Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 123

A pilgrimage song.

¹⁶ Then the Lord raised up leaders^[a] to rescue them from the power of these raiders. ¹⁷ But they wouldn’t even obey their own leaders because they were unfaithful, following other gods and worshipping them. They quickly deviated from the way of their ancestors, who had obeyed the Lord’s commands, and didn’t follow their example.

¹⁸ The Lord was moved by Israel’s groaning under those who oppressed and crushed them. So the Lord would raise up leaders for them, and the Lord would be with the leader, and he would rescue Israel from the power of their enemies as long as that leader lived.

¹⁹ But then when the leader died, they would once again act in ways that weren’t as good as their ancestors’, going after other gods, to serve them and to worship them. They wouldn’t drop their bad practices or hardheaded ways. ²⁰ So the Lord became angry with Israel and said, “Because this nation has violated my covenant that I required of their ancestors and hasn’t obeyed me, ²¹ I in turn will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died.” ²² As a test for Israel, to see whether they would carefully walk in the Lord’s ways just as their ancestors had done, ²³ the Lord left these nations instead of driving them out immediately or handing them over to Joshua.

⁸ The fourth angel poured his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to burn people with fire. ⁹ The people were burned by intense heat, and they cursed the name of the God who had power over these plagues. But they didn’t change their hearts and lives and give him glory. ¹⁰ The fifth angel poured his bowl over the beast’s throne, and darkness covered its kingdom. People bit their tongues because of their pain, ¹¹ and they cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and sores; but they didn’t turn away from what they had done.

¹² Then the sixth angel poured his bowl on the great river Euphrates. Its water was dried up so that the way was ready for the kings from the east. ¹³ Then I saw three unclean spirits, like frogs, come from the dragon’s mouth, the beast’s mouth, and the mouth of the false prophet. ¹⁴ These are demonic spirits that do signs. They go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty. (¹⁵ Look! I’m coming like a thief! Favored are those who stay awake and clothed so that they don’t go around naked and exposed to shame.) ¹⁶ The spirits gathered them at the place that is called in Hebrew, Harmagedon.^[a]

¹⁷ Then the seventh angel poured his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out from the temple, from the throne, saying, “It is done!” ¹⁸ There were lightning strikes, voices, and thunder, and a great earthquake occurred. The earthquake was greater than any that have occurred since there have been people on earth. ¹⁹ The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. God remembered Babylon the great so that he gave her the wine cup of his furious anger. ²⁰ Every island fled, and the mountains disappeared. ²¹ Huge hailstones weighing about one hundred pounds came down from heaven on the people. They cursed God for the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible.