Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 98[a]
A psalm.
98 Sing to the Lord a new song,[b]
for he performs[c] amazing deeds.
His right hand and his mighty arm
accomplish deliverance.[d]
2 The Lord demonstrates his power to deliver;[e]
in the sight of the nations he reveals his justice.
3 He remains loyal and faithful to the family of Israel.[f]
All the ends of the earth see our God deliver us.[g]
4 Shout out praises to the Lord, all the earth.
Break out in a joyful shout and sing!
5 Sing to the Lord accompanied by a harp,
accompanied by a harp and the sound of music.
6 With trumpets and the blaring of the ram’s horn,
shout out praises before the king, the Lord.
7 Let the sea and everything in it shout,
along with the world and those who live in it.
8 Let the rivers clap their hands!
Let the mountains sing in unison
9 before the Lord.
For he comes to judge the earth.
He judges the world fairly,[h]
and the nations in a just manner.
God’s Glory Leaves the Temple
10 As I watched, I saw[a] on the platform[b] above the top of the cherubim something like a sapphire, resembling the shape of a throne, appearing above them. 2 The Lord[c] said to the man dressed in linen, “Go between the wheelwork[d] underneath the cherubim.[e] Fill your hands with burning coals from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city.” He went as I watched.
3 (The cherubim were standing on the south side[f] of the temple when the man went in, and a cloud filled the inner court.) 4 Then the glory of the Lord arose from the cherub and moved to the threshold of the temple. The temple was filled with the cloud while the court was filled with the brightness of the Lord’s glory. 5 The sound of the wings of the cherubim could be heard from the outer court, like the sound of the Sovereign God[g] when he speaks.
6 When the Lord[h] commanded the man dressed in linen, “Take fire from within the wheelwork, from among the cherubim,” the man[i] went in and stood by one of the wheels.[j] 7 Then one of the cherubim[k] stretched out his hand[l] toward the fire that was among the cherubim. He took some and put it into the hands of the man dressed in linen, who took it and left. 8 (The cherubim appeared to have the form[m] of human hands under their wings.)
9 As I watched, I noticed[n] four wheels by the cherubim, one wheel beside each cherub;[o] the wheels gleamed like jasper.[p] 10 As for their appearance, all four of them looked the same, something like a wheel within a wheel.[q] 11 When they[r] moved, they would go in any of the four directions they faced without turning as they moved; in the direction the head would turn they would follow[s] without turning as they moved, 12 along with their entire bodies,[t] their backs, their hands, and their wings. The wheels of the four of them were full of eyes all around. 13 As for their wheels, they were called “the wheelwork”[u] as I listened. 14 Each of the cherubim[v] had four faces: The first was the face of a cherub,[w] the second that of a man, the third that of a lion, and the fourth that of an eagle.
15 The cherubim rose up; these were the living beings[x] I saw at the Kebar River. 16 When the cherubim moved, the wheels moved beside them; when the cherubim spread[y] their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels did not move from their side. 17 When the cherubim[z] stood still, the wheels[aa] stood still, and when they rose up, the wheels[ab] rose up with them, for the spirit[ac] of the living beings[ad] was in the wheels.[ae]
18 Then the glory of the Lord moved away from the threshold of the temple and stopped above the cherubim. 19 The cherubim spread[af] their wings, and they rose up from the earth[ag] while I watched (when they went, the wheels went alongside them). They stopped at the entrance to the east gate of the Lord’s temple as the glory of the God of Israel hovered above them.
The Coming of the Kingdom
20 Now at one point[a] the Pharisees[b] asked Jesus[c] when the kingdom of God[d] was coming, so he answered, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs[e] to be observed, 21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is[f] in your midst.”[g]
The Coming of the Son of Man
22 Then[h] he said to the disciples, “The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days[i] of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 23 Then people[j] will say to you, ‘Look, there he is!’[k] or ‘Look, here he is!’ Do not go out or chase after them.[l] 24 For just like the lightning flashes[m] and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day.[n] 25 But first he must[o] suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. 26 Just[p] as it was[q] in the days of Noah,[r] so too it will be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 People[s] were eating,[t] they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage—right up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then[u] the flood came and destroyed them all.[v] 28 Likewise, just as it was[w] in the days of Lot, people[x] were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building; 29 but on the day Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.[y] 30 It will be the same on the day the Son of Man is revealed. 31 On that day, anyone who is on the roof,[z] with his goods in the house, must not come down[aa] to take them away, and likewise the person in the field must not turn back. 32 Remember Lot’s wife![ab] 33 Whoever tries to keep[ac] his life[ad] will lose it,[ae] but whoever loses his life will preserve it. 34 I tell you, in that night there will be two people in one bed; one will be taken and the other left.[af] 35 There will be two women grinding grain together;[ag] one will be taken and the other left.”[ah]
37 Then[ai] the disciples[aj] said[ak] to him, “Where,[al] Lord?” He replied to them, “Where the dead body[am] is, there the vultures[an] will gather.”[ao]
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