Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 93

¹ The Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty; the Lord is robed, He has girded Himself with strength and power; the world also is established, that it cannot be moved.

² Your throne is established from of old; You are from everlasting.

³ The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up the roaring of their waves.

⁴ The Lord on high is mightier and more glorious than the noise of many waters, yes, than the mighty breakers and waves of the sea.

⁵ Your testimonies are very sure; holiness [apparent in separation from sin, with simple trust and hearty obedience] is becoming to Your house, O Lord, forever.

7 ^[a]In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions in his head as he was lying upon his bed. Then he wrote down the dream and told the gist of the matter.

² Daniel said, I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of the heavens [political and social agitations] were stirring up the great sea [the nations of the world].

³ And four great beasts came up out of the sea in succession, and different from one another.

⁴ The first [the Babylonian empire under Nebuchadnezzar] was like a lion and had eagle’s wings. I looked till the wings of it were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand upon two feet as a man, and a man’s heart was given to it.^(A)

⁵ And behold another beast, a second one [the Medo-Persian empire], was like a bear, and it raised up itself on one side [or one dominion] and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth; and it was told, Arise, devour much flesh.

⁶ After this I looked, and behold, another [the Grecian empire of Alexander the Great], like a leopard which had four wings of a bird on its back. The beast had also four heads [Alexander’s generals, his successors], and dominion was given to it.^(B)

⁷ After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast [the Roman empire]—terrible, powerful and dreadful, and exceedingly strong. And it had great iron teeth; it devoured and crushed and trampled what was left with its feet. And it was different from all the beasts that came before it, and it had ten horns [symbolizing ten kings].^(C)

⁸ I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots; and behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth speaking great things.

¹⁵ As for me, Daniel, my spirit was grieved and anxious within me, and the visions of my head alarmed and agitated me.

¹⁶ I came near to one of those who stood there and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of the things.

¹⁷ These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth.

¹⁸ But the saints of the Most High [God] shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.^(A)

³¹ He Who comes from above (heaven) is [far] above all [others]; he who comes from the earth belongs to the earth, and talks the language of earth [his words are from an earthly standpoint]. He Who comes from heaven is [far] above all others [far superior to all others in prominence and in excellence].

³² It is to what He has [actually] seen and heard that He bears testimony, and yet no one accepts His testimony [no one receives His evidence as true].

³³ Whoever receives His testimony has set his seal of approval to this: God is true. [That man has definitely certified, acknowledged, declared once and for all, and is himself assured that it is divine truth that God cannot lie].

³⁴ For since He Whom God has sent speaks the words of God [proclaims God’s own message], God does not give Him His Spirit sparingly or by measure, but boundless is the gift God makes of His Spirit!^(A)

³⁵ The Father loves the Son and has given (entrusted, committed) everything into His hand.^(B)

³⁶ And he who believes in (has faith in, clings to, relies on) the Son has (now possesses) eternal life. But whoever disobeys (is unbelieving toward, refuses to trust in, disregards, is not subject to) the Son will never see (experience) life, but [instead] the wrath of God abides on him. [God’s displeasure remains on him; His indignation hangs over him continually.]^(C)