Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 65

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. A song.

¹ To You belongs silence (the submissive wonder of reverence which bursts forth into praise) and praise is due and fitting to You, O God, in Zion; and to You shall the vow be performed.

² O You Who hear prayer, to You shall all flesh come.

³ Iniquities and much varied guilt prevail against me; [yet] as for our transgressions, You forgive and purge them away [make atonement for them and cover them out of Your sight]!

⁴ Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man whom You choose and cause to come near, that he may dwell in Your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, Your holy temple.

⁵ By fearful and glorious things [that terrify the wicked but make the godly sing praises] do You answer us in righteousness (rightness and justice), O God of our salvation, You Who are the confidence and hope of all the ends of the earth and of those far off on the seas;

⁶ Who by [Your] might have founded the mountains, being girded with power,

⁷ Who still the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the tumult of the peoples,

⁸ So that those who dwell in earth’s farthest parts are afraid of [nature’s] signs of Your presence. You make the places where morning and evening have birth to shout for joy.

⁹ You visit the earth and saturate it with water; You greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; You provide them with grain when You have so prepared the earth.

¹⁰ You water the field’s furrows abundantly, You settle the ridges of it; You make the soil soft with showers, blessing the sprouting of its vegetation.

¹¹ You crown the year with Your bounty and goodness, and the tracks of Your [chariot wheels] drip with fatness.

¹² The [luxuriant] pastures in the uncultivated country drip [with moisture], and the hills gird themselves with joy.

¹³ The meadows are clothed with flocks, the valleys also are covered with grain; they shout for joy and sing together.

2 Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on My holy Mount [Zion]. Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of [the judgment of] the Lord is coming; it is close at hand—^(A)

² A day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and of thick mists and darkness, like the morning dawn spread upon the mountains; so there comes a [heathen, hostile] people numerous and mighty, the like of which has never been before and shall not be again even to the years of many generations.

³ A fire devours before them, and behind them a flame burns; the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yes, and none has escaped [the ravages of the devouring hordes].

⁴ Their appearance is like the appearance of horses, and like war horses and horsemen, so do they run.

⁵ Like the noise of chariots on the tops of the mountains they leap—like the noise of a flame of fire devouring the stubble, like a mighty people set in battle array.^(B)

⁶ Before them the peoples are in anguish; all faces become pale.

⁷ They run like mighty men; they climb the wall like men of war. They march each one [straight ahead] on his ways, and they do not break their ranks.

⁸ Neither does one thrust upon another; they walk every one in his path. And they burst through and upon the weapons, yet they are not wounded and do not change their course.

⁹ They leap upon the city; they run upon the wall; they climb up on and into the houses; they enter in at the windows like a thief.

¹⁰ The earth quakes before them; the heavens tremble. The sun and the moon are darkened and the stars withdraw their shining.^(C)

¹¹ And the Lord utters His voice before His army, for His host is very great, and [they are] strong and powerful who execute [God’s] word. For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible, and who can endure it?^(D)

¹⁰ Now you have closely observed and diligently followed my teaching, conduct, purpose in life, faith, patience, love, steadfastness,

¹¹ Persecutions, sufferings—such as occurred to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra, persecutions I endured, but out of them all the Lord delivered me.

¹² Indeed all who delight in piety and are determined to live a devoted and godly life in Christ Jesus will meet with persecution [will be made to suffer because of their religious stand].

¹³ But wicked men and imposters will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and leading astray others and being deceived and led astray themselves.

¹⁴ But as for you, continue to hold to the things that you have learned and of which you are convinced, knowing from whom you learned [them],

¹⁵ And how from your childhood you have had a knowledge of and been acquainted with the sacred Writings, which are able to instruct you and give you the understanding for salvation which comes through faith in Christ Jesus [through the ^[a]leaning of the entire human personality on God in Christ Jesus in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness].