The Day of Atonement

26 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ²⁷Now, the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you: you shall deny yourselves^* and present the Lord’s offering by fire; ²⁸and you shall do no work during that entire day; for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement on your behalf before the Lord your God. ²⁹For anyone who does not practise self-denial^* during that entire day shall be cut off from the people. ³⁰And anyone who does any work during that entire day, such a one I will destroy from the midst of the people. ³¹You shall do no work: it is a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your settlements. ³²It shall be to you a sabbath of complete rest, and you shall deny yourselves;^* on the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening you shall keep your sabbath.

The Year of Jubilee

33 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ³⁴Speak to the people of Israel, saying: On the fifteenth day of this seventh month, and lasting seven days, there shall be the festival of booths^* to the Lord. ³⁵The first day shall be a holy convocation; you shall not work at your occupations. ³⁶For seven days you shall present the Lord’s offerings by fire; on the eighth day you shall observe a holy convocation and present the Lord’s offerings by fire; it is a solemn assembly; you shall not work at your occupations.

37 These are the appointed festivals of the Lord, which you shall celebrate as times of holy convocation, for presenting to the Lord offerings by fire—burnt-offerings and grain-offerings, sacrifices and drink-offerings, each on its proper day— ³⁸apart from the sabbaths of the Lord, and apart from your gifts, and apart from all your votive offerings, and apart from all your freewill-offerings, which you give to the Lord.

39 Now, the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the produce of the land, you shall keep the festival of the Lord, lasting seven days; a complete rest on the first day, and a complete rest on the eighth day. ⁴⁰On the first day you shall take the fruit of majestic^* trees, branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. ⁴¹You shall keep it as a festival to the Lord seven days in the year; you shall keep it in the seventh month as a statute for ever throughout your generations.

The Rejoicing in Heaven

19After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying,
‘Hallelujah!
Salvation and glory and power to our God,
²   for his judgements are true and just;
he has judged the great whore
   who corrupted the earth with her fornication,
and he has avenged on her the blood of his servants.’^*
3Once more they said,
‘Hallelujah!
The smoke goes up from her for ever and ever.’
⁴And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshipped God who is seated on the throne, saying,
‘Amen. Hallelujah!’

5 And from the throne came a voice saying,
‘Praise our God,
   all you his servants,^*
and all who fear him,
   small and great.’
⁶Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty thunder-peals, crying out,
‘Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God
   the Almighty reigns.
⁷ Let us rejoice and exult
   and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
   and his bride has made herself ready;
⁸ to her it has been granted to be clothed
   with fine linen, bright and pure’—
for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

Psalm 53

1  The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ •
   Corrupt are they, and abominable in their wickedness;
      there is no one that does good.
2  God has looked down from heaven upon the children of earth, •
   to see if there is anyone who is wise and seeks after God.
3  They are all gone out of the way;
      all alike have become corrupt; •
   there is no one that does good, no not one.
4  Have they no knowledge, those evildoers, •
   who eat up my people as if they ate bread,
      and do not call upon God?
5  There shall they be in great fear,
      such fear as never was; •
   for God will scatter the bones of the ungodly.
6  They will be put to shame, •
   because God has rejected them.
7  O that Israel’s salvation would come out of Zion! •
   When God restores the fortunes of his people
      then will Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad.