Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
To the director: With instruments. One of Asaph’s songs of praise.
76 People in Judah know God.
People in Israel respect his name.
2 His Temple is in Salem.[a]
His house is on Mount Zion.
3 There he shattered the arrows,
shields, swords, and other weapons of war. Selah
4 God, you are glorious coming back
from the hills where you defeated your enemies.
5 They thought they were strong, but now they lie dead in the fields.
Their bodies are stripped of all they owned.
They could not defend themselves.[b]
6 The God of Jacob shouted at them,
and their army of chariots and horses fell dead.
7 God, you are awesome!
No one can stand against you when you are angry.
8-9 You stood as judge and announced your decision.
You saved the humble people of the land.
From heaven you gave the decision,
and the whole earth was silent and afraid.
10 Even human anger can bring you honor
when you use it to punish your enemies.[c]
11 People, you made promises to the Lord your God.
Now give him what you promised.
People everywhere fear and respect God,
and they will bring gifts to him.
12 God defeats great leaders;
all the kings on earth fear him.
The Message Against Egypt
29 On the twelfth day of the tenth month of the tenth year of exile,[a] the word of the Lord came to me. He said, 2 “Son of man,[b] look toward Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Speak for me against him and Egypt. 3 Say, ‘This is what the Lord God says:
“‘I am against you, Pharaoh, king of Egypt.
You are the great monster[c] lying beside the Nile River.
You say, “This is my river!
I made this river!”
4-5 “‘But I will put hooks in your jaws.
The fish in the Nile River will stick to your scales.
I will pull you and your fish up
out of your rivers and onto the dry land.
You will fall on the ground,
and no one will pick you up or bury you.
I will give you to the wild animals and birds.
You will be their food.
6 Then all the people living in Egypt
will know that I am the Lord!
“‘Why will I do these things?
Because the people of Israel leaned on Egypt for support,
but Egypt was only a weak blade of grass.
7 The people of Israel leaned on Egypt for support,
but Egypt only pierced their hands and shoulder.
They leaned on you for support,
but you broke and twisted their back.’”
8 So this is what the Lord God says:
“I will bring a sword against you.
I will destroy all your people and animals.
9 Egypt will be empty and destroyed.
Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
God said, “Why will I do these things? Because you said, ‘This is my river. I made this river.’ 10 So I am against you. I am against the many branches of your Nile River. I will destroy Egypt completely. The cities will be empty from Migdol to Aswan and as far as the border of Ethiopia. 11 No person or animal will pass through Egypt. Nothing will pass through or settle there for 40 years. 12 I will destroy Egypt. The cities will be in ruins for 40 years! I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations. I will make them strangers[d] in foreign lands.”
The Seventh Trumpet Blast
15 The seventh angel blew his trumpet. Then there were loud voices in heaven. The voices said,
“The kingdom of the world has now become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah.
And he will rule forever and ever.”
16 Then the 24 elders bowed down on their faces and worshiped God. These are the elders who sit on their thrones before God. 17 The elders said,
“We give thanks to you, Lord God All-Powerful.
You are the one who is and who always was.
We thank you because you have used your great power
and have begun to rule.
18 The people of the world were angry,
but now is the time for your anger.
Now is the time for the dead to be judged.
It is time to reward your servants, the prophets,
and to reward your holy people,
the people, great and small, who respect you.
It is time to destroy those people who destroy the earth!”
19 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened. The Box of the Agreement[a] could be seen in his temple. Then there were flashes of lightning, noises, thunder, an earthquake, and a great hailstorm.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International