Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 78[a]
God’s Goodness in the Face of Ingratitude
1 A maskil[b] of Asaph.
[c]Give ear, my people, to my teaching;
pay attention to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth in parables[d]
and expound the mysteries of the past.
3 [e]These things we have heard and know,
for our ancestors have related them to us.
4 We will not conceal them from our children;
we will relate them to the next generation,
the glorious and powerful deeds of the Lord
and the wonders he has performed.
5 He instituted a decree in Jacob
and established a law in Israel,
which he commanded our ancestors
to make known to their descendants,
6 so that they would be known to future generations,
to children yet to be born.
In turn they were to tell their children,
7 so that they would place their trust in God,
and never forget his works
but keep his commandments.
30 The Altar on Mount Ebal.[a] Joshua then built an altar on Mount Ebal to the Lord, the God of Israel 31 as Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded the Israelites to do in the book of the law. Moses had written, “It is to be an altar of unhewn stones that no one has touched with iron tools.” They offered burnt offerings to the Lord there, and also sacrificed peace offerings. 32 There, in front of all of the Israelites, he copied on the stones the law that Moses had written. 33 All of the Israelites, including their elders, their officials, and their judges were standing on either side of the Ark. They were facing the priests, the Levites who carry the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. There were both the foreigners and the native born. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim, and half of the people stood in front of Mount Ebal, just as Moses, the servant of the Lord, had previously commanded, so that they might bless the people of Israel. 34 Afterward he read all of the words of the law along with its blessings and curses, just as all of it is written in the book of the law. 35 Joshua read every single word that Moses had commanded before the whole assembly of Israel, along with the women, the little ones, and the foreigners who were living with them.
13 The Sixth Trumpet: the Second Woe.[a] Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice[b] emanating from the horns of the gold altar that stood in the presence of God. 14 It said to the sixth angel who was holding the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.”
15 And so the four angels, who had been held in readiness for this very hour, day, month, and year, were released to kill a third of mankind.[c] 16 The number of their cavalry troops was two hundred million. This was the number I heard.
17 This is how I saw the horses and their riders in my vision. The riders wore breastplates in shades of red, blue, and yellow. The heads of the horses were like heads of lions, and issuing forth from their mouths were fire, smoke, and sulfur. 18 By these three plagues of fire, smoke, and sulfur that poured forth from their mouths, a third of mankind was killed. 19 The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails. Their tails were like serpents, with heads that inflicted harm.
20 However, the rest of mankind who survived these plagues did not repent of the work of their hands or cease their worship of demons[d] and of idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. 21 Nor did they repent of their murders, their sorcery, their sexual immorality, or their thefts.
Copyright © 2019 by Catholic Book Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.