Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

93 Jehovah is King! He is robed in majesty and strength. The world is his throne.^[a]

² O Lord, you have reigned from prehistoric times, from the everlasting past. ³ The mighty oceans thunder your praise. ⁴ You are mightier than all the breakers pounding on the seashores of the world! ⁵ Your royal decrees cannot be changed. Holiness is forever the keynote of your reign.

7 One night during the first year of Belshazzar’s reign over the Babylonian Empire, Daniel had a dream and he wrote it down. This is his description of what he saw:

² In my dream I saw a great storm on a mighty ocean, with strong winds blowing from every direction. ³ Then four huge animals came up out of the water, each different from the other. ⁴ The first was like a lion, but it had eagle’s wings! And as I watched, its wings were pulled off so that it could no longer fly, and it was left standing on the ground, on two feet, like a man; and a man’s mind was given to it. ⁵ The second animal looked like a bear with its paw raised, ready to strike. It held three ribs between its teeth, and I heard a voice saying to it, “Get up! Devour many people!” ⁶ The third of these strange animals looked like a leopard, but on its back it had wings like those of birds, and it had four heads! And great power was given to it over all mankind.

⁷ Then, as I watched in my dream, a fourth animal rose up out of the ocean, too dreadful to describe and incredibly strong. It devoured some of its victims by tearing them apart with its huge iron teeth, and others it crushed beneath its feet. It was far more brutal and vicious than any of the other animals, and it had ten horns.

⁸ As I was looking at the horns, suddenly another small horn appeared among them, and three of the first ones were yanked out, roots and all, to give it room; this little horn had a man’s eyes and a bragging mouth.

¹⁵ I was confused and disturbed by all I had seen (Daniel wrote in his report), ¹⁶ so I approached one of those standing beside the throne and asked him the meaning of all these things, and he explained them to me.

¹⁷ “These four huge animals,” he said, “represent four kings who will someday rule the earth. ¹⁸ But in the end the people of the Most High God shall rule the governments of the world forever and forever.”

³¹ “He has come from heaven and is greater than anyone else. I am of the earth, and my understanding is limited to the things of earth. ³² He tells what he has seen and heard, but how few believe what he tells them! ^33-34 Those who believe him discover that God is a fountain of truth. For this one—sent by God—speaks God’s words, for God’s Spirit is upon him without measure or limit. ³⁵ The Father loves this man because he is his Son, and God has given him everything there is. ³⁶ And all who trust him—God’s Son—to save them have eternal life; those who don’t believe and obey him shall never see heaven, but the wrath of God remains upon them.”