Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Praise to the Lord from Creation

⁸ But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and ^(A)eat what I give you.”

⁹ Now when I looked, there was ^(B)a hand stretched out to me; and behold, ^(C)a scroll of a book was in it. ¹⁰ Then He spread it before me; and there was writing on the inside and on the outside, and written on it were lamentations and mourning and woe.

The Responsibility of the Prophet

3 Moreover He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you find; ^(D)eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” ² So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that scroll.

³ And He said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly, and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you.” So I ^(E)ate, and it was in my mouth ^(F)like honey in sweetness.

⁴ Then He said to me: “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them. ⁵ For you are not sent to a people of unfamiliar speech and of hard language, but to the house of Israel, ⁶ not to many people of unfamiliar speech and of hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, ^(G)had I sent you to them, they would have listened to you. ⁷ But the house of Israel will not listen to you, ^(H)because they will not listen to Me; ^(I)for all the house of Israel are ^[a]impudent and hard-hearted. ⁸ Behold, I have made your face strong against their faces, and your forehead strong against their foreheads. ^9 (J)Like adamant stone, harder than flint, I have made your forehead; ^(K)do not be afraid of them, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house.”

¹⁰ Moreover He said to me: “Son of man, receive into your heart all My words that I speak to you, and hear with your ears. ¹¹ And go, get to the captives, to the children of your people, and speak to them and tell them, ^(L)‘Thus says the Lord God,’ whether they hear, or whether they refuse.”

The Mighty Angel with the Little Book

10 I saw still another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud. ^(A)And a rainbow was on ^(B)his head, his face was like the sun, and ^(C)his feet like pillars of fire. ² He had a little book open in his hand. ^(D)And he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, ³ and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars. When he cried out, ^(E)seven thunders uttered their voices. ⁴ Now when the seven thunders ^[a]uttered their voices, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven saying ^[b]to me, ^(F)“Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and do not write them.”

⁵ The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land ^(G)raised up his ^[c]hand to heaven ⁶ and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, ^(H)who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, ^(I)that there should be delay no longer, ⁷ but ^(J)in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets.

John Eats the Little Book

⁸ Then the voice which I heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, “Go, take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the earth.”

⁹ So I went to the angel and said to him, “Give me the little book.”

And he said to me, ^(K)“Take and eat it; and it will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.”

¹⁰ Then I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, ^(L)and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, ^(M)my stomach became bitter. ¹¹ And ^[d]he said to me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.”