Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Prayer to Yahweh for Victory over Enemies
A song. A psalm of David.[a]
108 My heart is steadfast, O God.
I will sing and give praise, even with my glory.
2 Awake, harp and lyre.
I will awake the dawn.[b]
3 I will give you thanks among the peoples, O Yahweh;
I will give you praise among the nations,
4 because your loyal love is great above the heavens,
and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
5 Be exalted above the heavens, O God,
and let your glory be above all the earth,
6 so that your beloved ones may be rescued.
Save by your right hand and answer me.
7 God has spoken in his holiness,
“I will exult, I will divide up Shechem,
and portion out the valley of Succoth.
8 Gilead is mine. Manasseh is mine.
And Ephraim is the helmet for[c] my head.
Judah is my scepter;[d]
9 Moab is my washing pot.
Over Edom I will cast my sandal;
Over Philistia I will shout in triumph.”
10 Who will bring me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
11 Have you not rejected us, O God,
and not gone out with our armies, O God?
12 Give us help against the enemy,
for the help of humankind is futile.
13 Through God we will do valiantly,[e]
and it is he who will tread down our enemies.
Israel’s Demand for a King
8 When Samuel grew old he appointed his sons as judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second son was Abijah. They were judges in Beersheba. 3 But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after gain, they took bribes, and they perverted justice.
4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, “Look, you are old and your sons do not follow in your ways. So then appoint a king for us to judge[a] us, like all the nations. 6 But the matter was displeasing to Samuel[b] when they said, “Give us a king to judge[c] us,” so Samuel prayed to Yahweh.
7 Then Yahweh said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people concerning all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. 8 Like all the deeds they have done from the day I brought them up from Egypt until this day, they have forsaken me and have served other gods—so they are doing to you also. 9 And so then, listen to their voice. However, you must earnestly warn them; you must explain to them the custom of the king who will rule over them.”
10 So Samuel spoke all the words of Yahweh to the people who were requesting a king from him. 11 He said, “This will be the custom of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and his horsemen, and they will run before his chariots. 12 He will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and those to do his plowing[d] and to reap his harvest, and those to make weapons of war and the equipment for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters as his perfume makers and as cooks and as bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and your vineyards and your olive trees and will give them to his servants. 15 He will take a tenth of your seed and your vineyards and give it to his high officials and to his servants. 16 He will take your male slaves and your female slaves and the best of your young men[e] and your donkeys and will use them for his projects.[f] 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks,[g] and you yourselves will become his servants. 18 So you will cry out on that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but Yahweh will not answer you on that day!” 19 However, the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel and they said, “No, but there must be a king over us, 20 so that we also[h] may be like all the nations, and our king may rule us and go out before us and fight our battles.”
21 Now when Samuel heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of Yahweh. 22 Then Yahweh said to Samuel, “Listen to their voice, and appoint a king for them.” So Samuel spoke to the men of Israel, “Each of you go to his own town.”
Satan’s Release and Defeat
7 And when the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and he will go out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to assemble them for battle, whose number[a] is like the sand of the sea. 9 And they went up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the fortified camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and consumed them. 10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulphur, where the beast and the false prophet also are, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever[b].
The Judgment at the Great White Throne
11 And I saw a great white throne and the one who was seated on it, from whose presence[c] earth and heaven fled, and a place was not found for them. 12 And I saw the dead—the great and the small—standing before the throne, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to their deeds. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and each one was judged according to their deeds. 14 And Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
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