Friday in Season after Pentecost

Semicontinuous (Track 1)

FIRST READING

Isaiah 3:1-17

Verse 1. For behold, the Lord GOD of Hosts is about to remove from Jerusalem and Judah both supply and support: the whole supply of food and water, Verse 2. the mighty man and the warrior, the judge and the prophet, the soothsayer and the elder, Verse 3. the commander of fifty and the dignitary, the counselor, the cunning magician, and the clever enchanter. Verse 4. “I will make mere lads their leaders, and children will rule over them.” Verse 5. The people will oppress one another, man against man, neighbor against neighbor; the young will rise up against the old, and the base against the honorable. Verse 6. A man will seize his brother within his father’s house: “You have a cloak— you be our leader! Take charge of this heap of rubble.” Verse 7. On that day he will cry aloud: “I am not a healer. I have no food or clothing in my house. Do not make me leader of the people!” Verse 8. For Jerusalem has stumbled and Judah has fallen because they spoke and acted against the LORD, defying His glorious presence. Verse 9. The expression on their faces testifies against them, and like Sodom they flaunt their sin; they do not conceal it. Woe to them, for they have brought disaster upon themselves. Verse 10. Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their labor. Verse 11. Woe to the wicked; disaster is upon them! For they will be repaid with what their hands have done. Verse 12. Youths oppress My people, and women rule over them. O My people, your guides mislead you; they turn you from your paths. Verse 13. The LORD arises to contend; He stands to judge the people. Verse 14. The LORD brings this charge against the elders and leaders of His people: “You have devoured the vineyard; the plunder of the poor is in your houses. Verse 15. Why do you crush My people and grind the faces of the poor?” Verse 16. The LORD also says: “Because the daughters of Zion are haughty — walking with heads held high and wanton eyes, prancing and skipping as they go, jingling the bracelets on their ankles — Verse 17. the Lord will bring sores on the heads of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will make their foreheads bare. ”

PSALM

Psalm 80:1-2, 8-19

For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Lilies of the Covenant.” A Psalm of Asaph. Hear us, O Shepherd of Israel, who leads Joseph like a flock; You who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth

before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh. Rally Your mighty power and come to save us.

You uprooted a vine from Egypt; You drove out the nations and transplanted it.

You cleared the ground for it, and it took root and filled the land.

The mountains were covered by its shade, and the mighty cedars with its branches.

It sent out its branches to the Sea, and its shoots toward the River.

Why have You broken down its walls, so that all who pass by pick its fruit?

The boar from the forest ravages it, and the creatures of the field feed upon it.

Return, O God of Hosts, we pray! Look down from heaven and see! Attend to this vine—

the root Your right hand has planted, the son You have raised up for Yourself.

Your vine has been cut down and burned; they perish at the rebuke of Your countenance.

Let Your hand be upon the man at Your right hand, on the son of man You have raised up for Yourself.

Then we will not turn away from You; revive us, and we will call on Your name.

Restore us, O LORD God of Hosts; cause Your face to shine upon us, that we may be saved.

Complementary (Track 2)

FIRST READING

1 Samuel 5:1-12

Verse 1. After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod, Verse 2. carried it into the temple of Dagon, and set it beside his statue. Verse 3. When the people of Ashdod got up early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen on his face before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and returned him to his place. Verse 4. But when they got up early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen on his face before the ark of the LORD, with his head and his hands broken off and lying on the threshold. Only the torso remained. Verse 5. That is why, to this day, the priests of Dagon and all who enter the temple of Dagon in Ashdod do not step on the threshold. Verse 6. Now the hand of the LORD was heavy on the people of Ashdod and its vicinity, ravaging them and afflicting them with tumors. Verse 7. And when the men of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not stay here with us, because His hand is heavy upon us and upon our god Dagon.” Verse 8. So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines and asked, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” “It must be moved to Gath,” they replied. So they carried away the ark of the God of Israel. Verse 9. But after they had moved the ark to Gath, the LORD’s hand was also against that city, throwing it into great confusion and afflicting the men of the city, both young and old, with an outbreak of tumors. Verse 10. So they sent the ark of God to Ekron, but as it arrived, the Ekronites cried out, “They have brought us the ark of the God of Israel in order to kill us and our people!” Verse 11. Then the Ekronites called together all the rulers of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel. It must return to its place, so that it will not kill us and our people!” For a deadly confusion had pervaded the city; the hand of God was very heavy upon it. Verse 12. Those who did not die were afflicted with tumors, and the outcry of the city went up to heaven.

PSALM

Psalm 82

A Psalm of Asaph. God presides in the divine assembly; He renders judgment among the gods:

“How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked?

Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; uphold the rights of the afflicted and oppressed.

Rescue the weak and needy; save them from the hand of the wicked.

They do not know or understand; they wander in the darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

I have said, ‘You are gods; you are all sons of the Most High.’

But like mortals you will die, and like rulers you will fall.”

Arise, O God, judge the earth, for all the nations are Your inheritance.

SECOND READING

Hebrews 10:32-39

Verse 32. Remember the early days that you were in the light. In those days, you endured a great conflict in the face of suffering. Verse 33. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to ridicule and persecution; at other times you were partners with those who were so treated. Verse 34. You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, knowing that you yourselves had a better and permanent possession. Verse 35. So do not throw away your confidence; it holds a great reward. Verse 36. You need to persevere, so that after you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised. Verse 37. For, “In just a little while, He who is coming will come and will not delay. Verse 38. But My righteous one will live by faith; and if he shrinks back, I will take no pleasure in him.” Verse 39. But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.