Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
How Awesome Are Your Deeds
To the choirmaster. A Song. A Psalm.
66 (A)Shout for joy to God, all the earth;
2 sing the glory of his name;
(B)give to him glorious praise!
3 Say to God, (C)“How awesome are your deeds!
So great is your power that your enemies (D)come cringing to you.
4 (E)All the earth worships you
and sings praises to you;
they sing praises to your name.” Selah
5 (F)Come and see what God has done:
(G)he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man.
6 He (H)turned the sea into dry land;
they (I)passed through the river on foot.
There did we rejoice in him,
7 who rules by his might forever,
whose (J)eyes keep watch on the nations—
let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah
8 Bless our God, O peoples;
let the sound of his praise be heard,
9 who has kept our soul among the living
and (K)has not let our feet slip.
47 “Therefore, behold, the days are coming
when (A)I will punish the images of Babylon;
(B)her whole land shall be put to shame,
and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.
48 (C)Then the heavens and the earth,
and all that is in them,
shall sing for joy over Babylon,
(D)for the destroyers shall come against them out of the north,
declares the Lord.
49 Babylon must fall for the slain of Israel,
(E)just as for Babylon have fallen the slain of all the earth.
50 (F)“You who have escaped from the sword,
go, do not stand still!
Remember the Lord from far away,
and let Jerusalem come into your mind:
51 (G)‘We are put to shame, for we have heard reproach;
(H)dishonor has covered our face,
(I)for foreigners have come
into the holy places of the Lord's house.’
52 “Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord,
when (J)I will execute judgment upon her images,
(K)and through all her land
the wounded shall groan.
53 Though Babylon should (L)mount up to heaven,
and though she should (M)fortify her strong height,
yet destroyers would come from me against her,
declares the Lord.
54 (N)“A voice! A cry from Babylon!
The noise of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans!
55 For the Lord is laying Babylon waste
and stilling her mighty voice.
(O)Their waves roar like many waters;
the noise of their voice is raised,
56 for a destroyer has come upon her,
upon Babylon;
her warriors are taken;
their bows are broken in pieces,
(P)for the Lord is a God of recompense;
he will surely repay.
57 (Q)I will make drunk her officials and her wise men,
(R)her governors, her commanders, and her warriors;
they shall sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake,
declares (S)the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.
Encouragement to Give Generously
8 We want you to know, brothers,[a] about the grace of God that has been (A)given among the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and (B)their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For they gave (C)according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, 4 begging us earnestly (D)for the favor[b] of taking part in (E)the relief of the saints— 5 and this, not as we expected, but they (F)gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. 6 Accordingly, (G)we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you (H)this act of grace. 7 But as (I)you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you[c]—(J)see that you excel in this act of grace also.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.