Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

A Psalm of David.

¹ ¶ Unto thee will I cry, O LORD my rock; be not silent unto me lest, if thou be silent unto me, I become like those that go down into the grave.

² Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward the oracle of thy holiness.

³ Do not catch me away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, who speak peace to their neighbours, but evil is in their hearts.

⁴ Give them according to their deeds and according to the wickedness of their endeavours: give them after the work of their hands; render unto them their desert.

⁵ Because they do not regard the works of the LORD nor the operation of his hands, he shall destroy them and not build them up.

⁶ ¶ Blessed be the LORD because he has heard the voice of my supplications.

⁷ The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoices; and with my song I will praise him.

⁸ The LORD is the strength of his people, and he is the saving strength of his anointed.

⁹ Save thy people and bless thine inheritance; feed them also and lift them up for ever.

⁴ ¶ Thus hath the LORD my God said, Feed the flock of the slaughter,

⁵ whose buyers slayed them and held themselves not guilty; and he that sold them said, Blessed be the LORD; for I am rich: and not even their own shepherds had compassion on them.

⁶ Therefore I will no longer pity the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD; but, behold, I will deliver the men each one into his neighbour’s hand and into the hand of his king; and they shall smite the land, and I will not deliver them out of their hands.

⁷ And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. For I took unto me two staves: the one I named Beauty, and the other Bands; and I fed the flock.

⁸ I also cut off three shepherds in one month; and my soul was in anguish for them, and their soul also abhorred me.

⁹ Then I said, I will not feed you any longer; the one that dies, let it die; and the one that is to be lost, let it be lost; and let the rest eat each one the flesh of another.

¹⁰ And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the peoples.

¹¹ And it was broken in that day; and so the poor of the flock that look unto me knew that it was the word of the LORD.

¹² And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my wages; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my wages thirty pieces of silver.

¹³ And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the treasury: a goodly price that I was appraised at by them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver and cast them in the house of the LORD unto the treasury.

¹⁴ Then I cut asunder my other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

¹⁵ ¶ And the LORD said unto me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd.

¹⁶ For, behold, I raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those that are lost, neither shall seek the young one nor heal the one that is broken nor carry the one that is tired, but he shall eat the flesh of the fat and tear their hoofs in pieces.

¹⁷ Woe to the useless pastor that leaves the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm and upon his right eye; his arm shall be completely dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.

19 ¶ And after these things I heard a great voice of a great company in the heaven, saying, Halelu-JAH; Salvation and glory and honour and power unto the Lord our God;

² for true and righteous are his judgments; for he has judged the great whore, who corrupted the earth with her fornication, and has avenged the blood of his slaves at her hand.

³ And again they said, Halelu-JAH. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.

⁴ And the twenty-four elders and the four animals fell upon their faces and worshipped God that was seated upon the throne, saying, Amen! Halelu-JAH!

⁵ ¶ And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his slaves and ye that fear him, both small and great.

⁶ And I heard as it were the voice of a great company and as the voice of many waters and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Halelu-JAH; for the Lord God almighty reigns.

⁷ Let us be glad and rejoice and give glory to him; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his bride has made herself ready.

⁸ And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright: for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints.

⁹ And he said unto me, Write, Blessed are those who are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said unto me, These are the true words of God.