Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Lord, the Psalmist’s Shepherd.
A Psalm of David.
23 The Lord is my (A)shepherd,
I [a]shall (B)not want.
2 He makes me lie down in (C)green pastures;
He (D)leads me beside [b](E)quiet waters.
3 He (F)restores my soul;
He (G)guides me in the [c](H)paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
4 Even though I (I)walk through the [d]valley of the shadow of death,
I (J)fear no [e]evil, for (K)You are with me;
Your (L)rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5 You (M)prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You [f]have (N)anointed my head with oil;
My (O)cup overflows.
6 [g]Surely (P)goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will [h](Q)dwell in the house of the Lord [i]forever.
39 “As for you, O house of Israel,” thus says the Lord God, “(A)Go, serve everyone his idols; [a]but later you will surely listen to Me, and My holy name you will (B)profane no longer with your gifts and with your idols. 40 For on My holy mountain, on the high mountain of Israel,” declares the Lord God, “there the whole house of Israel, (C)all of them, will serve Me in the land; there I will (D)accept them and there I will [b]seek your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your holy things. 41 [c]As a soothing aroma I will accept you when I (E)bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered; and I will prove Myself (F)holy among you in the sight of the nations. 42 And (G)you will know that I am the Lord, (H)when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the (I)land which I swore to give to your forefathers. 43 There you will (J)remember your ways and all your deeds with which you have defiled yourselves; and you will (K)loathe yourselves in your own [d]sight for all the evil things that you have done. 44 Then (L)you will know that I am the Lord when I have dealt with you (M)for My name’s sake, not according to your evil ways or according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel,” declares the Lord God.’”
The First Seal—Rider on White Horse
6 Then I saw when the (A)Lamb broke one of the (B)seven seals, and I heard one of the (C)four living creatures saying as with a (D)voice of thunder, “Come[a].” 2 I looked, and behold, a (E)white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and (F)a crown was given to him, and he went out (G)conquering and to conquer.
The Second Seal—War
3 When He broke the second seal, I heard the (H)second living creature saying, “Come[b].” 4 And another, (I)a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to (J)take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him.
The Third Seal—Famine
5 When He broke the third seal, I heard the (K)third living creature saying, “Come[c].” I looked, and behold, a (L)black horse; and he who sat on it had a (M)pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard something like a voice in the center of the (N)four living creatures saying, “A [d]quart of wheat for a [e]denarius, and three [f]quarts of barley for a [g]denarius; and (O)do not damage the oil and the wine.”
The Fourth Seal—Death
7 When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the (P)fourth living creature saying, “Come[h].” 8 I looked, and behold, an [i](Q)ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name (R)Death; and (S)Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, (T)to kill with sword and with famine and with [j]pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.
The Fifth Seal—Martyrs
9 When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw (U)underneath the (V)altar the (W)souls of those who had been slain (X)because of the word of God, and because of the (Y)testimony which they had maintained; 10 and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “(Z)How long, O [k](AA)Lord, (AB)holy and true, [l]will You refrain from (AC)judging and avenging our blood on (AD)those who dwell on the earth?” 11 And (AE)there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should (AF)rest for a little while longer, (AG)until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be (AH)completed also.
The Sixth Seal—Terror
12 I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great (AI)earthquake; and the (AJ)sun became black as (AK)sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; 13 and (AL)the stars of the sky fell to the earth, (AM)as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. 14 (AN)The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and (AO)every mountain and island were moved out of their places. 15 Then (AP)the kings of the earth and the great men and the [m]commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; 16 and they *(AQ)said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the [n]presence of Him (AR)who sits on the throne, and from the (AS)wrath of the Lamb; 17 for (AT)the great day of their wrath has come, and (AU)who is able to stand?”
An Interlude
7 After this I saw (AV)four angels standing at the (AW)four corners of the earth, holding back (AX)the four winds of the earth, (AY)so that no wind would blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. 2 And I saw another angel ascending (AZ)from the rising of the sun, having the (BA)seal of (BB)the living God; and he cried out with a loud voice to the (BC)four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, 3 saying, “(BD)Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have (BE)sealed the bond-servants of our God on their (BF)foreheads.”
The 144,000
4 And I heard the (BG)number of those who were sealed, (BH)one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:
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