Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Deborah Summons Barak
4 The Israelites again did evil in the Lord’s sight[a] after Ehud’s death. 2 The Lord turned them over to[b] King Jabin of Canaan, who ruled in Hazor.[c] The general of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth Haggoyim.[d] 3 The Israelites cried out for help to the Lord, because Sisera[e] had 900 chariots with iron-rimmed wheels,[f] and he cruelly[g] oppressed the Israelites for twenty years.
4 Now Deborah, a prophetess,[h] wife of Lappidoth, was[i] leading[j] Israel at that time. 5 She would sit[k] under the Date Palm Tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the Ephraimite hill country. The Israelites would come up to her to have their disputes settled.[l]
6 She summoned[m] Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali. She said to him, “Is it not true that the Lord God of Israel is commanding you? Go, march to Mount Tabor! Take with you 10,000 men from Naphtali and Zebulun. 7 I will bring Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to you at the Kishon River, along with his chariots and huge army.[n] I will hand him over to you.”
Psalm 123[a]
A song of ascents.[b]
123 I look up[c] toward you,
the one enthroned[d] in heaven.
2 Look, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a female servant look to the hand of her mistress,[e]
so our eyes will look to the Lord, our God, until he shows us favor.
3 Show us favor, O Lord, show us favor!
For we have had our fill of humiliation, and then some.[f]
4 We have had our fill[g]
of the taunts of the self-assured,
of the contempt of the proud.
The Day of the Lord
5 Now on the topic of times and seasons,[a] brothers and sisters,[b] you have no need for anything to be written to you. 2 For you know quite well that the day of the Lord[c] will come in the same way as a thief in the night.[d] 3 Now when[e] they are saying, “There is peace and security,”[f] then sudden destruction comes on them, like labor pains[g] on a pregnant woman, and they will surely not escape. 4 But you, brothers and sisters,[h] are not in the darkness for the day to overtake you like a thief would. 5 For you all are sons of the light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of the darkness. 6 So then we must not sleep as the rest, but must stay alert and sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 8 But since we are of the day, we must stay sober by putting on the breastplate[i] of faith and love and as a helmet our hope for salvation.[j] 9 For God did not destine us for wrath[k] but for gaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 10 He died[l] for us so that whether we are alert or asleep[m] we will come to life together with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, just as you are in fact doing.
The Parable of the Talents
14 “For it is like a man going on a journey, who summoned his slaves[a] and entrusted his property to them. 15 To[b] one he gave five talents,[c] to another two, and to another one, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The one who had received five talents went off right away and put his money to work[d] and gained five more. 17 In the same way, the one who had two gained two more. 18 But the one who had received one talent went out and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money in it. 19 After[e] a long time, the master of those slaves came and settled his accounts with them. 20 The[f] one who had received the five talents came and brought five more, saying, ‘Sir,[g] you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’ 21 His master answered,[h] ‘Well done, good and faithful slave! You have been faithful in a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 The[i] one with the two talents also came and said, ‘Sir, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more.’ 23 His master answered, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave! You have been faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 Then the one who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Sir, I knew that you were a hard man, harvesting where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed, 25 so[j] I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered,[k] ‘Evil and lazy slave! So you knew that I harvest where I didn’t sow and gather where I didn’t scatter? 27 Then you should have deposited my money with the bankers,[l] and on my return I would have received my money back with interest![m] 28 Therefore take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten.[n] 29 For the one who has will be given more,[o] and he will have more than enough. But the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.[p] 30 And throw that worthless slave into the outer darkness,[q] where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
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