ZECHARIAH 10:1-11:17
REVELATION 18:1-24
PSALM 146:1-10
PROVERBS 30:33
ZECHARIAH 10:1-11:17
Ask the LORD for rain in the spring, and he will give it. It is the LORD who makes storm clouds that drop showers of rain so that every field becomes a lush pasture. 2 Household gods give false advice, fortune-tellers predict only lies, and interpreters of dreams pronounce comfortless falsehoods. So my people are wandering like lost sheep, without a shepherd to protect and guide them. 3 " My anger burns against your shepherds, and I will punish these leaders. For the LORD Almighty has arrived to look after his flock of Judah; he will make them strong and glorious, like a proud warhorse in battle. 4 From Judah will come the cornerstone, the tent peg, the battle bow, and all the rulers. 5 They will be like mighty warriors in battle, trampling their enemies in the mud under their feet. Since the LORD is with them as they fight, they will overthrow even the horsemen of the enemy.6 " I will strengthen Judah and save Israel; I will reestablish them because I love them. It will be as though I had never rejected them, for I am the LORD their God, who will hear their cries. 7 The people of Israel will become like mighty warriors, and their hearts will be happy as if by wine. Their children, too, will see it all and be glad; their hearts will rejoice in the LORD. 8 When I whistle to them, they will come running, for I have redeemed them. From the few that are left, their population will grow again to its former size. 9 Though I have scattered them like seeds among the nations, still they will remember me in distant lands. With their children, they will survive and come home again to Israel. 10 I will bring them back from Egypt and Assyria and resettle them in Gilead and Lebanon. There won't be enough room for them all! 11 They will pass safely through the sea of distress, for the waves of the sea will be held back. And the waters of the Nile will become dry. The pride of Assyria will be crushed, and the rule of Egypt will end. 12 I will make my people strong in my power, and they will go wherever they wish by my authority. I, the LORD, have spoken!" 11:1 OPEN your doors, Lebanon, so that fire may sweep through your cedar forests. 2 Weep, you cypress trees, for all the ruined cedars; the tallest and most beautiful of them are fallen. Weep, you oaks of Bashan, as you watch the thickest forests being felled. 3 Listen to the wailing of the shepherds, for their wealth is gone. Hear the young lions roaring, for their thickets in the Jordan Valley have been destroyed. 4 This is what the LORD my God says: " Go and care for a flock that is intended for slaughter. 5 The buyers will slaughter their sheep without remorse. The sellers will say, ` Praise the LORD, I am now rich!' Even the shepherds have no compassion for them. 6 And likewise, I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of the land," says the LORD. " I will let them fall into each other's clutches, as well as into the clutches of their king. They will turn the land into a wilderness, and I will not protect them."7 So I cared for the flock intended for slaughter--the flock that was oppressed. Then I took two shepherd's staffs and named one Favor and the other Union. 8 I got rid of their three evil shepherds in a single month. But I became impatient with these sheep--this nation--and they hated me, too. 9 So I told them, " I won't be your shepherd any longer. If you die, you die. If you are killed, you are killed. And those who remain will devour each other!" 10 Then I took my staff called Favor and snapped it in two, showing that I had revoked the covenant I had made with all the nations. 11 That was the end of my covenant with them. Those who bought and sold sheep were watching me, and they knew that the LORD was speaking to them through my actions. 12 And I said to them, " If you like, give me my wages, whatever I am worth; but only if you want to." So they counted out for my wages thirty pieces of silver. 13 And the LORD said to me, " Throw it to the potters"--this magnificent sum at which they valued me! So I took the thirty coins and threw them to the potters in the Temple of the LORD. 14 Then I broke my other staff, Union, to show that the bond of unity between Judah and Israel was broken. 15 Then the LORD said to me, " Go again and play the part of a worthless shepherd. 16 This will illustrate how I will give this nation a shepherd who will not care for the sheep that are threatened by death, nor look after the young, nor heal the injured, nor feed the healthy. Instead, this shepherd will eat the meat of the fattest sheep and tear off their hooves. 17 Doom is certain for this worthless shepherd who abandons the flock! The sword will cut his arm and pierce his right eye! His arm will become useless, and his right eye completely blind!"
REVELATION 18:1-24
After all this I [John] saw another angel come down from heaven with great authority, and the earth grew bright with his splendor. 2 He gave a mighty shout, " Babylon is fallen--that great city is fallen! She has become the hideout of demons and evil spirits, a nest for filthy buzzards, and a den for dreadful beasts. 3 For all the nations have drunk the wine of her passionate immorality. The rulers of the world have committed adultery with her, and merchants throughout the world have grown rich as a result of her luxurious living." 4 Then I heard another voice calling from heaven, " Come away from her, my people. Do not take part in her sins, or you will be punished with her. 5 For her sins are piled as high as heaven, and God is ready to judge her for her evil deeds. 6 Do to her as she has done to your people. Give her a double penalty for all her evil deeds. She brewed a cup of terror for others, so give her twice as much as she gave out. 7 She has lived in luxury and pleasure, so match it now with torments and sorrows. She boasts, ` I am queen on my throne. I am no helpless widow. I will not experience sorrow.' 8 Therefore, the sorrows of death and mourning and famine will overtake her in a single day. She will be utterly consumed by fire, for the Lord God who judges her is mighty." 9 And the rulers of the world who took part in her immoral acts and enjoyed her great luxury will mourn for her as they see the smoke rising from her charred remains. 10 They will stand at a distance, terrified by her great torment. They will cry out, " How terrible, how terrible for Babylon, that great city! In one single moment God's judgment came on her." 11 The merchants of the world will weep and mourn for her, for there is no one left to buy their goods. 12 She bought great quantities of gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple dye, silk, scarlet cloth, every kind of perfumed wood, ivory goods, objects made of expensive wood, bronze, iron, and marble. 13 She also bought cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, olive oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, horses, chariots, and slaves--yes, she even traded in human lives. 14 " All the fancy things you loved so much are gone," they cry. " The luxuries and splendor that you prized so much will never be yours again. They are gone forever." 15 The merchants who became wealthy by selling her these things will stand at a distance, terrified by her great torment. They will weep and cry. 16 " How terrible, how terrible for that great city! She was so beautiful--like a woman clothed in finest purple and scarlet linens, decked out with gold and precious stones and pearls! 17 And in one single moment all the wealth of the city is gone!" And all the shipowners and captains of the merchant ships and their crews will stand at a distance. 18 They will weep as they watch the smoke ascend, and they will say, " Where in all the world is there another city like this?" 19 And they will throw dust on their heads to show their great sorrow. And they will say, " How terrible, how terrible for the great city! She made us all rich from her great wealth. And now in a single hour it is all gone." 20 But you, O heaven, rejoice over her fate. And you also rejoice, O holy people of God and apostles and prophets! For at last God has judged her on your behalf. 21 Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder as large as a great millstone. He threw it into the ocean and shouted, " Babylon, the great city, will be thrown down as violently as I have thrown away this stone, and she will disappear forever. 22 Never again will the sound of music be heard there--no more harps, songs, flutes, or trumpets. There will be no industry of any kind, and no more milling of grain. 23 Her nights will be dark, without a single lamp. There will be no happy voices of brides and grooms. This will happen because her merchants, who were the greatest in the world, deceived the nations with her sorceries. 24 In her streets the blood of the prophets was spilled. She was the one who slaughtered God's people all over the world."
PSALM 146:1-10
Praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD, I tell myself.
2 I will praise the LORD as long as I live.
I will sing praises to my God even with my dying breath.
3 Don't put your confidence in powerful people;
there is no help for you there.
4 When their breathing stops, they return to the earth,
and in a moment all their plans come to an end.
5 But happy are those who have the God of Israel as their helper,
whose hope is in the LORD their God.
6 He is the one who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them.
He is the one who keeps every promise forever,
7 who gives justice to the oppressed
and food to the hungry.
The LORD frees the prisoners.
8 The LORD opens the eyes of the blind.
The LORD lifts the burdens of those bent beneath their loads.
The LORD loves the righteous.
9 The LORD protects the foreigners among us.
He cares for the orphans and widows,
but he frustrates the plans of the wicked.
10 The LORD will reign forever.
O Jerusalem, your God is King in every generation!
Praise the LORD!
PROVERBS 30:33
As the beating of cream yields butter, and a blow to the nose causes bleeding, so anger causes quarrels.
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