Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 80
For the Music Director. To the melody of “Lilies of the Testimony.” A Psalm of Asaph.
1 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
You who lead Joseph like a flock;
You who are enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth.
2 In the sight of Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh,
stir up Your strength,
and come and rescue us.
3 Restore us again, O God,
and cause Your face to shine,
and we shall be delivered.
4 O Lord God of Hosts,
how long will You be angry
against the prayers of Your people?
5 You have fed them with the bread of tears
and have given them tears to drink in great measure.
6 You make us contention for our neighbors,
and our enemies laugh among themselves.
7 Restore us again, O God of Hosts,
and cause Your face to shine,
and we shall be delivered.
17 Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand,
the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself.
18 So we will not turn back from You;
give us life, and we will call upon Your name.
19 Restore us again, O Lord God of Hosts;
cause Your face to shine,
and we shall be delivered.
The Cleansing of God’s People
13 On that day there will be a spring opened up for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and impurity.
2 And on that day, says the Lord of Hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they will not be remembered any more. And I will also remove from the land the prophets and the unclean spirit. 3 And it will be if a man again prophesies, then his father and mother who gave birth to him will say, “You will not live because you speak deception in the name of the Lord.” Then when he prophesies, his father and mother will pierce him through.
4 On that day each prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He will not put on a robe of coarse hair in order to deceive. 5 But he will say, “I am not a prophet. I am a man who works the ground, for a man purchased me when I was young.” 6 If someone asks, “What are these wounds on your arms?” he will say, “I was struck in the house of my close friends.”
Striking the Shepherd, Scattering the Sheep
7 “Awake, O sword, against My shepherd
and the man of My association,”
says the Lord of Hosts.
Strike the shepherd,
and the sheep will scatter.
I will turn My hand against the small ones.
8 And it will happen in all the land, says the Lord,
that two-thirds will be cut off and die,
and one-third will be left in the land.
9 And I will bring this one-third left into the fire,
and will refine them as the refinement of silver,
and will test them as the testing of gold.
They will call on My name,
and I will answer them.
I will say, “They are My people”;
and they will say, “The Lord is my God.”
The Messages of the Three Angels
6 Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the eternal gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth, to every nation and tribe and tongue and people. 7 He said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give Him glory, for the hour of His judgment has come. Worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”
8 Another angel followed, saying, “ ‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon, that Great City,’[a] because she made all the nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her sexual immorality.”
9 A third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he also shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out in full strength into the cup of His anger. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 The smoke of their torment will ascend forever and ever. They have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image and whoever receives the mark of his name.” 12 Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
13 Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.”
“Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their works follow them.”
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.