Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 66
Praise for God’s Mighty Acts
For the choir director. A song. A psalm.
1 Shout joyfully to God, all the earth!(A)
2 Sing about the glory of His name;
make His praise glorious.(B)
3 Say to God, “How awe-inspiring are Your works!
Your enemies will cringe before You
because of Your great strength.(C)
4 All the earth will worship You
and sing praise to You.
They will sing praise to Your name.”(D)
5 Come and see the wonders of God;(E)
His acts for humanity are awe-inspiring.
6 He turned the sea into dry land,
and they crossed the river on foot.(F)
There we rejoiced in Him.(G)
7 He rules forever by His might;
He keeps His eye on the nations.(H)
The rebellious should not exalt themselves.(I)
8 Praise our God, you peoples;
let the sound of His praise be heard.(J)
9 He keeps us alive[a]
and does not allow our feet to slip.(K)
47 Therefore, look, the days are coming
when I will punish Babylon’s carved images.(A)
Her entire land will suffer shame,
and all her slain will lie fallen within her.(B)
48 Heaven and earth and everything in them
will shout for joy(C) over Babylon
because the destroyers from the north
will come against her.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
49 Babylon must fall because of the slain of Israel,
even as the slain of all the earth fell
because of Babylon.
50 You who have escaped the sword,(D)
go and do not stand still!
Remember the Lord from far away,
and let Jerusalem come to your mind.
51 We are ashamed
because we have heard insults.(E)
Humiliation covers our faces
because foreigners have entered
the holy places of the Lord’s temple.(F)
52 Therefore, look, the days are coming—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
when I will punish her carved images,
and the wounded will groan
throughout her land.
53 Even if Babylon should ascend to the heavens(G)
and fortify her tall fortresses,
destroyers will come against her from Me.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
54 The sound of a cry from Babylon!(H)
The sound of great destruction
from the land of the Chaldeans!
55 For the Lord is going to devastate Babylon;
He will silence her mighty voice.
Their waves roar like abundant waters;
the tumult of their voice resounds,
56 for a destroyer is coming against her,
against Babylon.
Her warriors will be captured,
their bows shattered,
for the Lord is a God of retribution;
He will certainly repay.
57 I will make her princes and sages drunk,
along with her governors, officials, and warriors.
Then they will fall asleep forever
and never wake up.(I)
This is the King’s declaration;
Yahweh of Hosts is His name.(J)
58 This is what Yahweh of Hosts says:
Babylon’s thick walls will be totally demolished,
and her high gates consumed by fire.
The peoples will have labored for nothing;(K)
the nations will exhaust themselves only to feed the fire.
Appeal to Complete the Collection
8 We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God granted to the churches(A) of Macedonia:(B) 2 During a severe testing by affliction, their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed into the wealth of their generosity.(C) 3 I testify that, on their own, according to their ability and beyond their ability, 4 they begged us insistently for the privilege of sharing(D) in the ministry to the saints, 5 and not just as we had hoped. Instead, they gave themselves especially to the Lord, then to us by God’s will.(E) 6 So we urged Titus that just as he had begun, so he should also complete this grace to you. 7 Now as you excel in everything—faith, speech, knowledge,(F) and in all diligence, and in your love for us[a]—excel also in this grace.
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.