Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
God the Judge
For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A psalm of Asaph. A song.
75 God, we thank you;
we thank you because you are near.
We tell about the miracles you do.
2 You say, “I set the time for trial,
and I will judge fairly.
3 The earth with all its people may shake,
but I am the one who holds it steady. Selah
4 I say to those who are proud, ‘Don’t brag,’
and to the wicked, ‘Don’t show your power.
5 Don’t try to use your power against heaven.
Don’t be stubborn.’”
6 No one from the east or the west
or the desert can judge you.
7 God is the judge;
he judges one person as guilty and another as innocent.
8 The Lord holds a cup of anger in his hand;
it is full of wine mixed with spices.
He pours it out even to the last drop,
and the wicked drink it all.
9 I will tell about this forever;
I will sing praise to the God of Jacob.
10 He will take all power away from the wicked,
but the power of good people will grow.
1 This is the message for the city of Nineveh.[a] This is the book of the vision of Nahum, who was from the town of Elkosh.
The Lord Is Angry with Nineveh
2 The Lord is a jealous God who punishes;
the Lord punishes and is filled with anger.
The Lord punishes those who are against him,
and he stays angry with his enemies.
3 The Lord does not become angry quickly,
and his power is great.
The Lord will not let the guilty go unpunished.
Where the Lord goes, there are whirlwinds and storms,
and the clouds are the dust beneath his feet.
4 He speaks to the sea and makes it dry;
he dries up all the rivers.
The areas of Bashan and Carmel dry up,
and the flowers of Lebanon dry up.
5 The mountains shake in front of him,
and the hills melt.
The earth trembles when he comes;
the world and all who live in it shake with fear.
6 No one can stay alive when he is angry;
no one can survive his strong anger.
His anger is poured out like fire;
the rocks are smashed by him.
7 The Lord is good,
giving protection in times of trouble.
He knows who trusts in him.
8 But like a rushing flood,
he will completely destroy Nineveh;
he will chase his enemies until he kills them.
9 The Lord will completely destroy
anyone making plans against him.
Trouble will not come a second time.
10 Those people will be like tangled thorns
or like people drunk from their wine;
they will be burned up quickly like dry weeds.
11 Someone has come from Nineveh
who makes evil plans against the Lord
and gives wicked advice.
12 This is what the Lord says:
“Although Assyria is strong and has many people,
it will be defeated and brought to an end.
Although I have made you suffer, Judah,
I will make you suffer no more.
13 Now I will free you from their control
and tear away your chains.”
12 This means God’s holy people must be patient. They must obey God’s commands and keep their faith in Jesus.
13 Then I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die from now on in the Lord.”
The Spirit says, “Yes, they will rest from their hard work, and the reward of all they have done stays with them.”
The Earth Is Harvested
14 Then I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and sitting on the white cloud was One who looked like a Son of Man.[a] He had a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle[b] in his hand. 15 Then another angel came out of the temple and called out in a loud voice to the One who was sitting on the cloud, “Take your sickle and harvest from the earth, because the time to harvest has come, and the fruit of the earth is ripe.” 16 So the One who was sitting on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.
17 Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. 18 And then another angel, who has power over the fire, came from the altar. This angel called to the angel with the sharp sickle, saying, “Take your sharp sickle and gather the bunches of grapes from the earth’s vine, because its grapes are ripe.” 19 Then the angel swung his sickle over the earth. He gathered the earth’s grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s anger. 20 They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the winepress as high as horses’ bridles for a distance of about one hundred eighty miles.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.