Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Praise to God Who Made the World
104 ·My whole being [T O my soul], ·praise [bless] the Lord.
Lord my God, you are very great.
You are clothed with ·glory [splendor] and ·majesty [beauty];
2 you ·wear [L wrap yourself in] light like a robe [Hab. 3:4; 1 John 1:5].
You stretch out the ·skies [heavens] like a tent [Is. 40:22].
3 You ·build your room above the clouds [L set the beams of your upper room on the waters].
You make the clouds your chariot [18:10–19; 68:4; Is. 19:1; Dan. 7:13–14; Luke 21:27; Rev. 1:7],
and you ride on the wings of the wind.
4 You make the winds your messengers,
and flames of fire are your ·servants [ministers; Heb. 1:7].
5 You ·built [founded] the earth on its foundations
so it can never be moved.
6 You covered the earth with ·oceans [L the deeps];
the water ·was above [L stood over] the mountains.
7 But at your ·command [reprimand; rebuke], the water ·rushed away [fled].
·When you thundered your orders [L At the sound of your thunder], it hurried away.
8 The mountains rose; the valleys sank.
The water went to the places you ·made [founded] for it.
9 You set borders for the seas that they cannot ·cross [pass],
so water will never cover the earth again [C as before the third day creation or during the Flood; Gen. 1:9–10; 9:9–17; Job 38:8–11; Prov. 8:29].
24 Lord, ·you have made many things;
with your wisdom you made them all [Prov. 8:22–31].
The earth is full of your ·riches [or creatures].
35 Let sinners be ·destroyed [obliterated] from the earth,
and let the wicked live no longer.
·My whole being [T O my soul], ·praise [bless] the Lord.
Praise the Lord.
37 “At ·the sound of his thunder [L this], my heart ·pounds [trembles]
as if it will ·jump [leap; or drop] out of ·my chest [L its place].
2 Listen! Listen to the ·thunder [L shaking] of God’s voice
and to the rumbling that comes from his mouth.
3 He turns his lightning loose under the whole ·sky [heavens]
and sends it to the farthest parts of the earth.
4 After that you can hear the roar
when he thunders with a ·great sound [exalted voice].
He does not hold back the flashing
when his voice is heard.
5 God’s voice thunders in wonderful ways;
he does great things we cannot understand.
6 He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’
and to the shower, ‘Be a heavy rain.’
7 With it, he ·stops everyone from working [L puts a seal on the hand of all people]
so everyone knows it is ·the work of God [L his work].
8 The animals ·take cover from the rain [L enter their hiding place/lair]
and stay in their dens.
9 The storm comes from ·where it was stored [L its chamber];
the cold comes with the ·strong winds [or north wind].
10 The breath of God makes ice,
and the wide waters become frozen.
11 He ·fills [loads] the clouds with ·water [moisture]
and scatters his lightning through them.
12 At his ·command [L guidance] they swirl around
over the ·whole [L inhabited] earth,
doing whatever he commands.
13 ·He uses the clouds to punish people [L Whether for correction/the rod]
or ·to water his [L for the] earth and ·show his love [or loyalty].
14 “Job, ·listen [give ear] to this:
Stop and notice God’s ·miracles [wonders].
15 Do you know how God ·controls the clouds [appoints their tasks]
and makes his lightning ·flash [L shine in the clouds]?
16 Do you know how the clouds ·hang [or spread] in the sky?
Do you know the ·miracles [wonders] of God, ·who knows everything [L the one perfect in knowledge]?
17 You ·suffer [L swelter] in your clothes
when the land is silenced by the hot, south wind.
18 You cannot stretch out the sky ·like God [L with him]
and make it look as hard as ·polished bronze [L a cast mirror].
19 ·Tell [L Teach] us what we should say to him;
we cannot get our arguments ·ready [L in order] because ·we do not have enough understanding [L of the darkness].
20 Should God be told ·that I want to [or when I] speak?
Would a person ask to be swallowed up?
21 No one can look at the ·sun [L light]
when it is bright in the sky
after the wind ·has blown all the clouds away [L passes by and clears it].
22 ·God comes out of the north in golden light [L Gold comes from the north],
·in overwhelming greatness [L an awesome splendor is all around God].
23 ·The Almighty [L Shaddai] ·is too high for us to reach [L —we cannot find him].
He ·has great [is exalted in] strength;
he ·is always right and never punishes unfairly [L will not violate justice and abundant righteousness].
24 That is why people ·honor [fear] him;
·he does not respect those who say they are wise [or all the wise of heart fear him].”
The Woman on the Animal
17 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke to me. He said, “Come, and I will show you the ·punishment [judgment] that will be given to the great ·prostitute [whore], the one sitting [or ruling] over many waters [C referring to the Euphrates River and its many waterways (Jer. 51:13), or symbolically to the cosmic forces of evil]. 2 The kings of the earth ·sinned sexually [prostituted themselves; committed fornication] with her, and the people of the earth became drunk from the wine of her ·sexual sin [prostitution; fornication; 14:8].”
3 Then the angel carried me away ·by the Spirit [or in the spirit] to the ·desert [wilderness]. There I saw a woman sitting on a ·red [scarlet] beast. It was covered with ·names against God written on it [blasphemous names], and it had seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was dressed in purple and ·red [scarlet] and was ·shining [glittering; adorned] with the gold, precious jewels, and pearls she was wearing. She had a golden cup in her hand, a cup filled with ·evil [abominable; detestable] things and the uncleanness of her ·sexual sin [prostitution; fornication]. 5 On her forehead a ·title [name] was written that was ·secret [a mystery]. This is what was written:
the great babylon
mother of ·prostitutes [whores]
and of the ·evil [abominable; detestable] things of the earth
6 Then I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of ·God’s holy people [T the saints] and with the blood of ·those who were killed because of their faith in [witnesses to; or martyrs for] Jesus.
When I saw the woman, I was ·very amazed [greatly astonished; L amazed with great amazement]. 7 Then the angel said to me, “Why are you amazed [astonished]? I will tell you the ·secret [mystery] of this woman and the beast ·she rides [that carries her]—the one with seven heads and ten horns. 8 The beast you saw ·was once alive but is not alive now [L was, and is not; 13:3, 12, 14]. But soon it will come up out of the ·bottomless pit [Abyss; 9:1] and go away to ·be destroyed [its destruction]. There are people who live on earth whose names have not been written in the ·book [scroll] of life [3:5] since the ·beginning [foundation; creation] of the world. They will be amazed when they see the beast, because he was ·once alive, is not alive now, but will come again [L was, is not, but is to come; C imitating the divine title of the Lamb (1:18; 2:8) and God (1:4, 8; 4:8)].
9 “You need a wise mind to understand this. The seven heads on the beast are seven ·mountains [or hills; C Rome was built on seven hills] where the woman sits. 10 ·And they are seven kings. Five of the kings have ·already been destroyed [L fallen], one of the kings ·lives now [L is], and another has not yet come. When he comes, he must stay a short time. 11 The beast that ·was once alive [L was], but ·is not alive now [L is not], is also an eighth king. He belongs to the first seven kings, and he ·will go away to be destroyed [is heading to destruction].
12 “The ten horns [Dan. 7:7–8, 20–25] you saw are ten kings who have not yet ·begun to rule [received a kingdom], but they will receive ·power [authority] to rule with the beast for one hour [C a short time]. 13 All ten of these kings have ·the same [L one] ·purpose [intention], and they will give their power and authority to the beast. 14 They will make war against the Lamb [C Jesus], but the Lamb will ·defeat [conquer; be victorious over] them, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings. ·He will defeat them with his called, chosen, and faithful followers [or Those with him are called, chosen and faithful].”
15 Then the angel said to me, “The waters that you saw, where the ·prostitute [whore] sits, are peoples, ·races [multitudes; crowds], nations, and languages. 16 The ten horns and the beast you saw will hate the ·prostitute [whore]. They will ·take everything she has [make her desolate] and leave her naked. They will eat her body and burn her with fire [Ezek. 23:25–29]. 17 [L For] God ·made the ten horns want [L put it into their hearts] to carry out his ·purpose [intention] by agreeing to give the beast their ·power to rule [kingdom], until ·what God has said comes about [L the word of God has been fulfilled/completed]. 18 The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.” [C Whether symbolized by Rome, Babylon, Sodom or apostate Jerusalem, this city is ultimately the human world system ruled by Satan standing in opposition to the city of God, the new Jerusalem.]
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