Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Grieving over the Destruction of Jerusalem, and Prayer for Help.
A Psalm of Asaph.
79 God, the (A)nations have [a]invaded (B)Your inheritance;
They have defiled Your (C)holy temple;
They have (D)laid Jerusalem in ruins.
2 They have given the (E)dead bodies of Your servants to the birds of the sky as food,
The flesh of Your godly ones to the animals of the earth.
3 They have poured out their blood like water all around Jerusalem;
And there was (F)no one to bury them.
4 We have become a (G)disgrace before our neighbors,
An object of derision and ridicule to those around us.
5 (H)How long, Lord? Will You be angry forever?
Will Your (I)jealousy (J)burn like fire?
6 (K)Pour out Your wrath upon the nations which (L)do not know You,
And upon the kingdoms which (M)do not call upon Your name.
7 For they have (N)devoured Jacob
And (O)laid waste his [b]settlement.
8 (P)Do not [c]hold us responsible for [d]the guilty deeds of our forefathers;
Let Your compassion come quickly to (Q)meet us,
For we have (R)become very low.
9 (S)Help us, God of our salvation, for the glory of (T)Your name;
And save us and [e](U)forgive our sins (V)for the sake of Your name.
10 (W)Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”
Let (X)vengeance for the blood of Your servants which has been shed
Be known among the nations in our sight.
11 Let (Y)the groaning of the prisoner come before You;
According to the greatness of Your [f]power, let [g]those who are (Z)doomed to die remain.
12 And return to our neighbors (AA)seven times as much (AB)into their lap
Their (AC)taunts with which they have taunted You, Lord.
13 So we Your people and the (AD)sheep of Your [h]pasture
Will (AE)give thanks to You forever;
To all generations we will (AF)tell of Your praise.
6 “On that day,” declares the Lord,
“I will assemble those who (A)limp
And (B)gather the scattered,
Those whom I have afflicted.
7 I will make those who limp a (C)remnant,
And those who [a]have strayed a mighty nation,
And the (D)Lord will reign over them on Mount Zion
From now on and forever.
8 As for you, [b](E)tower of the flock,
[c]Hill of the daughter of Zion,
To you it will come—
Yes, the (F)former dominion will come,
The kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.
9 “Now, why do you (G)cry out loudly?
Is there no king among you,
Or has your (H)counselor perished,
That agony has gripped you like a woman in childbirth?
10 (I)Writhe and scream,
Daughter of Zion,
Like a woman in childbirth;
For now you will (J)go out of the city,
Live in the field,
And go to Babylon.
(K)There you will be rescued,
(L)There the Lord will redeem you
From the hand of your enemies.
11 And now (M)many nations have been assembled against you
Who say, ‘Let her be defiled,
And let our eyes [d]gloat over Zion!’
12 But they do not (N)know the thoughts of the Lord,
And they do not understand His plan;
For He has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.
13 Arise and (O)thresh, daughter of Zion,
For I will make your horn iron,
And I will make your hoofs bronze,
So that you may (P)pulverize many peoples,
And (Q)dedicate to the Lord their unjust profit,
And their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.
Babylon Is Fallen
18 After these things I saw another (A)angel (B)coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was (C)illuminated from his glory. 2 And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, “[a](D)Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She (E)has become a dwelling place of demons and a [b]prison of every (F)unclean spirit, and a [c]prison of every unclean and hateful bird. 3 For all the nations have fallen because of the (G)wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and (H)the kings of the earth have committed acts of sexual immorality with her, and the (I)merchants of the earth have become rich from the [d]excessive wealth of her [e](J)luxury.”
4 I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “(K)Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive any of her plagues; 5 for her sins have [f](L)piled up as high as heaven, and God has (M)remembered her offenses. 6 (N)Pay her back even as she has paid, and [g]give back to her double according to her deeds; in the (O)cup which she has mixed, mix twice as much for her. 7 (P)To the extent that she glorified herself and (Q)lived luxuriously, to the same extent give her torment and mourning; for she says in her heart, ‘(R)I sit as a queen and I am not a widow, and will never see mourning.’ 8 For this reason (S)in one day her plagues will come, [h]plague and mourning and famine, and she will be (T)burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her (U)is strong.
Grief over Babylon
9 “And (V)the kings of the earth, who committed acts of sexual immorality and (W)lived luxuriously with her, will (X)weep and mourn over her when they (Y)see the smoke of her burning, 10 (Z)standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, ‘(AA)Woe, woe, (AB)the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in (AC)one hour your judgment has come.’
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.