Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

A song of David.

¹⁷ Your eyes will see the King in his beauty. You will see the great land. ^18-19 When you think about the troubles you had in the past, you will wonder, “Where are those foreigners who spoke languages we could not understand. Where are the officials and tax collectors from other lands? Where are the spies who counted our defense towers?”

God Will Protect Jerusalem

²⁰ Look at Zion, the city of our religious festivals. Look at Jerusalem—that beautiful place of rest. Jerusalem is like a tent that will never be moved. The pegs that hold her in place will never be pulled up. Her ropes will never be broken, ^21-23 because the Lord is our powerful leader there. That land is a place with streams and wide rivers, but there will be no enemy boats or powerful ships on those rivers. You men who work on such boats can stop your work with the ropes. You cannot make the mast strong enough. You will not be able to open your sails, because the Lord is our judge. He makes our laws. He is our king. He saves us. The Lord will give us our wealth. Even crippled people will get their share.

⁸ I am John. I am the one who heard and saw these things. After I heard and saw them, I bowed down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me. ⁹ But the angel said to me, “Don’t worship me! I am a servant like you and your brothers the prophets. I am a servant like all those who obey the words in this book. You should worship God!”

¹⁰ Then the angel told me, “Don’t keep secret the words of prophecy in this book. The time is near for these things to happen. ¹¹ Let anyone who is doing wrong continue to do wrong. Let anyone who is unclean continue to be unclean. Let anyone who is doing right continue to do right. Let anyone who is holy continue to be holy.”

¹² “Listen, I am coming soon! I will bring rewards with me. I will repay everyone for what they have done. ¹³ I am the Alpha and the Omega,^[a] the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

¹⁴ “Great blessings belong to those who have washed their robes.^[b] They will have the right to eat the food from the tree of life. They can go through the gates into the city. ¹⁵ Outside the city are all those who live like dogs—those who do evil magic, those who sin sexually, those who murder, those who worship idols, and those who love to lie and pretend to be good.

¹⁶ “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to tell you these things for the churches. I am the descendant from the family of David. I am the bright morning star.”

¹⁷ The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Everyone who hears this should also say, “Come!” All who are thirsty may come; they can have the water of life as a free gift if they want it.

¹⁸ I warn everyone who hears the words of prophecy in this book: If anyone adds anything to these, God will give that person the plagues written about in this book. ¹⁹ And if anyone takes away from the words of this book of prophecy, God will take away that person’s share of the tree of life and of the holy city, which are written about in this book.

²⁰ Jesus is the one who says that all of this is true. Now he says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”

Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!

²¹ The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all people.