Podcasts about Wail

Chapters 13 & 14 of Exodus describe for us the dramatic deliverance of Israel from Egypt. Yet, as all the drama is unfolding so that “the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD” [14 v.4], the escaping people of God led by Moses were unable to see the hand of God in action, they were not escaping in faith! There is a lesson for us here! “The Egyptians pursued them … and overtook them encamped at the sea…” [v.9] “ the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly.” [v.10] The people were in despair and said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness?” [v.11] It will be a challenge of faith to us – not to be in despair when God's prophecy through Haggai is fulfilled! “….thus says the LORD of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land.” [2 v.6] This is a total shaking! Our thoughts go forward to Revelation and the prophecy of “flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such as there had never been since man was on the earth” [16 v.18] Just as the people of God “feared greatly” as they were delivered from Egypt, so will God's people very soon have experiences as God acts, as Christ is returning, to show his hatred of the widespread godlessness that now exists. Let us build up our faith to the uttermost, for our world has become a ‘latter day' Babylon and God's words through Isaiah must, we fear, have some application to today's world! “The sound of an uproar ofkingdoms … Wail, for the day of the LORD is near … the day of the LORD comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger … I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant …” [13 v.4,6,911] Egypt was punished for its arrogance; it had forgotten all the wonders in the days of Joseph, just as our world has forgotten all the wonders (and words) in the days of Jesus! It is certain to be said of the godless, after Jesus returns, “and they fear greatly” – but what of the godly who are looking for his return and the deliverance it will bring? The answer to this question is in 1 John 4 v.18, “There is nofear in love, but perfect love casts out fear … whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” Our daily meditative reading of God's word is an essential foundation for perfecting our love for our Lord and in being ready for his return. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/christadelphians-talk/message

Old Testament: Zechariah 10–14 Zechariah 10–14 (Listen) The Restoration for Judah and Israel 10   Ask rain from the LORD    in the season of the spring rain,  from the LORD who makes the storm clouds,    and he will give them showers of rain,    to everyone the vegetation in the field.2   For the household gods utter nonsense,    and the diviners see lies;  they tell false dreams    and give empty consolation.  Therefore the people wander like sheep;    they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd. 3   “My anger is hot against the shepherds,    and I will punish the leaders;1  for the LORD of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah,    and will make them like his majestic steed in battle.4   From him shall come the cornerstone,    from him the tent peg,  from him the battle bow,    from him every ruler—all of them together.5   They shall be like mighty men in battle,    trampling the foe in the mud of the streets;  they shall fight because the LORD is with them,    and they shall put to shame the riders on horses. 6   “I will strengthen the house of Judah,    and I will save the house of Joseph.  I will bring them back because I have compassion on them,    and they shall be as though I had not rejected them,    for I am the LORD their God and I will answer them.7   Then Ephraim shall become like a mighty warrior,    and their hearts shall be glad as with wine.  Their children shall see it and be glad;    their hearts shall rejoice in the LORD. 8   “I will whistle for them and gather them in,    for I have redeemed them,    and they shall be as many as they were before.9   Though I scattered them among the nations,    yet in far countries they shall remember me,    and with their children they shall live and return.10   I will bring them home from the land of Egypt,    and gather them from Assyria,  and I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon,    till there is no room for them.11   He shall pass through the sea of troubles    and strike down the waves of the sea,    and all the depths of the Nile shall be dried up.  The pride of Assyria shall be laid low,    and the scepter of Egypt shall depart.12   I will make them strong in the LORD,    and they shall walk in his name,”      declares the LORD. The Flock Doomed to Slaughter 11   Open your doors, O Lebanon,    that the fire may devour your cedars!2   Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,    for the glorious trees are ruined!  Wail, oaks of Bashan,    for the thick forest has been felled!3   The sound of the wail of the shepherds,    for their glory is ruined!  The sound of the roar of the lions,    for the thicket of the Jordan is ruined! 4 Thus said the LORD my God: “Become shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter. 5 Those who buy them slaughter them and go unpunished, and those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the LORD, I have become rich,' and their own shepherds have no pity on them. 6 For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of this land, declares the LORD. Behold, I will cause each of them to fall into the hand of his neighbor, and each into the hand of his king, and they shall crush the land, and I will deliver none from their hand.” 7 So I became the shepherd of the flock doomed to be slaughtered by the sheep traders. And I took two staffs, one I named Favor, the other I named Union. And I tended the sheep. 8 In one month I destroyed the three shepherds. But I became impatient with them, and they also detested me. 9 So I said, “I will not be your shepherd. What is to die, let it die. What is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed. And let those who are left devour the flesh of one another.” 10 And I took my staff Favor, and I broke it, annulling the covenant that I had made with all the peoples. 11 So it was annulled on that day, and the sheep traders, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the LORD. 12 Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver. 13 Then the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD, to the potter. 14 Then I broke my second staff Union, annulling the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. 15 Then the LORD said to me, “Take once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 For behold, I am raising up in the land a shepherd who does not care for those being destroyed, or seek the young or heal the maimed or nourish the healthy, but devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs. 17   “Woe to my worthless shepherd,    who deserts the flock!  May the sword strike his arm    and his right eye!  Let his arm be wholly withered,    his right eye utterly blinded!” The Lord Will Give Salvation 12 The oracle of the word of the LORD concerning Israel: Thus declares the LORD, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him: 2 “Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it. 4 On that day, declares the LORD, I will strike every horse with panic, and its rider with madness. But for the sake of the house of Judah I will keep my eyes open, when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the LORD of hosts, their God.' 6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot in the midst of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves. And they shall devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place, in Jerusalem. 7 “And the LORD will give salvation to the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not surpass that of Judah. 8 On that day the LORD will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the LORD, going before them. 9 And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. Him Whom They Have Pierced 10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land shall mourn, each family2 by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; 13 the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves; 14 and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves. 13 “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness. Idolatry Cut Off 2 “And on that day, declares the LORD of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more. And also I will remove from the land the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness. 3 And if anyone again prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the LORD.' And his father and mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies. 4 “On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive, 5 but he will say, ‘I am no prophet, I am a worker of the soil, for a man sold me in my youth.'3 6 And if one asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your back?'4 he will say, ‘The wounds I received in the house of my friends.' The Shepherd Struck 7   “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,    against the man who stands next to me,”      declares the LORD of hosts.   “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered;    I will turn my hand against the little ones.8   In the whole land, declares the LORD,    two thirds shall be cut off and perish,    and one third shall be left alive.9   And I will put this third into the fire,    and refine them as one refines silver,    and test them as gold is tested.  They will call upon my name,    and I will answer them.  I will say, ‘They are my people';    and they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.'” The Coming Day of the Lord 14 Behold, a day is coming for the LORD, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. 2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3 Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. 4 On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. 5 And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.5 6 On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost.6 7 And there shall be a unique7 day, which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light. 8 On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea8 and half of them to the western sea.9 It shall continue in summer as in winter. 9 And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be one and his name one. 10 The whole land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. But Jerusalem shall remain aloft on its site from the Gate of Benjamin to the place of the former gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king's winepresses. 11 And it shall be inhabited, for there shall never again be a decree of utter destruction.10 Jerusalem shall dwell in security. 12 And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. 13 And on that day a great panic from the LORD shall fall on them, so that each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other. 14 Even Judah will fight at Jerusalem.11 And the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be collected, gold, silver, and garments in great abundance. 15 And a plague like this plague shall fall on the horses, the mules, the camels, the donkeys, and whatever beasts may be in those camps. 16 Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths. 17 And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them. 18 And if the family of Egypt does not go up and present themselves, then on them there shall be no rain;12 there shall be the plague with which the LORD afflicts the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. 19 This shall be the punishment to Egypt and the punishment to all the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. 20 And on that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to the LORD.” And the pots in the house of the LORD shall be as the bowls before the altar. 21 And every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy to the LORD of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and take of them and boil the meat of the sacrifice in them. And there shall no longer be a trader13 in the house of the LORD of hosts on that day. Footnotes [1] 10:3 Hebrew the male goats [2] 12:12 Or clan; throughout verses 12–14 [3] 13:5 Or for the land has been my possession since my youth [4] 13:6 Or on your chest; Hebrew wounds between your hands [5] 14:5 Other Hebrew manuscripts you [6] 14:6 Compare Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate, Targum; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain [7] 14:7 Hebrew one [8] 14:8 That is, the Dead Sea [9] 14:8 That is, the Mediterranean Sea [10] 14:11 The Hebrew term rendered decree of utter destruction refers to things devoted (or set apart) to the Lord (or by the Lord) for destruction [11] 14:14 Or against Jerusalem [12] 14:18 Hebrew lacks rain [13] 14:21 Or Canaanite (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 149 Psalm 149 (Listen) Sing to the Lord a New Song 149   Praise the LORD!  Sing to the LORD a new song,    his praise in the assembly of the godly!2   Let Israel be glad in his Maker;    let the children of Zion rejoice in their King!3   Let them praise his name with dancing,    making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!4   For the LORD takes pleasure in his people;    he adorns the humble with salvation.5   Let the godly exult in glory;    let them sing for joy on their beds.6   Let the high praises of God be in their throats    and two-edged swords in their hands,7   to execute vengeance on the nations    and punishments on the peoples,8   to bind their kings with chains    and their nobles with fetters of iron,9   to execute on them the judgment written!    This is honor for all his godly ones.  Praise the LORD! (ESV) New Testament: Revelation 20–21 Revelation 20–21 (Listen) The Thousand Years 20 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit1 and a great chain. 2 And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while. 4 Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years. The Defeat of Satan 7 And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. 9 And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven2 and consumed them, 10 and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Judgment Before the Great White Throne 11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. The New Heaven and the New Earth 21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place3 of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people,4 and God himself will be with them as their God.5 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” The New Jerusalem 9 Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12 It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed—13 on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. 14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 15 And the one who spoke with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. 16 The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia.6 Its length and width and height are equal. 17 He also measured its wall, 144 cubits7 by human measurement, which is also an angel's measurement. 18 The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, like clear glass. 19 The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. 21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. 22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 

Old Testament: Zechariah 10–14 Zechariah 10–14 (Listen) The Restoration for Judah and Israel 10   Ask rain from the LORD    in the season of the spring rain,  from the LORD who makes the storm clouds,    and he will give them showers of rain,    to everyone the vegetation in the field.2   For the household gods utter nonsense,    and the diviners see lies;  they tell false dreams    and give empty consolation.  Therefore the people wander like sheep;    they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd. 3   “My anger is hot against the shepherds,    and I will punish the leaders;1  for the LORD of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah,    and will make them like his majestic steed in battle.4   From him shall come the cornerstone,    from him the tent peg,  from him the battle bow,    from him every ruler—all of them together.5   They shall be like mighty men in battle,    trampling the foe in the mud of the streets;  they shall fight because the LORD is with them,    and they shall put to shame the riders on horses. 6   “I will strengthen the house of Judah,    and I will save the house of Joseph.  I will bring them back because I have compassion on them,    and they shall be as though I had not rejected them,    for I am the LORD their God and I will answer them.7   Then Ephraim shall become like a mighty warrior,    and their hearts shall be glad as with wine.  Their children shall see it and be glad;    their hearts shall rejoice in the LORD. 8   “I will whistle for them and gather them in,    for I have redeemed them,    and they shall be as many as they were before.9   Though I scattered them among the nations,    yet in far countries they shall remember me,    and with their children they shall live and return.10   I will bring them home from the land of Egypt,    and gather them from Assyria,  and I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon,    till there is no room for them.11   He shall pass through the sea of troubles    and strike down the waves of the sea,    and all the depths of the Nile shall be dried up.  The pride of Assyria shall be laid low,    and the scepter of Egypt shall depart.12   I will make them strong in the LORD,    and they shall walk in his name,”      declares the LORD. The Flock Doomed to Slaughter 11   Open your doors, O Lebanon,    that the fire may devour your cedars!2   Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,    for the glorious trees are ruined!  Wail, oaks of Bashan,    for the thick forest has been felled!3   The sound of the wail of the shepherds,    for their glory is ruined!  The sound of the roar of the lions,    for the thicket of the Jordan is ruined! 4 Thus said the LORD my God: “Become shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter. 5 Those who buy them slaughter them and go unpunished, and those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the LORD, I have become rich,' and their own shepherds have no pity on them. 6 For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of this land, declares the LORD. Behold, I will cause each of them to fall into the hand of his neighbor, and each into the hand of his king, and they shall crush the land, and I will deliver none from their hand.” 7 So I became the shepherd of the flock doomed to be slaughtered by the sheep traders. And I took two staffs, one I named Favor, the other I named Union. And I tended the sheep. 8 In one month I destroyed the three shepherds. But I became impatient with them, and they also detested me. 9 So I said, “I will not be your shepherd. What is to die, let it die. What is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed. And let those who are left devour the flesh of one another.” 10 And I took my staff Favor, and I broke it, annulling the covenant that I had made with all the peoples. 11 So it was annulled on that day, and the sheep traders, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the LORD. 12 Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver. 13 Then the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD, to the potter. 14 Then I broke my second staff Union, annulling the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. 15 Then the LORD said to me, “Take once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 For behold, I am raising up in the land a shepherd who does not care for those being destroyed, or seek the young or heal the maimed or nourish the healthy, but devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs. 17   “Woe to my worthless shepherd,    who deserts the flock!  May the sword strike his arm    and his right eye!  Let his arm be wholly withered,    his right eye utterly blinded!” The Lord Will Give Salvation 12 The oracle of the word of the LORD concerning Israel: Thus declares the LORD, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him: 2 “Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it. 4 On that day, declares the LORD, I will strike every horse with panic, and its rider with madness. But for the sake of the house of Judah I will keep my eyes open, when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the LORD of hosts, their God.' 6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot in the midst of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves. And they shall devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place, in Jerusalem. 7 “And the LORD will give salvation to the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not surpass that of Judah. 8 On that day the LORD will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the LORD, going before them. 9 And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. Him Whom They Have Pierced 10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land shall mourn, each family2 by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; 13 the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves; 14 and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves. 13 “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness. Idolatry Cut Off 2 “And on that day, declares the LORD of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more. And also I will remove from the land the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness. 3 And if anyone again prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the LORD.' And his father and mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies. 4 “On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive, 5 but he will say, ‘I am no prophet, I am a worker of the soil, for a man sold me in my youth.'3 6 And if one asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your back?'4 he will say, ‘The wounds I received in the house of my friends.' The Shepherd Struck 7   “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,    against the man who stands next to me,”      declares the LORD of hosts.   “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered;    I will turn my hand against the little ones.8   In the whole land, declares the LORD,    two thirds shall be cut off and perish,    and one third shall be left alive.9   And I will put this third into the fire,    and refine them as one refines silver,    and test them as gold is tested.  They will call upon my name,    and I will answer them.  I will say, ‘They are my people';    and they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.'” The Coming Day of the Lord 14 Behold, a day is coming for the LORD, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. 2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3 Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. 4 On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. 5 And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.5 6 On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost.6 7 And there shall be a unique7 day, which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light. 8 On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea8 and half of them to the western sea.9 It shall continue in summer as in winter. 9 And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be one and his name one. 10 The whole land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. But Jerusalem shall remain aloft on its site from the Gate of Benjamin to the place of the former gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king's winepresses. 11 And it shall be inhabited, for there shall never again be a decree of utter destruction.10 Jerusalem shall dwell in security. 12 And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. 13 And on that day a great panic from the LORD shall fall on them, so that each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other. 14 Even Judah will fight at Jerusalem.11 And the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be collected, gold, silver, and garments in great abundance. 15 And a plague like this plague shall fall on the horses, the mules, the camels, the donkeys, and whatever beasts may be in those camps. 16 Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths. 17 And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them. 18 And if the family of Egypt does not go up and present themselves, then on them there shall be no rain;12 there shall be the plague with which the LORD afflicts the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. 19 This shall be the punishment to Egypt and the punishment to all the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. 20 And on that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to the LORD.” And the pots in the house of the LORD shall be as the bowls before the altar. 21 And every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy to the LORD of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and take of them and boil the meat of the sacrifice in them. And there shall no longer be a trader13 in the house of the LORD of hosts on that day. Footnotes [1] 10:3 Hebrew the male goats [2] 12:12 Or clan; throughout verses 12–14 [3] 13:5 Or for the land has been my possession since my youth [4] 13:6 Or on your chest; Hebrew wounds between your hands [5] 14:5 Other Hebrew manuscripts you [6] 14:6 Compare Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate, Targum; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain [7] 14:7 Hebrew one [8] 14:8 That is, the Dead Sea [9] 14:8 That is, the Mediterranean Sea [10] 14:11 The Hebrew term rendered decree of utter destruction refers to things devoted (or set apart) to the Lord (or by the Lord) for destruction [11] 14:14 Or against Jerusalem [12] 14:18 Hebrew lacks rain [13] 14:21 Or Canaanite (ESV) New Testament: John 20 John 20 (Listen) The Resurrection 20 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus'1 head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went back to their homes. Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene 11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic,2 “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'” 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her. Jesus Appears to the Disciples 19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews,3 Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” Jesus and Thomas 24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin,4 was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” 26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” The Purpose of This Book 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. Footnotes [1] 20:7 Greek his [2] 20:16 Or Hebrew [3] 20:19 Greek Ioudaioi probably refers here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, in that time [4] 20:24 Greek Didymus (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 149 Psalm 149 (Listen) Sing to the Lord a New Song 149   Praise the LORD!  Sing to the LORD a new song,    his praise in the assembly of the godly!2   Let Israel be glad in his Maker;    let the children of Zion rejoice in their King!3   Let them praise his name with dancing,    making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!4   For the LORD takes pleasure in his people;    he adorns the humble with salvation.5   Let the godly exult in glory;    let them sing for joy on their beds.6   Let the high praises of God be in their throats    and two-edged swords in their hands,7   to execute vengeance on the nations    and punishments on the peoples,8   to bind their kings with chains    and their nobles with fetters of iron,9   to execute on them the judgment written!    This is honor for all his godly ones.  Praise the LORD! (ESV) Proverb: Proverbs 31:8–9 Proverbs 31:8–9 (Listen) 8   Open your mouth for the mute,    for the rights of all who are destitute.19   Open your mouth, judge righteously,    defend the rights of the poor and needy. Footnotes [1] 31:8 Hebrew are sons of passing away (ESV)

Morning: Zechariah 10–12 Zechariah 10–12 (Listen) The Restoration for Judah and Israel 10   Ask rain from the LORD    in the season of the spring rain,  from the LORD who makes the storm clouds,    and he will give them showers of rain,    to everyone the vegetation in the field.2   For the household gods utter nonsense,    and the diviners see lies;  they tell false dreams    and give empty consolation.  Therefore the people wander like sheep;    they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd. 3   “My anger is hot against the shepherds,    and I will punish the leaders;1  for the LORD of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah,    and will make them like his majestic steed in battle.4   From him shall come the cornerstone,    from him the tent peg,  from him the battle bow,    from him every ruler—all of them together.5   They shall be like mighty men in battle,    trampling the foe in the mud of the streets;  they shall fight because the LORD is with them,    and they shall put to shame the riders on horses. 6   “I will strengthen the house of Judah,    and I will save the house of Joseph.  I will bring them back because I have compassion on them,    and they shall be as though I had not rejected them,    for I am the LORD their God and I will answer them.7   Then Ephraim shall become like a mighty warrior,    and their hearts shall be glad as with wine.  Their children shall see it and be glad;    their hearts shall rejoice in the LORD. 8   “I will whistle for them and gather them in,    for I have redeemed them,    and they shall be as many as they were before.9   Though I scattered them among the nations,    yet in far countries they shall remember me,    and with their children they shall live and return.10   I will bring them home from the land of Egypt,    and gather them from Assyria,  and I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon,    till there is no room for them.11   He shall pass through the sea of troubles    and strike down the waves of the sea,    and all the depths of the Nile shall be dried up.  The pride of Assyria shall be laid low,    and the scepter of Egypt shall depart.12   I will make them strong in the LORD,    and they shall walk in his name,”      declares the LORD. The Flock Doomed to Slaughter 11   Open your doors, O Lebanon,    that the fire may devour your cedars!2   Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,    for the glorious trees are ruined!  Wail, oaks of Bashan,    for the thick forest has been felled!3   The sound of the wail of the shepherds,    for their glory is ruined!  The sound of the roar of the lions,    for the thicket of the Jordan is ruined! 4 Thus said the LORD my God: “Become shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter. 5 Those who buy them slaughter them and go unpunished, and those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the LORD, I have become rich,' and their own shepherds have no pity on them. 6 For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of this land, declares the LORD. Behold, I will cause each of them to fall into the hand of his neighbor, and each into the hand of his king, and they shall crush the land, and I will deliver none from their hand.” 7 So I became the shepherd of the flock doomed to be slaughtered by the sheep traders. And I took two staffs, one I named Favor, the other I named Union. And I tended the sheep. 8 In one month I destroyed the three shepherds. But I became impatient with them, and they also detested me. 9 So I said, “I will not be your shepherd. What is to die, let it die. What is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed. And let those who are left devour the flesh of one another.” 10 And I took my staff Favor, and I broke it, annulling the covenant that I had made with all the peoples. 11 So it was annulled on that day, and the sheep traders, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the LORD. 12 Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver. 13 Then the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD, to the potter. 14 Then I broke my second staff Union, annulling the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. 15 Then the LORD said to me, “Take once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 For behold, I am raising up in the land a shepherd who does not care for those being destroyed, or seek the young or heal the maimed or nourish the healthy, but devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs. 17   “Woe to my worthless shepherd,    who deserts the flock!  May the sword strike his arm    and his right eye!  Let his arm be wholly withered,    his right eye utterly blinded!” The Lord Will Give Salvation 12 The oracle of the word of the LORD concerning Israel: Thus declares the LORD, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him: 2 “Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it. 4 On that day, declares the LORD, I will strike every horse with panic, and its rider with madness. But for the sake of the house of Judah I will keep my eyes open, when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the LORD of hosts, their God.' 6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot in the midst of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves. And they shall devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place, in Jerusalem. 7 “And the LORD will give salvation to the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not surpass that of Judah. 8 On that day the LORD will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the LORD, going before them. 9 And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. Him Whom They Have Pierced 10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land shall mourn, each family2 by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; 13 the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves; 14 and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves. Footnotes [1] 10:3 Hebrew the male goats [2] 12:12 Or clan; throughout verses 12–14 (ESV) Evening: Revelation 20 Revelation 20 (Listen) The Thousand Years 20 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit1 and a great chain. 2 And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while. 4 Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years. The Defeat of Satan 7 And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. 9 And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven2 and consumed them, 10 and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Judgment Before the Great White Throne 11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Footnotes [1] 20:1 Greek the abyss; also verse 3 [2] 20:9 Some manuscripts from God, out of heaven, or out of heaven from God (ESV)

Old Testament: Zephaniah 1—Haggai 2 Zephaniah 1–3 (Listen) 1 The word of the LORD that came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah. The Coming Judgment on Judah 2   “I will utterly sweep away everything    from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD.3   “I will sweep away man and beast;    I will sweep away the birds of the heavens    and the fish of the sea,  and the rubble1 with the wicked.    I will cut off mankind    from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD.4   “I will stretch out my hand against Judah    and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem;  and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal    and the name of the idolatrous priests along with the priests,5   those who bow down on the roofs    to the host of the heavens,  those who bow down and swear to the LORD    and yet swear by Milcom,26   those who have turned back from following the LORD,    who do not seek the LORD or inquire of him.” The Day of the Lord Is Near 7   Be silent before the Lord GOD!    For the day of the LORD is near;  the LORD has prepared a sacrifice    and consecrated his guests.8   And on the day of the LORD's sacrifice—  “I will punish the officials and the king's sons    and all who array themselves in foreign attire.9   On that day I will punish    everyone who leaps over the threshold,  and those who fill their master's3 house    with violence and fraud. 10   “On that day,” declares the LORD,    “a cry will be heard from the Fish Gate,  a wail from the Second Quarter,    a loud crash from the hills.11   Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar!    For all the traders4 are no more;    all who weigh out silver are cut off.12   At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps,    and I will punish the men  who are complacent,5    those who say in their hearts,  ‘The LORD will not do good,    nor will he do ill.'13   Their goods shall be plundered,    and their houses laid waste.  Though they build houses,    they shall not inhabit them;  though they plant vineyards,    they shall not drink wine from them.” 14   The great day of the LORD is near,    near and hastening fast;  the sound of the day of the LORD is bitter;    the mighty man cries aloud there.15   A day of wrath is that day,    a day of distress and anguish,  a day of ruin and devastation,    a day of darkness and gloom,  a day of clouds and thick darkness,16     a day of trumpet blast and battle cry  against the fortified cities    and against the lofty battlements. 17   I will bring distress on mankind,    so that they shall walk like the blind,    because they have sinned against the LORD;  their blood shall be poured out like dust,    and their flesh like dung.18   Neither their silver nor their gold    shall be able to deliver them    on the day of the wrath of the LORD.  In the fire of his jealousy,    all the earth shall be consumed;  for a full and sudden end    he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth. Judgment on Judah's Enemies 2   Gather together, yes, gather,    O shameless nation,2   before the decree takes effect6    —before the day passes away like chaff—  before there comes upon you    the burning anger of the LORD,  before there comes upon you    the day of the anger of the LORD.3   Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land,    who do his just commands;7  seek righteousness; seek humility;    perhaps you may be hidden    on the day of the anger of the LORD.4   For Gaza shall be deserted,    and Ashkelon shall become a desolation;  Ashdod's people shall be driven out at noon,    and Ekron shall be uprooted. 5   Woe to you inhabitants of the seacoast,    you nation of the Cherethites!  The word of the LORD is against you,    O Canaan, land of the Philistines;    and I will destroy you until no inhabitant is left.6   And you, O seacoast, shall be pastures,    with meadows8 for shepherds    and folds for flocks.7   The seacoast shall become the possession    of the remnant of the house of Judah,    on which they shall graze,  and in the houses of Ashkelon    they shall lie down at evening.  For the LORD their God will be mindful of them    and restore their fortunes. 8   “I have heard the taunts of Moab    and the revilings of the Ammonites,  how they have taunted my people    and made boasts against their territory.9   Therefore, as I live,” declares the LORD of hosts,    the God of Israel,  “Moab shall become like Sodom,    and the Ammonites like Gomorrah,  a land possessed by nettles and salt pits,    and a waste forever.  The remnant of my people shall plunder them,    and the survivors of my nation shall possess them.”10   This shall be their lot in return for their pride,    because they taunted and boasted    against the people of the LORD of hosts.11   The LORD will be awesome against them;    for he will famish all the gods of the earth,  and to him shall bow down,    each in its place,    all the lands of the nations. 12   You also, O Cushites,    shall be slain by my sword. 13   And he will stretch out his hand against the north    and destroy Assyria,  and he will make Nineveh a desolation,    a dry waste like the desert.14   Herds shall lie down in her midst,    all kinds of beasts;9  even the owl and the hedgehog10    shall lodge in her capitals;  a voice shall hoot in the window;    devastation will be on the threshold;    for her cedar work will be laid bare.15   This is the exultant city    that lived securely,  that said in her heart,    “I am, and there is no one else.”  What a desolation she has become,    a lair for wild beasts!  Everyone who passes by her    hisses and shakes his fist. Judgment on Jerusalem and the Nations 3   Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled,    the oppressing city!2   She listens to no voice;    she accepts no correction.  She does not trust in the LORD;    she does not draw near to her God. 3   Her officials within her    are roaring lions;  her judges are evening wolves    that leave nothing till the morning.4   Her prophets are fickle, treacherous men;  her priests profane what is holy;    they do violence to the law.5   The LORD within her is righteous;    he does no injustice;  every morning he shows forth his justice;    each dawn he does not fail;    but the unjust knows no shame. 6   “I have cut off nations;    their battlements are in ruins;  I have laid waste their streets    so that no one walks in them;  their cities have been made desolate,    without a man, without an inhabitant.7   I said, ‘Surely you will fear me;    you will accept correction.  Then your11 dwelling would not be cut off    according to all that I have appointed against you.'12  But all the more they were eager    to make all their deeds corrupt. 8   “Therefore wait for me,” declares the LORD,    “for the day when I rise up to seize the prey.  For my decision is to gather nations,    to assemble kingdoms,  to pour out upon them my indignation,    all my burning anger;  for in the fire of my jealousy    all the earth shall be consumed. The Conversion of the Nations 9   “For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples    to a pure speech,  that all of them may call upon the name of the LORD    and serve him with one accord.10   From beyond the rivers of Cush    my worshipers, the daughter of my dispersed ones,    shall bring my offering. 11   “On that day you shall not be put to shame    because of the deeds by which you have rebelled against me;  for then I will remove from your midst    your proudly exultant ones,  and you shall no longer be haughty    in my holy mountain.12   But I will leave in your midst    a people humble and lowly.  They shall seek refuge in the name of the LORD,13     those who are left in Israel;  they shall do no injustice    and speak no lies,  nor shall there be found in their mouth    a deceitful tongue.  For they shall graze and lie down,    and none shall make them afraid.” Israel's Joy and Restoration 14   Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion;    shout, O Israel!  Rejoice and exult with all your heart,    O daughter of Jerusalem!15   The LORD has taken away the judgments against you;    he has cleared away your enemies.  The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst;    you shall never again fear evil.16   On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:  “Fear not, O Zion;    let not your hands grow weak.17   The LORD your God is in your midst,    a mighty one who will save;  he will rejoice over you with gladness;    he will quiet you by his love;  he will exult over you with loud singing.18   I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival,    so that you will no longer suffer reproach.1319   Behold, at that time I will deal    with all your oppressors.  And I will save the lame    and gather the outcast,  and I will change their shame into praise    and renown in all the earth.20   At that time I will bring you in,    at the time when I gather you together;  for I will make you renowned and praised    among all the peoples of the earth,  when I restore your fortunes    before your eyes,” says the LORD. The Command to Rebuild the Temple 1 In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest: 2 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the LORD.” 3 Then the word of the LORD came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, 4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? 5 Now, therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways. 6 You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes. 7 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways. 8 Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the LORD. 9 You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the LORD of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. 10 Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. 11 And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on all their labors.” The People Obey the Lord 12 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the LORD their God had sent him. And the people feared the LORD. 13 Then Haggai, the messenger of the LORD, spoke to the people with the LORD's message, “I am with you, declares the LORD.” 14 And the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and worked on the house of the LORD of hosts, their God, 15 on the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king. The Coming Glory of the Temple 2 In the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by the hand of Haggai the prophet: 2 “Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people, and say, 3 ‘Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes? 4 Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the LORD. Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the LORD. Work, for I am with you, declares the LORD of hosts, 5 according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not. 6 For thus says the LORD of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. 7 And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of hosts. 8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the LORD of hosts. 9 The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the LORD of hosts.'” Blessings for a Defiled People 10 

Old Testament: Zephaniah 1—Haggai 2 Zephaniah 1–3 (Listen) 1 The word of the LORD that came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah. The Coming Judgment on Judah 2   “I will utterly sweep away everything    from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD.3   “I will sweep away man and beast;    I will sweep away the birds of the heavens    and the fish of the sea,  and the rubble1 with the wicked.    I will cut off mankind    from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD.4   “I will stretch out my hand against Judah    and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem;  and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal    and the name of the idolatrous priests along with the priests,5   those who bow down on the roofs    to the host of the heavens,  those who bow down and swear to the LORD    and yet swear by Milcom,26   those who have turned back from following the LORD,    who do not seek the LORD or inquire of him.” The Day of the Lord Is Near 7   Be silent before the Lord GOD!    For the day of the LORD is near;  the LORD has prepared a sacrifice    and consecrated his guests.8   And on the day of the LORD's sacrifice—  “I will punish the officials and the king's sons    and all who array themselves in foreign attire.9   On that day I will punish    everyone who leaps over the threshold,  and those who fill their master's3 house    with violence and fraud. 10   “On that day,” declares the LORD,    “a cry will be heard from the Fish Gate,  a wail from the Second Quarter,    a loud crash from the hills.11   Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar!    For all the traders4 are no more;    all who weigh out silver are cut off.12   At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps,    and I will punish the men  who are complacent,5    those who say in their hearts,  ‘The LORD will not do good,    nor will he do ill.'13   Their goods shall be plundered,    and their houses laid waste.  Though they build houses,    they shall not inhabit them;  though they plant vineyards,    they shall not drink wine from them.” 14   The great day of the LORD is near,    near and hastening fast;  the sound of the day of the LORD is bitter;    the mighty man cries aloud there.15   A day of wrath is that day,    a day of distress and anguish,  a day of ruin and devastation,    a day of darkness and gloom,  a day of clouds and thick darkness,16     a day of trumpet blast and battle cry  against the fortified cities    and against the lofty battlements. 17   I will bring distress on mankind,    so that they shall walk like the blind,    because they have sinned against the LORD;  their blood shall be poured out like dust,    and their flesh like dung.18   Neither their silver nor their gold    shall be able to deliver them    on the day of the wrath of the LORD.  In the fire of his jealousy,    all the earth shall be consumed;  for a full and sudden end    he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth. Judgment on Judah's Enemies 2   Gather together, yes, gather,    O shameless nation,2   before the decree takes effect6    —before the day passes away like chaff—  before there comes upon you    the burning anger of the LORD,  before there comes upon you    the day of the anger of the LORD.3   Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land,    who do his just commands;7  seek righteousness; seek humility;    perhaps you may be hidden    on the day of the anger of the LORD.4   For Gaza shall be deserted,    and Ashkelon shall become a desolation;  Ashdod's people shall be driven out at noon,    and Ekron shall be uprooted. 5   Woe to you inhabitants of the seacoast,    you nation of the Cherethites!  The word of the LORD is against you,    O Canaan, land of the Philistines;    and I will destroy you until no inhabitant is left.6   And you, O seacoast, shall be pastures,    with meadows8 for shepherds    and folds for flocks.7   The seacoast shall become the possession    of the remnant of the house of Judah,    on which they shall graze,  and in the houses of Ashkelon    they shall lie down at evening.  For the LORD their God will be mindful of them    and restore their fortunes. 8   “I have heard the taunts of Moab    and the revilings of the Ammonites,  how they have taunted my people    and made boasts against their territory.9   Therefore, as I live,” declares the LORD of hosts,    the God of Israel,  “Moab shall become like Sodom,    and the Ammonites like Gomorrah,  a land possessed by nettles and salt pits,    and a waste forever.  The remnant of my people shall plunder them,    and the survivors of my nation shall possess them.”10   This shall be their lot in return for their pride,    because they taunted and boasted    against the people of the LORD of hosts.11   The LORD will be awesome against them;    for he will famish all the gods of the earth,  and to him shall bow down,    each in its place,    all the lands of the nations. 12   You also, O Cushites,    shall be slain by my sword. 13   And he will stretch out his hand against the north    and destroy Assyria,  and he will make Nineveh a desolation,    a dry waste like the desert.14   Herds shall lie down in her midst,    all kinds of beasts;9  even the owl and the hedgehog10    shall lodge in her capitals;  a voice shall hoot in the window;    devastation will be on the threshold;    for her cedar work will be laid bare.15   This is the exultant city    that lived securely,  that said in her heart,    “I am, and there is no one else.”  What a desolation she has become,    a lair for wild beasts!  Everyone who passes by her    hisses and shakes his fist. Judgment on Jerusalem and the Nations 3   Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled,    the oppressing city!2   She listens to no voice;    she accepts no correction.  She does not trust in the LORD;    she does not draw near to her God. 3   Her officials within her    are roaring lions;  her judges are evening wolves    that leave nothing till the morning.4   Her prophets are fickle, treacherous men;  her priests profane what is holy;    they do violence to the law.5   The LORD within her is righteous;    he does no injustice;  every morning he shows forth his justice;    each dawn he does not fail;    but the unjust knows no shame. 6   “I have cut off nations;    their battlements are in ruins;  I have laid waste their streets    so that no one walks in them;  their cities have been made desolate,    without a man, without an inhabitant.7   I said, ‘Surely you will fear me;    you will accept correction.  Then your11 dwelling would not be cut off    according to all that I have appointed against you.'12  But all the more they were eager    to make all their deeds corrupt. 8   “Therefore wait for me,” declares the LORD,    “for the day when I rise up to seize the prey.  For my decision is to gather nations,    to assemble kingdoms,  to pour out upon them my indignation,    all my burning anger;  for in the fire of my jealousy    all the earth shall be consumed. The Conversion of the Nations 9   “For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples    to a pure speech,  that all of them may call upon the name of the LORD    and serve him with one accord.10   From beyond the rivers of Cush    my worshipers, the daughter of my dispersed ones,    shall bring my offering. 11   “On that day you shall not be put to shame    because of the deeds by which you have rebelled against me;  for then I will remove from your midst    your proudly exultant ones,  and you shall no longer be haughty    in my holy mountain.12   But I will leave in your midst    a people humble and lowly.  They shall seek refuge in the name of the LORD,13     those who are left in Israel;  they shall do no injustice    and speak no lies,  nor shall there be found in their mouth    a deceitful tongue.  For they shall graze and lie down,    and none shall make them afraid.” Israel's Joy and Restoration 14   Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion;    shout, O Israel!  Rejoice and exult with all your heart,    O daughter of Jerusalem!15   The LORD has taken away the judgments against you;    he has cleared away your enemies.  The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst;    you shall never again fear evil.16   On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:  “Fear not, O Zion;    let not your hands grow weak.17   The LORD your God is in your midst,    a mighty one who will save;  he will rejoice over you with gladness;    he will quiet you by his love;  he will exult over you with loud singing.18   I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival,    so that you will no longer suffer reproach.1319   Behold, at that time I will deal    with all your oppressors.  And I will save the lame    and gather the outcast,  and I will change their shame into praise    and renown in all the earth.20   At that time I will bring you in,    at the time when I gather you together;  for I will make you renowned and praised    among all the peoples of the earth,  when I restore your fortunes    before your eyes,” says the LORD. The Command to Rebuild the Temple 1 In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest: 2 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the LORD.” 3 Then the word of the LORD came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, 4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? 5 Now, therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways. 6 You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes. 7 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways. 8 Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the LORD. 9 You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the LORD of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. 10 Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. 11 And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on all their labors.” The People Obey the Lord 12 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the LORD their God had sent him. And the people feared the LORD. 13 Then Haggai, the messenger of the LORD, spoke to the people with the LORD's message, “I am with you, declares the LORD.” 14 And the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and worked on the house of the LORD of hosts, their God, 15 on the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king. The Coming Glory of the Temple 2 In the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by the hand of Haggai the prophet: 2 “Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people, and say, 3 ‘Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes? 4 Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the LORD. Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the LORD. Work, for I am with you, declares the LORD of hosts, 5 according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not. 6 For thus says the LORD of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. 7 And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of hosts. 8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the LORD of hosts. 9 The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the LORD of hosts.'” Blessings for a Defiled People 10 

Morning: Zephaniah 1–3 Zephaniah 1–3 (Listen) 1 The word of the LORD that came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah. The Coming Judgment on Judah 2   “I will utterly sweep away everything    from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD.3   “I will sweep away man and beast;    I will sweep away the birds of the heavens    and the fish of the sea,  and the rubble1 with the wicked.    I will cut off mankind    from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD.4   “I will stretch out my hand against Judah    and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem;  and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal    and the name of the idolatrous priests along with the priests,5   those who bow down on the roofs    to the host of the heavens,  those who bow down and swear to the LORD    and yet swear by Milcom,26   those who have turned back from following the LORD,    who do not seek the LORD or inquire of him.” The Day of the Lord Is Near 7   Be silent before the Lord GOD!    For the day of the LORD is near;  the LORD has prepared a sacrifice    and consecrated his guests.8   And on the day of the LORD's sacrifice—  “I will punish the officials and the king's sons    and all who array themselves in foreign attire.9   On that day I will punish    everyone who leaps over the threshold,  and those who fill their master's3 house    with violence and fraud. 10   “On that day,” declares the LORD,    “a cry will be heard from the Fish Gate,  a wail from the Second Quarter,    a loud crash from the hills.11   Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar!    For all the traders4 are no more;    all who weigh out silver are cut off.12   At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps,    and I will punish the men  who are complacent,5    those who say in their hearts,  ‘The LORD will not do good,    nor will he do ill.'13   Their goods shall be plundered,    and their houses laid waste.  Though they build houses,    they shall not inhabit them;  though they plant vineyards,    they shall not drink wine from them.” 14   The great day of the LORD is near,    near and hastening fast;  the sound of the day of the LORD is bitter;    the mighty man cries aloud there.15   A day of wrath is that day,    a day of distress and anguish,  a day of ruin and devastation,    a day of darkness and gloom,  a day of clouds and thick darkness,16     a day of trumpet blast and battle cry  against the fortified cities    and against the lofty battlements. 17   I will bring distress on mankind,    so that they shall walk like the blind,    because they have sinned against the LORD;  their blood shall be poured out like dust,    and their flesh like dung.18   Neither their silver nor their gold    shall be able to deliver them    on the day of the wrath of the LORD.  In the fire of his jealousy,    all the earth shall be consumed;  for a full and sudden end    he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth. Judgment on Judah's Enemies 2   Gather together, yes, gather,    O shameless nation,2   before the decree takes effect6    —before the day passes away like chaff—  before there comes upon you    the burning anger of the LORD,  before there comes upon you    the day of the anger of the LORD.3   Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land,    who do his just commands;7  seek righteousness; seek humility;    perhaps you may be hidden    on the day of the anger of the LORD.4   For Gaza shall be deserted,    and Ashkelon shall become a desolation;  Ashdod's people shall be driven out at noon,    and Ekron shall be uprooted. 5   Woe to you inhabitants of the seacoast,    you nation of the Cherethites!  The word of the LORD is against you,    O Canaan, land of the Philistines;    and I will destroy you until no inhabitant is left.6   And you, O seacoast, shall be pastures,    with meadows8 for shepherds    and folds for flocks.7   The seacoast shall become the possession    of the remnant of the house of Judah,    on which they shall graze,  and in the houses of Ashkelon    they shall lie down at evening.  For the LORD their God will be mindful of them    and restore their fortunes. 8   “I have heard the taunts of Moab    and the revilings of the Ammonites,  how they have taunted my people    and made boasts against their territory.9   Therefore, as I live,” declares the LORD of hosts,    the God of Israel,  “Moab shall become like Sodom,    and the Ammonites like Gomorrah,  a land possessed by nettles and salt pits,    and a waste forever.  The remnant of my people shall plunder them,    and the survivors of my nation shall possess them.”10   This shall be their lot in return for their pride,    because they taunted and boasted    against the people of the LORD of hosts.11   The LORD will be awesome against them;    for he will famish all the gods of the earth,  and to him shall bow down,    each in its place,    all the lands of the nations. 12   You also, O Cushites,    shall be slain by my sword. 13   And he will stretch out his hand against the north    and destroy Assyria,  and he will make Nineveh a desolation,    a dry waste like the desert.14   Herds shall lie down in her midst,    all kinds of beasts;9  even the owl and the hedgehog10    shall lodge in her capitals;  a voice shall hoot in the window;    devastation will be on the threshold;    for her cedar work will be laid bare.15   This is the exultant city    that lived securely,  that said in her heart,    “I am, and there is no one else.”  What a desolation she has become,    a lair for wild beasts!  Everyone who passes by her    hisses and shakes his fist. Judgment on Jerusalem and the Nations 3   Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled,    the oppressing city!2   She listens to no voice;    she accepts no correction.  She does not trust in the LORD;    she does not draw near to her God. 3   Her officials within her    are roaring lions;  her judges are evening wolves    that leave nothing till the morning.4   Her prophets are fickle, treacherous men;  her priests profane what is holy;    they do violence to the law.5   The LORD within her is righteous;    he does no injustice;  every morning he shows forth his justice;    each dawn he does not fail;    but the unjust knows no shame. 6   “I have cut off nations;    their battlements are in ruins;  I have laid waste their streets    so that no one walks in them;  their cities have been made desolate,    without a man, without an inhabitant.7   I said, ‘Surely you will fear me;    you will accept correction.  Then your11 dwelling would not be cut off    according to all that I have appointed against you.'12  But all the more they were eager    to make all their deeds corrupt. 8   “Therefore wait for me,” declares the LORD,    “for the day when I rise up to seize the prey.  For my decision is to gather nations,    to assemble kingdoms,  to pour out upon them my indignation,    all my burning anger;  for in the fire of my jealousy    all the earth shall be consumed. The Conversion of the Nations 9   “For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples    to a pure speech,  that all of them may call upon the name of the LORD    and serve him with one accord.10   From beyond the rivers of Cush    my worshipers, the daughter of my dispersed ones,    shall bring my offering. 11   “On that day you shall not be put to shame    because of the deeds by which you have rebelled against me;  for then I will remove from your midst    your proudly exultant ones,  and you shall no longer be haughty    in my holy mountain.12   But I will leave in your midst    a people humble and lowly.  They shall seek refuge in the name of the LORD,13     those who are left in Israel;  they shall do no injustice    and speak no lies,  nor shall there be found in their mouth    a deceitful tongue.  For they shall graze and lie down,    and none shall make them afraid.” Israel's Joy and Restoration 14   Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion;    shout, O Israel!  Rejoice and exult with all your heart,    O daughter of Jerusalem!15   The LORD has taken away the judgments against you;    he has cleared away your enemies.  The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst;    you shall never again fear evil.16   On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:  “Fear not, O Zion;    let not your hands grow weak.17   The LORD your God is in your midst,    a mighty one who will save;  he will rejoice over you with gladness;    he will quiet you by his love;  he will exult over you with loud singing.18   I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival,    so that you will no longer suffer reproach.1319   Behold, at that time I will deal    with all your oppressors.  And I will save the lame    and gather the outcast,  and I will change their shame into praise    and renown in all the earth.20   At that time I will bring you in,    at the time when I gather you together;  for I will make you renowned and praised    among all the peoples of the earth,  when I restore your fortunes    before your eyes,” says the LORD. Footnotes [1] 1:3 Or stumbling blocks (that is, idols) [2] 1:5 Or their king [3] 1:9 Or their Lord's [4] 1:11 Or all the people of Canaan [5] 1:12 Hebrew are thickening on the dregs [of their wine] [6] 2:2 Hebrew gives birth [7] 2:3 Or who carry out his judgment [8] 2:6 Or caves [9] 2:14 Hebrew beasts of every nation [10] 2:14 The identity of the animals rendered owl and hedgehog is uncertain [11] 3:7 Hebrew her [12] 3:7 Hebrew her [13] 3:18 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain (ESV) Evening: Revelation 15 Revelation 15 (Listen) The Seven Angels with Seven Plagues 15 Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished. 2 And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. 3 And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,   “Great and amazing are your deeds,    O Lord God the Almighty!  Just and true are your ways,    O King of the nations!14   Who will not fear, O Lord,    and glorify your name?  For you alone are holy.    All nations will come    and worship you,&l

With family: 2 Chronicles 29; Revelation 15 2 Chronicles 29 (Listen) Hezekiah Reigns in Judah 29 Hezekiah began to reign when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abijah1 the daughter of Zechariah. 2 And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done. Hezekiah Cleanses the Temple 3 In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the LORD and repaired them. 4 He brought in the priests and the Levites and assembled them in the square on the east 5 and said to them, “Hear me, Levites! Now consecrate yourselves, and consecrate the house of the LORD, the God of your fathers, and carry out the filth2 from the Holy Place. 6 For our fathers have been unfaithful and have done what was evil in the sight of the LORD our God. They have forsaken him and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the LORD and turned their backs. 7 They also shut the doors of the vestibule and put out the lamps and have not burned incense or offered burnt offerings in the Holy Place to the God of Israel. 8 Therefore the wrath of the LORD came on Judah and Jerusalem, and he has made them an object of horror, of astonishment, and of hissing, as you see with your own eyes. 9 For behold, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this. 10 Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the LORD, the God of Israel, in order that his fierce anger may turn away from us. 11 My sons, do not now be negligent, for the LORD has chosen you to stand in his presence, to minister to him and to be his ministers and make offerings to him.” 12 Then the Levites arose, Mahath the son of Amasai, and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of the Kohathites; and of the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi, and Azariah the son of Jehallelel; and of the Gershonites, Joah the son of Zimmah, and Eden the son of Joah; 13 and of the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeuel; and of the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah; 14 and of the sons of Heman, Jehuel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel. 15 They gathered their brothers and consecrated themselves and went in as the king had commanded, by the words of the LORD, to cleanse the house of the LORD. 16 The priests went into the inner part of the house of the LORD to cleanse it, and they brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the LORD into the court of the house of the LORD. And the Levites took it and carried it out to the brook Kidron. 17 They began to consecrate on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the vestibule of the LORD. Then for eight days they consecrated the house of the LORD, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they finished. 18 Then they went in to Hezekiah the king and said, “We have cleansed all the house of the LORD, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the table for the showbread and all its utensils. 19 All the utensils that King Ahaz discarded in his reign when he was faithless, we have made ready and consecrated, and behold, they are before the altar of the LORD.” Hezekiah Restores Temple Worship 20 Then Hezekiah the king rose early and gathered the officials of the city and went up to the house of the LORD. 21 And they brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats for a sin offering for the kingdom and for the sanctuary and for Judah. And he commanded the priests, the sons of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of the LORD. 22 So they slaughtered the bulls, and the priests received the blood and threw it against the altar. And they slaughtered the rams, and their blood was thrown against the altar. And they slaughtered the lambs, and their blood was thrown against the altar. 23 Then the goats for the sin offering were brought to the king and the assembly, and they laid their hands on them, 24 and the priests slaughtered them and made a sin offering with their blood on the altar, to make atonement for all Israel. For the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering should be made for all Israel. 25 And he stationed the Levites in the house of the LORD with cymbals, harps, and lyres, according to the commandment of David and of Gad the king's seer and of Nathan the prophet, for the commandment was from the LORD through his prophets. 26 The Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets. 27 Then Hezekiah commanded that the burnt offering be offered on the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song to the LORD began also, and the trumpets, accompanied by the instruments of David king of Israel. 28 The whole assembly worshiped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded. All this continued until the burnt offering was finished. 29 When the offering was finished, the king and all who were present with him bowed themselves and worshiped. 30 And Hezekiah the king and the officials commanded the Levites to sing praises to the LORD with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed down and worshiped. 31 Then Hezekiah said, “You have now consecrated yourselves to3 the LORD. Come near; bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the house of the LORD.” And the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and all who were of a willing heart brought burnt offerings. 32 The number of the burnt offerings that the assembly brought was 70 bulls, 100 rams, and 200 lambs; all these were for a burnt offering to the LORD. 33 And the consecrated offerings were 600 bulls and 3,000 sheep. 34 But the priests were too few and could not flay all the burnt offerings, so until other priests had consecrated themselves, their brothers the Levites helped them, until the work was finished—for the Levites were more upright in heart than the priests in consecrating themselves. 35 Besides the great number of burnt offerings, there was the fat of the peace offerings, and there were the drink offerings for the burnt offerings. Thus the service of the house of the LORD was restored. 36 And Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced because God had provided for the people, for the thing came about suddenly. Footnotes [1] 29:1 Spelled Abi in 2 Kings 18:2 [2] 29:5 Hebrew impurity [3] 29:31 Hebrew filled your hand for (ESV) Revelation 15 (Listen) The Seven Angels with Seven Plagues 15 Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished. 2 And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. 3 And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,   “Great and amazing are your deeds,    O Lord God the Almighty!  Just and true are your ways,    O King of the nations!14   Who will not fear, O Lord,    and glorify your name?  For you alone are holy.    All nations will come    and worship you,  for your righteous acts have been revealed.” 5 After this I looked, and the sanctuary of the tent2 of witness in heaven was opened, 6 and out of the sanctuary came the seven angels with the seven plagues, clothed in pure, bright linen, with golden sashes around their chests. 7 And one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever, 8 and the sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished. Footnotes [1] 15:3 Some manuscripts the ages [2] 15:5 Or tabernacle (ESV) In private: Zechariah 11; John 14 Zechariah 11 (Listen) The Flock Doomed to Slaughter 11   Open your doors, O Lebanon,    that the fire may devour your cedars!2   Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,    for the glorious trees are ruined!  Wail, oaks of Bashan,    for the thick forest has been felled!3   The sound of the wail of the shepherds,    for their glory is ruined!  The sound of the roar of the lions,    for the thicket of the Jordan is ruined! 4 Thus said the LORD my God: “Become shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter. 5 Those who buy them slaughter them and go unpunished, and those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the LORD, I have become rich,' and their own shepherds have no pity on them. 6 For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of this land, declares the LORD. Behold, I will cause each of them to fall into the hand of his neighbor, and each into the hand of his king, and they shall crush the land, and I will deliver none from their hand.” 7 So I became the shepherd of the flock doomed to be slaughtered by the sheep traders. And I took two staffs, one I named Favor, the other I named Union. And I tended the sheep. 8 In one month I destroyed the three shepherds. But I became impatient with them, and they also detested me. 9 So I said, “I will not be your shepherd. What is to die, let it die. What is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed. And let those who are left devour the flesh of one another.” 10 And I took my staff Favor, and I broke it, annulling the covenant that I had made with all the peoples. 11 So it was annulled on that day, and the sheep traders, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the LORD. 12 Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver. 13 Then the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD, to the potter. 14 Then I broke my second staff Union, annulling the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. 15 Then the LORD said to me, “Take once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 For behold, I am raising up in the land a shepherd who does not care for those being destroyed, or seek the young or heal the maimed or nourish the healthy, but devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs. 17   “Woe to my worthless shepherd,    who deserts the flock!  May the sword strike his arm    and his right eye!  Let his arm be wholly withered,    his right eye utterly blinded!” (ESV) John 14 (Listen) I Am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life 14 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God;1 believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?2 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.”3 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also.4 From now on you do know him and have seen him.” 8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father'? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. 12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me5 anything in my name, I will do it. Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit 15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper,6 to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be7 in you. 18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” 22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” 23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me. 25 “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. 28 You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.' If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. 30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, 31 but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here. Footnotes [1] 14:1 Or You believe in God [2] 14:2 Or In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you [3] 14:4 Some manuscripts Where I am going you know, and the way you know [4] 14:7 Or If you know me, you will know my Father also, or If you have known me, you will know my Father also [5] 14:14 Some manuscripts omit me [6] 14:16 Or Advocate, or Counselor; also 14:26; 15:26; 16:7 [7] 14:17 Some manuscripts and is (ESV)

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3 Advent First Psalm: Psalm 63; Psalm 98 Psalm 63 (Listen) My Soul Thirsts for You A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. 63   O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;    my soul thirsts for you;  my flesh faints for you,    as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.2   So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,    beholding your power and glory.3   Because your steadfast love is better than life,    my lips will praise you.4   So I will bless you as long as I live;    in your name I will lift up my hands. 5   My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,    and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,6   when I remember you upon my bed,    and meditate on you in the watches of the night;7   for you have been my help,    and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.8   My soul clings to you;    your right hand upholds me. 9   But those who seek to destroy my life    shall go down into the depths of the earth;10   they shall be given over to the power of the sword;    they shall be a portion for jackals.11   But the king shall rejoice in God;    all who swear by him shall exult,    for the mouths of liars will be stopped. (ESV) Psalm 98 (Listen) Make a Joyful Noise to the Lord A Psalm. 98   Oh sing to the LORD a new song,    for he has done marvelous things!  His right hand and his holy arm    have worked salvation for him.2   The LORD has made known his salvation;    he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations.3   He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness    to the house of Israel.  All the ends of the earth have seen    the salvation of our God. 4   Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth;    break forth into joyous song and sing praises!5   Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre,    with the lyre and the sound of melody!6   With trumpets and the sound of the horn    make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD! 7   Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;    the world and those who dwell in it!8   Let the rivers clap their hands;    let the hills sing for joy together9   before the LORD, for he comes    to judge the earth.  He will judge the world with righteousness,    and the peoples with equity. (ESV) Second Psalm: Psalm 103 Psalm 103 (Listen) Bless the Lord, O My Soul Of David. 103   Bless the LORD, O my soul,    and all that is within me,    bless his holy name!2   Bless the LORD, O my soul,    and forget not all his benefits,3   who forgives all your iniquity,    who heals all your diseases,4   who redeems your life from the pit,    who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,5   who satisfies you with good    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. 6   The LORD works righteousness    and justice for all who are oppressed.7   He made known his ways to Moses,    his acts to the people of Israel.8   The LORD is merciful and gracious,    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.9   He will not always chide,    nor will he keep his anger forever.10   He does not deal with us according to our sins,    nor repay us according to our iniquities.11   For as high as the heavens are above the earth,    so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;12   as far as the east is from the west,    so far does he remove our transgressions from us.13   As a father shows compassion to his children,    so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.14   For he knows our frame;1    he remembers that we are dust. 15   As for man, his days are like grass;    he flourishes like a flower of the field;16   for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,    and its place knows it no more.17   But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him,    and his righteousness to children's children,18   to those who keep his covenant    and remember to do his commandments.19   The LORD has established his throne in the heavens,    and his kingdom rules over all. 20   Bless the LORD, O you his angels,    you mighty ones who do his word,    obeying the voice of his word!21   Bless the LORD, all his hosts,    his ministers, who do his will!22   Bless the LORD, all his works,    in all places of his dominion.  Bless the LORD, O my soul! Footnotes [1] 103:14 Or knows how we are formed (ESV) Old Testament: Isaiah 13:6–13 Isaiah 13:6–13 (Listen) 6   Wail, for the day of the LORD is near;    as destruction from the Almighty1 it will come!7   Therefore all hands will be feeble,    and every human heart will melt.8   They will be dismayed:    pangs and agony will seize them;    they will be in anguish like a woman in labor.  They will look aghast at one another;    their faces will be aflame. 9   Behold, the day of the LORD comes,    cruel, with wrath and fierce anger,  to make the land a desolation    and to destroy its sinners from it.10   For the stars of the heavens and their constellations    will not give their light;  the sun will be dark at its rising,    and the moon will not shed its light.11   I will punish the world for its evil,    and the wicked for their iniquity;  I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant,    and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless.12   I will make people more rare than fine gold,    and mankind than the gold of Ophir.13   Therefore I will make the heavens tremble,    and the earth will be shaken out of its place,  at the wrath of the LORD of hosts    in the day of his fierce anger. Footnotes [1] 13:6 The Hebrew words for destruction and almighty sound alike (ESV) New Testament: Hebrews 12:18–29 Hebrews 12:18–29 (Listen) A Kingdom That Cannot Be Shaken 18 For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest 19 and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. 20 For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” 21 Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” 22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and to the assembly1 of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. 25 See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. 26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 27 This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29 for our God is a consuming fire. Footnotes [1] 12:23 Or church (ESV) Gospel: John 3:22–30 John 3:22–30 (Listen) John the Baptist Exalts Christ 22 After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and was baptizing. 23 John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized 24 (for John had not yet been put in prison). 25 Now a discussion arose between some of John's disciples and a Jew over purification. 26 And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.” 27 John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. 28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.' 29 The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.”1 Footnotes [1] 3:30 Some interpreters hold that the quotation continues through verse 36 (ESV)

With family: 2 Chronicles 9; Jude 2 Chronicles 9 (Listen) The Queen of Sheba 9 Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions, having a very great retinue and camels bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind. 2 And Solomon answered all her questions. There was nothing hidden from Solomon that he could not explain to her. 3 And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 4 the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, and their clothing, his cupbearers, and their clothing, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the LORD, there was no more breath in her. 5 And she said to the king, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, 6 but I did not believe the1 reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, half the greatness of your wisdom was not told me; you surpass the report that I heard. 7 Happy are your wives!2 Happy are these your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! 8 Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and set you on his throne as king for the LORD your God! Because your God loved Israel and would establish them forever, he has made you king over them, that you may execute justice and righteousness.” 9 Then she gave the king 120 talents3 of gold, and a very great quantity of spices, and precious stones. There were no spices such as those that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. 10 Moreover, the servants of Hiram and the servants of Solomon, who brought gold from Ophir, brought algum wood and precious stones. 11 And the king made from the algum wood supports for the house of the LORD and for the king's house, lyres also and harps for the singers. There never was seen the like of them before in the land of Judah. 12 And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, whatever she asked besides what she had brought to the king. So she turned and went back to her own land with her servants. Solomon's Wealth 13 Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, 14 besides that which the explorers and merchants brought. And all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the land brought gold and silver to Solomon. 15 King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold; 600 shekels4 of beaten gold went into each shield. 16 And he made 300 shields of beaten gold; 300 shekels of gold went into each shield; and the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon. 17 The king also made a great ivory throne and overlaid it with pure gold. 18 The throne had six steps and a footstool of gold, which were attached to the throne, and on each side of the seat were armrests and two lions standing beside the armrests, 19 while twelve lions stood there, one on each end of a step on the six steps. Nothing like it was ever made for any kingdom. 20 All King Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. Silver was not considered as anything in the days of Solomon. 21 For the king's ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Hiram. Once every three years the ships of Tarshish used to come bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.5 22 Thus King Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. 23 And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind. 24 Every one of them brought his present, articles of silver and of gold, garments, myrrh,6 spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year. 25 And Solomon had 4,000 stalls for horses and chariots, and 12,000 horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 26 And he ruled over all the kings from the Euphrates7 to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt. 27 And the king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stone, and he made cedar as plentiful as the sycamore of the Shephelah. 28 And horses were imported for Solomon from Egypt and from all lands. Solomon's Death 29 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, from first to last, are they not written in the history of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat? 30 Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. 31 And Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David his father, and Rehoboam his son reigned in his place. Footnotes [1] 9:6 Hebrew their [2] 9:7 Septuagint (compare 1 Kings 10:8); Hebrew men [3] 9:9 A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms [4] 9:15 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams [5] 9:21 Or baboons [6] 9:24 Or armor [7] 9:26 Hebrew the River (ESV) Jude (Listen) Greeting 1 Jude, a servant1 of Jesus Christ and brother of James, To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for2 Jesus Christ: 2 May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. Judgment on False Teachers 3 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. 4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. 5 Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved3 a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day—7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire,4 serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire. 8 Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones. 9 But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.” 10 But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively. 11 Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam's error and perished in Korah's rebellion. 12 These are hidden reefs5 at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; 13 wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever. 14 It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, 15 to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” 16 These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage. A Call to Persevere 17 But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18 They6 said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” 19 It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. 20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. 22 And have mercy on those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment7 stained by the flesh. Doxology 24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time8 and now and forever. Amen. Footnotes [1] 1:1 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface [2] 1:1 Or by [3] 1:5 Some manuscripts although you fully knew it, that the Lord who once saved [4] 1:7 Greek different flesh [5] 1:12 Or are blemishes [6] 1:18 Or Christ, because they [7] 1:23 Greek chiton, a long garment worn under the cloak next to the skin [8] 1:25 Or before any age (ESV) In private: Zephaniah 1; Luke 23 Zephaniah 1 (Listen) 1 The word of the LORD that came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah. The Coming Judgment on Judah 2   “I will utterly sweep away everything    from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD.3   “I will sweep away man and beast;    I will sweep away the birds of the heavens    and the fish of the sea,  and the rubble1 with the wicked.    I will cut off mankind    from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD.4   “I will stretch out my hand against Judah    and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem;  and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal    and the name of the idolatrous priests along with the priests,5   those who bow down on the roofs    to the host of the heavens,  those who bow down and swear to the LORD    and yet swear by Milcom,26   those who have turned back from following the LORD,    who do not seek the LORD or inquire of him.” The Day of the Lord Is Near 7   Be silent before the Lord GOD!    For the day of the LORD is near;  the LORD has prepared a sacrifice    and consecrated his guests.8   And on the day of the LORD's sacrifice—  “I will punish the officials and the king's sons    and all who array themselves in foreign attire.9   On that day I will punish    everyone who leaps over the threshold,  and those who fill their master's3 house    with violence and fraud. 10   “On that day,” declares the LORD,    “a cry will be heard from the Fish Gate,  a wail from the Second Quarter,    a loud crash from the hills.11   Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar!    For all the traders4 are no more;    all who weigh out silver are cut off.12   At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps,    and I will punish the men  who are complacent,5    those who say in their hearts,  ‘The LORD will not do good,    nor will he do ill.'13   Their goods shall be plundered,    and their houses laid waste.  Though they build houses,    they shall not inhabit them;  though they plant vineyards,    they shall not drink wine from them.” 14   The great day of the LORD is near,    near and hastening fast;  the sound of the day of the LORD is bitter;    the mighty man cries aloud there.15   A day of wrath is that day,    a day of distress and anguish,  a day of ruin and devastation,    a day of darkness and gloom,  a day of clouds and thick darkness,16     a day of trumpet blast and battle cry  against the fortified cities    and against the lofty battlements. 17   I will bring distress on mankind,    so that they shall walk like the blind,    because they have sinned against the LORD;  their blood shall be poured out like dust,    and their flesh like dung.18   Neither their silver nor their gold    shall be able to deliver them    on the day of the wrath of the LORD.  In the fire of his jealousy,    all the earth shall be consumed;  for a full and sudden end    he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth. Footnotes [1] 1:3 Or stumbling blocks (that is, idols) [2] 1:5 Or their king [3] 1:9 Or their Lord's [4] 1:11 Or all the people of Canaan [5] 1:12 Hebrew are thickening on the dregs [of their wine] (ESV) Luke 23 (Listen) Jesus Before Pilate 23 Then the whole company of them arose and brought him before Pilate. 2 And they began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.” 3 And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” 4 Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no guilt in this man.” 5 But they were urgent, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee even to this place.” Jesus Before Herod 6 When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. 7 And when he learned that he belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time. 8 When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him, because he had heard about him, and he was hoping to see some sign done by him. 9 So he questioned him at some length, but he made no answer. 10 The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him. 11 And Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him. Then, arraying him in splendid clothing, he sent him back to Pilate. 12 And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before this they had been at enmity with each other. 13 Pilate then called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, 14 and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was misleading the people. And after examining him before you, behold, I did not find this man guilty of any of your charges against him. 15 Neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us. Look, nothing deserving death has been done by him. 16 I will therefore punish and release him.”1 Pilate Delivers Jesus to Be Crucified 18 But they all cried out together, “Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas”—19 a man who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection started in the city and for murder. 20 Pilate addressed them once more, desiring to release Jesus, 21 but they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!” 22 A third time he said to them, “Why? What evil has he done? I have found in him no guilt deserving death. I will therefore punish and release him.” 23 But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he should be crucified. And their voices prevailed. 24 So Pilate decided that their demand should be granted. 25 He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, for whom they asked, but he delivered Jesus over to their will. The Crucifixion 26 And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus. 27 And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for him. 28 But turning to them Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!' 30 Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,' and to the hills, ‘Cover us.' 31 For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?” 32 Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. 33 And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”2 And they cast lots to divide his garments. 35 And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” 36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine 37 and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” 38 There was also an inscription over him,3 “This is the King of the Jews.” 39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him,4 saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” The Death of Jesus 44 It was now about the sixth hour,5 and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour,6 45 while the sun's light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. 47 Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!” 48 And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. 49 And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things. Jesus Is Buried 50 Now there was a man named Joseph, from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man, 51 who had not consented to their decision and action; and he was looking for the kingdom of God. 52 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 53 Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and laid him in a tomb cut in stone, where no one had ever yet been laid. 54 It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning.7 55 The women who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. 56 Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment. Footnotes [1] 23:16 Here, or after verse 19, some manuscripts add verse 17: Now he was obliged to release one man to them at the festival [2] 23:34 Some manuscripts omit the sentence And Jesus . . . what they do

Old Testament: Ezekiel 29–31 Ezekiel 29–31 (Listen) Prophecy Against Egypt 29 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt; 3 speak, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD:   “Behold, I am against you,    Pharaoh king of Egypt,  the great dragon that lies    in the midst of his streams,  that says, ‘My Nile is my own;    I made it for myself.'4   I will put hooks in your jaws,    and make the fish of your streams stick to your scales;  and I will draw you up out of the midst of your streams,    with all the fish of your streams    that stick to your scales.5   And I will cast you out into the wilderness,    you and all the fish of your streams;  you shall fall on the open field,    and not be brought together or gathered.  To the beasts of the earth and to the birds of the heavens    I give you as food. 6 Then all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the LORD. “Because you1 have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel, 7 when they grasped you with the hand, you broke and tore all their shoulders; and when they leaned on you, you broke and made all their loins to shake.2 8 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will bring a sword upon you, and will cut off from you man and beast, 9 and the land of Egypt shall be a desolation and a waste. Then they will know that I am the LORD. “Because you3 said, ‘The Nile is mine, and I made it,' 10 therefore, behold, I am against you and against your streams, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from Migdol to Syene, as far as the border of Cush. 11 No foot of man shall pass through it, and no foot of beast shall pass through it; it shall be uninhabited forty years. 12 And I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the midst of desolated countries, and her cities shall be a desolation forty years among cities that are laid waste. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them through the countries. 13 “For thus says the Lord GOD: At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered, 14 and I will restore the fortunes of Egypt and bring them back to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin, and there they shall be a lowly kingdom. 15 It shall be the most lowly of the kingdoms, and never again exalt itself above the nations. And I will make them so small that they will never again rule over the nations. 16 And it shall never again be the reliance of the house of Israel, recalling their iniquity, when they turn to them for aid. Then they will know that I am the Lord GOD.” 17 In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: 18 “Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre. Every head was made bald, and every shoulder was rubbed bare, yet neither he nor his army got anything from Tyre to pay for the labor that he had performed against her. 19 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and he shall carry off its wealth4 and despoil it and plunder it; and it shall be the wages for his army. 20 I have given him the land of Egypt as his payment for which he labored, because they worked for me, declares the Lord GOD. 21 “On that day I will cause a horn to spring up for the house of Israel, and I will open your lips among them. Then they will know that I am the LORD.” A Lament for Egypt 30 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD:   “Wail, ‘Alas for the day!'3     For the day is near,    the day of the LORD is near;  it will be a day of clouds,    a time of doom for5 the nations.4   A sword shall come upon Egypt,    and anguish shall be in Cush,  when the slain fall in Egypt,    and her wealth6 is carried away,    and her foundations are torn down. 5 Cush, and Put, and Lud, and all Arabia, and Libya,7 and the people of the land that is in league,8 shall fall with them by the sword. 6   “Thus says the LORD:  Those who support Egypt shall fall,    and her proud might shall come down;  from Migdol to Syene    they shall fall within her by the sword,  declares the Lord GOD.7   And they shall be desolated in the midst of desolated countries,    and their cities shall be in the midst of cities that are laid waste.8   Then they will know that I am the LORD,    when I have set fire to Egypt,    and all her helpers are broken. 9 “On that day messengers shall go out from me in ships to terrify the unsuspecting people of Cush, and anguish shall come upon them on the day of Egypt's doom;9 for, behold, it comes! 10 “Thus says the Lord GOD:   “I will put an end to the wealth of Egypt,    by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.11   He and his people with him, the most ruthless of nations,    shall be brought in to destroy the land,  and they shall draw their swords against Egypt    and fill the land with the slain.12   And I will dry up the Nile    and will sell the land into the hand of evildoers;  I will bring desolation upon the land and everything in it,    by the hand of foreigners;  I am the LORD; I have spoken. 13 “Thus says the Lord GOD:   “I will destroy the idols    and put an end to the images in Memphis;  there shall no longer be a prince from the land of Egypt;    so I will put fear in the land of Egypt.14   I will make Pathros a desolation    and will set fire to Zoan    and will execute judgments on Thebes.15   And I will pour out my wrath on Pelusium,    the stronghold of Egypt,    and cut off the multitude10 of Thebes.16   And I will set fire to Egypt;    Pelusium shall be in great agony;  Thebes shall be breached,    and Memphis shall face enemies11 by day.17   The young men of On and of Pi-beseth shall fall by the sword,    and the women12 shall go into captivity.18   At Tehaphnehes the day shall be dark,    when I break there the yoke bars of Egypt,  and her proud might shall come to an end in her;    she shall be covered by a cloud,    and her daughters shall go into captivity.19   Thus I will execute judgments on Egypt.    Then they will know that I am the LORD.” Egypt Shall Fall to Babylon 20 In the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: 21 “Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and behold, it has not been bound up, to heal it by binding it with a bandage, so that it may become strong to wield the sword. 22 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt and will break his arms, both the strong arm and the one that was broken, and I will make the sword fall from his hand. 23 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them through the countries. 24 And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put my sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before him like a man mortally wounded. 25 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall. Then they shall know that I am the LORD, when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt. 26 And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. Then they will know that I am the LORD.” Pharaoh to Be Slain 31 In the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his multitude:   “Whom are you like in your greatness?3     Behold, Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon,  with beautiful branches and forest shade,    and of towering height,    its top among the clouds.134   The waters nourished it;    the deep made it grow tall,  making its rivers flow    around the place of its planting,  sending forth its streams    to all the trees of the field.5   So it towered high    above all the trees of the field;  its boughs grew large    and its branches long    from abundant water in its shoots.6   All the birds of the heavens    made their nests in its boughs;  under its branches all the beasts of the field    gave birth to their young,  and under its shadow    lived all great nations.7   It was beautiful in its greatness,    in the length of its branches;  for its roots went down    to abundant waters.8   The cedars in the garden of God could not rival it,    nor the fir trees equal its boughs;  neither were the plane trees    like its branches;  no tree in the garden of God    was its equal in beauty.9   I made it beautiful    in the mass of its branches,  and all the trees of Eden envied it,    that were in the garden of God. 10 “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because it14 towered high and set its top among the clouds,15 and its heart was proud of its height, 11 I will give it into the hand of a mighty one of the nations. He shall surely deal with it as its wickedness deserves. I have cast it out. 12 Foreigners, the most ruthless of nations, have cut it down and left it. On the mountains and in all the valleys its branches have fallen, and its boughs have been broken in all the ravines of the land, and all the peoples of the earth have gone away from its shadow and left it. 13 On its fallen trunk dwell all the birds of the heavens, and on its branches are all the beasts of the field. 14 All this is in order that no trees by the waters may grow to towering height or set their tops among the clouds,16 and that no trees that drink water may reach up to them in height. For they are all given over to death, to the world below, among the children of man,17 with those who go down to the pit. 15 “Thus says the Lord GOD: On the day the cedar18 went down to Sheol I caused mourning; I closed the deep over it, and restrained its rivers, and many waters were stopped. I clothed Lebanon in gloom for it, and all the trees of the field fainted because of it. 16 I made the nations quake at the sound of its fall, when I cast it down to Sheol with those who go down to the pit. And all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, were comforted in the world below. 17 They also went down to Sheol with it, to those who are slain by the sword; yes, those who were its arm, who lived under its shadow among the nations. 18 “Whom are you thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? You shall be brought down with the trees of Eden to the world below. You shall lie among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword. “This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares the Lord GOD.” Footnotes [1] 29:6 Hebrew they [2] 29:7 Syriac (compare Psalm 69:23); Hebrew to stand [3] 29:9 Hebrew he [4] 29:19 Or multitude [5] 30:3 Hebrew lacks doom for [6] 30:4 Or multitude; also verse 10 [7] 30:5 With Septuagint; Hebrew Cub [8] 30:5 Hebrew and the sons of the land of the covenant [9] 30:9 Hebrew the day of Egypt [10] 30:15 Or wealth [11] 30:16 Or distress [12] 30:17 Or the cities; Hebrew they [13] 31:3 Or its top went through the thick boughs [14] 31:10 Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew you [15] 31:10 Or its top through the thick boughs [16] 31:14 Or their tops through the thick boughs [17] 31:14 Or of Adam [18] 31:15 Hebrew it (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 120 Psalm 120 (Listen) Deliver Me, O Lord A Song of Ascents. 120   In my distress I called to the LORD,    and he answered me.2   Deliver me, O LORD,    from lying lips,    from a deceitful tongue. 3   What shall be given to you,    and what more shall be done to you,    you deceitful tongue?4   A warrior's sharp arrows,    with glowing coals of the broom tree! 5   Woe to me, that I sojourn in Meshech,    that I dwell among the tents of Kedar!6   Too long have I had my dwelling    among those who hate peace.7   I am for peace,    but when I speak, they are for war! (ESV) New Testament: 2 Thessalonians 2–3 2 Thessalonians 2–3 (Listen) The Man of Lawlessness 2 Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers,1 2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness2 is revealed, the son of destruction,3 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, 12 in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. Stand Firm 13 But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits4 to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. 14 To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter. 16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, 17 comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word. Pray for Us 3 Finally, brothers,5 pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored,6 as happened among you, 2 and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith. 3 But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.7 4 And we have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things that we command. 5 May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ. Warning Against Idleness 6 Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, 8 nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. 9 It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. 10 For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. 11 For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. 12 Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.8 13 As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. 14 If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. 15 Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother. Benediction 16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all. 17 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. This is the sign of genuineness in eve

Old Testament: Ezekiel 29–31 Ezekiel 29–31 (Listen) Prophecy Against Egypt 29 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt; 3 speak, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD:   “Behold, I am against you,    Pharaoh king of Egypt,  the great dragon that lies    in the midst of his streams,  that says, ‘My Nile is my own;    I made it for myself.'4   I will put hooks in your jaws,    and make the fish of your streams stick to your scales;  and I will draw you up out of the midst of your streams,    with all the fish of your streams    that stick to your scales.5   And I will cast you out into the wilderness,    you and all the fish of your streams;  you shall fall on the open field,    and not be brought together or gathered.  To the beasts of the earth and to the birds of the heavens    I give you as food. 6 Then all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the LORD. “Because you1 have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel, 7 when they grasped you with the hand, you broke and tore all their shoulders; and when they leaned on you, you broke and made all their loins to shake.2 8 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will bring a sword upon you, and will cut off from you man and beast, 9 and the land of Egypt shall be a desolation and a waste. Then they will know that I am the LORD. “Because you3 said, ‘The Nile is mine, and I made it,' 10 therefore, behold, I am against you and against your streams, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from Migdol to Syene, as far as the border of Cush. 11 No foot of man shall pass through it, and no foot of beast shall pass through it; it shall be uninhabited forty years. 12 And I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the midst of desolated countries, and her cities shall be a desolation forty years among cities that are laid waste. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them through the countries. 13 “For thus says the Lord GOD: At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered, 14 and I will restore the fortunes of Egypt and bring them back to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin, and there they shall be a lowly kingdom. 15 It shall be the most lowly of the kingdoms, and never again exalt itself above the nations. And I will make them so small that they will never again rule over the nations. 16 And it shall never again be the reliance of the house of Israel, recalling their iniquity, when they turn to them for aid. Then they will know that I am the Lord GOD.” 17 In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: 18 “Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre. Every head was made bald, and every shoulder was rubbed bare, yet neither he nor his army got anything from Tyre to pay for the labor that he had performed against her. 19 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and he shall carry off its wealth4 and despoil it and plunder it; and it shall be the wages for his army. 20 I have given him the land of Egypt as his payment for which he labored, because they worked for me, declares the Lord GOD. 21 “On that day I will cause a horn to spring up for the house of Israel, and I will open your lips among them. Then they will know that I am the LORD.” A Lament for Egypt 30 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD:   “Wail, ‘Alas for the day!'3     For the day is near,    the day of the LORD is near;  it will be a day of clouds,    a time of doom for5 the nations.4   A sword shall come upon Egypt,    and anguish shall be in Cush,  when the slain fall in Egypt,    and her wealth6 is carried away,    and her foundations are torn down. 5 Cush, and Put, and Lud, and all Arabia, and Libya,7 and the people of the land that is in league,8 shall fall with them by the sword. 6   “Thus says the LORD:  Those who support Egypt shall fall,    and her proud might shall come down;  from Migdol to Syene    they shall fall within her by the sword,  declares the Lord GOD.7   And they shall be desolated in the midst of desolated countries,    and their cities shall be in the midst of cities that are laid waste.8   Then they will know that I am the LORD,    when I have set fire to Egypt,    and all her helpers are broken. 9 “On that day messengers shall go out from me in ships to terrify the unsuspecting people of Cush, and anguish shall come upon them on the day of Egypt's doom;9 for, behold, it comes! 10 “Thus says the Lord GOD:   “I will put an end to the wealth of Egypt,    by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.11   He and his people with him, the most ruthless of nations,    shall be brought in to destroy the land,  and they shall draw their swords against Egypt    and fill the land with the slain.12   And I will dry up the Nile    and will sell the land into the hand of evildoers;  I will bring desolation upon the land and everything in it,    by the hand of foreigners;  I am the LORD; I have spoken. 13 “Thus says the Lord GOD:   “I will destroy the idols    and put an end to the images in Memphis;  there shall no longer be a prince from the land of Egypt;    so I will put fear in the land of Egypt.14   I will make Pathros a desolation    and will set fire to Zoan    and will execute judgments on Thebes.15   And I will pour out my wrath on Pelusium,    the stronghold of Egypt,    and cut off the multitude10 of Thebes.16   And I will set fire to Egypt;    Pelusium shall be in great agony;  Thebes shall be breached,    and Memphis shall face enemies11 by day.17   The young men of On and of Pi-beseth shall fall by the sword,    and the women12 shall go into captivity.18   At Tehaphnehes the day shall be dark,    when I break there the yoke bars of Egypt,  and her proud might shall come to an end in her;    she shall be covered by a cloud,    and her daughters shall go into captivity.19   Thus I will execute judgments on Egypt.    Then they will know that I am the LORD.” Egypt Shall Fall to Babylon 20 In the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: 21 “Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and behold, it has not been bound up, to heal it by binding it with a bandage, so that it may become strong to wield the sword. 22 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt and will break his arms, both the strong arm and the one that was broken, and I will make the sword fall from his hand. 23 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them through the countries. 24 And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put my sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before him like a man mortally wounded. 25 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall. Then they shall know that I am the LORD, when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt. 26 And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. Then they will know that I am the LORD.” Pharaoh to Be Slain 31 In the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his multitude:   “Whom are you like in your greatness?3     Behold, Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon,  with beautiful branches and forest shade,    and of towering height,    its top among the clouds.134   The waters nourished it;    the deep made it grow tall,  making its rivers flow    around the place of its planting,  sending forth its streams    to all the trees of the field.5   So it towered high    above all the trees of the field;  its boughs grew large    and its branches long    from abundant water in its shoots.6   All the birds of the heavens    made their nests in its boughs;  under its branches all the beasts of the field    gave birth to their young,  and under its shadow    lived all great nations.7   It was beautiful in its greatness,    in the length of its branches;  for its roots went down    to abundant waters.8   The cedars in the garden of God could not rival it,    nor the fir trees equal its boughs;  neither were the plane trees    like its branches;  no tree in the garden of God    was its equal in beauty.9   I made it beautiful    in the mass of its branches,  and all the trees of Eden envied it,    that were in the garden of God. 10 “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because it14 towered high and set its top among the clouds,15 and its heart was proud of its height, 11 I will give it into the hand of a mighty one of the nations. He shall surely deal with it as its wickedness deserves. I have cast it out. 12 Foreigners, the most ruthless of nations, have cut it down and left it. On the mountains and in all the valleys its branches have fallen, and its boughs have been broken in all the ravines of the land, and all the peoples of the earth have gone away from its shadow and left it. 13 On its fallen trunk dwell all the birds of the heavens, and on its branches are all the beasts of the field. 14 All this is in order that no trees by the waters may grow to towering height or set their tops among the clouds,16 and that no trees that drink water may reach up to them in height. For they are all given over to death, to the world below, among the children of man,17 with those who go down to the pit. 15 “Thus says the Lord GOD: On the day the cedar18 went down to Sheol I caused mourning; I closed the deep over it, and restrained its rivers, and many waters were stopped. I clothed Lebanon in gloom for it, and all the trees of the field fainted because of it. 16 I made the nations quake at the sound of its fall, when I cast it down to Sheol with those who go down to the pit. And all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, were comforted in the world below. 17 They also went down to Sheol with it, to those who are slain by the sword; yes, those who were its arm, who lived under its shadow among the nations. 18 “Whom are you thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? You shall be brought down with the trees of Eden to the world below. You shall lie among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword. “This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares the Lord GOD.” Footnotes [1] 29:6 Hebrew they [2] 29:7 Syriac (compare Psalm 69:23); Hebrew to stand [3] 29:9 Hebrew he [4] 29:19 Or multitude [5] 30:3 Hebrew lacks doom for [6] 30:4 Or multitude; also verse 10 [7] 30:5 With Septuagint; Hebrew Cub [8] 30:5 Hebrew and the sons of the land of the covenant [9] 30:9 Hebrew the day of Egypt [10] 30:15 Or wealth [11] 30:16 Or distress [12] 30:17 Or the cities; Hebrew they [13] 31:3 Or its top went through the thick boughs [14] 31:10 Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew you [15] 31:10 Or its top through the thick boughs [16] 31:14 Or their tops through the thick boughs [17] 31:14 Or of Adam [18] 31:15 Hebrew it (ESV) New Testament: John 1:1–18 John 1:1–18 (Listen) The Word Became Flesh 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life,1 and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. 9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own,2 and his own people3 did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son4 from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.'”) 16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.5 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God,6 who is at the Father's side,7 he has made him known. Footnotes [1] 1:4 Or was not any thing made. That which has been made was life in him [2] 1:11 Greek to his own things; that is, to his own domain, or to his own people [3] 1:11 People is implied in Greek [4] 1:14 Or only One, or unique One [5] 1:16 Or grace in place of grace [6] 1:18 Or the only One, who is God; some manuscripts the only Son [7] 1:18 Greek in the bosom of the Father (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 120 Psalm 120 (Listen) Deliver Me, O Lord A Song of Ascents. 120   In my distress I called to the LORD,    and he answered me.2   Deliver me, O LORD,    from lying lips,    from a deceitful tongue. 3   What shall be given to you,    and what more shall be done to you,    you deceitful tongue?4   A warrior's sharp arrows,    with glowing coals of the broom tree! 5   Woe to me, that I sojourn in Meshech,    that I dwell among the tents of Kedar!6   Too long have I had my dwelling    among those who hate peace.7   I am for peace,    but when I speak, they are for war! (ESV) Proverb: Proverbs 28:23–24 Proverbs 28:23–24 (Listen) 23   Whoever rebukes a man will afterward find more favor    than he who flatters with his tongue.24   Whoever robs his father or his mother    and says, “That is no transgression,”    is a companion to a man who destroys. (ESV)

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 119:89–176 Psalm 119:89–176 (Listen) Lamedh 89   Forever, O LORD, your word    is firmly fixed in the heavens.90   Your faithfulness endures to all generations;    you have established the earth, and it stands fast.91   By your appointment they stand this day,    for all things are your servants.92   If your law had not been my delight,    I would have perished in my affliction.93   I will never forget your precepts,    for by them you have given me life.94   I am yours; save me,    for I have sought your precepts.95   The wicked lie in wait to destroy me,    but I consider your testimonies.96   I have seen a limit to all perfection,    but your commandment is exceedingly broad. Mem 97   Oh how I love your law!    It is my meditation all the day.98   Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies,    for it is ever with me.99   I have more understanding than all my teachers,    for your testimonies are my meditation.100   I understand more than the aged,1    for I keep your precepts.101   I hold back my feet from every evil way,    in order to keep your word.102   I do not turn aside from your rules,    for you have taught me.103   How sweet are your words to my taste,    sweeter than honey to my mouth!104   Through your precepts I get understanding;    therefore I hate every false way. Nun 105   Your word is a lamp to my feet    and a light to my path.106   I have sworn an oath and confirmed it,    to keep your righteous rules.107   I am severely afflicted;    give me life, O LORD, according to your word!108   Accept my freewill offerings of praise, O LORD,    and teach me your rules.109   I hold my life in my hand continually,    but I do not forget your law.110   The wicked have laid a snare for me,    but I do not stray from your precepts.111   Your testimonies are my heritage forever,    for they are the joy of my heart.112   I incline my heart to perform your statutes    forever, to the end.2 Samekh 113   I hate the double-minded,    but I love your law.114   You are my hiding place and my shield;    I hope in your word.115   Depart from me, you evildoers,    that I may keep the commandments of my God.116   Uphold me according to your promise, that I may live,    and let me not be put to shame in my hope!117   Hold me up, that I may be safe    and have regard for your statutes continually!118   You spurn all who go astray from your statutes,    for their cunning is in vain.119   All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross,    therefore I love your testimonies.120   My flesh trembles for fear of you,    and I am afraid of your judgments. Ayin 121   I have done what is just and right;    do not leave me to my oppressors.122   Give your servant a pledge of good;    let not the insolent oppress me.123   My eyes long for your salvation    and for the fulfillment of your righteous promise.124   Deal with your servant according to your steadfast love,    and teach me your statutes.125   I am your servant; give me understanding,    that I may know your testimonies!126   It is time for the LORD to act,    for your law has been broken.127   Therefore I love your commandments    above gold, above fine gold.128   Therefore I consider all your precepts to be right;    I hate every false way. Pe 129   Your testimonies are wonderful;    therefore my soul keeps them.130   The unfolding of your words gives light;    it imparts understanding to the simple.131   I open my mouth and pant,    because I long for your commandments.132   Turn to me and be gracious to me,    as is your way with those who love your name.133   Keep steady my steps according to your promise,    and let no iniquity get dominion over me.134   Redeem me from man's oppression,    that I may keep your precepts.135   Make your face shine upon your servant,    and teach me your statutes.136   My eyes shed streams of tears,    because people do not keep your law. Tsadhe 137   Righteous are you, O LORD,    and right are your rules.138   You have appointed your testimonies in righteousness    and in all faithfulness.139   My zeal consumes me,    because my foes forget your words.140   Your promise is well tried,    and your servant loves it.141   I am small and despised,    yet I do not forget your precepts.142   Your righteousness is righteous forever,    and your law is true.143   Trouble and anguish have found me out,    but your commandments are my delight.144   Your testimonies are righteous forever;    give me understanding that I may live. Qoph 145   With my whole heart I cry; answer me, O LORD!    I will keep your statutes.146   I call to you; save me,    that I may observe your testimonies.147   I rise before dawn and cry for help;    I hope in your words.148   My eyes are awake before the watches of the night,    that I may meditate on your promise.149   Hear my voice according to your steadfast love;    O LORD, according to your justice give me life.150   They draw near who persecute me with evil purpose;    they are far from your law.151   But you are near, O LORD,    and all your commandments are true.152   Long have I known from your testimonies    that you have founded them forever. Resh 153   Look on my affliction and deliver me,    for I do not forget your law.154   Plead my cause and redeem me;    give me life according to your promise!155   Salvation is far from the wicked,    for they do not seek your statutes.156   Great is your mercy, O LORD;    give me life according to your rules.157   Many are my persecutors and my adversaries,    but I do not swerve from your testimonies.158   I look at the faithless with disgust,    because they do not keep your commands.159   Consider how I love your precepts!    Give me life according to your steadfast love.160   The sum of your word is truth,    and every one of your righteous rules endures forever. Sin and Shin 161   Princes persecute me without cause,    but my heart stands in awe of your words.162   I rejoice at your word    like one who finds great spoil.163   I hate and abhor falsehood,    but I love your law.164   Seven times a day I praise you    for your righteous rules.165   Great peace have those who love your law;    nothing can make them stumble.166   I hope for your salvation, O LORD,    and I do your commandments.167   My soul keeps your testimonies;    I love them exceedingly.168   I keep your precepts and testimonies,    for all my ways are before you. Taw 169   Let my cry come before you, O LORD;    give me understanding according to your word!170   Let my plea come before you;    deliver me according to your word.171   My lips will pour forth praise,    for you teach me your statutes.172   My tongue will sing of your word,    for all your commandments are right.173   Let your hand be ready to help me,    for I have chosen your precepts.174   I long for your salvation, O LORD,    and your law is my delight.175   Let my soul live and praise you,    and let your rules help me.176   I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant,    for I do not forget your commandments. Footnotes [1] 119:100 Or the elders [2] 119:112 Or statutes; the reward is eternal (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Job 2 Job 2 (Listen) Satan Attacks Job's Health 2 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the LORD. 2 And the LORD said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 3 And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.” 4 Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. 5 But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.” 6 And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.” 7 So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes. 9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” 10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?”1 In all this Job did not sin with his lips. Job's Three Friends 11 Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him. 12 And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven. 13 And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great. Footnotes [1] 2:10 Or disaster; also verse 11 (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 23 Isaiah 23 (Listen) An Oracle Concerning Tyre and Sidon 23 The oracle concerning Tyre.   Wail, O ships of Tarshish,    for Tyre is laid waste, without house or harbor!  From the land of Cyprus1    it is revealed to them.2   Be still, O inhabitants of the coast;    the merchants of Sidon, who cross the sea, have filled you.3   And on many waters  your revenue was the grain of Shihor,    the harvest of the Nile;    you were the merchant of the nations.4   Be ashamed, O Sidon, for the sea has spoken,    the stronghold of the sea, saying:  “I have neither labored nor given birth,    I have neither reared young men    nor brought up young women.”5   When the report comes to Egypt,    they will be in anguish2 over the report about Tyre.6   Cross over to Tarshish;    wail, O inhabitants of the coast!7   Is this your exultant city    whose origin is from days of old,  whose feet carried her    to settle far away?8   Who has purposed this    against Tyre, the bestower of crowns,  whose merchants were princes,    whose traders were the honored of the earth?9   The LORD of hosts has purposed it,    to defile the pompous pride of all glory,3    to dishonor all the honored of the earth.10   Cross over your land like the Nile,    O daughter of Tarshish;    there is no restraint anymore.11   He has stretched out his hand over the sea;    he has shaken the kingdoms;  the LORD has given command concerning Canaan    to destroy its strongholds.12   And he said:  “You will no more exult,    O oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon;  arise, cross over to Cyprus,    even there you will have no rest.” 13 Behold the land of the Chaldeans! This is the people that was not;4 Assyria destined it for wild beasts. They erected their siege towers, they stripped her palaces bare, they made her a ruin. 14   Wail, O ships of Tarshish,    for your stronghold is laid waste. 15 In that day Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, like the days5 of one king. At the end of seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute: 16   “Take a harp;    go about the city,    O forgotten prostitute!  Make sweet melody;   

Happy Sunday, witches! Today we're taking a deep dive on the mythology surrounding banshees, sirens, and mermaids. Let this episode lure you in with stories of the ancient art of Keening, a little Greek history lesson, and the prevalence of mermaid myths across cultures. But first, pour yourself a drink and get cozy. It's going to be a witchin' good time.  Learn more/Resources:  https://www.britannica.com/topic/banshee https://www.britannica.com/topic/Siren-Greek-mythology https://www.britannica.com/topic/mermaid --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/ouija-margs-pod/support

Morning: Ezekiel 29–31 Ezekiel 29–31 (Listen) Prophecy Against Egypt 29 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt; 3 speak, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD:   “Behold, I am against you,    Pharaoh king of Egypt,  the great dragon that lies    in the midst of his streams,  that says, ‘My Nile is my own;    I made it for myself.'4   I will put hooks in your jaws,    and make the fish of your streams stick to your scales;  and I will draw you up out of the midst of your streams,    with all the fish of your streams    that stick to your scales.5   And I will cast you out into the wilderness,    you and all the fish of your streams;  you shall fall on the open field,    and not be brought together or gathered.  To the beasts of the earth and to the birds of the heavens    I give you as food. 6 Then all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the LORD. “Because you1 have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel, 7 when they grasped you with the hand, you broke and tore all their shoulders; and when they leaned on you, you broke and made all their loins to shake.2 8 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will bring a sword upon you, and will cut off from you man and beast, 9 and the land of Egypt shall be a desolation and a waste. Then they will know that I am the LORD. “Because you3 said, ‘The Nile is mine, and I made it,' 10 therefore, behold, I am against you and against your streams, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from Migdol to Syene, as far as the border of Cush. 11 No foot of man shall pass through it, and no foot of beast shall pass through it; it shall be uninhabited forty years. 12 And I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the midst of desolated countries, and her cities shall be a desolation forty years among cities that are laid waste. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them through the countries. 13 “For thus says the Lord GOD: At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered, 14 and I will restore the fortunes of Egypt and bring them back to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin, and there they shall be a lowly kingdom. 15 It shall be the most lowly of the kingdoms, and never again exalt itself above the nations. And I will make them so small that they will never again rule over the nations. 16 And it shall never again be the reliance of the house of Israel, recalling their iniquity, when they turn to them for aid. Then they will know that I am the Lord GOD.” 17 In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: 18 “Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre. Every head was made bald, and every shoulder was rubbed bare, yet neither he nor his army got anything from Tyre to pay for the labor that he had performed against her. 19 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and he shall carry off its wealth4 and despoil it and plunder it; and it shall be the wages for his army. 20 I have given him the land of Egypt as his payment for which he labored, because they worked for me, declares the Lord GOD. 21 “On that day I will cause a horn to spring up for the house of Israel, and I will open your lips among them. Then they will know that I am the LORD.” A Lament for Egypt 30 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD:   “Wail, ‘Alas for the day!'3     For the day is near,    the day of the LORD is near;  it will be a day of clouds,    a time of doom for5 the nations.4   A sword shall come upon Egypt,    and anguish shall be in Cush,  when the slain fall in Egypt,    and her wealth6 is carried away,    and her foundations are torn down. 5 Cush, and Put, and Lud, and all Arabia, and Libya,7 and the people of the land that is in league,8 shall fall with them by the sword. 6   “Thus says the LORD:  Those who support Egypt shall fall,    and her proud might shall come down;  from Migdol to Syene    they shall fall within her by the sword,  declares the Lord GOD.7   And they shall be desolated in the midst of desolated countries,    and their cities shall be in the midst of cities that are laid waste.8   Then they will know that I am the LORD,    when I have set fire to Egypt,    and all her helpers are broken. 9 “On that day messengers shall go out from me in ships to terrify the unsuspecting people of Cush, and anguish shall come upon them on the day of Egypt's doom;9 for, behold, it comes! 10 “Thus says the Lord GOD:   “I will put an end to the wealth of Egypt,    by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.11   He and his people with him, the most ruthless of nations,    shall be brought in to destroy the land,  and they shall draw their swords against Egypt    and fill the land with the slain.12   And I will dry up the Nile    and will sell the land into the hand of evildoers;  I will bring desolation upon the land and everything in it,    by the hand of foreigners;  I am the LORD; I have spoken. 13 “Thus says the Lord GOD:   “I will destroy the idols    and put an end to the images in Memphis;  there shall no longer be a prince from the land of Egypt;    so I will put fear in the land of Egypt.14   I will make Pathros a desolation    and will set fire to Zoan    and will execute judgments on Thebes.15   And I will pour out my wrath on Pelusium,    the stronghold of Egypt,    and cut off the multitude10 of Thebes.16   And I will set fire to Egypt;    Pelusium shall be in great agony;  Thebes shall be breached,    and Memphis shall face enemies11 by day.17   The young men of On and of Pi-beseth shall fall by the sword,    and the women12 shall go into captivity.18   At Tehaphnehes the day shall be dark,    when I break there the yoke bars of Egypt,  and her proud might shall come to an end in her;    she shall be covered by a cloud,    and her daughters shall go into captivity.19   Thus I will execute judgments on Egypt.    Then they will know that I am the LORD.” Egypt Shall Fall to Babylon 20 In the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: 21 “Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and behold, it has not been bound up, to heal it by binding it with a bandage, so that it may become strong to wield the sword. 22 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt and will break his arms, both the strong arm and the one that was broken, and I will make the sword fall from his hand. 23 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them through the countries. 24 And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put my sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before him like a man mortally wounded. 25 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall. Then they shall know that I am the LORD, when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt. 26 And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. Then they will know that I am the LORD.” Pharaoh to Be Slain 31 In the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his multitude:   “Whom are you like in your greatness?3     Behold, Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon,  with beautiful branches and forest shade,    and of towering height,    its top among the clouds.134   The waters nourished it;    the deep made it grow tall,  making its rivers flow    around the place of its planting,  sending forth its streams    to all the trees of the field.5   So it towered high    above all the trees of the field;  its boughs grew large    and its branches long    from abundant water in its shoots.6   All the birds of the heavens    made their nests in its boughs;  under its branches all the beasts of the field    gave birth to their young,  and under its shadow    lived all great nations.7   It was beautiful in its greatness,    in the length of its branches;  for its roots went down    to abundant waters.8   The cedars in the garden of God could not rival it,    nor the fir trees equal its boughs;  neither were the plane trees    like its branches;  no tree in the garden of God    was its equal in beauty.9   I made it beautiful    in the mass of its branches,  and all the trees of Eden envied it,    that were in the garden of God. 10 “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because it14 towered high and set its top among the clouds,15 and its heart was proud of its height, 11 I will give it into the hand of a mighty one of the nations. He shall surely deal with it as its wickedness deserves. I have cast it out. 12 Foreigners, the most ruthless of nations, have cut it down and left it. On the mountains and in all the valleys its branches have fallen, and its boughs have been broken in all the ravines of the land, and all the peoples of the earth have gone away from its shadow and left it. 13 On its fallen trunk dwell all the birds of the heavens, and on its branches are all the beasts of the field. 14 All this is in order that no trees by the waters may grow to towering height or set their tops among the clouds,16 and that no trees that drink water may reach up to them in height. For they are all given over to death, to the world below, among the children of man,17 with those who go down to the pit. 15 “Thus says the Lord GOD: On the day the cedar18 went down to Sheol I caused mourning; I closed the deep over it, and restrained its rivers, and many waters were stopped. I clothed Lebanon in gloom for it, and all the trees of the field fainted because of it. 16 I made the nations quake at the sound of its fall, when I cast it down to Sheol with those who go down to the pit. And all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, were comforted in the world below. 17 They also went down to Sheol with it, to those who are slain by the sword; yes, those who were its arm, who lived under its shadow among the nations. 18 “Whom are you thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? You shall be brought down with the trees of Eden to the world below. You shall lie among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword. “This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares the Lord GOD.” Footnotes [1] 29:6 Hebrew they [2] 29:7 Syriac (compare Psalm 69:23); Hebrew to stand [3] 29:9 Hebrew he [4] 29:19 Or multitude [5] 30:3 Hebrew lacks doom for [6] 30:4 Or multitude; also verse 10 [7] 30:5 With Septuagint; Hebrew Cub [8] 30:5 Hebrew and the sons of the land of the covenant [9] 30:9 Hebrew the day of Egypt [10] 30:15 Or wealth [11] 30:16 Or distress [12] 30:17 Or the cities; Hebrew they [13] 31:3 Or its top went through the thick boughs [14] 31:10 Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew you [15] 31:10 Or its top through the thick boughs [16] 31:14 Or their tops through the thick boughs [17] 31:14 Or of Adam [18] 31:15 Hebrew it (ESV) Evening: James 5 James 5 (Listen) Warning to the Rich 5 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. 4 Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you. Patience in Suffering 7 Be patient, therefore, brothers,1 until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. 9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. 10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. 12 But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation. The Prayer of Faith 13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.2 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit. 19 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. Footnotes [1] 5:7 Or brothers and sisters; also verses 9, 10, 12, 19 [2] 5:16 Or The effective prayer of a righteous person has great power (ESV)

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 114 Psalm 114 (Listen) Tremble at the Presence of the Lord 114   When Israel went out from Egypt,    the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,2   Judah became his sanctuary,    Israel his dominion. 3   The sea looked and fled;    Jordan turned back.4   The mountains skipped like rams,    the hills like lambs. 5   What ails you, O sea, that you flee?    O Jordan, that you turn back?6   O mountains, that you skip like rams?    O hills, like lambs? 7   Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,    at the presence of the God of Jacob,8   who turns the rock into a pool of water,    the flint into a spring of water. (ESV) Pentateuch and History: 2 Kings 22 2 Kings 22 (Listen) Josiah Reigns in Judah 22 Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. 2 And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in all the way of David his father, and he did not turn aside to the right or to the left. Josiah Repairs the Temple 3 In the eighteenth year of King Josiah, the king sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, son of Meshullam, the secretary, to the house of the LORD, saying, 4 “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may count the money that has been brought into the house of the LORD, which the keepers of the threshold have collected from the people. 5 And let it be given into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the LORD, and let them give it to the workmen who are at the house of the LORD, repairing the house 6 (that is, to the carpenters, and to the builders, and to the masons), and let them use it for buying timber and quarried stone to repair the house. 7 But no accounting shall be asked from them for the money that is delivered into their hand, for they deal honestly.” Hilkiah Finds the Book of the Law 8 And Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. 9 And Shaphan the secretary came to the king, and reported to the king, “Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house and have delivered it into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the LORD.” 10 Then Shaphan the secretary told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king. 11 When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes. 12 And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Micaiah, and Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the king's servant, saying, 13 “Go, inquire of the LORD for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the LORD that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.” 14 So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter), and they talked with her. 15 And she said to them, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: ‘Tell the man who sent you to me, 16 Thus says the LORD, Behold, I will bring disaster upon this place and upon its inhabitants, all the words of the book that the king of Judah has read. 17 Because they have forsaken me and have made offerings to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore my wrath will be kindled against this place, and it will not be quenched. 18 But to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, thus shall you say to him, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Regarding the words that you have heard, 19 because your heart was penitent, and you humbled yourself before the LORD, when you heard how I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the LORD. 20 Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place.'” And they brought back word to the king. (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 13–14 Isaiah 13–14 (Listen) The Judgment of Babylon 13 The oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw. 2   On a bare hill raise a signal;    cry aloud to them;  wave the hand for them to enter    the gates of the nobles.3   I myself have commanded my consecrated ones,    and have summoned my mighty men to execute my anger,    my proudly exulting ones.1 4   The sound of a tumult is on the mountains    as of a great multitude!  The sound of an uproar of kingdoms,    of nations gathering together!  The LORD of hosts is mustering    a host for battle.5   They come from a distant land,    from the end of the heavens,  the LORD and the weapons of his indignation,    to destroy the whole land.2 6   Wail, for the day of the LORD is near;    as destruction from the Almighty3 it will come!7   Therefore all hands will be feeble,    and every human heart will melt.8   They will be dismayed:    pangs and agony will seize them;    they will be in anguish like a woman in labor.  They will look aghast at one another;    their faces will be aflame. 9   Behold, the day of the LORD comes,    cruel, with wrath and fierce anger,  to make the land a desolation    and to destroy its sinners from it.10   For the stars of the heavens and their constellations    will not give their light;  the sun will be dark at its rising,    and the moon will not shed its light.11   I will punish the world for its evil,    and the wicked for their iniquity;  I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant,    and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless.12   I will make people more rare than fine gold,    and mankind than the gold of Ophir.13   Therefore I will make the heavens tremble,    and the earth will be shaken out of its place,  at the wrath of the LORD of hosts    in the day of his fierce anger.14   And like a hunted gazelle,    or like sheep with none to gather them,  each will turn to his own people,    and each will flee to his own land.15   Whoever is found will be thrust through,    and whoever is caught will fall by the sword.16   Their infants will be dashed in pieces    before their eyes;  their houses will be plundered    and their wives ravished. 17   Behold, I am stirring up the Medes against them,    who have no regard for silver    and do not delight in gold.18   Their bows will slaughter4 the young men;    they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb;    their eyes will not pity children.19   And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms,    the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans,  will be like Sodom and Gomorrah    when God overthrew them.20   It will never be inhabited    or lived in for all generations;  no Arab will pitch his tent there;    no shepherds will make their flocks lie down there.21   But wild animals will lie down there,    and their houses will be full of howling creatures;  there ostriches5 will dwell,    and there wild goats will dance.22   Hyenas6 will cry in its towers,    and jackals in the pleasant palaces;  its time is close at hand    and its days will not be prolonged. The Restoration of Jacob 14 For the LORD will have compassion on Jacob and will again choose Israel, and will set them in their own land, and sojourners will join them and will attach themselves to the house of Jacob. 2 And the peoples will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them in the LORD's land as male and female slaves.7 They will take captive those who were their captors, and rule over those who oppressed them. Israel's Remnant Taunts Babylon 3 When the LORD has given you rest from your pain and turmoil and the hard service with which you were made to serve, 4 you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon:   “How the oppressor has ceased,    the insolent fury8 ceased!5   The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked,    the scepter of rulers,6   that struck the peoples in wrath    with unceasing blows,  that ruled the nations in anger    with unrelenting persecution.7   The whole earth is at rest and quiet;    they break forth into singing.8   The cypresses rejoice at you,    the cedars of Lebanon, saying,  ‘Since you were laid low,    no woodcutter comes up against us.'9   Sheol beneath is stirred up    to meet you when you come;  it rouses the shades to greet you,    all who were leaders of the earth;  it raises from their thrones    all who were kings of the nations.10   All of them will answer    and say to you:  ‘You too have become as weak as we!    You have become like us!'11   Your pomp is brought down to Sheol,    the sound of your harps;  maggots are laid as a bed beneath you,    and worms are your covers. 12   “How you are fallen from heaven,    O Day Star, son of Dawn!  How you are cut down to the ground,    you who laid the nations low!13   You said in your heart,    ‘I will ascend to heaven;  above the stars of God    I will set my throne on high;  I will sit on the mount of assembly    in the far reaches of the north;914   I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;    I will make myself like the Most High.'15   But you are brought down to Sheol,    to the far reaches of the pit.16   Those who see you will stare at you    and ponder over you:  ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble,    who shook kingdoms,17   who made the world like a desert    and overthrew its cities,    who did not let his prisoners go home?'18   All the kings of the nations lie in glory,    each in his own tomb;1019   but you are cast out, away from your grave,    like a loathed branch,  clothed with the slain, those pierced by the sword,    who go down to the stones of the pit,    like a dead body trampled underfoot.20   You will not be joined with them in burial,    because you have destroyed your land,    you have slain your people.   “May the offspring of evildoers    nevermore be named!21   Prepare slaughter for his sons    because of the guilt of their fathers,  lest they rise and possess the earth,    and fill the face of the world with cities.” 22 “I will rise up against them,” declares the LORD of hosts, “and will cut off from Babylon name and remnant, descendants and posterity,” declares the LORD. 23 “And I will make it a possession of the hedgehog,11 and pools of water, and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction,” declares the LORD of hosts. An Oracle Concerning Assyria 24   The LORD of hosts has sworn:  “As I have planned,    so shall it be,  and as I have purposed,    so shall it stand,25   that I will break the Assyrian in my land,    and on my mountains trample him underfoot;  and his yoke shall depart from them,    and his burden from their shoulder.” 26   This is the purpose that is purposed    concerning the whole earth,  and this is the hand that is stretched out    over all the nations.27   For the LORD of hosts has purposed,    and who will annul it?  His hand is stretched out,    and who will turn it back? An Oracle Concerning Philistia 28 In the year that King Ahaz died came this oracle: 29   Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of you,    that the rod that struck you is broken,  for from the serpent's root will come forth an adder,    and its fruit will be a flying fiery serpent.30   And the firstborn of the poor will graze,    and the needy lie down in safety;  but I will kill your root with famine,    and your remnant it will slay.31   Wail, O gate; cry out, O city;    melt in fear, O Philistia, all of you!  For smoke comes out of the north,    and there is no straggler in his ranks. 32   What will one answer the messengers of the nation?  “The LORD has founded Zion,    and in her the afflicted of his people find refuge.” Footnotes [1] 13:3 Or those who exult in my majesty [2] 13:5 Or earth; also verse 9 [3] 13:6 The Hebrew words for destruction and almighty sound alike [4] 13:18 Hebrew dash in pieces [5] 13:21 Or owls [6] 13:22 Or foxes [7] 14:2 Or servants [8] 14:4 Dead Sea Scroll (compare Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate); the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain [9] 14:13 Or in the remote parts of Zaphon [10] 14:18 Hebrew house [11] 14:23 Possibly porcupine, or owl (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: John 15:1–17 John 15:1–17 (Listen) I Am the True Vine 15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. 12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.