Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Foolish Men
53 The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are sinful and have done bad things. There is no one who does good. 2 God has looked down from heaven at the children of men to see if there is anyone who understands and looks for God. 3 They have all turned back. They have all turned to sin. There is no one who does good, not even one. 4 Have those who do wrong no understanding? They eat up My people like they eat bread. They have not called upon God. 5 There they were, in much fear, where there was nothing to be afraid of. For God has spread out the bones of those who come against you. You put them to shame, because God has turned away from them. 6 O, that the saving of Israel would come out of Zion! Jacob will be full of joy and Israel will be glad when God returns His people to their land.
A Day to Be Made Free from Sin
26 Then the Lord said to Moses, 27 “The tenth day of this seventh month is the day to be made free from sin. It will be a holy meeting for you. You will be without pride and give a gift by fire to the Lord.
28 “Do no work on this day. For it is a day to be made free from sin, to be made free from your sin before the Lord your God. 29 If there is any person who will not be free from his pride on this day, he will be kept away from his people. 30 Whoever does any work on this day, I will destroy from among his people. 31 Do no work at all. It is a Law forever for all your people in all your homes. 32 It will be a Day of Rest for you. And you must be without pride. You will keep your Day of Rest from evening until evening on the ninth day of the month.”
Supper of Tents
33 The Lord said to Moses, 34 “Say to the people of Israel, ‘On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the special supper of tents to the Lord. It will last seven days. 35 A holy meeting will be on the first day. Do no hard work of any kind. 36 Give a gift by fire to the Lord for seven days. On the eighth day have a holy meeting and give a gift by fire to the Lord. It is a special gathering. Do no hard work.
37 ‘These are the special suppers, the holy meetings you will keep at the right times. They will be for giving to the Lord gifts by fire, burnt gifts and grain gifts, gifts of animals and drink gifts, each on its own day. 38 These are to be added to the Days of Rest of the Lord, and your gifts, both those that are promised and your free-will gifts that you give to the Lord.
39 ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered the food of your land, you will have the special supper of the Lord for seven days. The first day and the eighth day will be Days of Rest. 40 On the first day, you will take the leaves of beautiful trees, branches of trees with big leaves and of trees beside the river. And be full of joy before the Lord your God for seven days. 41 You will keep it as a special supper to the Lord seven days in the year. It will be a Law forever for all your people. You will have it in the seventh month.
Giving Thanks in Heaven
19 After this I heard what sounded like the voices of many people in heaven, saying, “Thanks to our God, the One Who saves. Honor and power belong to Him. 2 For the way He punishes people is right and true. He has punished the powerful woman who sold the use of her body. She was making the earth sinful with her sex sins. She killed those who worked for God. He has punished her for it.” 3 Again they said, “Thanks to our God. The smoke from her burning goes up forever.” 4 The twenty-four leaders and the four living beings got down and worshiped God Who was sitting on the throne. They said, “Let it be so. Thanks to our God!”
5 A voice came from the throne, saying, “Give thanks to our God, you servants who are owned by Him. Give thanks to our God, you who honor Him with love and fear, both small and great.”
The Wedding Supper of the Lamb
6 Then I heard what sounded like the voices of many people. It was like the sound of powerful rushing water. And it was like loud thunder. It said, “Thanks to our God. For the Lord our God is King. He is the All-powerful One. 7 Let us be full of joy and be glad. Let us honor Him, for the time has come for the wedding supper of the Lamb. His bride has made herself ready. 8 She was given clean, white, fine linen clothes to wear. The fine linen is the right living of God’s people.”
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