Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 75[a]
For the music director, according to the al-tashcheth style;[b] a psalm of Asaph, a song.
75 We give thanks to you, O God. We give thanks.
You reveal your presence;[c]
people tell about your amazing deeds.
2 God says,[d]
“At the appointed times,[e]
I judge[f] fairly.
3 When the earth and all its inhabitants dissolve in fear,[g]
I make its pillars secure.”[h] (Selah)
4 [i] I say to the proud, “Do not be proud,”
and to the wicked, “Do not be so confident of victory.[j]
5 Do not be so certain you have won.[k]
Do not speak with your head held so high.[l]
6 For victory does not come from the east or west,
or from the wilderness.[m]
7 For God is the judge.[n]
He brings one down and exalts another.[o]
8 For the Lord holds in his hand a cup
full of foaming wine mixed with spices,[p]
and pours it out.[q]
Surely all the wicked of the earth
will slurp it up and drink it to its very last drop.”[r]
9 As for me, I will continually tell what you have done;[s]
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10 God says,[t]
“I will bring down all the power of the wicked;
the godly will be victorious.”[u]
Introduction
1 This is an oracle[a] about Nineveh; the book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite:[b]
God Takes Vengeance against His Enemies
2 The Lord is a zealous[c] and avenging[d] God;
the Lord is avenging and very angry.[e]
The Lord takes vengeance[f] against his foes;
he sustains his rage[g] against his enemies.
3 The Lord is slow to anger[h] but great in power;[i]
the Lord will certainly not[j] allow the wicked[k] to go unpunished.
The Divine Warrior Destroys His Enemies but Protects His People
He marches out[l] in the whirlwind and the raging storm;
dark storm clouds billow like dust under his feet.[m]
4 He shouts a battle cry[n] against the sea[o] and makes it dry up;[p]
he makes all the rivers[q] run dry.
Bashan and Carmel wither;[r]
the blossom of Lebanon withers.
5 The mountains tremble before him,[s]
the hills convulse;[t]
the earth is laid waste[u] before him,
the world and all its inhabitants[v] are laid waste.[w]
6 No one can withstand[x] his indignation![y]
No one can resist[z] his fierce anger![aa]
His wrath is poured out like volcanic fire,
boulders are broken up[ab] as he approaches.[ac]
7 The Lord is good[ad]—
indeed,[ae] he is a fortress[af] in time of distress,[ag]
and he protects[ah] those who seek refuge[ai] in him.
8 But with an overwhelming flood[aj]
he will make a complete end of Nineveh;[ak]
he will drive[al] his enemies into darkness.
Denunciation and Destruction of Nineveh
9 Whatever[am] you plot[an] against the Lord, he will completely destroy![ao]
Distress[ap] will not arise[aq] a second time.
10 Surely they will be totally consumed[ar]
like[as] entangled thorn bushes,[at]
like the drink of drunkards,[au]
like very[av] dry stubble.
11 From you, O Nineveh,[aw] one has marched forth who plots evil against the Lord,
a wicked military strategist.[ax]
Oracle of Deliverance to Judah
12 This is what the Lord says:[ay]
“Even though[az] they are powerful[ba]—
and what is more,[bb] even though their army is numerous[bc]—
nevertheless,[bd] they will be destroyed[be] and trickle away![bf]
Although I afflicted you,
I will afflict you no more.[bg]
13 And now,[bh] I will break Assyria’s[bi] yoke bar[bj] from your neck;[bk]
I will tear apart the shackles[bl] that are on you.”[bm]
12 This requires[a] the steadfast endurance[b] of the saints—those who obey[c] God’s commandments and hold to[d] their faith in Jesus.[e]
13 Then[f] I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this:
‘Blessed are the dead,
those who die in the Lord from this moment on!’”
“Yes,” says the Spirit, “so they can rest from their hard work,[g] because their deeds will follow them.”[h]
14 Then[i] I looked, and a white cloud appeared,[j] and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man![k] He had[l] a golden crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. 15 Then[m] another angel came out of the temple, shouting in a loud voice to the one seated on the cloud, “Use[n] your sickle and start to reap,[o] because the time to reap has come, since the earth’s harvest is ripe!” 16 So[p] the one seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped.
17 Then[q] another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 18 Another[r] angel, who was in charge of[s] the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to the angel[t] who had the sharp sickle, “Use[u] your sharp sickle and gather[v] the clusters of grapes[w] off the vine of the earth,[x] because its grapes[y] are now ripe.”[z] 19 So[aa] the angel swung his sickle over the earth and gathered the grapes from the vineyard[ab] of the earth and tossed them into the great[ac] winepress of the wrath of God. 20 Then[ad] the winepress was stomped[ae] outside the city, and blood poured out of the winepress up to the height of horses’ bridles[af] for a distance of almost 200 miles.[ag]
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.