Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

God Is King

93 The Lord rules. He is dressed with great power. The Lord has dressed Himself with strength. For sure, the world is built to last. It will not be moved. ² Your throne is set up from long ago. You have always been. ³ The floods have lifted up, O Lord. The floods have lifted up their voice. The floods lift up their beating waves. ⁴ The Lord on high is more powerful than the sound of many waters and the strong waves of the sea. ⁵ Your Word is very sure. O Lord, Your house is holy forever.

Daniel’s Special Dream of the Four Animals

7 In the first year that Belshazzar was king of Babylon, Daniel had a special dream in his mind as he lay on his bed. And he wrote the dream down, telling what he saw. ² Daniel said, “In my dream at night I looked and saw the four winds of heaven causing waves in the great sea. ³ And four large animals were coming up from the sea, different from one another. ⁴ The first was like a lion and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were pulled off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man. A man’s heart was given to it also. ⁵ Then I saw a second animal, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth. And it was told, ‘Get up, and eat much meat!’ ⁶ Then I looked and saw another animal, which looked like a leopard. It had four wings of a bird on its back, and four heads. And it was given the power to rule. ⁷ After this I looked in my dream in the night and saw a fourth animal. It filled me with a very great fear. It was very strong and it had large, iron teeth. It ate and crushed, and whatever was left, it crushed with its feet. It was different from all the animals that were before it, and it had ten horns. ⁸ While I was thinking about the horns, I saw another horn, a little one, come up among them. And three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots in front of it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth which spoke in pride.

Daniel Tells the Meaning of His Dream

¹⁵ “As for me, Daniel, my spirit was troubled within me. The things I saw in my dream made me afraid. ¹⁶ I went to one of those who were standing near and asked him the true meaning of all this. So he told me what these things meant. ¹⁷ ‘These four large animals are four kings who will rise from the earth. ¹⁸ But the holy ones of the Most High will receive the nation and keep it forever and ever.’

³¹ “He Who comes from above is above all. He who comes from the earth is of the earth and speaks of the earth. He Who comes from heaven is above all. ³² He tells of what He has seen and heard. But no one believes what He says. ³³ Whoever receives His words proves that God is true. ³⁴ He was sent by God and He speaks God’s Word. God gives Him all of His Spirit. ³⁵ The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand. ³⁶ He who puts his trust in the Son has life that lasts forever. He who does not put his trust in the Son will not have life, but the anger of God is on him.”