Daniel 3:25–66
25 Then Azariah stood and prayed thus and opened his mouth in the midst of the fire and said:
26 “Blessed are You and praiseworthy, O Lord, the God of our fathers,
And praised and glorified is Your name unto the ages.
27 For You are righteous in all You did for us,
And all Your works are true.
Your ways are upright,
And all Your judgments are true.
28 The judgments You made are true,
According to all You brought on us
And on the holy city of our fathers,
Because in truth and judgment
You did all these things on account of our sins.
29 For we sinned and acted lawlessly
To depart from You.
We sinned in every way,
And did not obey Your commandments.
30 Neither did we treasure or do as You commanded,
That it might go well with us.
31 Everything You brought on us
And all You did to us, You did in true judgment.
32 You delivered us into the hands of lawless and rebellious enemies
And to an unjust king—the most evil in any land.
33 Now it is not for us to open our mouth,
For this has become a shame and disgrace to Your servants
And to those who worship You.
34 For Your name’s sake, do not hand us over to the end,
And do not reject Your covenant.
35 Do not withdraw Your mercy from us for the sake of Abraham,
Who is loved by You, and for the sake of Isaac, Your servant,
And of Israel, Your holy one,
36 As You spoke to them, saying
That You would multiply their seed as the stars of heaven,
And as the sand along the seashore.
37 Yet we have been diminished in number, O Master,
More than all the nations,
And we are humbled in all the earth today because of our sins.
38 “At this time, there is no prince, no prophet, and no leader;
There is no whole burnt offering, no sacrifice, no offering, and no incense;
There is no place to bear fruit before You and to find mercy.
39 Yet with a contrite soul and humbled spirit,
May we receive mercy, as with whole burnt offerings of rams and bulls,
And as with thousands of fatted lambs.
40 So let this be our sacrifice before You today,
And may it be accomplished for those who follow You;
For there is no shame for those who trust in You.
41 Now we are following You with all our heart,
And we fear You and seek Your face.
42 “Do not put us to shame,
But deal with us according to Your kindness
And according to the abundance of Your mercy.
43 Deliver us by Your wondrous works
And give glory to Your name, O Lord.
44 May all those who inflict evils upon Your servants
Be put to shame and humiliated in their power;
And let their strength be crushed.
45 Let them know that You alone are the Lord God
And glorious over all the inhabited earth.”
46 Now the king’s servants who cast them in did not cease to stoke the furnace with naphtha, pitch, coarse fiber, and brushwood. 47 The flame shot forty-nine cubits above the furnace, 48 and it broke out and burned those it found around the furnace of the Chaldeans. 49 But the Angel of the Lord went down into the furnace to join Azariah and his companions, and shook off the fiery flame of the furnace. 50 He made the inside of the furnace to be as though a dew-laden breeze were blowing through it, so the fire did not touch them at all, or cause them pain, or trouble them.
Hymn of the Three Young Men
51 Then the three, as if with one mouth, sang, glorified, and blessed God in the furnace, saying:
52 “Blessed are You, O Lord God of our fathers,
For You are praiseworthy
And exalted beyond measure unto the ages.
Blessed is Your name and the temple of your glory,
And You are praised exceedingly
And exalted beyond measure unto the ages.
53 You are blessed in the holy temple of Your glory,
And are highly praised
And exceedingly glorious unto the ages.
54 Blessed are You on the throne of Your kingdom,
And You are praised
And exalted beyond measure unto the ages.
55 “Blessed are You who behold the depths
And sit upon the cherubim.
You are praiseworthy
And exalted beyond measure unto the ages.
56 Blessed are You in the firmament of heaven,
For You are praised and glorified unto the ages.
57 Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord,
And sing a hymn to the Lord,
And exalt Him beyond measure unto the ages.
58 Bless the Lord, you angels of the Lord,
And sing a hymn to Him,
And exalt Him beyond measure unto the ages.
59 Bless the Lord, you heavens,
And sing a hymn to Him,
And exalt Him beyond measure unto the ages.
60 Bless the Lord, all you waters above heaven,
And sing a hymn to Him,
And exalt Him beyond measure unto the ages.
61 Bless the Lord, all you powers of the Lord,
And sing a hymn to Him,
And exalt Him beyond measure unto the ages.
62 “Bless the Lord, you sun and moon,
And sing a hymn to Him,
And exalt Him beyond measure unto the ages.
63 Bless the Lord, you stars of heaven,
And sing a hymn to Him,
And exalt Him beyond measure unto the ages.
64 Bless the Lord, every shower and dew,
And sing a hymn to Him,
And exalt Him beyond measure unto the ages.
65 Bless the Lord, all you winds,
And sing a hymn to Him,
And exalt Him beyond measure unto the ages.
66 Bless the Lord, you fire and heat,
And sing a hymn to Him,
And exalt Him beyond measure unto the ages.
Psalms 145
1 Alleluia; of Aggeus and Zacharias.
Praise the Lord, O my soul.
2 I shall praise the Lord while I live;
I shall sing to my God as long as I exist.
3 Do not trust in rulers and in the sons of men,
In whom there is no salvation.
4 His breath shall go out of him, and he shall return to his earth;
On that day all his thoughts shall perish.
5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob;
His hope is in the Lord his God,
6 Who made heaven and earth,
The sea and everything in them,
Who keeps truth forever,
7 Who executes justice for the wronged,
Who provides food for the hungry.
The Lord frees those bound.
8 The Lord restores those broken down.
The Lord gives wisdom to the blind.
The Lord loves the righteous.
9 The Lord keeps watch over resident aliens.
He shall adopt the orphan and the widow,
But He shall destroy the way of sinners.
10 The Lord shall reign forever:
Your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Proverbs 31:1–5
1 My words were spoken by God,
The oracular response of a king, whom his mother instructed.
A Mother’s Wisdom
2 “What, my child, will you keep? What? The words of God.”
My firstborn son, I say to you, “What, the child of my womb?
What, the child of my vows?”
3 Do not give your wealth to women,
Nor your heart or life to remorse.
4 Do all things with counsel;
Drink wine with counsel;
Princes are prone to anger, but let them not drink wine,
5 Lest while they drink, they forget wisdom,
And be unable to judge the weak uprightly.
Revelation 17
1 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters,
2 “with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.”
3 So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication.
5 And on her forehead a name was written:
MYSTERY,BABYLON THE GREAT,THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
6 I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.
The Meaning of the Woman and the Beast
7 But the angel said to me, “Why did you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns.
8 “The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
9 “Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits.
10 “There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time.
11 “The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition.
12 “The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast.
13 “These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast.
14 “These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.”
15 Then he said to me, “The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues.
16 “And the ten horns which you saw on the beast, these will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire.
17 “For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.
18 “And the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.”