Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Asaph wrote this song for the music leader. He should use special music.
God judges people fairly
75 God, we thank you!
Yes, we thank you!
You are very near to us.
People everywhere say what great things you have done.
2 God says, ‘I choose the time when I will judge people,
and I will be a fair judge.
3 When the earth shakes and the people in it are afraid,
I will keep its foundations strong.’
Selah.
4 I say to people who are proud,
‘Do not be proud.’
I say to wicked people,
‘Do not boast about your power.
5 Do not boast against God.
Do not speak with such proud words.’
6 Who has the power to judge people?
Nobody from the east, or from the west,
or from the desert can be judge.
7 God is the one who judges people.
He decides who to bring down
and who to lift up.[a]
8 The Lord holds a cup of punishment in his hand.[b]
It is full of wine, with spices in it.
The Lord pours out his anger from this cup.
All the wicked people in the world will have to drink it.
They will drink all of it, so that none remains.
9 But as for me, I will always thank you, God.
I will sing to praise you,
the God of Jacob.
10 You say, ‘I will destroy the power of wicked people.
I will give strength to my righteous people.’
This world will come to an end
12 Then the angel said to me, ‘At that time God's great angel Michael will come. He is the leader who takes care of your people. There will be a time of great trouble. It will be worse than any trouble that has happened since God first made your nation. But many of your own people will escape from that trouble. Those are all the people whose names are written in the book.[a] 2 Many dead people who lie under the ground will become alive again. Some of them will receive life that continues for ever with God. But other people will receive shame that continues for ever. 3 People who are wise will shine like the bright sky. Those who help many people to do what is right will also shine brightly for ever. They will shine like the stars in the sky at night.
4 Daniel, you must now close this message. Put seals on the book so that nobody can open it until it is time for the end of this world. Many people will try to understand about these things. They will travel everywhere to get more knowledge.’[b]
5 After the angel said this, I, Daniel, looked up. I saw two other people. One of them stood on the same side of the river as me. The other one stood on the other side of the river. 6 One of them spoke to the man who wore linen clothes and who now stood above the river. He asked that man, ‘How long will it be until these wonderful things finish?’ 7 The man who wore linen clothes lifted up both his hands towards the sky. I heard him make a strong promise with the authority of God, who lives for ever. He said, ‘It will continue for three and a half times.[c] Then the enemies of God's holy people will finally lose their power. That will be the end of all these events.’
8 I heard the man's words, but I did not understand. So I said, ‘Sir, how will all these things finally finish?’ 9 He said to me, ‘You must go now, Daniel. This message will remain secret until it is time for the end of this world. The seals will keep the book closed. 10 The time of trouble will cause many people to become clean and pure. But wicked people will continue to do evil things. No wicked people will understand what God is doing. But wise people will understand.
11 People will suffer for 1,290 days during that time of trouble. It will start from the time when people can no longer offer their sacrifices each day in the temple. That is when the enemy will put a disgusting thing that causes trouble in the holy place.[d] 12 But God will bless all those people who remain faithful until the 1,335 days come to an end.
13 You yourself must serve God faithfully until the end of your life. You will die. But at the end of time you will rise to live again. Then you will receive the good things that God has prepared for you.’
God chose Jesus to do an important job
15 Jesus knew that the Pharisees wanted to kill him. So he went away from that place. A large crowd of people followed him. He made all the sick people become well again. 16 He said to these people, ‘You must not tell anyone about me.’ 17 This happened so that what the prophet Isaiah had spoken long ago became true. Isaiah wrote what God said:
18 ‘Here is my servant.
I have chosen him to serve me.
I love him and he makes me very happy.
I will give him the strength of my Spirit.
He will tell all the nations that I will judge them fairly.
19 He will not argue with people. He will not shout at them.
People will not hear his loud voice in the streets.
20 He will not hurt weak people.
He will be kind to people who are not strong.
He will do this until there is justice everywhere.
21 All the nations will trust him to save them.’
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