Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
9 [a]For you have made the Lord, (A)my refuge,
The Most High, (B)your dwelling place.
10 (C)No evil will happen to you,
Nor will any plague come near your [b]tent.
11 For He will give (D)His angels orders concerning you,
To protect you in all your ways.
12 On their hands they will (E)lift you up,
So that you do not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will (F)walk upon the lion and cobra,
You will trample the young lion and the [c]serpent.
14 “(G)Because he has loved Me, I will save him;
I will (H)set him securely on high, because he has (I)known My name.
15 He will (J)call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in [d]trouble;
I will rescue him and (K)honor him.
16 I will satisfy him with [e]a (L)long life,
And [f](M)show him My salvation.”
Mourning for Babylon
47 “(A)Come down and sit in the dust,
(B)Virgin (C)daughter of Babylon;
Sit on the ground without a throne,
Daughter of the Chaldeans!
For you will no longer be called (D)tender and delicate.
2 Take the (E)millstones and (F)grind flour.
Remove your (G)veil, (H)strip off the skirt,
Uncover the leg, cross the rivers.
3 Your (I)nakedness will be uncovered,
Your shame will also be exposed;
I will (J)take vengeance and will not spare anyone.”
4 Our (K)Redeemer, the Lord of armies is His name,
The Holy One of Israel.
5 “(L)Sit silently, and go into (M)darkness,
Daughter of the Chaldeans;
For you will no longer be called
The (N)queen of (O)kingdoms.
6 I was angry with My people,
I profaned My heritage
And handed them over to you.
You did not show mercy to them,
On the (P)aged you made your yoke very heavy.
7 Yet you said, ‘I will be a (Q)queen forever.’
These things you did not (R)consider
Nor remember the (S)outcome of [a]them.
8 “Now, then, hear this, you (T)luxuriant one,
Who (U)lives securely,
Who says in her heart,
‘(V)I am, and there is no one besides me.
I will (W)not sit as a widow,
Nor know the loss of children.’
9 But these (X)two things will come on you (Y)suddenly in one day:
Loss of children and widowhood.
They will come on you in full measure
In spite of your many (Z)sorceries,
In spite of the great power of your spells.
The Doom of Babylon
17 (A)Then one of the (B)seven angels who had the (C)seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you (D)the judgment of the (E)great prostitute who (F)sits on many waters, 2 with whom (G)the kings of the earth committed acts of sexual immorality, and (H)those who live on the earth (I)became drunk with the wine of her sexual immorality.” 3 And (J)he carried me away [a](K)in the Spirit (L)into a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting on a (M)scarlet beast, full of (N)blasphemous names, having (O)seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman (P)was clothed in purple and scarlet, and [b]adorned with gold, precious [c]stones, and pearls, holding in her hand (Q)a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her sexual immorality, 5 and on her forehead a name was written, [d]a (R)mystery: “(S)BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF (T)THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” 6 And I saw the woman drunk with (U)the blood of the [e]saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered [f]greatly. 7 And the angel said to me, “Why [g]do you wonder? I will tell you the (V)mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the (W)seven heads and the ten horns.
8 “(X)The beast that you saw (Y)was, and is not, and is about to (Z)come up out of the (AA)abyss and [h](AB)go to destruction. And (AC)those who live on the earth, (AD)whose names have not been written in the book of life (AE)from the foundation of the world, will (AF)wonder when they see the beast, that he was, and is not, and will [i]come. 9 (AG)Here is the mind which has wisdom. The (AH)seven heads are seven mountains upon which the woman sits, 10 and they are seven (AI)kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while. 11 The beast which (AJ)was, and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he (AK)goes to destruction. 12 The (AL)ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast (AM)for one hour. 13 These have (AN)one [j]purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast.
Victory for the Lamb
14 These will wage (AO)war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will (AP)overcome them because He is (AQ)Lord of lords and (AR)King of kings; and (AS)those who are with Him are the (AT)called and chosen and faithful.”
15 And he *said to me, “The (AU)waters which you saw where the prostitute sits are (AV)peoples and multitudes, and nations and languages. 16 And the (AW)ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the prostitute and will make her (AX)desolate and (AY)naked, and will (AZ)eat her flesh and will (BA)burn her up with fire. 17 For (BB)God has put it in their hearts to execute His [k]purpose [l]by (BC)having a common purpose, and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the (BD)words of God will be fulfilled. 18 The woman whom you saw is (BE)the great city, which [m]reigns over the kings of the earth.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.