Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Come Praise the Lord
1 (A) All of you nations,
come praise the Lord!
Let everyone praise him.
2 God's love for us is wonderful;
his faithfulness never ends.
Shout praises to the Lord!
The Lord Will Rescue Israel and Judah
18 The Lord said:
Israel, I will be kind to you
and let you come home.
Jerusalem now lies in ruins,
but you will rebuild it,
complete with a new palace.[a]
19 Other nations will respect
and honor you.
Your homes will be filled
with children,
and you will celebrate,
singing praises to me.
20 It will be just like old times.
Your nation will worship me,
and I will punish anyone
who abuses you.
21 One of your own people
will become your ruler.
And when I invite him
to come near me
at the place of worship,
he will do so.
No one would dare to come near
without being invited.
22 You will be my people,
and I will be your God.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
23 I am furious!
And like a violent storm
I will strike those
who do wrong.
24 I won't calm down
until I have finished
what I have decided to do.
Someday, you will understand
what I mean.
8 My name is John, and I am the one who heard and saw these things. Then after I had heard and seen all this, I knelt down and began to worship at the feet of the angel who had shown it to me.
9 But the angel said,
Don't do that! I am a servant, just like you. I am the same as a follower or a prophet or anyone else who obeys what is written in this book. God is the one you should worship.
10 Don't keep the prophecies in this book a secret. These things will happen soon.
11 (A) Evil people will keep on being evil, and everyone who is dirty-minded will still be dirty-minded. But good people will keep on doing right, and God's people will always be holy.
12 (B) Then I was told:
I am coming soon! And when I come, I will reward everyone for what they have done. 13 (C) I am Alpha and Omega,[a] the first and the last, the beginning and the end.
14 (D) God will bless all who have washed their robes. They will each have the right to eat fruit from the tree that gives life, and they can enter the gates of the city. 15 But outside the city will be dogs, witches, immoral people, murderers, idol worshipers, and everyone who loves to tell lies and do wrong.
16 (E) I am Jesus! And I am the one who sent my angel to tell all of you these things for the churches. I am David's Great Descendant,[b] and I am also the bright morning star.[c]
17 (F) The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!”
Everyone who hears this[d] should say, “Come!”
If you are thirsty, come! If you want life-giving water, come and take it. It's free!
18 (G) Here is my warning for everyone who hears the prophecies in this book:
If you add anything to them, God will make you suffer all the terrible troubles written in this book. 19 If you take anything away from these prophecies, God will not let you have part in the life-giving tree and in the holy city described in this book.
20 The one who has spoken these things says, “I am coming soon!”
So, Lord Jesus, please come soon!
21 I pray that the Lord Jesus will be kind to all of you.
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.