Old Testament Readings

A reading from the book of Revelations:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The former heaven and

the former earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.

I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven

from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

I heard a loud voice from throne saying, "Behold, God's dwelling is 

with the human race. He will dwell with them and they will be his 

people and God himself will always be with them [as their God].

He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more

death or mourning, wailing or pain, [for] the old order has passed

away."

The one who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new."

Then he said, "Write these words down, for they are trustworthy and

true."

He said to me, "They are accomplished. I [am] the Alpha and the

Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I give a gift from

the spring of life-giving water.

The victor will inherit these gifts, and I shall be his God, and he will be

my son.

The Word of the Lord 

A reading from the Book of Ecclesiastes 

There is an appointed time for everything, 

and a time for every affair under the heavens. 

A time to give birth, and a time to die; 

A time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant. 

A time to kill, and a time to heal; 

a time to tear down, and a time to build.

A time to weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to dance. 

A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather them; 

A time to embrace, and a time to be far from embraces. 

A time to seek, and a time to lose; 

A time to keep, and a time to cast away. 

A time to rend, and a time to sew; 

A time to be silent, and a time to speak. 

A time to love, and a time to hate; 

A time of war, and a time of peace. 

What profit have workers from their toil? 

I have seen the business that God has given to mortals to be busied about. 

God has made everything appropriate to its time, but has put the

timeless into their hearts, so they cannot find out, from beginning to end, the 

work which God has done. 

The Word of the Lord

 A reading from the second Book of Maccabees

Judas, the ruler of Isreal,

Took up a collection among all his soldiers,

amounting to two thousand silver drachmas,

which he sent to Jerusalem to provide for an expiatory sacrifice.

In doing this he acted in a very excellent and noble way,

inasmuch as he had the resurrection of the dead in view;

for if he were not expecting the fallen to rise again,

it would have been useless and foolish to pray for them in death.

But if he did this with a view to the splendid reward

that awaits those who had gone to rest in godliness,

it was a holy and pious thought.

Thus he made atonement for the dead

that they might be freed from this sin.

The Word of the Lord.

A reading from the Book of Job

Job answered Bildad the Shuhite and said:

Oh, would that my words were written down!

Would that they were inscribed in a record:

That with an iron chisel and with lead

they were cut in the rock forever!

But as for me, I know that my Vindicator lives,

and that he will at last stand forth upon the dust;

Whom I myself shall see:

my own eyes, not another's, shall behold him;

And from my flesh I shall see God;

my inmost being is consumed with longing.

The Word of the Lord.

Omit the words in bolded brackets [] for the short form of this reading.

A reading from the Book of Wisdom

The souls of the just are in the hand of God,

and no torment shall touch them.

They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead;

and their passing away was thought an affliction

and their going forth from us, utter destruction.

But they are in peace.

For if before men, indeed they be punished,

yet is their hope full of immortality;

Chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed,

because God tried them

and found them worthy of himself.

As gold in the furnace, he proved them,

and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself. 

[In the time of their visitation they shall shine,

and shall dart about as sparks through stubble;

They shall judge nations and rule over peoples,

and the LORD shall be their King forever.]

Those who trust in Him shall understand truth,

and the faithful shall abide with him in love:

Because grace and mercy are with His holy ones,

and his care is with His elect.

The Word of the Lord.

 A reading from the Book of Lamentations

My soul is deprived of peace,

I have forgotten what happiness is;

I tell myself my future is lost,

all that I hoped for from the LORD.

The thought of my homeless poverty

is wormwood and gall;

Remembering it over and over

leaves my soul downcast within me.

But I will call this to mind,

as my reason to have hope:

The favors of the LORD are not exhausted,

his mercies are not spent;

They are renewed each morning,

so great is his faithfulness.

My portion is the LORD, says my soul;

therefore will I hope in him.

Good is the LORD to one who waits for him,

to the soul that seeks him;

It is good to hope in silence

for the saving help of the LORD.

The Word of the Lord.

A reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah

On this mountain the LORD of hosts

will provide for all peoples.

On this mountain he will destroy

the veil that veils all peoples,

The web that is woven over all nations;

he will destroy death forever.

The Lord GOD will wipe away

the tears from all faces;

The reproach of his people he will remove

from the whole earth; for the LORD has spoken.

On that day it will be said:

"Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us!

This is the LORD for whom we looked;

let us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us!"

The Word of the Lord.

A reading from the Book of the Prophet Daniel

In those days, I, Daniel, mourned

and heard this word of the Lord:

At that time there shall arise

Michael, the great prince,

guardian of your people;

It shall be a time unsurpassed in distress

since nations began until that time.

At that time your people shall escape,

everyone who is found written in the book.

Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake;

Some shall live forever,

others shall be an everlasting horror and disgrace.

But the wise shall shine brightly

like the splendor of the firmament,

And those who lead the many to justice

shall be like the stars forever.

The Word of the Lord.