Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 104
God the Creator
1 My soul, praise Yahweh!
Lord my God, You are very great;
You are clothed with majesty and splendor.(A)
2 He wraps Himself in light as if it were a robe,
spreading out the sky like a canopy,(B)
3 laying the beams of His palace
on the waters above,(C)
making the clouds His chariot,(D)
walking on the wings of the wind,(E)
4 and making the winds His messengers,[a]
flames of fire His servants.(F)
5 He established the earth on its foundations;
it will never be shaken.(G)
6 You covered it with the deep
as if it were a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.(H)
7 At Your rebuke the waters fled;
at the sound of Your thunder they hurried away(I)—
8 mountains rose and valleys sank[b]—
to the place You established for them.(J)
9 You set a boundary they cannot cross;
they will never cover the earth again.(K)
35 May sinners vanish from the earth
and wicked people be no more.(A)
My soul, praise Yahweh!
Hallelujah!
37 My heart(A) pounds at this
and leaps from my chest.[a]
2 Just listen to His thunderous voice
and the rumbling that comes from His mouth.
3 He lets it loose beneath the entire sky;
His lightning to the ends(B) of the earth.
4 Then there comes a roaring sound;
God thunders(C) with His majestic voice.
He does not restrain the lightning
when His rumbling voice is heard.
5 God thunders marvelously with His voice;
He does great things that we cannot comprehend.
6 For He says to the snow,(D) “Fall to the earth,”
and the torrential rains, His mighty torrential rains,
7 serve as His sign to all mankind,
so that all men may know His work.
8 The wild animals enter their lairs
and stay in their dens.(E)
9 The windstorm comes from its chamber,
and the cold from the driving north winds.
10 Ice is formed by the breath of God,(F)
and watery expanses are frozen.
11 He saturates clouds with moisture;(G)
He scatters His lightning through them.
12 They swirl about,
turning round and round at His direction,
accomplishing everything He commands them
over the surface of the inhabited world.
13 He causes this to happen for punishment,
for His land, or for His faithful love.
14 Listen to this, Job.
Stop and consider God’s wonders.
15 Do you know how God directs His clouds
or makes their lightning flash?
16 Do you understand how the clouds float,
those wonderful works of Him who has perfect knowledge?
17 You whose clothes get hot
when the south wind brings calm to the land,
18 can you help God spread out the skies
as hard as a cast metal mirror?
19 Teach us what we should say to Him;(H)
we cannot prepare our case because of our darkness.
20 Should He be told that I want to speak?
Can a man speak when he is confused?
21 Now men cannot even look at the sun
when it is in the skies,
after a wind has swept through and cleared them away.
22 Yet out of the north He comes, shrouded in a golden glow;
awesome(I) majesty surrounds Him.
23 The Almighty—we cannot reach Him—
He is exalted in power!
He will not oppress justice and abundant righteousness,
24 Therefore, men fear Him.
He does not look favorably on any who are wise(J) in heart.
The Woman and the Scarlet Beast
17 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls(A) came and spoke with me: “Come, I will show you the judgment of the notorious prostitute[a] who sits on many[b] waters.(B) 2 The kings of the earth committed sexual immorality with her, and those who live on the earth became drunk on the wine of her sexual immorality.”(C) 3 So he carried me away in the Spirit[c](D) to a desert. I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered[d] with blasphemous names and had seven heads and 10 horns.(E) 4 The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, adorned with gold, precious stones, and pearls. She had a gold cup in her hand filled with everything vile(F) and with the impurities of her[e] prostitution. 5 On her forehead a cryptic name(G) was written:
BABYLON THE GREAT
THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES
AND OF THE VILE THINGS OF THE EARTH.
6 Then I saw that the woman was drunk on the blood of the saints and on the blood of the witnesses to Jesus. When I saw her, I was greatly astonished.
The Meaning of the Woman and of the Beast
7 Then the angel said to me, “Why are you astonished? I will tell you the secret meaning of the woman and of the beast, with the seven heads and the 10 horns, that carries her. 8 The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up from the abyss(H) and go to destruction.(I) Those who live on the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world(J) will be astonished when they see the beast that was, and is not, and will be present again.(K)
9 “Here is the mind with wisdom:[f](L) The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated. 10 They are also seven kings:[g] Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he comes, he must remain for a little while. 11 The beast that was and is not, is himself an eighth king, yet he belongs to the seven and is going to destruction. 12 The 10 horns you saw are 10 kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they will receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour. 13 These have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast. 14 These will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will conquer them because He is Lord of lords and King of kings.(M) Those with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.”
15 He also said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute was seated, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages.(N) 16 The 10 horns you saw, and the beast, will hate the prostitute.(O) They will make her desolate and naked, devour her flesh, and burn her up with fire.(P) 17 For God has put it into their hearts to carry out His plan by having one purpose(Q) and to give their kingdom[h] to the beast until God’s words are accomplished. 18 And the woman you saw is the great city that has an empire[i] over the kings of the earth.”
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