Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
An Appeal against the Devastation of the Land by the Enemy.
A [a]Maskil of Asaph.
74 O God, why have You (A)rejected us forever?
Why does Your anger (B)smoke against the (C)sheep of Your [b]pasture?
2 Remember Your congregation, which You have (D)purchased of old,
Which You have (E)redeemed to be the (F)tribe of Your inheritance;
And this Mount (G)Zion, where You have dwelt.
3 [c]Turn Your footsteps toward the (H)perpetual ruins;
The enemy (I)has damaged everything within the sanctuary.
4 Your adversaries have (J)roared in the midst of Your meeting place;
They have set up their (K)own [d]standards (L)for signs.
5 It seems as if one had lifted up
His [e](M)axe in a [f]forest of trees.
6 And now [g]all its (N)carved work
They smash with hatchet and [h]hammers.
7 They have [i](O)burned Your sanctuary [j]to the ground;
They have (P)defiled the dwelling place of Your name.
8 They (Q)said in their heart, “Let us [k]completely [l]subdue them.”
They have burned all the meeting places of God in the land.
9 We do not see our (R)signs;
There is (S)no longer any prophet,
Nor is there any among us who knows (T)how long.
10 How long, O God, will the adversary (U)revile,
And the enemy (V)spurn Your name forever?
11 Why (W)do You withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand?
From within Your bosom, (X)destroy them!
12 Yet God is (Y)my king from of old,
Who works deeds of deliverance in the midst of the earth.
13 [m]You (Z)divided the sea by Your strength;
[n]You (AA)broke the heads of the (AB)sea monsters [o]in the waters.
14 [p]You crushed the heads of [q](AC)Leviathan;
[r]You gave him as food for the [s]creatures (AD)of the wilderness.
15 [t]You (AE)broke open springs and torrents;
[u]You (AF)dried up ever-flowing streams.
16 Yours is the day, Yours also is the night;
[v]You have (AG)prepared the [w]light and the sun.
17 [x]You have (AH)established all the boundaries of the earth;
[y]You have [z]made (AI)summer and winter.
18 Remember this, [aa]O Lord, that the enemy has (AJ)reviled,
And a (AK)foolish people has spurned Your name.
19 Do not deliver the soul of Your (AL)turtledove to the wild beast;
(AM)Do not forget the life of Your afflicted forever.
20 Consider the (AN)covenant;
For the (AO)dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.
21 Let not the (AP)oppressed return dishonored;
Let the (AQ)afflicted and needy praise Your name.
17 When Ahab saw Elijah, (A)Ahab said to him, “Is this you, you troubler of Israel?” 18 He said, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, because (B)you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and (C)you have followed the Baals. 19 Now then send and gather to me all Israel at (D)Mount Carmel, (E)together with 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of (F)the Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
God or Baal on Mount Carmel
20 So Ahab sent a message among all the sons of Israel and brought the prophets together at Mount Carmel. 21 Elijah came near to all the people and said, “(G)How long will you [a]hesitate between two opinions? (H)If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people did not answer him a word. 22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I (I)alone am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal’s prophets are (J)450 men. 23 Now let them give us two oxen; and let them choose one ox for themselves and cut it up, and place it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other ox and lay it on the wood, and I will not put a fire under it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord, and (K)the God who answers by fire, He is God.” And all the people said, “[b]That is a good idea.”
25 So Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one ox for yourselves and prepare it first for you are many, and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it.” 26 Then they took the ox which [c]was given them and they prepared it and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon saying, “O Baal, answer us.” But there was (L)no voice and no one answered. And they [d]leaped about the altar which [e]they made. 27 It came about at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Call out with a loud voice, for he is a god; either he is occupied or gone aside, or is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and needs to be awakened.” 28 So they cried with a loud voice and (M)cut themselves according to their custom with swords and lances until the blood gushed out on them. 29 When midday was past, they [f]raved (N)until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice; but there was no voice, no one answered, and no [g]one paid attention.
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. And (O)he repaired the altar of the Lord which had been torn down. 31 Elijah took twelve stones according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “(P)Israel shall be your name.” 32 So with the stones he built an altar in (Q)the name of the Lord, and he made a trench around the altar, large enough to hold two [h]measures of seed. 33 (R)Then he arranged the wood and cut the ox in pieces and laid it on the wood. 34 And he said, “Fill four pitchers with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” And he said, “Do it a second time,” and they did it a second time. And he said, “Do it a third time,” and they did it a third time. 35 The water flowed around the altar and he also filled the trench with water.
Elijah’s Prayer
36 (S)At the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “(T)O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that (U)You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and (V)I have done all these things at Your word. 37 Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that You, O Lord, are God, and that You have turned their heart back again.” 38 Then the (W)fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “(X)The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God.” 40 Then Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; do not let one of them escape.” So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to (Y)the brook Kishon, (Z)and slew them there.
Satan Freed, Doomed
7 When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be (A)released from his prison, 8 and will come out to (B)deceive the nations which are in the (C)four corners of the earth, (D)Gog and Magog, to (E)gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the (F)sand of the [a]seashore. 9 And they (G)came up on the [b]broad plain of the earth and surrounded the (H)camp of the [c]saints and the (I)beloved city, and (J)fire came down from heaven and devoured them. 10 And (K)the devil who (L)deceived them was thrown into the (M)lake of fire and [d]brimstone, where the (N)beast and the (O)false prophet are also; and they will be (P)tormented day and night forever and ever.
Judgment at the Throne of God
11 Then I saw a great white (Q)throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose [e]presence (R)earth and heaven fled away, and (S)no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, the (T)great and the small, standing before the throne, and [f](U)books were opened; and another [g]book was opened, which is (V)the book of life; and the dead (W)were judged from the things which were written in the [h]books, (X)according to their deeds. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and (Y)death and Hades (Z)gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them (AA)according to their deeds. 14 Then (AB)death and Hades were thrown into (AC)the lake of fire. This is the (AD)second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if [i]anyone’s name was not found written in (AE)the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.