Open Word

Semicontinuous (Track 1)

FIRST READING

Judges 4:8-24

Verse 8. Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” Verse 9. “I will certainly go with you,” Deborah replied, “but the road you are taking will bring you no honor, because the LORD will be selling Sisera into the hand of a woman.” So Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh, Verse 10. where he summoned Zebulun and Naphtali. Ten thousand men followed him, and Deborah also went with him. Verse 11. Now Heber the Kenite had moved away from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent by the great tree of Zaanannim, which was near Kedesh. Verse 12. When Sisera was told that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up Mount Tabor, Verse 13. he summoned all nine hundred of his iron chariots and all the men with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the River Kishon. Verse 14. Then Deborah said to Barak, “Arise, for this is the day that the LORD has delivered Sisera into your hand. Has not the LORD gone before you?” So Barak came down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him. Verse 15. And in front of him the LORD routed with the sword Sisera, all his charioteers, and all his army. Sisera abandoned his chariot and fled on foot. Verse 16. Then Barak pursued the chariots and army as far as Harosheth-hagoyim, and the whole army of Sisera fell by the sword; not a single man was left. Verse 17. Meanwhile, Sisera had fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there was peace between Jabin king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite. Verse 18. Jael went out to greet Sisera and said to him, “Come in, my lord. Come in with me. Do not be afraid.” So he entered her tent, and she covered him with a blanket. Verse 19. Sisera said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a container of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him again. Verse 20. “Stand at the entrance to the tent,” he said, “and if anyone comes and asks you, ‘Is there a man here?’ say, ‘No.’” Verse 21. But as he lay sleeping from exhaustion, Heber’s wife Jael took a tent peg, grabbed a hammer, and went silently to Sisera. She drove the peg through his temple and into the ground, and he died. Verse 22. When Barak arrived in pursuit of Sisera, Jael went out to greet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man you are seeking.” So he went in with her, and there lay Sisera dead, with a tent peg through his temple. Verse 23. On that day God subdued Jabin king of Canaan before the Israelites. Verse 24. And the hand of the Israelites grew stronger and stronger against Jabin king of Canaan until they destroyed him.

PSALM

Psalm 83:1-4, 9-10, 17-18

A song. A Psalm of Asaph. O God, be not silent; be not speechless; be not still, O God.

See how Your enemies rage, how Your foes have reared their heads.

With cunning they scheme against Your people and conspire against those You cherish,

saying, “Come, let us erase them as a nation; may the name of Israel be remembered no more.”

Do to them as You did to Midian, as to Sisera and Jabin at the River Kishon,

who perished at Endor and became like dung on the ground.

May they be ever ashamed and terrified; may they perish in disgrace.

May they know that You alone, whose name is the LORD, are Most High over all the earth.

Complementary (Track 2)

FIRST READING

Zechariah 1:7-17

Verse 7. On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo. Verse 8. I looked out into the night and saw a man riding on a red horse. He was standing among the myrtle trees in the hollow, and behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses. Verse 9. “What are these, my lord?” I asked. And the angel who was speaking with me replied, “I will show you what they are.” Verse 10. Then the man standing among the myrtle trees explained, “They are the ones the LORD has sent to patrol the earth.” Verse 11. And the riders answered the angel of the LORD who was standing among the myrtle trees, “We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth is at rest and tranquil.” Verse 12. Then the angel of the LORD said, “How long, O LORD of Hosts, will You withhold mercy from Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which You have been angry these seventy years?” Verse 13. So the LORD spoke kind and comforting words to the angel who was speaking with me. Verse 14. Then the angel who was speaking with me said, “Proclaim this word: This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion, Verse 15. but I am fiercely angry with the nations that are at ease. For I was a little angry, but they have added to the calamity. ’ Verse 16. Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘I will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and there My house will be rebuilt, declares the LORD of Hosts, and a measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem.’ Verse 17. Proclaim further that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘My cities will again overflow with prosperity; the LORD will again comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem.’”

PSALM

Psalm 9:1-14

For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Death of the Son.” A Psalm of David. I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart; I will recount all Your wonders.

I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

When my enemies retreat, they stumble and perish before You.

For You have upheld my just cause; You sit on Your throne judging righteously.

You have rebuked the nations; You have destroyed the wicked; You have erased their name forever and ever.

The enemy has come to eternal ruin, and You have uprooted their cities; the very memory of them has vanished.

But the LORD abides forever; He has established His throne for judgment.

He judges the world with justice; He governs the people with equity.

The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.

Those who know Your name trust in You, for You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.

Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion; proclaim His deeds among the nations.

For the Avenger of bloodshed remembers; He does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.

Be merciful to me, O LORD; see how my enemies afflict me! Lift me up from the gates of death,

that I may declare all Your praises — that within the gates of Daughter Zion I may rejoice in Your salvation.

SECOND READING

Romans 2:1-11

Verse 1. You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on another. For on whatever grounds you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Verse 2. And we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. Verse 3. So when you, O man, pass judgment on others, yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? Verse 4. Or do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance? Verse 5. But because of your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. Verse 6. God “will repay each one according to his deeds.” Verse 7. To those who by perseverance in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, He will give eternal life. Verse 8. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow wickedness, there will be wrath and anger. Verse 9. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil, first for the Jew, then for the Greek; Verse 10. but glory, honor, and peace for everyone who does good, first for the Jew, then for the Greek. Verse 11. For God does not show favoritism.