Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
BOOK IV (Psalms 90-106)
A prayer by Moses, the godly man
Life is Short
90 Lord, you’ve been our refuge[a]
from generation to generation.
2 Before the mountains were formed
or the earth and the world were brought forth,
you are God from eternity to eternity.
3 You return people to dust
merely by[b] saying, “Return, you mortals!”
4 One thousand years in your sight are but a single day
that passes by, just like a night watch.
5 You will sweep them away while they are asleep—
by morning they are like growing grass.
6 In the morning it blossoms and is renewed,
but toward evening, it fades and withers.
7 Indeed, we are consumed[c] by your anger
and terrified by your wrath.
8 You have set our iniquities before you,
what we have concealed in the light of your presence.
9 All our days pass[a] away in your wrath;
our years fade away[b] and end like a sigh.
10 We live for 70 years,
or 80 years if we’re healthy,[c]
yet even in the prime years[d] there are troubles and sorrow.
They pass by quickly and we fly away.
11 Who can know the intensity of your anger?
Because our fear of you matches your wrath,
12 teach us to keep account of our days
so we may develop inner wisdom.
Prophecy against the Mountains of Israel
6 The Lord continued with his message to me. 2 “Son of Man,” he said, “turn your face to oppose the mountains of Israel and prophesy against them. 3 Tell the mountains of Israel to listen as the Lord God speaks. This is what the Lord God has to say to the mountains, hills, streams, and the valleys: ‘Look! I’m about to bring my sword against you. I’m going to destroy your high places. 4 Your altars will become desolate and your sun pillars will be shattered. I’ll throw your slain down right in front of your idols. 5 I’ll place the corpses of the Israelis in front of their idols. I’ll scatter your bones around your altar. 6 In all the places where you live, the cities will be desolate. The high places will also be desolate so that your altars will be laid waste, bearing the punishment appropriate to them.[a] Your idols will be shattered, your sun pillars will be hewn down, and your works will be obliterated. 7 The fatally wounded among you will fall, and at that time you’ll know that I am the Lord. 8 I’ll leave a remnant among you—those who will escape the sword when I’ll have scattered you throughout the earth. 9 Your survivors will remember me among the nations where they’ll be taken captives. I’ve been crushed by their unfaithful[b] hearts that have turned against me. 10 Then they’ll know that I am the Lord. I didn’t declare this evil that’s intended for them[c] without a reason.’”
11 This is what the Lord God says: “Clap your hands and stamp your feet! Say, ‘Oh, no!’ Because of all the detestable evil that has come from Israel’s house, they’ll fall by the sword, famine, and pestilence. 12 The one who lives far away will die by pestilence and the one who is near will die violently.[d] The survivors and their surveillance details will die by famine as I exhaust my rage against them.
13 “You’ll learn[e] that I am the Lord, when the fatally wounded will be among their idols, around their altars, on every hill, on top of the mountains, under every luxuriant tree, and under all the full-grown[f] foliage—every place where they’ve offered fragrant aromas to all their idols. 14 I’ll stretch out my hands to strike[g] them and send devastation to the land, from the wilderness of Diblah, throughout all their dwelling places. Then they’ll know that I am the Lord.”
The Vision of the Seven Angels Pouring Out Their Bowls
16 Then I heard a loud voice from the Temple saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour the seven bowls of God’s wrath on the earth.” 2 So the first angel went and poured his bowl on the earth. A horrible, painful sore appeared on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshipped the image.
3 The second angel poured his bowl into the sea. It became like the blood of a dead body, and every living thing in the sea died.
4 The third angel poured his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they turned into blood. 5 Then I heard the angel in charge[a] of the water say,
“You are just. You are the one who is
and who was, the Holy One,
because you have judged these things.
6 You have given them blood to drink
because they spilled the blood of saints and prophets.
This is what they deserve.”
7 Then I heard the altar reply,
“Yes, Lord God Almighty,
your judgments are true and just.”
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