Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
18 “Thus says the Lord:
‘Behold, I will bring back the captivity of Jacob’s tents,
And (A)have mercy on his dwelling places;
The city shall be built upon its own [a]mound,
And the palace shall remain according to its own plan.
19 Then (B)out of them shall proceed thanksgiving
And the voice of those who make merry;
(C)I will multiply them, and they shall not diminish;
I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small.
20 Their children also shall be (D)as before,
And their congregation shall be established before Me;
And I will punish all who oppress them.
21 Their nobles shall be from among them,
(E)And their governor shall come from their midst;
Then I will (F)cause him to draw near,
And he shall approach Me;
For who is this who pledged his heart to approach Me?’ says the Lord.
22 ‘You shall be (G)My people,
And I will be your God.’ ”
23 Behold, the (H)whirlwind of the Lord
Goes forth with fury,
A [b]continuing whirlwind;
It will fall violently on the head of the wicked.
24 The fierce anger of the Lord will not return until He has done it,
And until He has performed the intents of His heart.
(I)In the latter days you will consider it.
8 Now I, John, [a]saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, (A)I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things.
9 Then he said to me, (B)“See that you do not do that. [b]For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.” 10 (C)And he said to me, “Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, (D)for the time is at hand. 11 He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him [c]be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.”
Jesus Testifies to the Churches
12 “And behold, I am coming quickly, and (E)My reward is with Me, (F)to give to every one according to his work. 13 (G)I am the Alpha and the Omega, the [d]Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”
14 (H)Blessed are those who [e]do His commandments, that they may have the right (I)to the tree of life, (J)and may enter through the gates into the city. 15 [f]But (K)outside are (L)dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.
16 (M)“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. (N)I am the Root and the Offspring of David, (O)the Bright and Morning Star.”
17 And the Spirit and (P)the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” (Q)And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.
A Warning
18 [g]For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: (R)If anyone adds to these things, [h]God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, (S)God[i] shall take away his part from the [j]Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
I Am Coming Quickly
20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.”
Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be [k]with you all. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.