Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
135 Praise ye the Lord, praise ye the name of the Lord! Praise Him, O ye servants of the Lord!
2 Ye that stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God,
3 praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; sing praises unto His name, for it is pleasant.
4 For the Lord hath chosen Jacob for Himself, and Israel for His peculiar treasure.
5 For I know that the Lord is great, and that our Lord is above all gods.
6 Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did He in heaven and on earth, in the seas and in all deep places.
7 He causeth the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; He maketh lightnings for the rain; He bringeth the wind out of His treasuries.
8 He smote the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and beast.
9 He sent tokens and wonders into the midst of thee, O Egypt, upon Pharaoh and upon all his servants.
10 He smote great nations, and slew mighty kings:
11 Sihon king of the Amorites, and Og king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan;
12 and gave their land as a heritage, a heritage unto Israel His people.
13 Thy name, O Lord, endureth for ever, and Thy memorial, O Lord, throughout all generations.
14 For the Lord will judge His people, and He will repent Himself concerning His servants.
15 The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.
16 They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not;
17 they have ears, but they hear not; neither is there any breath in their mouths.
18 They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth 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 dwelleth in Jerusalem! Praise ye the Lord!
3 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits and the breadth thereof 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 princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
3 Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
4 Then a herald cried aloud: “To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages,
5 that at the time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up.
6 And whoso falleth not down and worshipeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.”
7 Therefore at that time when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of music, all the people, the nations, and the languages fell down and worshiped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
8 Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near and accused the Jews.
9 They spoke and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live for ever!
10 Thou, O king, hast made a decree that every man who shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image;
11 and whoso falleth not down and worshipeth, 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 serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set 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 serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?
15 Now if ye be ready so that at the time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made, it is well; but if ye worship not, 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 the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not fear to answer thee in this matter.
17 If it be so, 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 serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.”
19 Then was Nebuchadnezzar 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 wont to be heated.
20 And he commanded the most mighty men who 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 breeches, 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 exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire slew those men who 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 counselors, “Did not we 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, “Lo, 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 hither.” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came forth from the midst of the fire.
27 And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counselors, being gathered together, saw these men upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was a hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed nor had the smell of fire passed onto them.
28 Then Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent His angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not servenor worship any god except their own God.
29 Therefore I make a decree that every people, nation, and language which speak any thing amiss 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 who can deliver in this way.”
30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.
3 And hereby we know that we know Him: if we keep His commandments.
4 He that saith, “I know Him,” and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar and the truth is not in him.
5 But whoso keepeth His Word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him.
6 He that saith that he abideth 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 thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is past and the true light now shineth.
9 He that saith he is in the light and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.
10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is no occasion for stumbling in him.
11 But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.
Copyright © 1994 by Deuel Enterprises, Inc.