Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
God rules the world[a]
98 Sing a new song to praise the Lord.
He has done great things.
He has used his own power and his holy strength
to win against his enemies.
2 The Lord has shown everybody
that he has the power to save.
All the nations of the world
can see that he does what is right.
3 He has kept his promise
that he made to the people of Israel.
He has continued to take care of them
with his faithful love.
Everyone who lives everywhere on the earth can see
that God has the power to save people.
4 All people on the earth should shout aloud
to praise the Lord![b]
Sing happy songs to praise him!
5 Make music on your harps to praise him!
Make beautiful music!
6 Make a happy sound with trumpets and horns!
Shout aloud to praise the Lord, your king!
7 The sea and everything that is in it
should shout to praise the Lord!
The earth and all those who live in it
should shout as well!
8 The rivers should clap their hands,
and the mountains should all sing together,
9 to praise the Lord.
He is coming to judge the earth.[c]
He is a fair judge.
He will judge all the people of the world honestly.
The king's statue
3 King Nebuchadnezzar caused his workers to make a gold statue. It was 30 metres high and 3 metres wide. He built it on the flat land called Dura, in the Babylon region. 2 Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent a message to all his government officers. He told them to meet together in the place where the statue was. He wanted them to see that he had built a great statue. 3 So all the officers came. Those were the rulers, the judges, the wise people, and all the leaders in the different regions of the Babylon nation. They all came together to give honour to the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had built.
4 Then an officer shouted aloud, ‘Listen to me, you people from every country and nation, who speak different languages! The king makes this command: 5 Listen for the sound of music from trumpets, flutes, lyres, harps or any other kind of music. When you hear the music, you must bend down low towards the ground. You must worship the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has built. 6 The king will punish anyone who does not do that. His soldiers will throw them immediately into a very hot fire.’
7 So, when all the people heard the different kinds of music, they obeyed. The people from every country and nation, who spoke different languages all bent down low. They worshipped the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had built.
8 Then some wise men went to the king. They told him bad things against the Jews. 9 They said to the king, ‘King, live for ever! 10 You made a rule. You said that everyone must listen for the sound of the special music. When they hear it, they must bend down and they must worship the gold statue. 11 You said that you would punish everyone who does not obey you. You said you would throw them into the middle of a very hot fire. 12 But there are some Jewish men who do not obey you. They are Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. You gave them authority to take care of everything in Babylon region. Those men do not respect your authority. They do not give honour to your gods. They do not worship your gold statue.’
13 When King Nebuchadnezzar heard this, he was very angry. He told his servants to bring Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to him. So they brought those men to stand in front of the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar said to them, ‘Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, is it true that you do not give honour to my gods? And you do not worship the gold statue that I have built? 15 Next time you hear the sound of the special music, you must obey my rule. You must bend down and you must worship the statue that I have built. If you do not worship the statue, my servants will throw you immediately into the middle of a very hot fire. There is no god who can save you from my power.’
16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego answered the king, ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to say anything to show you that we are not guilty. 17 We serve a great God. If you throw us into the very hot fire, he is able to keep us safe. Yes, sir, he will keep us safe from your power too. 18 But even if he does not save us, we still would not serve your gods. And we will not worship the gold statue that you have built. We want you to understand that very clearly, sir.’
The end of Babylon
18 After these things happened, I saw another angel. He was coming down from heaven. He had great authority. He was beautiful and he shone brightly. He gave light to the whole world. 2 He shouted with a very loud voice:
‘God has destroyed the great city of Babylon!
She has become a place where demons live.
She is a home for every disgusting spirit.
She is a home for every unclean bird.
She is a home for every unclean and disgusting animal.
3 She has been like a prostitute who makes men become drunk.
Then she leads them to have sex in a wrong way.
She has caused people from every nation to turn away from God.
It is like all the kings of the earth have had sex with that bad woman.
All the traders of the earth have become rich,
because she has bought things from them to enjoy a wicked life.’
4 Then I heard another voice which spoke from heaven. It said:
‘My people, leave the city! Come out!
Do not do the bad things that the people of that city have done.
Then you will not receive the terrible troubles that God sends to them.
5 They have done very many bad things.
Their sins have reached as high as heaven.
God has remembered to punish them.
6 Yes, punish the people of that city.
Do to them the same things that they have done to others.
Punish them with twice the bad things that they themselves have done.
She caused people to drink pain from her cup.
Now make her drink twice as much pain for herself!
7 She liked to receive honour.
She bought expensive things to enjoy a wicked life.
So now give her the trouble and pain that she deserves.
She has said to herself, “I rule people like a queen.
I do not live like a widow.
I will never need to be sad.”
8 Because she speaks like that,
she will receive many troubles in one single day.
Her people will become very ill.
They will be very sad.
They will have no food to eat.
Fire will destroy the city,
The Lord God is powerful.
So he will punish her with these troubles.’
9 When all that happens, the kings on the earth will be very sad. They enjoyed the bad things that people did in that city. They had many expensive things so that they were happy. Now they will see the smoke from the fire that burns the city. As a result, they will cry and they will weep. 10 They will stand a long way from the city because they are afraid. They do not want to suffer in the same way. They will say,
‘Terrible trouble has come to you, Babylon!
Great city! Powerful city! It is very bad for you!
In one single hour God has destroyed you!’
19 They will throw dirt from the ground on their heads because they are so sad. They will weep and they will shout,
‘Bad trouble has come to you, Babylon!
Great city! It is very bad for you!
Everyone who had ships on the sea became rich because of you.
You used your money to buy their expensive things.
But in one single hour God has destroyed that city.’
20 Yes, you who live in heaven, be happy!
Be happy because God has punished Babylon!
God's people and his apostles and his prophets, be happy!
God has punished the city because of what she did to you.
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