lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou hadst not sowed, and gathering from where thou hadst not scattered,

²⁵ and being afraid I went away and hid thy talent in the earth; behold, thou hast that which is thine.

²⁶ And his lord answering said to him, Wicked and slothful bondman, thou knewest that I reap where I had not sowed, and gather from where I had not scattered;

²⁷ thou oughtest then to have put my money to the money-changers, and when I came I should have got what is mine with interest.

²⁸ Take therefore the talent from him, and give it to him that has the ten talents:

²⁹ for to every one that has shall be given, and he shall be in abundance; but from him that has not, that even which he has shall be taken from him.

³⁰ And cast out the useless bondman into the outer darkness; there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.