Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 95[a]
A Call to Praise and Obedience
I
1 Come, let us sing joyfully to the Lord;
cry out to the rock of our salvation.(A)
2 Let us come before him with a song of praise,
joyfully sing out our psalms.
3 For the Lord is the great God,
the great king over all gods,(B)
4 Whose hand holds the depths of the earth;
who owns the tops of the mountains.
5 The sea and dry land belong to God,
who made them, formed them by hand.(C)
II
6 Enter, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the Lord who made us.
7 For he is our God,
we are the people he shepherds,
the sheep in his hands.(D)
III
Oh, that today you would hear his voice:(E)
13 Meanwhile, the messenger who had gone to call Micaiah said to him, “Look now, the prophets are unanimously predicting good for the king. Let your word be the same as any of theirs; speak a good word.” 14 Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, I shall speak whatever the Lord tells me.”
15 When he came to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to fight at Ramoth-gilead, or shall we refrain?” He said, “Attack and conquer! The Lord will give it into the power of the king.” 16 But the king answered him, “How many times must I adjure you to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?” 17 [a]So Micaiah said:
“I see all Israel
scattered on the mountains,
like sheep without a shepherd,
And the Lord saying,
These have no master!
Let each of them go back home in peace.”
18 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you, he does not prophesy good about me, but only evil?” 19 [b]Micaiah continued: “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord seated on his throne, with the whole host of heaven standing to his right and to his left. 20 The Lord asked: Who will deceive Ahab, so that he will go up and fall on Ramoth-gilead?[c] And one said this, another that, 21 until this spirit came forth and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will deceive him.’ The Lord asked: How? 22 He answered, ‘I will go forth and become a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.’ The Lord replied: You shall succeed in deceiving him. Go forth and do this. 23 So now, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours; the Lord himself has decreed evil against you.”
Chapter 14
The Lamb’s Companions.[a] 1 Then I looked and there was the Lamb standing on Mount Zion,[b] and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.(A) 2 I heard a sound from heaven like the sound of rushing water or a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. 3 They were singing [what seemed to be] a new hymn before the throne, before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn this hymn except the hundred and forty-four thousand who had been ransomed from the earth.(B) 4 These are they who were not defiled with women; they are virgins[c] and these are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been ransomed as the firstfruits of the human race for God and the Lamb.(C) 5 On their lips no deceit[d] has been found; they are unblemished.(D)
The Three Angels.[e] 6 Then I saw another angel flying high overhead, with everlasting good news[f] to announce to those who dwell on earth, to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people. 7 He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, for his time has come to sit in judgment. Worship him who made heaven and earth and sea and springs of water.”(E)
8 A second angel followed, saying:
“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great,(F)
that made all the nations drink
the wine of her licentious passion.”[g]
9 A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice, “Anyone who worships the beast or its image, or accepts its mark on forehead or hand, 10 will also drink the wine of God’s fury,[h] poured full strength into the cup of his wrath, and will be tormented in burning sulfur before the holy angels and before the Lamb. 11 The smoke of the fire that torments them will rise forever and ever, and there will be no relief day or night for those who worship the beast or its image or accept the mark of its name.”(G)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.