Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Praise the Lord’s Wonderful Works. Vanity of Idols.
135 [a](A)Praise [b]the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord;
Praise Him, O (B)servants of the Lord,
2 You who stand in the house of the Lord,
In the (C)courts of the house of our God!
3 [c]Praise [d]the Lord, for (D)the Lord is good;
(E)Sing praises to His name, (F)for it is lovely.
4 For [e]the Lord has (G)chosen Jacob for Himself,
Israel for His [f](H)own possession.
5 For I know that (I)the Lord is great
And that our Lord is (J)above all gods.
6 (K)Whatever the Lord pleases, He does,
In heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps.
7 [g]He (L)causes the [h]vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth;
Who (M)makes lightnings for the rain,
Who (N)brings forth the wind from His treasuries.
8 [i]He (O)smote the firstborn of Egypt,
[j]Both of man and beast.
9 [k]He sent (P)signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt,
Upon (Q)Pharaoh and all his servants.
10 [l](R)He (S)smote many nations
And slew mighty kings,
11 (T)Sihon, king of the Amorites,
And (U)Og, king of Bashan,
And (V)all the kingdoms of Canaan;
12 And He (W)gave their land as a heritage,
A heritage to Israel His people.
13 Your (X)name, O Lord, is everlasting,
Your [m]remembrance, O Lord, [n]throughout all generations.
14 For the Lord will (Y)judge His people
And (Z)will have compassion on His servants.
15 The (AA)idols of the nations are but silver and gold,
The work of man’s hands.
16 They have mouths, but they do not speak;
They have eyes, but they do not see;
17 They have ears, but they do not hear,
Nor is there any breath at all in their mouths.
18 Those who make them will be like them,
Yes, everyone who trusts in them.
The King’s Golden Image
3 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an (A)image of gold, the height of which was sixty [a]cubits and its width six [b]cubits; he set it up on the plain of Dura in the (B)province of Babylon. 2 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent word to assemble the (C)satraps, the prefects and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates and all the rulers of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. 3 Then the satraps, the prefects and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates and all the rulers of the provinces were assembled for the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 4 Then the herald loudly proclaimed: “To you [c]the command is given, (D)O peoples, nations and men of every [d]language, 5 that at the moment you (E)hear the sound of the horn, flute, [e]lyre, [f]trigon, [g]psaltery, bagpipe and all kinds of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up. 6 But whoever does not fall down and worship shall [h]immediately be (F)cast into the midst of a (G)furnace of blazing fire.” 7 Therefore at that time, when all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, flute, [i]lyre, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations and men of every [j]language fell down and worshiped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
Worship of the Image Refused
8 For this reason at that time certain (H)Chaldeans came forward and [k](I)brought charges against the Jews. 9 They responded and said to Nebuchadnezzar the king: “(J)O king, live forever! 10 You, O king, have (K)made a decree that every man who hears the sound of the horn, flute, [l]lyre, trigon, psaltery, and bagpipe and all kinds of music, is to (L)fall down and worship the golden image. 11 But whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire. 12 There are certain Jews whom you have (M)appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon, namely Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. These men, O king, have disregarded you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up.”
13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in (N)rage and anger gave orders to bring Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego; then these men were brought before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar responded and said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, that you do not serve (O)my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? 15 Now if you are ready, (P)at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, [m]lyre, trigon, psaltery and bagpipe and all kinds of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, very well. But if you do not worship, you will [n]immediately be (Q)cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire; and (R)what god is there who can deliver you out of my hands?”
16 (S)Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. 17 [o]If it be so, our (T)God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; [p]and (U)He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 (V)But even if He does not, (W)let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
Daniel’s Friends Protected
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with (X)wrath, and his facial expression was altered toward Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. He answered [q]by giving orders to heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. 20 He commanded certain valiant warriors who were in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego in order to cast them into the furnace of blazing fire. 21 Then these men were tied up in their [r](Y)trousers, their [s]coats, their caps and their other clothes, and were cast into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire. 22 For this reason, because the king’s [t]command was [u](Z)urgent and the furnace had been made extremely hot, the flame of the fire slew those men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. 23 But these three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, (AA)fell into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire still tied up.
24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and stood up in haste; he said to his high officials, “Was it not three men we cast bound into the midst of the fire?” They replied to the king, “Certainly, O king.” 25 He said, “Look! I see four men loosed and (AB)walking about in the midst of the fire [v]without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the (AC)gods!” 26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the furnace of blazing fire; he responded and said, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, come out, you servants of the (AD)Most High God, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego (AE)came out of the midst of the fire. 27 The (AF)satraps, the prefects, the governors and the king’s high officials gathered around and saw in regard to these men that the (AG)fire had no [w]effect on [x]the bodies of these men nor was the hair of their head singed, nor were their [y](AH)trousers [z]damaged, nor had the smell of fire even come upon them.
28 Nebuchadnezzar responded and said, “Blessed be the (AI)God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, who has (AJ)sent His angel and delivered His servants who put their (AK)trust in Him, [aa]violating the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies so as (AL)not to serve or worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I (AM)make a decree that any people, nation or tongue that speaks anything offensive against the God of (AN)Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego shall be torn limb from limb and their (AO)houses reduced to a rubbish heap, inasmuch as there is (AP)no other god who is able to deliver in this way.” 30 Then the king (AQ)caused Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego to prosper in the province of Babylon.
3 (A)By this we know that we have come to (B)know Him, if we (C)keep His commandments. 4 The one who says, “(D)I have come to (E)know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a (F)liar, and (G)the truth is not in him; 5 but whoever (H)keeps His word, in him the (I)love of God has truly been perfected. (J)By this we know that we are in Him: 6 the one who says he (K)abides in Him (L)ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.
7 (M)Beloved, I am (N)not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had (O)from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard. 8 [a]On the other hand, I am writing (P)a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because (Q)the darkness is passing away and (R)the true Light is already shining. 9 The one who says he is in the Light and yet (S)hates his (T)brother is in the darkness until now. 10 (U)The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. 11 But the one who (V)hates his brother is in the darkness and (W)walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has (X)blinded his eyes.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.