Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 76
Israel’s God—Judge of All the Earth
To the leader: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.
1 In Judah God is known,
his name is great in Israel.
2 His abode has been established in Salem,
his dwelling-place in Zion.
3 There he broke the flashing arrows,
the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war.Selah
4 Glorious are you, more majestic
than the everlasting mountains.[a]
5 The stout-hearted were stripped of their spoil;
they sank into sleep;
none of the troops
was able to lift a hand.
6 At your rebuke, O God of Jacob,
both rider and horse lay stunned.
7 But you indeed are awesome!
Who can stand before you
when once your anger is roused?
8 From the heavens you uttered judgement;
the earth feared and was still
9 when God rose up to establish judgement,
to save all the oppressed of the earth.Selah
10 Human wrath serves only to praise you,
when you bind the last bit of your[b] wrath around you.
11 Make vows to the Lord your God, and perform them;
let all who are around him bring gifts
to the one who is awesome,
12 who cuts off the spirit of princes,
who inspires fear in the kings of the earth.
The Reign and Indignation of God
14 You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice;
your bodies[a] shall flourish like the grass;
and it shall be known that the hand of the Lord is with his servants,
and his indignation is against his enemies.
15 For the Lord will come in fire,
and his chariots like the whirlwind,
to pay back his anger in fury,
and his rebuke in flames of fire.
16 For by fire will the Lord execute judgement,
and by his sword, on all flesh;
and those slain by the Lord shall be many.
17 Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following the one in the centre, eating the flesh of pigs, vermin, and rodents, shall come to an end together, says the Lord.
18 For I know[b] their works and their thoughts, and I am[c] coming to gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and shall see my glory, 19 and I will set a sign among them. From them I will send survivors to the nations, to Tarshish, Put,[d] and Lud—which draw the bow—to Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands far away that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the nations. 20 They shall bring all your kindred from all the nations as an offering to the Lord, on horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and on mules, and on dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the Lord, just as the Israelites bring a grain-offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord. 21 And I will also take some of them as priests and as Levites, says the Lord.
22 For as the new heavens and the new earth,
which I will make,
shall remain before me, says the Lord,
so shall your descendants and your name remain.
23 From new moon to new moon,
and from sabbath to sabbath,
all flesh shall come to worship before me,
says the Lord.
24 And they shall go out and look at the dead bodies of the people who have rebelled against me; for their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.
The Lament over Jerusalem
37 ‘Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! 38 See, your house is left to you, desolate.[a] 39 For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.”’
The Destruction of the Temple Foretold
24 As Jesus came out of the temple and was going away, his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. 2 Then he asked them, ‘You see all these, do you not? Truly I tell you, not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.’
Signs of the End of the Age
3 When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?’ 4 Jesus answered them, ‘Beware that no one leads you astray. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, “I am the Messiah!”[b] and they will lead many astray. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumours of wars; see that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines[c] and earthquakes in various places: 8 all this is but the beginning of the birth pangs.
Persecutions Foretold
9 ‘Then they will hand you over to be tortured and will put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of my name. 10 Then many will fall away,[d] and they will betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12 And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But anyone who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this good news[e] of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world, as a testimony to all the nations; and then the end will come.
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993, 1995 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.