Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

13 Unto the end, a psalm for David. The fool hath said in his heart: There is no God, They are corrupt, and are become abominable in their ways: there is none that doth good, no not one.

² The Lord hath looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there be any that understand and seek God.

³ They are all gone aside, they are become unprofitable together: there is none that doth good, no not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre: with their tongues they acted deceitfully; the poison of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and unhappiness in their ways: and the way of peace they have not known: there is no fear of God before their eyes.

⁴ Shall not all they know that work iniquity, who devour my people as they eat bread?

⁵ They have not called upon the Lord: there have they trembled for fear, where there was no fear.

⁶ For the Lord is in the just generation: you have confounded the counsel of the poor man, but the Lord is his hope.

⁷ Who shall give out of Sion the salvation of Israel? when the Lord shall have turned away the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice and Israel shall be glad.

8 In the third year of the reign of king Baltasar, a vision appeared to me. I Daniel, after what I had seen in the beginning,

² Saw in my vision when I was in the castle of Susa, which is in the province of Elam: and I saw in the vision that I was over the gate of Ulai.

³ And I lifted up my eyes, and saw: and behold a ram stood before the water, having two high horns, and one higher than the other, and growing up.

⁴ Afterward I saw the ram pushing with his horns against the west, and against the north, and against the south: and no beasts could withstand him, nor be delivered out of his hand: and he did according to his own will, and became great.

⁵ And I understood: and behold a he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and he touched not the ground, and the he goat had a notable horn between his eyes.

⁶ And he went up to the ram that had the horns, which I had seen standing before the gate, and he ran towards him in the force of his strength.

⁷ And when he was come near the ram, he was enraged against him, and struck the ram: and broke his two horns, and the ram could not withstand him: and when he had cast him down on the ground, he stamped upon him, and none could deliver the ram out of his hand.

⁸ And the he goat became exceeding great: and when he was grown, the great horn was broken, and there came up four horns under it towards the four winds of heaven.

⁹ And out of one of them came forth a little horn: and it became great against the south, and against the east, and against the strength.

¹⁰ And it was magnified even unto the strength of heaven: and it threw down of the strength, and of the stars, and trod upon them.

¹¹ And it was magnified even to the prince of the strength: and it took away from him the continual sacrifice, and cast down the place of his sanctuary.

¹² And strength was given him against the continual sacrifice, because of sins: and truth shall be cast down on the ground, and he shall do and shall prosper.

¹³ And I heard one of the saints speaking, and one saint said to another, I know not to whom that was speaking: How long shall be the vision, concerning the continual sacrifice, and the sin of the desolation that is made: and the sanctuary, and the strength be trodden under foot?

¹⁴ And he said to him: Unto evening and morning two thousand three hundred days: and the sanctuary shall be cleansed.

²⁶ For if we sin wilfully after having the knowledge of the truth, there is now left no sacrifice for sins,

²⁷ But a certain dreadful expectation of judgment, and the rage of a fire which shall consume the adversaries.

²⁸ A man making void the law of Moses, dieth without any mercy under two or three witnesses:

²⁹ How much more, do you think he deserveth worse punishments, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath esteemed the blood of the testament unclean, by which he was sanctified, and hath offered an affront to the Spirit of grace?

³⁰ For we know him that hath said: Vengeance belongeth to me, and I will repay. And again: The Lord shall judge his people.

³¹ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.