Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Hymn of Praise
117 All you nations, praise the Lord.
All you people, ·praise [extol] him
2 because ·the Lord loves us very much [L great is his loyalty/love toward us],
and his ·truth [faithfulness] is everlasting.
Praise the Lord!
18 This is what the Lord said:
“I ·will soon make the tents of Jacob’s people as they used to be [L am restoring the fortunes of the tents of Jacob],
and I will have ·pity [compassion] on their houses.
The city will be rebuilt on its ·hill of ruins [mound],
and the king’s palace will stand in its ·proper [traditional] place.
19 ·People in those places will sing songs of praise [L Praise/Thanks will go out from them; Ps. 126].
There will be the sound of laughter.
I will ·give them many children [L multiply them]
so ·their number will not be small [L they will not diminish; Gen. 12:1–3; 22:17; 32:12; 41:49].
I will bring ·honor [glory] to them
so no one will ·look down on [belittle] them.
20 Their ·descendants [children] will be as they were in the old days.
·I will set them up as a strong people [L Their congregation will be established] before me,
and I will punish ·the nations who have hurt them [their oppressors].
21 ·One of their own people will lead them [L Their noble one will be of them];
their ruler will come from among them [Deut. 17:14–20].
·He will come near to me when I invite him [L I will bring him near and he will approach me].
Who would dare to ·come to [approach] me uninvited?” says the Lord.
22 “So you will be my people,
and I will be your God [C they will be in a covenant relationship; Hos. 2:23].”
23 Look! It is a ·storm [whirlwind] from the Lord!
·He is angry and has gone out to punish the people [L Wrath has gone out].
·Punishment will come like a storm [L A whirling storm/tempest comes]
·crashing down on the evil people [L swirling around the heads of the wicked; 23:19].
24 The Lord will stay angry
until he performs and accomplishes
the ·intentions [plans] of his ·heart [mind].
·When that day comes [L In future days],
you will understand this.
8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. When I heard and saw them, I ·bowed [fell] down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed these things to me. 9 But the angel said to me, “·Do not worship me [Don’t do that!; L See, not]! I am a ·servant like you [fellow servant with you], your brothers the prophets, and all those who ·obey [keep] the words in this ·book [scroll]. Worship God!”
10 Then the angel told me, “Do not ·keep secret [L seal; contrast 10:4] the words of prophecy in this ·book [scroll], because the time is near for all this to happen. 11 Let whoever is doing ·evil [wrong; harm] continue to do evil [wrong; harm; Dan. 12:10]. Let whoever is ·unclean [vile; impure; filthy] continue to be ·unclean [vile; impure; filthy]. Let whoever is ·doing right [righteous; just] continue to do ·right [righteousness; justice]. Let whoever is holy continue to be holy.”
12 “·Listen [L Look; Behold]! I am coming ·soon [quickly]! ·I will bring my reward with me [L and my reward is with me; Is. 40:10], and I will repay ·each one of you [L each person] for what you have done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End [1:8; 21:6].
14 “·Blessed [Happy] are those who wash their robes [C an image of spiritual cleansing] so that they will receive the ·right [power; authority] to eat the fruit from the tree of life and may ·go through [enter] the gates into the city. 15 Outside the city are the ·evil people [L dogs], those who do ·evil magic [sorcery], who ·sin sexually [fornicate], who murder, who worship idols, and who love lies and tell lies.
16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to ·tell you [testify/witness to] these things for the churches. I am the ·descendant from the family of David [root and descendant/offspring of David; C a messianic title applied to Jesus; 5:4; Is. 11:10], and I am the bright morning star [2:28; Num. 24:17; C a messianic title].”
17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Let the one who hears this say, “Come!” Let whoever is thirsty come; whoever wishes may ·have [take; receive] the water of life ·as a free gift [freely].
18 I ·warn [testify to] everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this ·book [scroll]: If anyone adds anything to these words, God will add to that person the ·disasters [plagues] written about in this ·book [scroll]. 19 And if anyone takes away from the words of this ·book [scroll] of prophecy, God will take away that one’s ·share [part] of the tree of life and of the holy city, which are written about in this ·book [scroll; Deut. 4:2; 12:32].
20 ·Jesus, the One who says these things are true, [L The One who witnesses to these things] says, “Yes, I am coming ·soon [quickly].”
·Amen [C Hebrew for “so be it”]. Come, Lord Jesus!
21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.
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