Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Prayer for the Lord’s Help.

A Song of Ascents.

Joshua Dies

^6 (A)When Joshua had dismissed the people, the sons of Israel went, each one to his inheritance, to take possession of the land. ⁷ The people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who ^[a]survived Joshua, who had seen all the great work of the Lord which He had done for Israel. ⁸ Then Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110. ⁹ And they buried him in the territory of ^(B)his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. ¹⁰ All that generation also were gathered to their fathers; and another generation rose up after them who ^(C)did not know the Lord, nor even the work which He had done for Israel.

Israel Serves the Baals

¹¹ Then the sons of Israel did ^(D)evil in the sight of the Lord and ^[b]served the ^(E)Baals, ¹² and ^(F)they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and they followed other gods from the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them; so they provoked the Lord to anger. ¹³ They abandoned the Lord and ^(G)served Baal and the Ashtaroth. ^14 (H)Then the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He handed them over to plunderers, and they plundered them; and ^(I)He sold them into the hands of their enemies around them, so that they could no longer stand ^[c]against their enemies. ¹⁵ Wherever they went, the hand of the Lord was against them for ^[d]evil, as the Lord had spoken and ^(J)just as the Lord had sworn to them, so that they were severely distressed.

The Bowls of Wrath

16 Then I heard a loud voice from ^(A)the ^[a]temple, saying to the ^(B)seven angels, “Go and ^(C)pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.”

² So the first angel went and poured out his bowl ^(D)on the earth; and a harmful and painful ^(E)sore ^[b]afflicted the people ^(F)who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his image.

³ The second angel poured out his bowl ^(G)into the sea, and it became blood like that of a dead man; and every living ^[c]thing in the sea died.

⁴ Then the third angel poured out his bowl into the ^(H)rivers and the springs of waters; and they ^(I)became blood. ⁵ And I heard the angel of the waters saying, “^(J)Righteous are You, ^(K)the One who is and who was, O ^(L)Holy One, because You ^(M)judged these things; ⁶ for they poured out ^(N)the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them ^(O)blood to drink. They ^[d]deserve it.” ⁷ And I heard ^(P)the altar saying, “Yes, ^(Q)Lord God, the Almighty, ^(R)true and righteous are Your judgments.”