Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Davidic Psalm, while he was in the Judean wilderness.
Joyful Trust in God
63 God, you are my God!
I will fervently seek you.
My soul thirsts for you;
my flesh longs for you in a dry, weary, and parched land.
2 So I have looked for you in the sanctuary,
to behold your power and glory.
3 Because your gracious love is better than life itself,
my lips will praise you.
4 So I will bless you as long as I live;
I will lift up my hands in your name.
5 Just as I am satisfied with the choicest of foods,[a]
so my lips will praise you joyfully.
6 When I think of you in bed,
I will meditate on you in the night watches.
7 For you have been my strength,
and in the shadow of your wings I will shout for joy.
8 My soul clings to you,
even as your right hand supports me.
The Glory of the Lord Fills the Completed Tent
34 The cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tent. 35 Moses was not able to enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tent. 36 Whenever the cloud was lifted up from the tent, the Israelis would set out on their journey, 37 but if the cloud was not lifted up, they would not set out until[a] it was lifted up, 38 since the cloud of the Lord was over the tent by day, and the fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel in all their journeys.
The Vision of the Fall of Babylon
18 After these things, I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority,[a] and the earth was made bright by his splendor. 2 He cried out in a powerful voice,
“Fallen! Babylon the Great has fallen!
She has become a home for demons.
She is a prison for every unclean spirit,
a prison for every unclean bird,
and a prison for every unclean
and hated beast.
3 For all the nations have drunk
from the wine of her sexual immorality,
and the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality with her.
The world’s businesses have become rich
from her luxurious excesses.”
The Warning to Leave Babylon
4 Then I heard another voice from heaven saying,
“Come out of her, my people,
so that you don’t participate in her sins
and also suffer from her diseases.
5 For her sins are piled as high as heaven,
and God has remembered her crimes.
6 Do to her as she herself has done,
and give her double for her deeds.
Mix a double drink for her in the cup she mixed.
7 Just as she glorified herself and lived in luxury,
inflict on her just as much torture and misery.
In her heart she says,
‘I am a queen on a throne, not a widow.
I will never see misery.’
8 For this reason, her diseases that result in death, misery, and famine
will come in a single day.
She will be burned up in a fire,
because powerful is the Lord God who judges her.”
9 The kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality with her and lived in luxury with her, will cry and mourn over her when they see the smoke rising from the fire that consumes her.[b] 10 Frightened by the torture that she experiences,[c] they will stand far away and cry out,
“How terrible, how terrible it is for that great city,
the powerful city Babylon,
because your judgment arrived in a single hour!”
19 Then they threw dust on their heads and shouted while crying and mourning:
“How terrible, how terrible it is for the great city,
where all who had ships at sea became rich from her wealth,
because it has been destroyed in a single hour!
20 Be happy about her, heaven, saints, apostles, and prophets,
for God has condemned her for you!”
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