Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Evening Prayer for Help[a]
4 Answer me when I pray,
O God, my defender!
When I was in trouble, you helped me.
Be kind to me now and hear my prayer.
2 How long will you people insult me?
How long will you love what is worthless
and go after what is false?
3 Remember that the Lord has chosen the righteous for his own,
and he hears me when I call to him.
4 (A)Tremble with fear and stop sinning;
think deeply about this,
when you lie in silence on your beds.
5 Offer the right sacrifices to the Lord,
and put your trust in him.
6 There are many who pray:
“Give us more blessings, O Lord.
Look on us with kindness!”
7 But the joy that you have given me
is more than they will ever have
with all their grain and wine.
8 When I lie down, I go to sleep in peace;
you alone, O Lord, keep me perfectly safe.
2 At that time I was mourning for three weeks. 3 I did not eat any rich food or any meat, drink any wine, or comb my hair until the three weeks were past.
4 On the twenty-fourth day of the first month of the year I was standing on the bank of the mighty Tigris River. 5 (A)I looked up and saw someone who was wearing linen clothes and a belt of fine gold. 6 His body shone like a jewel. His face was as bright as a flash of lightning, and his eyes blazed like fire. His arms and legs shone like polished bronze, and his voice sounded like the roar of a great crowd.
7 I was the only one who saw the vision. Those who were with me did not see anything, but they were terrified and ran and hid. 8 I was left there alone, watching this amazing vision. I had no strength left, and my face was so changed that no one could have recognized me. 9 When I heard his voice, I fell to the ground unconscious and lay there face downward. 10 Then a hand took hold of me and raised me to my hands and knees; I was still trembling.
11 The angel said to me, “Daniel, God loves you. Stand up and listen carefully to what I am going to say. I have been sent to you.” When he had said this, I stood up, still trembling.
12 Then he said, “Daniel, don't be afraid. God has heard your prayers ever since the first day you decided to humble yourself in order to gain understanding. I have come in answer to your prayer. 13 (B)The angel prince of the kingdom of Persia opposed me for twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief angels, came to help me, because I had been left there alone in Persia. 14 I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the future. This is a vision about the future.”
15 When he said this, I stared at the ground, speechless. 16 Then the angel, who looked like a human being, reached out and touched my lips. I said to him, “Sir, this vision makes me so weak that I can't stop trembling. 17 I am like a slave standing before his master. How can I talk to you? I have no strength or breath left in me.”
18 Once more he took hold of me, and I felt stronger. 19 He said, “God loves you, so don't let anything worry you or frighten you.”
When he had said this, I felt even stronger and said, “Sir, tell me what you have to say. You have made me feel better.”
26 I am writing this to you about those who are trying to deceive you. 27 But as for you, Christ has poured out his Spirit on you. As long as his Spirit remains in you, you do not need anyone to teach you. For his Spirit teaches you about everything, and what he teaches is true, not false. Obey the Spirit's teaching, then, and remain in union with Christ.
28 Yes, my children, remain in union with him, so that when he appears we may be full of courage and need not hide in shame from him on the Day he comes.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.