Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 74
Prayer for Israel
A Maskil of Asaph.(A)
1 Why have you rejected us forever, God?
Why does your anger burn
against the sheep of your pasture?(B)
2 Remember your congregation,
which you purchased long ago
and redeemed as the tribe for your own possession.(C)
Remember Mount Zion where you dwell.(D)
3 Make your way[a] to the perpetual ruins,
to all that the enemy has destroyed in the sanctuary.(E)
4 Your adversaries roared in the meeting place
where you met with us.[b]
They set up their emblems as signs.(F)
5 It was like men in a thicket of trees,
wielding axes,(G)
6 then smashing all the carvings
with hatchets and picks.(H)
7 They set your sanctuary on fire;
they utterly[c] desecrated
the dwelling place of your name.(I)
8 They said in their hearts,
“Let’s oppress them relentlessly.”
They burned every place throughout the land
where God met with us.[d](J)
9 There are no signs for us to see.
There is no longer a prophet.
And none of us knows how long this will last.(K)
10 God, how long will the enemy mock?
Will the foe insult your name forever?(L)
11 Why do you hold back your hand?
Stretch out[e] your right hand and destroy them!(M)
12 God my King is from ancient times,
performing saving acts on the earth.(N)
13 You divided the sea with your strength;
you smashed the heads of the sea monsters in the water;(O)
14 you crushed the heads of Leviathan;
you fed him to the creatures of the desert. (P)
15 You opened up springs and streams;(Q)
you dried up ever-flowing rivers.(R)
16 The day is yours, also the night;
you established the moon and the sun.(S)
17 You set all the boundaries of the earth;
you made summer and winter.(T)
18 Remember this: the enemy has mocked the Lord,
and a foolish people has insulted your name.(U)
19 Do not give to beasts the life of your dove;[f]
do not forget the lives of your poor people forever.(V)
20 Consider the covenant,(W)
for the dark places of the land are full of violence.(X)
21 Do not let the oppressed turn away in shame;
let the poor and needy praise your name.(Y)
22 Rise up, God, champion your cause!(Z)
Remember the insults
that fools bring against you all day long.(AA)
23 Do not forget the clamor of your adversaries,
the tumult of your opponents that goes up constantly.(AB)
17 When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is that you, the one ruining Israel?” (A)
18 He replied, “I have not ruined Israel, but you and your father’s family have, because you have abandoned the Lord’s commands(B) and followed the Baals.(C) 19 Now summon all Israel to meet me at Mount Carmel,(D) along with the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah(E) who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
Elijah at Mount Carmel
20 So Ahab summoned all the Israelites and gathered the prophets at Mount Carmel. 21 Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions?[a](F) If the Lord is God, follow him. But if Baal, follow him.”(G) But the people didn’t answer him a word.
22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I am the only remaining prophet of the Lord,(H) but Baal’s prophets are 450 men. 23 Let two bulls be given to us. They are to choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and place it on the wood but not light the fire. I will prepare the other bull and place it on the wood but not light the fire. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord.(I) The God who answers with fire, he is God.”
All the people answered, “That’s fine.”
25 Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Since you are so numerous, choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first. Then call on the name of your god but don’t light the fire.”
26 So they took the bull that he gave them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “Baal, answer us!” But there was no sound;(J) no one answered. Then they danced[b] around the altar they had made.
27 At noon Elijah mocked them. He said, “Shout loudly, for he’s a god! Maybe he’s thinking it over; maybe he has wandered away;[c] or maybe he’s on the road. Perhaps he’s sleeping and will wake up!” (K) 28 They shouted loudly, and cut themselves(L) with knives and spears, according to their custom, until blood gushed over them. 29 All afternoon they kept on raving until the offering of the evening sacrifice,(M) but there was no sound; no one answered, no one paid attention.(N)
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near me.” So all the people approached him. Then he repaired the Lord’s altar that had been torn down:(O) 31 Elijah took twelve stones—according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Israel will be your name”(P)— 32 and he built an altar(Q) with the stones in the name of the Lord. Then he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold about four gallons.[d][e] 33 Next, he arranged the wood, cut up the bull, and placed it on the wood. He said, “Fill four water pots with water and pour it on the offering to be burned and on the wood.” 34 Then he said, “A second time!” and they did it a second time. And then he said, “A third time!” and they did it a third time. 35 So the water ran all around the altar; he even filled the trench with water.
36 At the time for offering the evening sacrifice,(R) the prophet Elijah approached the altar and said, “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel,(S) today let it be known(T) that you are God in Israel and I am your servant, and that at your word I have done all these things. 37 Answer me, Lord! Answer me so that this people will know that you, the Lord, are God(U) and that you have turned their hearts back.”
38 Then the Lord’s fire fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 When all the people saw it, they fell facedown(V) and said, “The Lord, he is God! The Lord, he is God!” (W)
40 Then Elijah ordered them, “Seize the prophets of Baal!(X) Do not let even one of them escape.” So they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the Wadi Kishon(Y) and slaughtered them there.(Z)
Satanic Rebellion Crushed
7 When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations(A) at the four corners of the earth,(B) Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle.(C) Their number is like the sand of the sea.(D) 9 They came up across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the encampment of the saints, the beloved city.(E) Then fire came down from heaven[a] and consumed them.(F) 10 The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet are,(G) and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.(H)
The Great White Throne Judgment
11 Then I saw a great white throne and one seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them.(I) 12 I also saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened.(J) Another book was opened, which is the book of life,(K) and the dead were judged according to their works(L) by what was written in the books. 13 Then the sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades(M) gave up the dead that were in them; each one was judged according to their works. 14 Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.(N) This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.
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