Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Restoration of Jacob
18 “Thus says the Lord,
‘Behold, I will (A)restore the [a]fortunes of the tents of Jacob
And (B)have compassion on his dwelling places;
And the (C)city will be rebuilt on its ruin,
And the (D)palace will stand on its rightful place.
19 ‘From them will proceed (E)thanksgiving
And the voice of those who [b](F)celebrate;
And I will (G)multiply them and they will not be diminished;
I will also (H)honor them and they will not be insignificant.
20 ‘[c]Their children also will be as formerly,
And [d]their congregation shall be (I)established before Me;
And I will punish all [e]their oppressors.
21 ‘[f]Their (J)leader shall be one of them,
And [g]their ruler shall come forth from [h]their midst;
And I will (K)bring him near and he shall approach Me;
For [i]who would dare to risk his life to (L)approach Me?’ declares the Lord.
22 ‘You shall be (M)My people,
And I will be your God.’”
8 (A)I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw, (B)I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things. 9 But (C)he *said to me, “Do not do that. I am a (D)fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those who [a]heed the words of (E)this book. Worship God.”
The Final Message
10 And he *said to me, “(F)Do not seal up (G)the words of the prophecy of this book, (H)for the time is near. 11 (I)Let the one who does wrong, still do wrong; and the one who is filthy, still be filthy; and let the one who is righteous, still practice righteousness; and the one who is holy, still keep himself holy.”
12 “Behold, (J)I am coming quickly, and My (K)reward is with Me, (L)to render to every man [b]according to what he has done. 13 I am the (M)Alpha and the Omega, (N)the first and the last, (O)the beginning and the end.”
14 Blessed are those who (P)wash their robes, so that they may have the right to (Q)the tree of life, and may (R)enter by the (S)gates into the city. 15 (T)Outside are the (U)dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.
16 “(V)I, Jesus, have sent (W)My angel to testify to you these things [c](X)for the churches. I am (Y)the root and the (Z)descendant of David, the bright (AA)morning star.”
17 The (AB)Spirit and the (AC)bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And (AD)let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the (AE)water of life without cost.
18 I testify to everyone who hears (AF)the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone (AG)adds to them, God will add to him (AH)the plagues which are written in (AI)this book; 19 and if anyone (AJ)takes away from the (AK)words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from (AL)the tree of life and [d]from the holy city, (AM)which are written in this book.
20 He who (AN)testifies to these things says, “Yes, (AO)I am coming quickly.” Amen. (AP)Come, Lord Jesus.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.