Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 98
Praise the King
A psalm.
1 Sing a new song to the Lord,(A)
for He has performed wonders;
His right hand and holy arm
have won Him victory.(B)
2 The Lord has made His victory known;
He has revealed His righteousness
in the sight of the nations.(C)
3 He has remembered His love
and faithfulness to the house of Israel;
all the ends of the earth
have seen our God’s victory.(D)
Nebuchadnezzar’s Gold Statue
3 King Nebuchadnezzar made a gold statue,(A) 90 feet high and nine feet wide.[a] He set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.(B) 2 King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to assemble the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the rulers(C) of the provinces to attend the dedication of the statue King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 3 So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the rulers of the provinces assembled for the dedication of the statue the king had set up. Then they stood before the statue Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
4 A herald loudly proclaimed, “People of every nation and language, you are commanded: 5 When you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither,[b] lyre,[c] harp, drum,[d] and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship(D) the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. 6 But whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire.”(E)
7 Therefore, when all the people heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, and every kind of music, people of every nation and language fell down and worshiped the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
The Furnace of Blazing Fire
8 Some Chaldeans took this occasion to come forward and maliciously accuse[e](F) the Jews. 9 They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “May the king live forever. 10 You as king have issued a decree(G) that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, drum, and every kind of music must fall down and worship the gold statue. 11 Whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire. 12 There are some Jews you have appointed to manage the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.(H) These men have ignored you,(I) the king; they do not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”
13 Then in a furious rage(J) Nebuchadnezzar gave orders to bring in Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar asked them, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, is it true that you don’t serve my gods or worship the gold statue(K) I have set up? 15 Now if you’re ready, when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, drum, and every kind of music, fall down and worship the statue I made. But if you don’t worship it, you will immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire—and who is the god who can rescue you from my power?”(L)
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, “Nebuchadnezzar, we don’t need to give you an answer to this question. 17 If the God we serve exists,[f] then He can rescue(M) us from the furnace of blazing fire, and He can rescue us from the power of you, the king. 18 But even if He does not rescue us,[g] we want you as king to know that we will not serve(N) your gods(O) or worship the gold statue you set up.”
The Fall of Babylon the Great
18 After this I saw another angel with great authority coming down from heaven, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. 2 He cried in a mighty voice:
It has fallen,[a]
Babylon the Great has fallen!(A)
She has become a dwelling for demons,
a haunt for every unclean spirit,
a haunt for every unclean bird,
and a haunt[b] for every unclean and despicable beast.[c](B)
3 For all the nations have drunk[d]
the wine of her sexual immorality,
which brings wrath.(C)
The kings of the earth
have committed sexual immorality with her,
and the merchants of the earth
have grown wealthy from her excessive luxury.
4 Then I heard another voice from heaven:
Come out of her, My people,
so that you will not share in her sins(D)
or receive any of her plagues.
5 For her sins are piled up[e] to heaven,(E)
and God has remembered her crimes.
6 Pay her back the way she also paid,(F)
and double it according to her works.(G)
In the cup in which she mixed,(H)
mix a double portion for her.
7 As much as she glorified herself and lived luxuriously,
give her that much torment and grief,
for she says in her heart,
“I sit as a queen;
I am not a widow,
and I will never see grief.”(I)
8 For this reason her plagues will come in one day[f]—
death and grief and famine.
She will be burned up with fire,
because the Lord God who judges her is mighty.
The World Mourns Babylon’s Fall
9 The kings of the earth who have committed sexual immorality and lived luxuriously with her will weep and mourn over her when they see the smoke of her burning. 10 They will stand far off in fear of her torment, saying:
Woe, woe, the great city,
Babylon, the mighty city!
For in a single hour[g]
your judgment has come.
19 They threw dust on their heads and kept crying out, weeping, and mourning:(A)
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