Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 76

To the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph. A song.

¹ In Judah God is known and renowned; His name is highly praised and is great in Israel.

² In [Jeru]Salem also is His tabernacle, and His dwelling place is in Zion.

³ There He broke the bow’s flashing arrows, the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

⁴ Glorious and excellent are You from the mountains of prey [splendid and majestic, more than the everlasting mountains].

⁵ The stouthearted are stripped of their spoil, they have slept the sleep [of death]; and none of the men of might could raise their hands.

⁶ At Your rebuke, O God of Jacob, both chariot [rider] and horse are cast into a dead sleep [of death].^(A)

⁷ You, even You, are to be feared [with awe and reverence]! Who may stand in Your presence when once Your anger is roused?

⁸ You caused sentence to be heard from heaven; the earth feared and was still—

⁹ When God arose to [establish] judgment, to save all the meek and oppressed of the earth. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

¹⁰ Surely the wrath of man shall praise You; the remainder of wrath shall You restrain and gird and arm Yourself with it.

¹¹ Vow and pay to the Lord your God; let all who are round about Him bring presents to Him Who ought to be [reverently] feared.

¹² He will cut off the spirit [of pride and fury] of princes; He is terrible to the [ungodly] kings of the earth.

¹⁹ Then I wished to know the truth about the fourth beast—which was different from all the others, exceedingly terrible and shocking, whose teeth were of iron and its nails of bronze, which devoured, broke and crushed, and trampled what was left with its feet—

²⁰ And about the ten horns [representing kings] that were on its head, and the other horn which came up later and before which three of [the horns] fell, the horn which had eyes and a mouth that spoke great things and which looked greater than the others.

²¹ As I looked, this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them^(A)

²² Until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High [God], and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom.

²³ Thus [the angel] said, The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all other kingdoms and shall devour the whole earth, tread it down, and break it in pieces and crush it.

²⁴ And as for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings shall arise; and another shall arise after them, and he shall be different from the former ones, and he shall subdue and put down three kings.

²⁵ And he shall speak words against the Most High [God] and shall wear out the saints of the Most High and think to change the time [of sacred feasts and holy days] and the law; and the saints shall be given into his hand for a time, two times, and half a time [three and one-half years].^(B)

²⁶ But the judgment shall be set [by the court of the Most High], and they shall take away his dominion to consume it [gradually] and to destroy it [suddenly] in the end.

²⁷ And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heavens shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions shall serve and obey Him.

11 A reed [as a measuring rod] was then given to me, [shaped] like a staff, and I was told: Rise up and measure the sanctuary of God and the altar [of incense], and [number] those who worship there.^(A)

² But leave out of your measuring the court outside the sanctuary of God; omit that, for it is given over to the Gentiles (the nations), and they will trample the holy city underfoot for 42 months (three and one-half years).^(B)

³ And I will grant the power of prophecy to My two witnesses for 1,260 (42 months; three and one-half years), dressed in sackcloth.

⁴ These [witnesses] are the two olive trees and the two lampstands which stand before the Lord of the earth.^(C)

⁵ And if anyone attempts to injure them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their enemies; if anyone should attempt to harm them, thus he is doomed to be slain.^(D)

⁶ These [two witnesses] have power to shut up the sky, so that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying (their ^[a]prediction of events relating to Christ’s kingdom and its speedy triumph); and they also have power to turn the waters into blood and to smite and scourge the earth with all manner of plagues as often as they choose.^(E)

⁷ But when they have finished their testimony and their evidence is all in, the beast (monster) that comes up out of the Abyss (bottomless pit) will wage war on them, and conquer them and kill them.^(F)

⁸ And their dead bodies [will lie exposed] in the open street (^[b]a public square) of the great city which is in a spiritual sense called [by the mystical and allegorical names of] Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.^(G)

⁹ For three and a half days men from the races and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and will not allow them to be put in a tomb.

¹⁰ And those who dwell on the earth will gloat and exult over them and rejoice exceedingly, taking their ease and sending presents [in congratulation] to one another, because these two prophets had been such a vexation and trouble and torment to all the dwellers on the earth.

¹¹ But after three and a half days, by God’s gift the breath of life again entered into them, and they rose up on their feet, and great dread and terror fell on those who watched them.^(H)

¹² Then [the two witnesses] heard a strong voice from heaven calling to them, Come up here! And before the very eyes of their enemies they ascended into heaven in a cloud.^(I)

¹³ And at that [very] hour there was a tremendous earthquake and one tenth of the city was destroyed (fell); seven thousand people perished in the earthquake, and those who remained were filled with dread and terror and were awe-struck, and they glorified the God of heaven.

¹⁴ The second woe (calamity) has passed; now the third woe is speedily to come.