Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

The Lord the Shepherd of His People

A Psalm of David.

³⁹ “As for you, O house of Israel,” thus says the Lord God: ^(A)“Go, serve every one of you his idols—and hereafter—if you will not obey Me; ^(B)but profane My holy name no more with your gifts and your idols. ⁴⁰ For ^(C)on My holy mountain, on the mountain height of Israel,” says the Lord God, “there ^(D)all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, shall serve Me; there ^(E)I will accept them, and there I will require your offerings and the firstfruits of your ^[a]sacrifices, together with all your holy things. ⁴¹ I will accept you as a ^(F)sweet aroma when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered; and I will be hallowed in you before the Gentiles. ^42 (G)Then you shall know that I am the Lord, ^(H)when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for which I raised My hand in an oath to give to your fathers. ⁴³ And ^(I)there you shall remember your ways and all your doings with which you were defiled; and ^(J)you shall ^[b]loathe yourselves in your own sight because of all the evils that you have committed. ^44 (K)Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have dealt with you ^(L)for My name’s sake, not according to your wicked ways nor according to your corrupt doings, O house of Israel,” says the Lord God.’ ”

First Seal: The Conqueror

6 Now ^(A)I saw when the Lamb opened one of the ^[a]seals; and I heard ^(B)one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, “Come and see.” ² And I looked, and behold, ^(C)a white horse. ^(D)He who sat on it had a bow; ^(E)and a crown was given to him, and he went out ^(F)conquering and to conquer.

Second Seal: Conflict on Earth

³ When He opened the second seal, ^(G)I heard the second living creature saying, “Come ^[b]and see.” ^4 (H)Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to ^(I)take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.

Third Seal: Scarcity on Earth

⁵ When He opened the third seal, ^(J)I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, ^(K)a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of ^(L)scales^[c] in his hand. ⁶ And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A ^[d]quart of wheat for a ^[e]denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and ^(M)do not harm the oil and the wine.”

Fourth Seal: Widespread Death on Earth

⁷ When He opened the fourth seal, ^(N)I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see.” ^8 (O)So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And ^[f]power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, ^(P)to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, ^(Q)and by the beasts of the earth.

Fifth Seal: The Cry of the Martyrs

⁹ When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under ^(R)the altar ^(S)the souls of those who had been slain ^(T)for the word of God and for ^(U)the testimony which they held. ¹⁰ And they cried with a loud voice, saying, ^(V)“How long, O Lord, ^(W)holy and true, ^(X)until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” ¹¹ Then a ^(Y)white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them ^(Z)that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.

Sixth Seal: Cosmic Disturbances

¹² I looked when He opened the sixth seal, ^(AA)and ^[g]behold, there was a great earthquake; and ^(AB)the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the ^[h]moon became like blood. ^13 (AC)And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. ^14 (AD)Then the sky ^[i]receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and ^(AE)every mountain and island was moved out of its place. ¹⁵ And the ^(AF)kings of the earth, the great men, ^[j]the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, ^(AG)hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, ^16 (AH)and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who ^(AI)sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! ¹⁷ For the great day of His wrath has come, ^(AJ)and who is able to stand?”

The Sealed of Israel

7 After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, ^(AK)holding the four winds of the earth, ^(AL)that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. ² Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, ³ saying, ^(AM)“Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God ^(AN)on their foreheads.” ^4 (AO)And I heard the number of those who were sealed. ^(AP)One hundred and forty-four thousand ^(AQ)of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed: