Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

David wrote this psalm when he was in the Judah wilderness.

A morning song^[a]

The king punishes Daniel's three friends

¹⁹ Then Nebuchadnezzar was even more angry with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. His face became red. He said to his servants, ‘Make the fire in the oven seven times hotter than usual.’ ²⁰ He told the strongest men in his army, ‘Tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Then throw them into the very hot fire!’

²¹ So the soldiers tied up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego with ropes. They were still wearing their coats, their hats and their other clothes when the soldiers took hold of them. The soldiers threw them into the middle of the hot fire with all their clothes on. ²² The soldiers needed to obey the king in a hurry. The fire was very hot. As a result, flames from the fire killed the men who threw Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego into it. ²³ So the three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, fell into the middle of the hot fire. The ropes still held them very strongly.

²⁴ What King Nebuchadnezzar saw next surprised him very much. He jumped up and he shouted to his officers, ‘We tied up three men and we threw them into the fire. Isn't that right?’ The officers answered the king, ‘Yes, sir, we certainly did that.’ ²⁵ The king said, ‘But I see four men walking about in the fire! No ropes are holding them and the fire has not hurt them. The fourth man seems like a son of the gods.’

²⁶ King Nebuchadnezzar went near to the door of the oven where the very hot fire was. He shouted aloud to the men inside, ‘Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, I see that you are servants of the powerful God who rules over everything. Now come out here!’

So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire. ²⁷ Then the king's officers, his wise men and the government rulers and leaders came near to the three men. They saw that the fire had not hurt Shadrach, Meshach or Abednego. The fire had not even burnt their hair or their clothes. They did not even have any smell from the fire.

Nebuchadnezzar's new command

²⁸ Then King Nebuchadnezzar said, ‘Praise the God that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego serve! He sent his angel to keep his servants safe. They continued to trust in their God. So they did not obey the command that I had made as king. They would not agree to serve any other god except their own God. They would rather have died than worship any other god. ²⁹ No other god can save people like their God has done for them. So I make a command for the people of every nation who speak any language. They must never say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. If anyone does that, my soldiers will cut them into pieces. They will knock down those people's houses so that they become heaps of stones.’

³⁰ Then the king gave more authority to Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to rule in the region of Babylon.

Jesus' message to the believers at Smyrna

⁸ ‘Write this to the angel of the church at Smyrna:

“This is the message to you from the one who is the first and the last. He was dead, but he became alive again.

⁹ I know that bad people are making you suffer. I also know that you are poor. But really, you are rich. Some people say that they are Jews, but they tell lies about you. So they cannot be my true people. Instead, they belong to a group of Satan's people. ¹⁰ I know that trouble will soon come to you. But do not be afraid. Listen! The Devil will cause some of you to go to prison. He wants to see whether you will continue to believe in me. As a result, you will suffer for ten days.^[a] But continue to trust me, even if you die. Then you will win against the Devil. I will give you a gift, as they give a crown to the winner of a race.^[b] You will have life with me for ever.

¹¹ God's Spirit is speaking to you in the churches. You should understand what the Spirit is saying to you. You have ears, so listen carefully! The second death will not hurt anyone who wins against Satan.” ’^[c]