Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
1 ¶ Halelu-JAH. Praise ye the name of the LORD; praise him, O ye slaves of the LORD.
2 Ye that stand in the house of the LORD, in the courts of the house of our God,
3 praise JAH; for the LORD is good; sing praises unto his name; for it is pleasant.
4 For JAH has chosen Jacob unto himself and Israel for his own possession.
5 ¶ For I know that the LORD is great and that our Lord is above all gods.
6 Whatever the LORD desired, he did in the heavens and in the earth, in the seas and in all the deep places.
7 He who causes the clouds to ascend from the ends of the earth, made the lightnings in the rain; he who brings the winds out of his treasuries.
8 He who smote the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and beast;
9 sent signs and wonders into the midst of thee, O Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his slaves.
10 He who smote many Gentiles and slew mighty kings,
11 Sihon king of the Amorites and Og king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan
12 gave their land for a heritage, a heritage unto Israel his people.
13 Thy name, O LORD, is eternal, and thy memorial, O LORD, from generation to generation.
14 For the LORD will judge his people, and he will repent himself concerning his slaves.
15 ¶ The idols of the Gentiles are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.
16 They have a mouth, but they do not speak; they have eyes, but they do not see;
17 they have ears, but they do not hear; neither is there any spirit in their mouths.
18 Let those that make them become like unto them and every one that trusts in them.
19 Bless the LORD, O house of Israel; bless the LORD, O house of Aaron:
20 Bless the LORD, O house of Levi; ye that fear the LORD, bless the LORD.
21 Blessed be the LORD out of Zion who dwells at Jerusalem. Halelu-JAH.
3 ¶ Nebuchadnezzar the king made a statue of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its breadth six cubits; he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.
2 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the great ones, the assistants and captains, the judges, the treasurers, those of the council, presidents, and all the governors of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the statue which Nebuchadnezzar the king had raised up.
3 Then the great ones, the assistants and captains, the judges, the treasurers, those of the council, presidents, and all the governors of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the statue that Nebuchadnezzar the king had raised up; and they stood before the statue that Nebuchadnezzar the king had raised up.
4 Then a herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages,
5 that when ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and of every musical instrument, ye are to fall down and worship the statue of gold that Nebuchadnezzar the king has raised up:
6 and whoever does not fall down and worship shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
7 Therefore, when all the peoples heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and every musical instrument, all the peoples, nations, and languages, fell down and worshipped the statue of gold that Nebuchadnezzar the king had raised up.
8 ¶ Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews.
9 They spoke and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live for ever.
10 Thou, O king, hast made a law that every man upon hearing the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and every musical instrument, shall fall down and worship the statue of gold;
11 and whoever does not fall down and worship that he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
12 There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee; they do not worship thy gods, nor do they worship the statue of gold which thou hast raised up.
13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the king.
14 Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that ye do not honour my gods, nor worship the statue of gold which I have set up?
15 Now, are ye ready when ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and of every musical instrument to fall down and worship the statue which I made? For if ye do not worship, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that god that shall deliver you out of my hands?
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, We are not careful to answer thee in this matter.
17 Behold, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.
18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not worship thy god, nor honour the statue which thou hast raised up.
19 ¶ Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; therefore he spoke, and commanded that they should heat the furnace seven times more than it was customary to be heated.
20 And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.
21 Then these men were bound in their coats, their undergarments, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
22 Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste and spoke and said unto his counsellors, Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.
25 He answered and said, Behold, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.
26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth and come here. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire.
27 And the great ones, the governors and the captains and the king’s counsellors gathered together to see these men upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was a hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.
28 ¶ Then Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said, Blessed be the God of these, of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants that trusted in him and have changed the king’s word and yielded their bodies that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God
29 Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, or language which speak blasphemy against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill because there is no other god that can deliver after this sort.
30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the province of Babylon.
3 ¶ And in this we do know that we have known him if we keep his commandments.
4 He that says, I have known him, and does not keep his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
5 But whosoever keeps his word, in him verily is the charity of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
6 He that says he abides in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
7 ¶ Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.
8 Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which is the truth in him and in you, because the darkness is past, and the true light now shines.
9 He that says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness.
10 He that loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no occasion of stumbling in him.
11 But he that hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness and does not know where he goes, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.
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