Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Book 4 (Psalms 90-106)
Psalm 90[a]
A prayer of Moses, the man of God.
90 O Lord, you have been our protector[b] through all generations.
2 Even before the mountains came into existence,[c]
or you brought the world into being,[d]
you were the eternal God.[e]
3 You make mankind return[f] to the dust,[g]
and say, “Return, O people.”
4 Yes,[h] in your eyes a thousand years
are like yesterday that quickly passes,
or like one of the divisions of the nighttime.[i]
5 You bring their lives to an end and they “fall asleep.”[j]
In the morning they are like the grass that sprouts up:
6 In the morning it glistens[k] and sprouts up;
at evening time it withers[l] and dries up.
7 Yes,[m] we are consumed by your anger;
we are terrified by your wrath.
8 You are aware of our sins;[n]
you even know about our hidden sins.[o]
9 Yes,[a] throughout all our days we experience your raging fury;[b]
the years of our lives pass quickly, like a sigh.[c]
10 The days of our lives add up to seventy years,[d]
or eighty, if one is especially strong.[e]
But even one’s best years are marred by trouble and oppression.[f]
Yes,[g] they pass quickly[h] and we fly away.[i]
11 Who can really fathom the intensity of your anger?[j]
Your raging fury causes people to fear you.[k]
The End Arrives
7 The Lord’s message came to me: 2 “You, son of man—this is what the Sovereign Lord says to the land of Israel: An end! The end is coming on the four corners of the land![a] 3 The end is now upon you, and I will release my anger against you. I will judge[b] you according to your behavior;[c] I will hold you accountable for[d] all your abominable practices. 4 My eye will not pity you; I will not spare[e] you.[f] For I will hold you responsible for your behavior,[g] and you will suffer the consequences of your abominable practices.[h] Then you will know that I am the Lord!
5 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: A disaster[i]—a one-of-a-kind[j] disaster—is coming! 6 An end comes[k]—the end comes![l] It has awakened against you![m] Look, it is coming![n] 7 Doom is coming upon you who live in the land! The time is coming, the day[o] is near. There are sounds of tumult, not shouts of joy, on the mountains.[p] 8 Soon now I will pour out my rage[q] on you; I will fully vent my anger against you. I will judge you according to your behavior. I will hold you accountable for all your abominable practices. 9 My eye will not pity you; I will not spare[r] you. For your behavior I will hold you accountable,[s] and you will suffer the consequences of your abominable practices. Then you will know that it is I, the Lord, who is striking you.[t]
8 Then[a] the fourth angel[b] poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was permitted to scorch people[c] with fire. 9 Thus[d] people[e] were scorched by the terrible heat,[f] yet[g] they blasphemed the name of God, who has ruling authority[h] over these plagues, and they would not repent and give him glory.
10 Then[i] the fifth angel[j] poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast so that[k] darkness covered his kingdom,[l] and people[m] began to bite[n] their tongues because[o] of their pain. 11 They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their sufferings[p] and because of their sores,[q] but nevertheless[r] they still refused to repent[s] of their deeds.
12 Then[t] the sixth angel[u] poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates and dried up its water[v] to prepare the way[w] for the kings from the east.[x] 13 Then[y] I saw three unclean spirits[z] that looked like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 For they are the spirits of the demons performing signs who go out to the kings of the earth[aa] to bring them together for the battle that will take place on the great day of God, the All-Powerful.[ab]
15 (Look ! I will come like a thief!
Blessed is the one who stays alert and does not lose[ac] his clothes so that he will not have to walk around naked and his shameful condition[ad] be seen.)[ae]
16 Now[af] the spirits[ag] gathered the kings and their armies[ah] to the place that is called Armageddon[ai] in Hebrew.
17 Finally[aj] the seventh angel[ak] poured out his bowl into the air and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying: “It is done!” 18 Then[al] there were flashes of lightning, roaring,[am] and crashes of thunder, and there was a tremendous earthquake—an earthquake unequaled since humanity[an] has been on the earth, so tremendous was that earthquake. 19 The[ao] great city was split into three parts and the cities of the nations[ap] collapsed.[aq] So[ar] Babylon the great was remembered before God, and was given the cup[as] filled with the wine made of God’s furious wrath.[at] 20 Every[au] island fled away[av] and no mountains could be found.[aw] 21 And gigantic hailstones, weighing about a 100 pounds[ax] each, fell from heaven[ay] on people,[az] but they[ba] blasphemed God because of the plague of hail, since it[bb] was so horrendous.[bc]
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