Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Yahweh Is My Shepherd

A Psalm of David.

Judgment on Evil Counselors

11 Moreover, the ^(A)Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the house of Yahweh which faced eastward. And behold, at the entrance of the gate, there were twenty-five men, and I saw among them Jaazaniah son of Azzur and ^(B)Pelatiah son of Benaiah, officials of the people. ² He said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who devise wickedness and ^(C)give evil counsel in this city, ³ who say, ‘The time is not near to build houses. ^[a]This ^(D)city is the pot, and we are the flesh.’ ⁴ Therefore, ^(E)prophesy against them, son of man, prophesy!”

⁵ Then the Spirit of Yahweh fell upon me, and He said to me, “Say, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “So you say, house of Israel, for ^(F)I know what comes up in your ^(G)spirit. ⁶ You have ^(H)multiplied your slain in this city, and you have filled its streets with ^[b]them.” ⁷ Therefore, thus says Lord Yahweh, “Your ^(I)slain whom you have laid in the midst of ^[c]the city are the flesh, and this city is the pot; but ^[d]I will ^(J)bring you out of it. ⁸ You have ^(K)feared a sword; so a sword I will ^(L)bring upon you,” Lord Yahweh declares. ⁹ “And I will bring you out of the midst of ^[e]the city and give you into the hands of ^(M)strangers and ^(N)execute judgments against you. ¹⁰ You will ^(O)fall by the sword. I will judge you to the ^(P)border of Israel; so you shall know that I am Yahweh. ¹¹ This city will ^(Q)not be a pot for you, nor will you be flesh in the midst of it, but I will judge you to the border of Israel. ¹² Thus you will know that I am Yahweh; for you have not walked in My statutes, nor have you ^(R)executed My judgments, but have executed according to the judgments of the ^(S)nations around you.”’”

¹³ Now it happened as I prophesied, that ^(T)Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I fell on my face and cried out with a loud voice and said, “^(U)Alas, Lord Yahweh! Will You bring the remnant of Israel to complete destruction?”

Yahweh Will Gather the Exiles

¹⁴ Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ¹⁵ “Son of man, your brothers, your ^[f]relatives, ^[g]your fellow exiles, and the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘Go far from Yahweh; this land has been given to ^(V)us as a possession.’ ¹⁶ Therefore say, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Though I had removed them far away among the nations, and though I had scattered them among the countries, yet I was a ^(W)sanctuary for them a little while in the countries where they had gone.”’ ¹⁷ Therefore say, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “I will ^(X)gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries among which you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.”’ ¹⁸ When they come there, they will ^(Y)remove all its ^(Z)detestable things and all its abominations from it. ¹⁹ And I will ^(AA)give them one heart and give within ^[h]them a new spirit. And I will take the ^(AB)heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a ^(AC)heart of flesh, ²⁰ that they may ^(AD)walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them. Then they will be ^(AE)My people, and I shall be their God. ^21 [i]But as for those whose hearts walk after their ^(AF)detestable things and abominations, I will ^(AG)give what is due for their way on their heads,” declares Lord Yahweh.

The Glory of Yahweh Leaves Jerusalem

²² Then the cherubim ^(AH)lifted up their wings with the wheels beside them, and ^(AI)the glory of the God of Israel ^[j]hovered over them. ²³ The ^(AJ)glory of Yahweh went up from the midst of the city and ^(AK)stood over the mountain which is east of the city. ²⁴ Now the ^(AL)Spirit lifted me up and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God to the exiles in ^[k]Chaldea. So the vision that I had seen ^(AM)went up and away from me. ²⁵ Then I ^(AN)told the exiles all the things that Yahweh had shown me.

The Scroll and the Lamb

5 Then I saw ^[a]in the right hand of Him who ^(A)sits on the throne a ^(B)scroll written inside and on the back, ^(C)sealed up with seven seals. ² Then I saw a ^(D)strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to break its seals?” ³ And no one ^(E)in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it. ⁴ Then I was crying greatly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. ⁵ And one of the elders *said to me, “Stop crying! Behold, the ^(F)Lion that is ^(G)from the tribe of Judah, the ^(H)Root of David, has overcome so as to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

⁶ Then I saw in the midst of the throne and the four living creatures and in the midst of ^(I)the elders a ^(J)Lamb standing, as if ^(K)slain, having seven ^(L)horns and ^(M)seven eyes, which are ^(N)the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth. ⁷ And He came and took ^(O)the scroll out of the right hand of Him who ^(P)sits on the throne. ⁸ And when He had taken the scroll, the ^(Q)four living creatures and the ^(R)twenty-four elders ^(S)fell down before the ^(T)Lamb, each one having a ^(U)harp and ^(V)golden bowls full of incense, which are the ^(W)prayers of the ^[b]saints. ⁹ And they *sang a ^(X)new song, saying,