Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Yahweh the Shepherd
A psalm of David.[a]
23 Yahweh is my shepherd;
I will not lack for anything.
2 In grassy pastures he makes me lie down;
by quiet waters he leads me.
3 He restores my life.[b]
He leads me in correct paths[c]
for the sake of his name.
4 Even when I walk in a dark valley, I fear no evil
because you are with me.
Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare before me a table
in the presence of my oppressors.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup is overflowing.
6 Surely goodness and loyal love will pursue me
all the days of my life,
and I will stay[d] in the house[e] of Yahweh
for a very long time.[f]
39 And you, house of Israel, thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Let each one go serve his idols now and after, if you are not listening to me, but my holy name[a] you will not profane any longer with your gifts and with your idols.
40 “For on my holy mountain,[b] on the mountain of the height of Israel,” declares[c] the Lord Yahweh, “there all of the house of Israel will serve me, all of them,[d] in the land. I will take pleasure in them, and there I will accept your contributions and the best of your portions with all of your holy objects. 41 I will accept you as a fragrant incense offering[e] when I bring you out from the peoples and I gather you from the lands to which you were scattered, and I will show myself holy among you before the eyes of the nations. 42 And you will know that I am Yahweh when I bring you to the land of Israel, to the land that I swore[f] to give to your ancestors. 43 And you will remember there your ways, and all of your deeds by which you were made unclean,[g] and you will feel a loathing for yourself[h] for all of your evils that you have done. 44 And you will know that I am Yahweh when I deal with you[i] for the sake of my name and not according to your evil ways[j] or according to[k] your corrupted deeds, house of Israel,” declares[l] the Lord Yahweh.
The Opening of the First Six Seals
6 And I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying like the sound of thunder, “Come!” 2 And I looked, and behold, a white horse, and the one seated on it had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and in order that he might conquer.
3 And when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come!” 4 And another horse came out, fiery red, and it was granted to the one seated on it to take peace from the earth, and that they would slaughter one another, and a large sword was given to him.
5 And when he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a black horse, and the one seated on it had a balance scale in his hand. 6 And I heard something like a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not damage the olive oil and the wine!”
7 And when he opened the fourth seal, I heard a voice from the fourth living creature saying, “Come!” 8 And I looked, and behold, a pale green horse, and the one seated on it was named[a] Death, and Hades followed after him. And authority was granted to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill by the sword and by famine and by pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.
9 And 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 because of the testimony which they had, 10 and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long[b], holy and true Lord, will you not judge and avenge our blood from those who live on the earth?” 11 And to each one of them a white robe was given, and it was said to them that they should rest yet a short time, until the number of their fellow slaves and their brothers who were about to be killed as they had been were completed also.
12 And I watched when he opened the sixth seal, and a great earthquake took place, and the sun became black like sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood, 13 and the stars of heaven[c] fell to the earth like a fig tree throws down its unripe figs when[d] shaken by a great wind. 14 And the sky was split apart like a scroll that is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved from their place. 15 And the kings of the earth, and the most important people, and the military leaders, and the rich, and the powerful, and every slave and free person hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, 16 And they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17 because the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”
The Sealing of the 144,000
7 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, so that no wind could blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. 2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east[e], holding the seal of the living God, and he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels who were given permission[f] to damage the earth and the sea, 3 saying, “Do not damage the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the slaves of our God on their foreheads.” 4 And I heard the number of the ones who were sealed, one hundred forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:
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