Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
To the Director: A Davidic Psalm.
A Prayer for Deliverance
13 How long? Lord, will you forget me forever?[a]
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I struggle in my soul at night
and have sorrow in my heart during the day?
How long will my enemy rise up against me?
3 Look at me!
Answer me, Lord, my God!
Give light to my eyes!
Otherwise, I will sleep in death;
4 Otherwise, my enemy will say,
“I have overcome him;”
Otherwise, my persecutor will rejoice
when I am shaken.
5 As for me, I have trusted in your gracious love,
my heart will rejoice in your deliverance.
6 I will sing to the Lord,
for he has dealt bountifully with me.
Gabriel Interprets the Vision
15 “After I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I tried to understand it. All of a sudden, there was standing in front of me one who appeared to be valiant. 16 I heard the voice of a man calling out from the Ulai Canal,[a] ‘Gabriel, interpret what that fellow has been seeing.’
17 “As he approached where I was standing, I became terrified and fell on my face. But he told me, ‘Son of man, understand that the vision pertains to the time of the end.’
18 “While he had been speaking with me, I had fainted[b] on my face, but he touched me and enabled me to stand upright on my feet. 19 Then he said,
‘Pay attention! I’m going to brief you about what will happen at the end of the period of wrath, because its end is appointed. 20 The ram that you saw with a pair of horns are the kings of Media and Persia. 21 The demonic[c] goat is the king of Greece,[d] and the great horn between its eyes is its first king. 22 The shattered horn[e] and the four that took its place are four kingdoms that will come from his nation, but they will not have his strength.
23 “Toward the end of their rule, as the desecrations proceed, an insolent king will arise, proficient at deception. 24 Mighty will be his skills, but not from his own abilities. He’ll be remarkably destructive, will succeed, and will do whatever he wants, destroying mighty men and the holy people. 25 Through his skill he’ll cause deceit to prosper under his leadership. He’ll promote himself and will destroy many while they are secure. He’ll take a stand against the Prince of Princes, yet he’ll be crushed without human help.[f] 26 The vision about the twilights and dawnings that has been related is trustworthy, but keep its vision secret, because it pertains to the distant future.’
27 Then I, Daniel, was exhausted and ill for days, but afterward I got up and went about the king’s business. Nevertheless, I was astonished by the vision, and could not understand it.”
32 But you must continue to remember those earlier days, how after you were enlightened you endured a hard and painful struggle. 33 At times you were made a public spectacle by means of insults and persecutions, while at other times you associated with people who were treated this way. 34 For you sympathized[a] with the prisoners and cheerfully submitted to the violent seizure of your property, because you know that you have a better and more permanent possession.
35 So don’t lose your confidence, since it holds a great reward for you. 36 For you need endurance, so that after you have done God’s will you can receive what he has promised. 37 For
“in a very little while
the one who is coming will return—
he will not delay;
38 but my righteous one will live by faith,
and if he turns back,
my soul will take no pleasure in him.”[b]
39 Now, we do not belong to those who turn back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.
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