Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 79[a]
Prayer for Restoration
1 A psalm of Asaph.[b]
[c]O God, the nations have invaded your heritage;
they have profaned your holy temple
and turned Jerusalem into a heap of ruins.
2 They have given the corpses of your servants
as food to the birds of the air,
the flesh of your saints
to the beasts of the earth.
3 They have poured out their blood like water
all around Jerusalem,
and no one is left to bury them.[d]
4 We have become the scorn of our neighbors,
mocked and derided by those around us.[e]
5 [f]How long, O Lord?[g] Will you be angry forever?
How long will your rage continue to blaze like a fire?
6 [h]Pour out your wrath on the nations
that refuse to acknowledge you,
on the kingdoms
that fail to call on your name.[i]
7 For they have devoured Jacob
and ravaged his homeland.
8 Do not hold against us the sins of our ancestors;
let your mercy come quickly to meet us,
for we are in desperate straits.[j]
9 [k]Help us, O God, our Savior,
for the glory of your name;
deliver us and wipe away our sins
for your name’s sake.[l]
10 Why should the nations ask,
“Where is their God?”
Before our eyes make it clearly known among those nations
that you avenge[m] the blood of your servants.
11 Let the groans of the captives come before you;
through your great power
save those who have been sentenced to death.[n]
12 Repay our neighbors sevenfold[o] in their breasts, O Lord,
for the insults with which they taunted you.
13 Then we, your people, the sheep of your pasture,
will offer thanks to you[p] forever;
from generation to generation
we will proclaim your praise.
Gathering Up the Dispersed Flock
6 On that day, says the Lord,
I will gather the lame;
I will assemble those who have been driven away
and those whom I have afflicted.
7 I will make the lame into a remnant,
and turn into a strong nation those who were cast off.
The Lord will reign over them on Mount Zion
now and forevermore.
8 As for you, O tower of the flock,[a]
hill of daughter Zion,
the promises made to you
will be fulfilled,
and your former security will be restored,
the sovereignty of daughter Jerusalem.
A Sorrowful Childbirth
9 Why are you now crying out?
Have you no king any longer,
or has your counselor perished,
that you are afflicted with pains
like a woman in labor?
10 Writhe in pain and cry aloud,
O daughter Zion,
like a woman in labor.
For now you must go forth from the city
and camp in the open country.
You will go to Babylon
where you will be saved.
There the Lord will deliver you
from the hands of your enemies.
The Nations Crush the Land of God
11 But now many nations
are gathered against you.
They say, “Let her be profaned;
let us gloat over Zion.”
12 However, they do not know
the thoughts of the Lord
or comprehend his plan.
For he has gathered them
like sheaves on the threshing floor.
13 Arise and thresh,
O daughter of Zion,
for I will make your horn like iron
and your hooves like bronze
so that you may crush many peoples.
You shall devote their ill-gotten gains to the Lord,
their wealth to the Lord of the whole earth.
Chapter 18
The Fall of Babylon the Great.[a] 1 After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and his splendor illumined the earth. 2 He cried out in a mighty voice:
“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the Great!
She has become a dwelling place for demons,
a haunt for every unclean spirit
and for every filthy and loathsome bird.
3 For all the nations have drunk
the wine of the wrath of her harlotry.
The kings of the earth have committed fornication with her,
and the merchants of the earth have grown rich
from her wealth and luxury.”
4 Then I heard another voice from heaven saying:
“Depart from her, my people,
so that you will not take part in her sins
and share in her plagues.
5 For her sins are piled up as high as the heavens,
and God has remembered her crimes.
6 Pay her back as she has done to others,
and repay her double for her deeds;
mix her a double portion of her own poison.
7 Give her torment and grief
to equal the measure of her glory and luxury.
In her heart she says,
‘I rule as a queen.
I am not a widow,
and I will never experience grief.’
8 Therefore, in a single day
her plagues will come upon her:
pestilence and mourning and famine.
And she will be consumed by fire,
for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.
Funereal Ode over Rome.[b] 9 “The kings of the earth who committed fornication with her and shared in her luxury will weep and mourn over her when they behold the smoke of her immolation. 10 In terror at her torment, they will keep their distance and say:
“ ‘Woe, woe, O great city,
mighty city of Babylon.
In one hour your judgment has come.’
Copyright © 2019 by Catholic Book Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.