Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 104

¹ Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, You are very great! You are clothed with honor and majesty—

² [You are the One] Who covers Yourself with light as with a garment, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain or a tent,

³ Who lays the beams of the upper room of His abode in the waters [above the firmament], Who makes the clouds His chariot, Who walks on the wings of the wind,

⁴ Who makes winds His messengers, flames of fire His ministers.^(A)

⁵ You laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be moved forever.^(B)

⁶ You covered it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.^(C)

⁷ At Your rebuke they fled; at the voice of Your thunder they hastened away.

⁸ The mountains rose, the valleys sank down to the place which You appointed for them.

⁹ You have set a boundary [for the waters] which they may not pass over, that they turn not again to deluge the earth.

²⁴ O Lord, how many and varied are Your works! In wisdom have You made them all; the earth is full of Your riches and Your creatures.

³⁵ Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul! Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)

37 Indeed, [at His thunderings] my heart also trembles and leaps out of its place.

² Hear, oh, hear the roar of His voice and the sound of rumbling that goes out of His mouth!

³ Under the whole heaven He lets it loose, and His lightning to the ends of the earth.

⁴ After it His voice roars; He thunders with the voice of His majesty, and He restrains not [His lightnings against His adversaries] when His voice is heard.

⁵ God thunders marvelously with His voice; He does great things which we cannot comprehend.

⁶ For He says to the snow, Fall on the earth; likewise He speaks to the showers and to the downpour of His mighty rains.

⁷ God seals up (stops, brings to a standstill by severe weather) the hand of every man [and now under His seal their hands are forced to inactivity], that all men whom He has made may know His doings (His sovereign power and their subjection to it).

⁸ Then the beasts go into dens and remain in their lairs.

⁹ Out of its chamber comes the whirlwind, and cold from the scattering winds.

¹⁰ By the breath of God ice is given, and the breadth of the waters is frozen over.^(A)

¹¹ He loads the thick cloud with moisture; He scatters the cloud of His lightning.

¹² And it is turned round about by His guidance, that they may do whatever He commands them upon the face of the habitable earth.

¹³ Whether it be for correction or for His earth [generally] or for His mercy and loving-kindness, He causes it to come.^(B)

¹⁴ Hear this, O Job; stand still and consider the wondrous works of God.

¹⁵ Do you know how God lays His command upon them and causes the lightning of His [storm] cloud to shine?

¹⁶ Do you know how the clouds are balanced [and poised in the heavens], the wonderful works of Him Who is perfect in knowledge?

¹⁷ [Or] why your garments are hot when He quiets the earth [in sultry summer] with the [oppressive] south wind?

¹⁸ Can you along with Him spread out the sky, [which is] strong as a molten mirror?

¹⁹ Tell us [Job] with what words of man we may address such a Being; we cannot state our case because we are in the dark [in the presence of the unsearchable God].

²⁰ So shall it be told Him that I wish to speak? If a man speaks, shall he be swallowed up?

²¹ And now men cannot look upon the light when it is bright in the skies, when the wind has passed and cleared them.

²² Golden brightness and splendor come out of the north; [if men can scarcely look upon it, how much less upon the] terrible splendor and majesty God has upon Himself!

²³ Touching the Almighty, we cannot find Him out; He is excellent in power; and to justice and plenteous righteousness He does no violence [He will disregard no right].^(C)

²⁴ Men therefore [reverently] fear Him; He regards and respects not any who are wise in heart [in their own understanding and conceit].^(D)

17 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls then came and spoke to me, saying, Come with me! I will show you the doom (sentence, judgment) of the great harlot (idolatress) who is seated on many waters,^(A)

² [She] with whom the rulers of the earth have joined in prostitution (idolatry) and with the wine of whose immorality (idolatry) the inhabitants of the earth have become intoxicated.^(B)

³ And [the angel] bore me away [rapt] in the Spirit into a desert (wilderness), and I saw a woman seated on a scarlet beast that was all covered with blasphemous titles (names), and he had seven heads and ten horns.

⁴ The woman was robed in purple and scarlet and bedecked with gold, precious stones, and pearls, [and she was] holding in her hand a golden cup full of the accursed offenses and the filth of her lewdness and vice.^(C)

⁵ And on her forehead there was inscribed a name of mystery [with a secret symbolic meaning]: Babylon the great, the mother of prostitutes (idolatresses) and of the filth and atrocities and abominations of the earth.

⁶ I also saw that the woman was drunk, [drunk] with the blood of the saints (God’s people) and the blood of the martyrs [who witnessed] for Jesus. And when I saw her, I was utterly amazed and wondered greatly.

⁷ But the angel said to me, Why do you wonder? I will explain to you the [secret symbolic meaning of the] mystery of the woman, as well as of the beast having the seven heads and ten horns that carries her.

⁸ The beast that you saw [once] was, but [now] is no more, and he is going to come up out of the Abyss (the bottomless pit) and proceed to go to perdition. And the inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been recorded in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world will be astonished when they look at the beast, because he [once] was, but [now] is no more, and he is [yet] to come.^(D)

⁹ This calls for a mind [to consider that is packed] with wisdom and intelligence [it is something for a particular mode of thinking and judging of thoughts, feelings, and purposes]. The seven heads are seven hills upon which the woman is sitting;

¹⁰ And they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one still exists [and is reigning]; the other [the seventh] has not yet appeared, and when he does arrive, he must stay [but] a brief time.

¹¹ And as for the beast that [once] was, but now is no more, he [himself] is an eighth ruler (king, head), but he is of the seven and belongs to them, and he goes to perdition.

¹² Also the ten horns that you observed are ten rulers (kings) who have as yet received no royal dominion, but together they are to receive power and authority as rulers for a single hour, along with the beast.^(E)

¹³ These have one common policy (opinion, purpose), and they deliver their power and authority to the beast.

¹⁴ They will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will triumph over them; for He is Lord of lords and King of kings—and those with Him and on His side are chosen and called [elected] and loyal and faithful followers.^(F)

¹⁵ And [the angel further] said to me, The waters that you observed, where the harlot is seated, are races and multitudes and nations and dialects (languages).

¹⁶ And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will [be the very ones to] hate the harlot (the idolatrous woman); they will make her cheerless (bereaved, desolate), and they will strip her and eat up her flesh and utterly consume her with fire.

¹⁷ For God has put it into their hearts to carry out His own purpose by acting in harmony in surrendering their royal power and authority to the beast, until the prophetic words (intentions and promises) of God shall be fulfilled.

¹⁸ And the woman that you saw is herself the great city which dominates and controls the rulers and the leaders of the earth.