Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God Praised and Pleas to Give Victory.
A Song, a Psalm of David.
108 (A)My heart is steadfast, God;
I will sing, I will sing praises also with my [a]soul.
2 Awake, harp and lyre;
I will awaken the dawn!
3 I will give thanks to You, Lord, among the peoples,
And I will sing praises to You among the nations.
4 For Your (B)mercy is great (C)above the heavens,
And Your truth reaches to the skies.
5 (D)Be exalted above the heavens, God,
And may Your glory be above all the earth.
6 (E)So that Your beloved may be rescued,
Save with Your right hand, and answer me!
7 God has spoken in His [b]holiness:
“I will triumph, I will divide up Shechem,
And measure out the Valley of Succoth.
8 Gilead is Mine, Manasseh is Mine;
Ephraim also is the [c]helmet of My head;
(F)Judah is My [d]scepter.
9 Moab is My washbowl;
I will throw My sandal over Edom;
I will shout aloud over Philistia.”
10 (G)Who will bring me into the fortified city?
Who [e]will lead me to Edom?
11 God, have You Yourself not (H)rejected us?
And will You not go forth with our armies, God?
12 Give us help against the enemy,
For (I)deliverance [f]by man is worthless.
13 [g]Through God we will do valiantly,
And (J)it is He who will trample down our enemies.
Israel Demands a King
8 Now it came about, when Samuel was old, that (A)he appointed his sons as judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judging in (B)Beersheba. 3 His sons, however, did not walk in his ways but turned aside after dishonest gain, and they (C)took bribes and perverted justice.
4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at (D)Ramah; 5 and they said to him, “Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now (E)appoint us a king to judge us like all the nations.” 6 But the matter was [a](F)displeasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And (G)Samuel prayed to the Lord. 7 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people regarding all that they say to you, because (H)they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being King over them. 8 Like all the deeds which they have done since the day that I brought them up from Egypt even to this day—in that they have abandoned Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you as well. 9 Now then, listen to their voice; (I)however, you shall warn them strongly and tell them of (J)the [b]practice of the king who will reign over them.”
Warning concerning a King
10 So Samuel spoke all the words of the Lord to (K)the people who had asked him for a king. 11 And he said, “(L)This will be the [c]practice of the king who will reign over you: (M)he will take your sons and put them in his chariots for himself and among his horsemen, and (N)they will run before his chariots. 12 (O)He will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to [d]do his plowing and to gather in his harvest, and to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will also take your daughters and use them as perfumers, cooks, and bakers. 14 (P)He will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. 15 And he will take a tenth of your seed and your vineyards and give it to his high officials and his servants. 16 He will also take your male servants and your female servants, and your best young men, and your donkeys, and [e]use them for his work. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his servants. 18 Then (Q)you will cry out on that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but (R)the Lord will not answer you on that day.”
19 Yet the people (S)refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, “No, but there shall be a king over us, 20 (T)so that we also may be like all the nations, and our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” 21 Now after Samuel had heard all the words of the people, (U)he [f]repeated them in the Lord’s hearing. 22 And the Lord said to Samuel, “(V)Listen to their voice and appoint a king for them.” So Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Go, every man to his city.”
Satan Freed and Doomed
7 When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be (A)released from his prison, 8 and will come out to (B)deceive the nations which are at the (C)four corners of the earth, (D)Gog and Magog, to (E)gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the (F)sand of the [a]seashore. 9 And they (G)came up on the [b]broad plain of the earth and surrounded the (H)camp of the [c]saints and the (I)beloved city, and (J)fire came down from heaven and devoured them. 10 And (K)the devil who (L)deceived them was thrown into the (M)lake of fire and [d]brimstone, where the (N)beast and the (O)false prophet are also; and they will be (P)tormented day and night forever and ever.
Judgment at the Throne of God
11 Then I saw a great white (Q)throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose [e]presence (R)earth and heaven fled, and (S)no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, the (T)great and the small, standing before the throne, and [f](U)books were opened; and another [g]book was opened, which is (V)the book of life; and the dead (W)were judged from the things which were written in the [h]books, (X)according to their deeds. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, and (Y)Death and Hades (Z)gave up the dead who were in them; and they were judged, each one of them (AA)according to their deeds. 14 Then (AB)Death and Hades were thrown into (AC)the lake of fire. This is the (AD)second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if [i]anyone’s name was not found written in (AE)the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
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