Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

4 ¶ But the sons of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD when Ehud was dead.

² And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin, king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor, the captain of whose host was Sisera, and he dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles.

³ And the sons of Israel cried unto the LORD, for he had nine hundred chariots of iron, and he had mightily oppressed the sons of Israel for twenty years.

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

⁵ This Deborah dwelt under a palm tree between Ramah and Bethel in Mount Ephraim, and the sons of Israel came up to her for judgment.

⁶ And she sent and called Barak, the son of Abinoam, out of Kedesh of Naphtali and said unto him, Has not the LORD God of Israel commanded thee, saying, Go and draw toward Mount Tabor and take with thee ten thousand men of the sons of Naphtali and of the sons of Zebulun?

⁷ And I will draw Sisera, the captain of Jabin’s army, unto thee to the river Kishon, with his chariots and his multitude, and I will deliver him into thy hands.

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.

5 ¶ But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.

² For ye know well that the day of the Lord shall come as a thief in the night.

³ For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction shall come upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

⁴ But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should take you as a thief.

⁵ Ye are all the sons of light, and the sons of the day; we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

⁶ ¶ Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.

⁷ For those that sleep sleep in the night, and those that are drunken are drunken in the night.

⁸ But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and charity, and for a helmet, the hope of saving health.

⁹ For God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain saving health by our Lord Jesus Christ,

¹⁰ who died for us, that whether we watch or sleep, we should live together with him.

¹¹ ¶ Therefore comfort and edify one another, even as ye do.

¹⁴ ¶ For it is like a man travelling into a far country, who called his own slaves and delivered unto them his goods.

¹⁵ And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each one according to his faculty, and straightway took his journey.

¹⁶ And after he was gone, he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same and made another five talents.

¹⁷ And likewise he that had received two, he also gained another two.

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

¹⁹ And after a long time the lord of those slaves came and reckoned accounts with them.

²⁰ And so he that had received five talents came and brought another five talents, saying, Lord, thou didst deliver unto me five talents; behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.

²¹ His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful slave; thou hast been faithful over a few things; I will set thee over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

²² He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou didst deliver unto me two talents; behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.

²³ His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful slave; thou hast been faithful over a few things; I will set thee over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

²⁴ Then he who had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown and gathering where thou hast not scattered;

²⁵ therefore, I was afraid and went and hid thy talent in the earth; behold, thou hast what is thine.

²⁶ His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful slave, thou knewest that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I have not scattered;

²⁷ therefore, it was expedient for thee to have put my money to the bankers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with interest.

²⁸ Take, therefore, the talent from him and give it unto him who has ten talents.

²⁹ For unto every one that has shall be given, and he shall have abundance, but from him that has not shall be taken away even that which he has.

³⁰ And cast ye the unprofitable slave into the outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.