Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 106[a]
106 Praise the Lord.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
and his loyal love endures.[b]
2 Who can adequately recount the Lord’s mighty acts,
or relate all his praiseworthy deeds?[c]
3 How blessed are those who promote justice,
and do what is right all the time.
4 Remember me, O Lord, when you show favor to your people.
Pay attention to me, when you deliver,
5 so I may see the prosperity[d] of your chosen ones,
rejoice along with your nation,[e]
and boast along with the people who belong to you.[f]
6 We have sinned like[g] our ancestors;[h]
we have done wrong, we have done evil.
7 Our ancestors in Egypt failed to appreciate your miraculous deeds.
They failed to remember your many acts of loyal love,
and they rebelled at the sea, by the Red Sea.[i]
8 Yet he delivered them for the sake of his reputation,[j]
that he might reveal his power.
9 He shouted at[k] the Red Sea and it dried up;
he led them through the deep water as if it were a desert.
10 He delivered them from the power[l] of the one who hated them,
and rescued[m] them from the power[n] of the enemy.
11 The water covered their enemies;
not even one of them survived.[o]
12 They believed his promises;[p]
they sang praises to him.
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.” 8 Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go. But if you do not go with me, I will not go.” 9 She said, “I will indeed go with you. But you will not gain fame[o] on the expedition you are undertaking,[p] for the Lord will turn Sisera over to a woman.”[q] Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 Barak summoned men from Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh, and 10,000 men followed him;[r] Deborah went up with him as well. 11 Now Heber the Kenite had moved away[s] from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab, Moses’ father-in-law. He lived[t] near the great tree in Zaanannim near Kedesh.
12 When Sisera heard[u] that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, 13 he[v] ordered[w] all his chariotry—900 chariots with iron-rimmed wheels—and all the troops he had with him to go from Harosheth Haggoyim to the Kishon River. 14 Deborah said to Barak, “Spring into action,[x] for this is the day the Lord is handing Sisera over to you![y] Has the Lord not taken the lead?”[z] So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him. 15 The Lord routed[aa] Sisera, all his chariotry, and all his army with the edge of the sword.[ab] Sisera jumped out of[ac] his chariot and ran away on foot. 16 Now Barak chased the chariots and the army all the way to Harosheth Haggoyim. Sisera’s whole army died[ad] by the edge of the sword; not even one survived![ae]
Exhortations for Spiritual Warfare
10 Finally, be strengthened in the Lord and in the strength of his power. 11 Clothe yourselves with the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand against the schemes[a] of the devil. 12 For our struggle[b] is not against flesh and blood,[c] but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness,[d] against the spiritual forces[e] of evil in the heavens.[f] 13 For this reason, take up the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand your ground[g] on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm therefore, by fastening[h] the belt of truth around your waist,[i] by putting on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 by fitting your[j] feet with the preparation that comes from the good news[k] of peace,[l] 16 and in all of this,[m] by taking up the shield[n] of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation[o] and the sword[p] of the Spirit (which is the word of God).
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