Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Confession of Israel’s Sins
106 Praise the Lord!
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures for ever!
2 Who can utter the mighty doings of the Lord,
or show forth all his praise?
3 Blessed are they who observe justice,
who do righteousness at all times!
4 Remember me, O Lord, when thou showest favor to thy people;
help me when thou deliverest them;
5 that I may see the prosperity of thy chosen ones,
that I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation,
that I may glory with thy heritage.
6 Both we and our fathers have sinned;
we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly.
7 Our fathers, when they were in Egypt,
did not consider thy wonderful works;
they did not remember the abundance of thy steadfast love,
but rebelled against the Most High[a]
at the Red Sea.
8 Yet he saved them for his name’s sake,
that he might make known his mighty power.
9 He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry;
and he led them through the deep as through a desert.
10 So he saved them from the hand of the foe,
and delivered them from the power of the enemy.
11 And the waters covered their adversaries;
not one of them was left.
12 Then they believed his words;
they sang his praise.
12 “Awake, awake, Deb′orah!
Awake, awake, utter a song!
Arise, Barak, lead away your captives,
O son of Abin′o-am.
13 Then down marched the remnant of the noble;
the people of the Lord marched down for him[a] against the mighty.
14 From E′phraim they set out thither[b] into the valley,[c]
following you, Benjamin, with your kinsmen;
from Machir marched down the commanders,
and from Zeb′ulun those who bear the marshal’s staff;
15 the princes of Is′sachar came with Deb′orah,
and Is′sachar faithful to Barak;
into the valley they rushed forth at his heels.
Among the clans of Reuben
there were great searchings of heart.
16 Why did you tarry among the sheepfolds,
to hear the piping for the flocks?
Among the clans of Reuben
there were great searchings of heart.
17 Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan;
and Dan, why did he abide with the ships?
Asher sat still at the coast of the sea,
settling down by his landings.
18 Zeb′ulun is a people that jeoparded their lives to the death;
Naph′tali too, on the heights of the field.
19 “The kings came, they fought;
then fought the kings of Canaan,
at Ta′anach, by the waters of Megid′do;
they got no spoils of silver.
20 From heaven fought the stars,
from their courses they fought against Sis′era.
21 The torrent Kishon swept them away,
the onrushing torrent, the torrent Kishon.
March on, my soul, with might!
Epilogue
13 I write this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 And this is the confidence which we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have obtained the requests made of him. 16 If any one sees his brother committing what is not a mortal sin, he will ask, and God[a] will give him life for those whose sin is not mortal. There is sin which is mortal; I do not say that one is to pray for that. 17 All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin which is not mortal.
18 We know that any one born of God does not sin, but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him.
19 We know that we are of God, and the whole world is in the power of the evil one.
20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, to know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. 21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 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.