Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
135 Hallelujah! Praise the name of Jehovah; praise, ye servants of Jehovah,
2 Ye that stand in the house of Jehovah, in the courts of the house of our God.
3 Praise ye Jah; for Jehovah is good: sing psalms unto his name; for it is pleasant.
4 For Jah hath chosen Jacob unto himself, Israel for his own possession.
5 For *I* know that Jehovah is great, and our Lord is above all gods.
6 Whatsoever Jehovah pleased, he hath done in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all deeps;
7 Who causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; who maketh lightnings for the rain; who bringeth the wind out of his treasuries:
8 Who smote the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and beast;
9 Who sent signs and miracles into the midst of thee, O Egypt, upon Pharaoh and upon all his servants;
10 Who 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 for an inheritance, an inheritance unto Israel his people.
13 Thy name, O Jehovah, is for ever; thy memorial, O Jehovah, from generation to generation.
14 For Jehovah will judge his people, and will repent in favour of his servants.
15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of men's hands:
16 They have a mouth, and they speak not; eyes have they, and they see not;
17 They have ears, and they hear not; neither is there any breath in their mouth.
18 They that make them are like unto them,—every one that confideth in them.
19 House of Israel, bless ye Jehovah; house of Aaron, bless ye Jehovah;
20 House of Levi, bless ye Jehovah; ye that fear Jehovah, bless Jehovah.
21 Blessed be Jehovah out of Zion, who dwelleth at Jerusalem! Hallelujah!
6 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom a hundred and twenty satraps, who should be in all the kingdom;
2 and over these, three presidents—of whom Daniel was one—to whom these satraps should render account, and that the king should suffer no loss.
3 Now this Daniel surpassed the presidents and the satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to appoint him over the whole realm.
4 Then the presidents and the satraps sought to find a pretext against Daniel with respect to the kingdom; but they could not find any pretext or fault; inasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.
5 Then said these men, We shall not find any pretext against this Daniel, unless we find [it] against him touching the law of his God.
6 Then these presidents and satraps came in a body to the king, and said thus unto him: King Darius, live for ever!
7 All the presidents of the kingdom, the prefects, and the satraps, the counsellors, and the governors have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any god or man for thirty days, except of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions.
8 Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which may not be revoked.
9 Therefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree.
10 And when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and, his windows being open in his upper chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled on his knees three times a day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.
11 But those men came in a body, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God.
12 Then they came near, and spoke before the king concerning the king's decree: Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man that shall ask [anything] of any god or man within thirty days, except of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered and said, The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which may not be revoked.
13 Then they answered and said before the king, That Daniel, who is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day.
14 Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore distressed thereby, and set his heart on Daniel to save him; and he laboured till the going down of the sun to deliver him.
15 Then these men came in a body unto the king, and said unto the king, Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is, That no decree nor statute which the king establisheth may be changed.
16 Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast [him] into the den of lions. The king spoke and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will save thee.
17 And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his nobles, that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel.
18 Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting; neither were concubines brought before him; and his sleep fled from him.
19 Then the king arose with the light at break of day, and went in haste unto the den of lions.
20 And when he came near unto the den, he cried with a mournful voice unto Daniel: the king spoke and said unto Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, hath thy God whom thou servest continually been able to save thee from the lions?
21 Then Daniel spoke unto the king, O king, live for ever!
22 My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me; forasmuch as before him innocence was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.
23 Thereupon was the king exceeding glad, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.
24 And the king commanded, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel, and cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and broke all their bones in pieces ere they came to the bottom of the den.
25 Then king Darius wrote unto all peoples, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied unto you.
26 I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel; for he is the living God, and steadfast for ever, and his kingdom [that] which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end.
27 He saveth and delivereth, and he worketh signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth: who hath saved Daniel from the power of the lions.
28 And this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
12 I write to you, children, because [your] sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.
13 I write to you, fathers, because ye have known him [that is] from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked [one]. I write to you, little children, because ye have known the Father.
14 I have written to you, fathers, because ye have known him [that is] from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and ye have overcome the wicked [one].
15 Love not the world, nor the things in the world. If any one love the world, the love of the Father is not in him;
16 because all that [is] in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
17 And the world is passing, and its lust, but he that does the will of God abides for eternity.
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