Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Lord’s Care over All His Works.
104 (A)Bless the Lord, my soul!
Lord my God, You are very great;
You are (B)clothed with splendor and majesty,
2 Covering Yourself with (C)light as with a cloak,
(D)Stretching out heaven like a tent curtain.
3 [a]He (E)lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters;
[b]He makes the (F)clouds His chariot;
[c]He walks on the (G)wings of the wind;
4 [d]He makes [e](H)the winds His messengers,
[f]Flaming (I)fire His ministers.
5 He (J)established the earth upon its foundations,
So that it will not [g]totter forever and ever.
6 You (K)covered it with the deep sea as with a garment;
The waters were standing above the mountains.
7 They fled from Your (L)rebuke,
At the (M)sound of Your thunder they hurried away.
8 The mountains rose; the valleys sank down
To the (N)place which You established for them.
9 You set a (O)boundary so that they will not pass over,
So that they will not return to cover the earth.
Elihu Says God Has Authority over the Storm
37 “At this also my heart trembles,
And leaps from its place.
2 Listen closely to the (A)thunder of His voice,
And the rumbling that goes out from His mouth.
3 Under the whole heaven He lets it loose,
And His [a]lightning travels to the (B)ends of the earth.
4 After it, a voice roars;
He thunders with His majestic voice,
And He does not restrain [b]the lightning when His voice is heard.
5 God (C)thunders wondrously with His voice,
Doing (D)great things which we do not comprehend.
6 For to (E)the snow He says, ‘Fall on the earth,’
And to the [c](F)downpour and the rain, ‘Be strong.’
7 He (G)seals the hand of every person,
So that (H)all people may know His work.
8 Then the animal goes into its (I)lair
And remains in its [d]den.
9 From the [e](J)south comes the storm,
And from the north wind the cold.
10 From the breath of God (K)ice is made,
And the expanse of the waters is frozen.
11 He also (L)loads the clouds with moisture;
He (M)disperses (N)the cloud of His [f]lightning.
12 It changes direction, turning around by His guidance,
That [g]it may do whatever He (O)commands [h]it
On the (P)face of the inhabited earth.
13 Whether for [i](Q)correction, or for (R)His earth,
Or for (S)goodness, He causes it to [j]happen.
14 “Listen to this, Job;
Stand and consider the wonders of God.
15 Do you know how God establishes them,
And makes the [k]lightning of His clouds to shine?
16 Do you know about the hovering of the clouds,
The (T)wonders of One who is (U)perfect in knowledge,
17 You whose garments are hot
When the land is still because of the south wind?
18 Can you, with Him, (V)spread out the skies,
Strong as a cast metal mirror?
19 Teach us what we are to say to Him;
We (W)cannot present our case because of darkness.
20 Shall it be told Him that I would speak?
[l]Or should a man say that he would be swallowed up?
21 “Now people do not see the light which is bright in the skies;
But the wind has passed and cleared them.
22 From the north comes golden splendor;
Around God is awesome majesty.
23 The Almighty—(X)we cannot find Him;
He is (Y)exalted in power
And (Z)He will not violate (AA)justice and abundant righteousness.
24 Therefore people (AB)fear Him;
He does not (AC)regard any who are wise of heart.”
The Doom of Babylon
17 (A)Then one of the (B)seven angels who had the (C)seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you (D)the judgment of the (E)great prostitute who (F)sits on many waters, 2 with whom (G)the kings of the earth committed acts of sexual immorality, and (H)those who live on the earth (I)became drunk with the wine of her sexual immorality.” 3 And (J)he carried me away [a](K)in the Spirit (L)into a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting on a (M)scarlet beast, full of (N)blasphemous names, having (O)seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman (P)was clothed in purple and scarlet, and [b]adorned with gold, precious [c]stones, and pearls, holding in her hand (Q)a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her sexual immorality, 5 and on her forehead a name was written, [d]a (R)mystery: “(S)BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF (T)THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” 6 And I saw the woman drunk with (U)the blood of the [e]saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered [f]greatly. 7 And the angel said to me, “Why [g]do you wonder? I will tell you the (V)mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the (W)seven heads and the ten horns.
8 “(X)The beast that you saw (Y)was, and is not, and is about to (Z)come up out of the (AA)abyss and [h](AB)go to destruction. And (AC)those who live on the earth, (AD)whose names have not been written in the book of life (AE)from the foundation of the world, will (AF)wonder when they see the beast, that he was, and is not, and will [i]come. 9 (AG)Here is the mind which has wisdom. The (AH)seven heads are seven mountains upon which the woman sits, 10 and they are seven (AI)kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while. 11 The beast which (AJ)was, and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he (AK)goes to destruction. 12 The (AL)ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast (AM)for one hour. 13 These have (AN)one [j]purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast.
Victory for the Lamb
14 These will wage (AO)war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will (AP)overcome them because He is (AQ)Lord of lords and (AR)King of kings; and (AS)those who are with Him are the (AT)called and chosen and faithful.”
15 And he *said to me, “The (AU)waters which you saw where the prostitute sits are (AV)peoples and multitudes, and nations and languages. 16 And the (AW)ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the prostitute and will make her (AX)desolate and (AY)naked, and will (AZ)eat her flesh and will (BA)burn her up with fire. 17 For (BB)God has put it in their hearts to execute His [k]purpose [l]by (BC)having a common purpose, and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the (BD)words of God will be fulfilled. 18 The woman whom you saw is (BE)the great city, which [m]reigns over the kings of the earth.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.