Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Unbelieving Fool
For the director of music. By mahalath. A maskil of David.
53 Fools say to themselves,
“There is no God.”
Fools are evil and do terrible things;
none of them does anything good.
2 God looked down from heaven on all people
to see if anyone was wise,
if anyone was looking to God for help.
3 But all have turned away.
Together, everyone has become evil;
none of them does anything good.
Not a single person.
4 Don’t the wicked understand?
They destroy my people as if they were eating bread.
They do not ask God for help.
5 The wicked are filled with terror
where there had been nothing to fear.
God will scatter the bones of your enemies.
You will defeat them,
because God has rejected them.
6 I pray that victory will come to Israel from Mount Zion!
May God bring them back.
Then the people of Jacob will rejoice,
and the people of Israel will be glad.
The Day of Cleansing
26 The Lord said to Moses, 27 “The Day of Cleansing will be on the tenth day of the seventh month. There will be a holy meeting, and you will deny yourselves and bring an offering made by fire to the Lord. 28 Do not do any work on that day, because it is the Day of Cleansing. On that day the priests will go before the Lord and perform the acts to make you clean from sin so you will belong to the Lord.
29 “Anyone who refuses to give up food on this day must be cut off from the people. 30 If anyone works on this day, I will destroy that person from among the people. 31 You must not do any work at all; this law will continue for people from now on wherever you live. 32 It will be a special day of rest for you, and you must deny yourselves. You will start this special day of rest on the evening after the ninth day of the month, and it will continue from that evening until the next evening.”
The Feast of Shelters
33 Again the Lord said to Moses, 34 “Tell the people of Israel: ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month is the Feast of Shelters. This feast to the Lord will continue for seven days. 35 There will be a holy meeting on the first day; do not do any work. 36 You will bring an offering made by fire to the Lord each day for seven days. On the eighth day you will have another holy meeting, and you will bring an offering made by fire to the Lord. This will be a holy meeting; do not do any work.
37 (“‘These are the Lord’s special feasts, when there will be holy meetings and when you bring offerings made by fire to the Lord. You will bring whole burnt offerings, grain offerings, sacrifices, and drink offerings—each at the right time. 38 These offerings are in addition to those for the Lord’s Sabbath days, in addition to offerings you give as payment for special promises, and in addition to special offerings you want to give to the Lord.)
39 “‘So on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered in the crops of the land, celebrate the Lord’s festival for seven days. You must rest on the first day and the eighth day. 40 On the first day you will take good fruit from the fruit trees, as well as branches from palm trees, poplars, and other leafy trees. You will celebrate before the Lord your God for seven days. 41 Celebrate this festival to the Lord for seven days each year. This law will continue from now on; you will celebrate it in the seventh month.
People in Heaven Praise God
19 After this vision and announcement I heard what sounded like a great many people in heaven saying:
“Hallelujah![a]
Salvation, glory, and power belong to our God,
2 because his judgments are true and right.
He has punished the prostitute
who made the earth evil with her sexual sin.
He has paid her back for the death of his servants.”
3 Again they said:
“Hallelujah!
She is burning, and her smoke will rise forever and ever.”
4 Then the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures bowed down and worshiped God, who sits on the throne. They said:
“Amen, Hallelujah!”
5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying:
“Praise our God, all you who serve him
and all you who honor him, both small and great!”
6 Then I heard what sounded like a great many people, like the noise of flooding water, and like the noise of loud thunder. The people were saying:
“Hallelujah!
Our Lord God, the Almighty, rules.
7 Let us rejoice and be happy
and give God glory,
because the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and the Lamb’s bride has made herself ready.
8 Fine linen, bright and clean, was given to her to wear.”
(The fine linen means the good things done by God’s holy people.)
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.