Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 23
The Good Shepherd
A psalm of David.
1 The Lord is my shepherd;(A)
I have what I need.(B)
2 He lets me lie down in green pastures;(C)
he leads me beside quiet waters.(D)
3 He renews my life;
he leads me along the right paths[a]
for his name’s sake.(E)
4 Even when I go through the darkest valley,[b]
I fear no danger,
for you are with me;(F)
your rod and your staff—they comfort me.(G)
39 “‘As for you, house of Israel, this is what the Lord God says: Go and serve your idols, each of you. But afterward you will surely listen to me, and you will no longer defile my holy name with your gifts and idols.(A) 40 For on my holy mountain, Israel’s high mountain—the declaration of the Lord God—there the entire house of Israel, all of them,(B) will serve me in the land. There I will accept them and will require your contributions and choicest gifts,(C) all your holy offerings. 41 When I bring you from the peoples and gather you from the countries where you have been scattered, I will accept you as a pleasing aroma. And I will demonstrate my holiness through you in the sight of the nations.(D) 42 When I lead you into the land of Israel, the land I swore to give your ancestors, you will know that I am the Lord.(E) 43 There you will remember your ways and all your deeds by which you have defiled yourself,(F) and you will loathe yourselves for all the evil things you have done.(G) 44 You will know that I am the Lord,(H) house of Israel, when I have dealt with you for the sake of my name(I) rather than according to your evil ways and corrupt acts. This is the declaration of the Lord God.’”
The First Seal on the Scroll
6 Then I saw the Lamb open one of the seven[a] seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder,(A) “Come!” 2 I looked, and there was a white horse.(B) Its rider held a bow;(C) a crown(D) was given to him, and he went out as a conqueror in order to conquer.[b]
The Second Seal
3 When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 Then another horse went out, a fiery red one,(E) and its rider was allowed to take peace from the earth, so that people would slaughter one another. And a large sword was given to him.(F)
The Third Seal
5 When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and there was a black horse.(G) Its rider held a set of scales in his hand.(H) 6 Then I heard something like a voice among the four living creatures say, “A quart of wheat for a denarius,[c] and three quarts of barley for a denarius,(I) but do not harm the oil and the wine.”(J)
The Fourth Seal
7 When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 And I looked, and there was a pale green[d] horse. Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following after him.(K) They were[e] given authority(L) over a fourth of the earth, to kill by the sword, by famine, by plague, and by the wild animals of the earth.(M)
The Fifth Seal
9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered because of the word of God and the testimony they had given.[f](N) 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “Lord,[g] the one who is holy and true,(O) how long until you judge those who live on the earth and avenge our blood?(P)” 11 So they were each given a white robe, and they were told to rest a little while longer until the number would be completed of their fellow servants and their brothers and sisters, who were going to be killed just as they had been.
The Sixth Seal
12 Then I saw him open[h] the sixth seal. A violent earthquake occurred;(Q) the sun turned black like sackcloth(R) made of hair; the entire moon[i] became like blood;(S) 13 the stars[j] of heaven fell to the earth as a fig tree drops its unripe figs when shaken by a high wind; 14 the sky was split apart like a scroll being rolled up;(T) and every mountain and island was moved from its place.(U)
15 Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, the generals, the rich, the powerful, and every slave and free person hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains.(V) 16 And they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us(W) from the face of the one seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17 because the great day of their[k] wrath has come! And who is able to stand?” (X)
The Sealed of Israel
7 After this I saw four angels(Y) standing at the four corners of the earth, restraining the four winds of the earth(Z) so that no wind could blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel rising up from the east,(AA) who had the seal of the living God.(AB) He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels who were allowed to harm the earth and the sea, 3 “Don’t harm the earth or the sea or the trees(AC) until we seal the servants of our God on their foreheads.”(AD) 4 And I heard the number of the sealed:
144,000 sealed from every tribe of the Israelites:(AE)
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.