Psalm 93

The Majesty of God’s Rule

²³ I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them; he shall feed them and be their shepherd.^{(A) 24} And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them; I the Lord have spoken.^(B)

²⁵ I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild animals from the land, so that they may live in the wild and sleep in the woods securely.^{(C) 26} I will make them and the region around my hill a blessing, and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing.^{(D) 27} The trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase. They shall be secure on their soil, and they shall know that I am the Lord when I break the bars of their yoke and save them from the hands of those who enslaved them.^{(E) 28} They shall no more be plunder for the nations, nor shall the animals of the land devour them; they shall live in safety, and no one shall make them afraid.^{(F) 29} I will provide for them a splendid vegetation so that they shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land and no longer suffer the insults of the nations.^{(G) 30} They shall know that I, the Lord their God, am with them and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, says the Lord God. ³¹ You are my sheep, the sheep of my pasture,^[a] and I am your God, says the Lord God.^(H)

Visions of the Four Beasts

7 In the first year of King Belshazzar of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head as he lay in bed. Then he wrote down the dream:^{[a](A) 2} I,^[b] Daniel, saw in my vision by night the four winds of heaven stirring up the great sea, ³ and four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another.^{(B) 4} The first was like a lion and had eagles’ wings. Then, as I watched, its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a human being, and a human mind was given to it.^{(C) 5} Another beast appeared, a second one, that looked like a bear. It was raised up on one side, had three tusks^[c] in its mouth among its teeth, and was told, “Arise, devour many bodies!” ⁶ After this, as I watched, another appeared, like a leopard. The beast had four wings of a bird on its back and four heads, and dominion was given to it.^{(D) 7} After this I saw in the visions by night a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth and was devouring, breaking in pieces, and stamping what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that preceded it, and it had ten horns.^{(E) 8} I was considering the horns when another horn appeared, a little one that came up among them. Three of the original horns were plucked up from before it. There were eyes like human eyes in this horn and a mouth speaking arrogantly.^(F)

Judgment before the Ancient One

¹¹ I watched then because of the noise of the arrogant words that the horn was speaking. And as I watched, the beast was put to death and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire.^{(I) 12} As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time. ¹³ As I watched in the night visions,

Daniel’s Visions Interpreted

¹⁵ As for me, Daniel, my spirit was troubled within me,^[g] and the visions of my head terrified me.^{(L) 16} I approached one of the attendants to ask him the truth concerning all this. So he said that he would disclose to me the interpretation of the matter:^{(M) 17} “As for these four great beasts, four kings shall arise out of the earth. ¹⁸ But the holy ones of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever—forever and ever.”^(N)

¹⁹ Then I desired to know the truth concerning the fourth beast, which was different from all the rest, exceedingly terrifying, with its teeth of iron and claws of bronze, and which devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet; ²⁰ and concerning the ten horns that were on its head, and concerning the other horn that came up and before which three others had fallen—the horn that had eyes and a mouth that spoke arrogantly and that seemed greater than the others. ²¹ As I looked, that horn made war with the holy ones and was prevailing over them,^{(O) 22} until the Ancient One^[h] came; then judgment was given for the holy ones of the Most High, and the time arrived when the holy ones gained possession of the kingdom.^(P)

²³ This is what he said: “As for the fourth beast,

²⁸ Here the account ends. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly terrified me, and my face turned pale, but I kept the matter in my mind.^(V)

Jesus before Pilate

²⁸ Then they took Jesus from Caiaphas to Pilate’s headquarters. It was early in the morning. They themselves did not enter the headquarters, so as to avoid ritual defilement and to be able to eat the Passover.^{(A) 29} So Pilate went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?” ³⁰ They answered, “If this man were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you.” ³¹ Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and judge him according to your law.” The Jews replied, “We are not permitted to put anyone to death.” ³² (This was to fulfill what Jesus had said when he indicated the kind of death he was to die.)^(B)

³³ Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”^{(C) 34} Jesus answered, “Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?” ³⁵ Pilate replied, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?” ³⁶ Jesus answered, “My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom belonged to this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.”^{(D) 37} Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”^(E)

¹³ He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son,^{(A) 14} in whom we have redemption,^[a] the forgiveness of sins.

The Supremacy of Christ

¹⁵ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation,^{(B) 16} for in^[b] him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. ¹⁷ He himself is before all things, and in^[c] him all things hold together. ¹⁸ He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything.^{(C) 19} For in him all the fullness of God^[d] was pleased to dwell, ²⁰ and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.^(D)

²¹ And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, ²² he has now reconciled^[e] in his fleshly body^[f] through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him,^{(E) 23} provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature^[g] under heaven. I, Paul, became a minister of this gospel.^(F)

Introduction and Salutation

1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place, and he made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,^{(A) 2} who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.^(B)

³ Blessed is the one who reads the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.

⁴ John to the seven churches that are in Asia:

Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come and from the seven spirits who are before his throne,^{(C) 5} and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and freed^[a] us from our sins by his blood ⁶ and made us a kingdom, priests serving^[b] his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.^(D)

So it is to be. Amen.^(E)

⁸ “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.^(F)