Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Majesty of the Lord
93 The Lord is king. He is clothed in majesty.
The Lord is clothed in majesty
and armed with strength.
The world is set,
and it cannot be moved.
2 Lord, your kingdom was set up long ago;
you are everlasting.
3 Lord, the seas raise,
the seas raise their voice.
The seas raise up their pounding waves.
4 The sound of the water is loud;
the ocean waves are powerful,
but the Lord above is much greater.
5 Lord, your laws will stand forever.
Your Temple will be holy forevermore.
Daniel’s Dream About Four Animals
7 In Belshazzar’s first year as king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream. He saw visions as he was lying on his bed, and he wrote down what he had dreamed.
2 Daniel said: “I saw my vision at night. In the vision the wind was blowing from all four directions, which made the sea very rough. 3 I saw four huge animals come up from the sea, and each animal was different from the others.
4 “The first animal looked like a lion, but had wings like an eagle. I watched this animal until its wings were torn off. It was lifted from the ground so that it stood up on two feet like a human, and it was given the mind of a human.
5 “Then I saw a second animal before me that looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, ‘Get up and eat all the meat you want!’
6 “After that, I looked, and there before me was another animal. This animal looked like a leopard with four wings on its back that looked like a bird’s wings. This animal had four heads and was given power to rule.
7 “After that, in my vision at night I saw in front of me a fourth animal that was cruel, terrible, and very strong. It had large iron teeth. It crushed and ate what it killed, and then it walked on whatever was left. This fourth animal was different from any animal I had seen before, and it had ten horns.
8 “While I was thinking about the horns, another horn grew up among them. It was a little horn with eyes like a human’s eyes. It also had a mouth, and the mouth was bragging. The little horn pulled out three of the other horns.
The Meaning of the Dream
15 “I, Daniel, was worried. The visions that went through my mind frightened me. 16 I came near one of those standing there and asked what all this meant.
“So he told me and explained to me what these things meant: 17 ‘The four great animals are four kingdoms that will come from the earth. 18 But the holy people who belong to the Most High God will receive the power to rule and will have the power to rule forever, from now on.’
The One Who Comes from Heaven
31 “The One who comes from above is greater than all. The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and talks about things on the earth. But the One who comes from heaven is greater than all. 32 He tells what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts what he says. 33 Whoever accepts what he says has proven that God is true. 34 The One whom God sent speaks the words of God, because God gives him the Spirit fully. 35 The Father loves the Son and has given him power over everything. 36 Those who believe in the Son have eternal life, but those who do not obey the Son will never have life. God’s anger stays on them.”
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.