Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Michtam of David.

16 Preserve me, O God: for I trust in thee.

² Thou [my soul] hast said to Jehovah, Thou art the Lord: my goodness [extendeth] not to thee;—

³ To the saints that are on the earth, and to the excellent [thou hast said], In them is all my delight.

⁴ Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another: their drink-offerings of blood will I not offer, and I will not take up their names into my lips.

⁵ Jehovah is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot.

⁶ The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.

⁷ I will bless Jehovah, who giveth me counsel; even in the nights my reins instruct me.

⁸ I have set Jehovah continually before me; because [he is] at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

⁹ Therefore my heart rejoiceth, and my glory exulteth; my flesh moreover shall dwell in hope.

¹⁰ For thou wilt not leave my soul to Sheol, neither wilt thou allow thy Holy One to see corruption.

¹¹ Thou wilt make known to me the path of life: thy countenance is fulness of joy; at thy right hand are pleasures for evermore.

⁴ I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in my house, and flourishing in my palace.

⁵ I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.

⁶ And I made a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known unto me the interpretation of the dream.

⁷ Then came in the scribes, the magicians, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers; and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known unto me the interpretation of it.

⁸ But at the last Daniel came in before me, whose name is Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and before him I told the dream:

⁹ O Belteshazzar, master of the scribes, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in thee, and no secret is too hard for thee, tell me the visions of my dream which I have seen, and the interpretation of it.

¹⁰ Thus were the visions of my head upon my bed: I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great.

¹¹ The tree grew, and was strong, and its height reached unto the heavens, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth.

¹² Its leaves were beautiful, and its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all: the beasts of the field found shade under it, and the birds of the heavens dwelt in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it.

¹³ I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and behold, a watcher and a holy one came down from the heavens;

¹⁴ he cried aloud, and said thus: Hew down the tree, and cut off its branches, shake off its leaves, and scatter its fruit; let the beasts get away from under it, and the birds from its branches.

¹⁵ Nevertheless leave the stump of its roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be bathed with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth.

¹⁶ Let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him.

¹⁷ This sentence is by the decree of the watchers, and the decision by the word of the holy ones: that the living may know that the Most High ruleth over the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.

¹⁸ This dream I, king Nebuchadnezzar, have seen; and thou, Belteshazzar, tell the interpretation, forasmuch as all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known unto me the interpretation; but thou art able, for the spirit of the holy gods is in thee.

¹¹ But *thou*, O man of God, flee these things, and pursue righteousness, piety, faith, love, endurance, meekness of spirit.

¹² Strive earnestly [in] the good conflict of faith. Lay hold of eternal life, to which thou hast been called, and hast confessed the good confession before many witnesses.

¹³ I enjoin thee before God who preserves all things in life, and Christ Jesus who witnessed before Pontius Pilate the good confession,

¹⁴ that thou keep the commandment spotless, irreproachable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ;

¹⁵ which in its own time the blessed and only Ruler shall shew, the King of those that reign, and Lord of those that exercise lordship;

¹⁶ who only has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light; whom no man has seen, nor is able to see; to whom [be] honour and eternal might. Amen.

¹⁷ Enjoin on those rich in the present age not to be high-minded, nor to trust on the uncertainty of riches; but in the God who affords us all things richly for [our] enjoyment;

¹⁸ to do good, to be rich in good works, to be liberal in distributing, disposed to communicate [of their substance],

¹⁹ laying by for themselves a good foundation for the future, that they may lay hold of [what is] really life.

²⁰ O Timotheus, keep the entrusted deposit, avoiding profane, vain babblings, and oppositions of false-named knowledge,

²¹ of which some having made profession, have missed the faith. Grace [be] with thee.