Dec.
28
Zechariah
5-8
Zec
5:1 Then again I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and behold, a flying
scroll.
Zec
5:2 He said to me, "What do you see?" I answered, "I
see a flying scroll; its length is twenty cubits, and its breadth ten
cubits."
Zec
5:3 Then he said to me, "This is the curse that goes out over
the surface of the whole land; for everyone who steals shall be cut
off according to it on the one side; and everyone who swears falsely
shall be cut off according to it on the other side.
Zec
5:4 I will cause it to go out," says Yahweh of Armies, "and
it will enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him
who swears falsely by my name; and it will remain in the midst of his
house, and will destroy it with its timber and its stones."
Zec
5:5 Then the angel who talked with me came forward, and said to me,
"Lift up now your eyes, and see what is this that is appearing."
Zec
5:6 I said, "What is it?" He said, "This is the ephah
basket that is appearing." He said moreover, "This is their
appearance in all the land
Zec
5:7 (and behold, a talent of lead was lifted up); and this is a
woman sitting in the midst of the ephah basket."
Zec
5:8 He said, "This is Wickedness;" and he threw her down
into the midst of the ephah basket; and he threw the weight of lead
on its mouth.
Zec
5:9 Then lifted I up my eyes, and saw, and behold, there were two
women, and the wind was in their wings. Now they had wings like the
wings of a stork, and they lifted up the ephah basket between earth
and the sky.
Zec
5:10 Then said I to the angel who talked with me, "Where are
these carrying the ephah basket?"
Zec
5:11 He said to me, "To build her a house in the land of
Shinar. When it is prepared, she will be set there in her own place."
Zec
6:1 Again I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and behold, four chariots
came out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains
of brass.
Zec
6:2 In the first chariot were red horses; in the second chariot
black horses;
Zec
6:3 in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot
dappled horses, all of them powerful.
Zec
6:4 Then I asked the angel who talked with me, "What are these,
my lord?"
Zec
6:5 The angel answered me, "These are the four winds of the
sky, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth.
Zec
6:6 The one with the black horses goes out toward the north country;
and the white went out after them; and the dappled went forth toward
the south country."
Zec
6:7 The strong went out, and sought to go that they might walk back
and forth through the earth: and he said, "Go around and through
the earth!" So they walked back and forth through the earth.
Zec
6:8 Then he called to me, and spoke to me, saying, "Behold,
those who go toward the north country have quieted my spirit in the
north country."
Zec
6:9 The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,
Zec
6:10 "Take of them of the captivity, even of Heldai, of
Tobijah, and of Jedaiah; and come the same day, and go into the house
of Josiah the son of Zephaniah, where they have come from Babylon.
Zec
6:11 Yes, take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them on the
head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest;
Zec
6:12 and speak to him, saying, 'Thus says Yahweh of Armies, "Behold,
the man whose name is the Branch: and he shall grow up out of his
place; and he shall build the temple of Yahweh;
Zec
6:13 even he shall build the temple of Yahweh; and he shall bear the
glory, and shall sit and rule on his throne; and he shall be a priest
on his throne; and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.
Zec
6:14 The crowns shall be to Helem, and to Tobijah, and to Jedaiah,
and to Hen the son of Zephaniah, for a memorial in the temple of
Yahweh.
Zec
6:15 Those who are far off shall come and build in the temple of
Yahweh; and you shall know that Yahweh of Armies has sent me to you.
This will happen, if you will diligently obey the voice of Yahweh
your God." ' "
Zec
7:1 It happened in the fourth year of king Darius that the word of
Yahweh came to Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, the
month of Chislev.
Zec
7:2 The people of Bethel sent Sharezer and Regem Melech, and their
men, to entreat Yahweh's favor,
Zec
7:3 and to speak to the priests of the house of Yahweh of Armies,
and to the prophets, saying, "Should I weep in the fifth month,
separating myself, as I have done these so many years?"
Zec
7:4 Then the word of Yahweh of Armies came to me, saying,
Zec
7:5 "Speak to all the people of the land, and to the priests,
saying, 'When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh
month for these seventy years, did you at all fast to me, really to
me?
Zec
7:6 When you eat, and when you drink, don't you eat for yourselves,
and drink for yourselves?
Zec
7:7 Aren't these the words which Yahweh proclaimed by the former
prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and its
cities around her, and the South and the lowland were inhabited?' "
Zec
7:8 The word of Yahweh came to Zechariah, saying,
Zec
7:9 "Thus has Yahweh of Armies spoken, saying, 'Execute true
judgment, and show kindness and compassion every man to his brother.
Zec
7:10 Don't oppress the widow, nor the fatherless, the foreigner, nor
the poor; and let none of you devise evil against his brother in your
heart.'
Zec
7:11 But they refused to listen, and turned their backs, and stopped
their ears, that they might not hear.
Zec
7:12 Yes, they made their hearts as hard as flint, lest they might
hear the law, and the words which Yahweh of Armies had sent by his
Spirit by the former prophets. Therefore great wrath came from Yahweh
of Armies.
Zec
7:13 It has come to pass that, as he called, and they refused to
listen, so they will call, and I will not listen," said Yahweh
of Armies;
Zec
7:14 "but I will scatter them with a whirlwind among all the
nations which they have not known. Thus the land was desolate after
them, so that no man passed through nor returned: for they made the
pleasant land desolate."
Zec
8:1 The word of Yahweh of Armies came to me.
Zec
8:2 Thus says Yahweh of Armies: "I am jealous for Zion with
great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath."
Zec
8:3 Thus says Yahweh: "I have returned to Zion, and will dwell
in the midst of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be called 'The City of
Truth;' and the mountain of Yahweh of Armies, 'The Holy Mountain.' "
Zec
8:4 Thus says Yahweh of Armies: "Old men and old women will
again dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, every man with his staff in
his hand for very age.
Zec
8:5 The streets of the city will be full of boys and girls playing
in its streets."
Zec
8:6 Thus says Yahweh of Armies: "If it is marvelous in the eyes
of the remnant of this people in those days, should it also be
marvelous in my eyes?" says Yahweh of Armies.
Zec
8:7 Thus says Yahweh of Armies: "Behold, I will save my people
from the east country, and from the west country;
Zec
8:8 and I will bring them, and they will dwell in the midst of
Jerusalem; and they will be my people, and I will be their God, in
truth and in righteousness."
Zec
8:9 Thus says Yahweh of Armies: "Let your hands be strong, you
who hear in these days these words from the mouth of the prophets who
were in the day that the foundation of the house of Yahweh of Armies
was laid, even the temple, that it might be built.
Zec
8:10 For before those days there was no wages for man, nor any wages
for an animal; neither was there any peace to him who went out or
came in, because of the adversary. For I set all men everyone against
his neighbor.
Zec
8:11 But now I will not be to the remnant of this people as in the
former days," says Yahweh of Armies.
Zec
8:12 "For the seed of peace and the vine will yield its fruit,
and the ground will give its increase, and the heavens will give
their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all
these things.
Zec
8:13 It shall come to pass that, as you were a curse among the
nations, house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and
you shall be a blessing. Don't be afraid. Let your hands be strong."
Zec
8:14 For thus says Yahweh of Armies: "As I thought to do evil
to you, when your fathers provoked me to wrath," says Yahweh of
Armies, "and I didn't repent;
Zec
8:15 so again have I thought in these days to do good to Jerusalem
and to the house of Judah. Don't be afraid.
Zec
8:16 These are the things that you shall do: speak every man the
truth with his neighbor. Execute the judgment of truth and peace in
your gates,
Zec
8:17 and let none of you devise evil in your hearts against his
neighbor, and love no false oath: for all these are things that I
hate," says Yahweh.
Zec
8:18 The word of Yahweh of Armies came to me.
Zec
8:19 Thus says Yahweh of Armies: "The fasts of the fourth
fifth, seventh, and tenth months shall be for the house of Judah joy
and gladness, and cheerful feasts. Therefore love truth and peace."
Zec
8:20 Thus says Yahweh of Armies: "Many peoples, and the
inhabitants of many cities will yet come;
Zec
8:21 and the inhabitants of one shall go to another, saying, 'Let us
go speedily to entreat the favor of Yahweh, and to seek Yahweh of
Armies. I will go also.'
Zec
8:22 Yes, many peoples and strong nations will come to seek Yahweh
of Armies in Jerusalem, and to entreat the favor of Yahweh."
Zec
8:23 Thus says Yahweh of Armies: "In those days, ten men will
take hold, out of all the languages of the nations, they will take
hold of the skirt of him who is a Jew, saying, 'We will go with you,
for we have heard that God is with you.' "
Dec. 28
Revelation 17, 18
Rev 17:1 One of the
seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying,
"Come here. I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute
who sits on many waters,
Rev 17:2 with whom the
kings of the earth committed sexual immorality, and those who dwell
in the earth were made drunken with the wine of her sexual
immorality."
Rev 17:3 He carried me
away in the Spirit into a wilderness. I saw a woman sitting on a
scarlet-colored animal, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads
and ten horns.
Rev 17:4 The woman was
dressed in purple and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious
stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of
abominations and the impurities of the sexual immorality of the
earth.
Rev 17:5 And on her
forehead a name was written, "MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE
MOTHER OF THE PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH."
Rev 17:6 I saw the
woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the
martyrs of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered with great amazement.
Rev 17:7 The angel said
to me, "Why do you wonder? I will tell you the mystery of the
woman, and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads
and the ten horns.
Rev 17:8 The beast that
you saw was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss and
to go into destruction. Those who dwell on the earth and whose names
have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the
world will marvel when they see that the beast was, and is not, and
shall be present.
Rev 17:9 Here is the
mind that has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which
the woman sits.
Rev 17:10 They are
seven kings. Five have fallen, the one is, the other has not yet
come. When he comes, he must continue a little while.
Rev 17:11 The beast
that was, and is not, is himself also an eighth, and is of the seven;
and he goes to destruction.
Rev 17:12 The ten horns
that you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but
they receive authority as kings, with the beast, for one hour.
Rev 17:13 These have
one mind, and they give their power and authority to the beast.
Rev 17:14 These will
war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for he is Lord
of lords, and King of kings. They also will overcome who are with
him, called and chosen and faithful."
Rev 17:15 He said to
me, "The waters which you saw, where the prostitute sits, are
peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages.
Rev 17:16 The ten horns
which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the prostitute, and
will make her desolate, and will make her naked, and will eat her
flesh, and will burn her utterly with fire.
Rev 17:17 For God has
put in their hearts to do what he has in mind, and to be of one mind,
and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God should
be accomplished.
Rev 17:18 The woman
whom you saw is the great city, which reigns over the kings of the
earth."
Rev 18:1 After these
things, I saw another angel coming down out of the sky, having great
authority. The earth was illuminated with his glory.
Rev 18:2 He cried with
a mighty voice, saying, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great,
and she has become a habitation of demons, a prison of every unclean
spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird!
Rev 18:3 For all the
nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her sexual immorality,
the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality with her, and the
merchants of the earth grew rich from the abundance of her luxury."
Rev 18:4 I heard
another voice from heaven, saying, "Come out of her, my people,
that you have no participation in her sins, and that you don't
receive of her plagues,
Rev 18:5 for her sins
have reached to the sky, and God has remembered her iniquities.
Rev 18:6 Return to her
just as she returned, and repay her double as she did, and according
to her works. In the cup which she mixed, mix to her double.
Rev 18:7 However much
she glorified herself, and grew wanton, so much give her of torment
and mourning. For she says in her heart, 'I sit a queen, and am no
widow, and will in no way see mourning.'
Rev 18:8 Therefore in
one day her plagues will come: death, mourning, and famine; and she
will be utterly burned with fire; for the Lord God who has judged her
is strong.
Rev 18:9 The kings of
the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived wantonly with
her, will weep and wail over her, when they look at the smoke of her
burning,
Rev 18:10 standing far
away for the fear of her torment, saying, 'Woe, woe, the great city,
Babylon, the strong city! For your judgment has come in one hour.'
Rev 18:11 The merchants
of the earth weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their
merchandise any more;
Rev 18:12 merchandise
of gold, silver, precious stones, pearls, fine linen, purple, silk,
scarlet, all expensive wood, every vessel of ivory, every vessel made
of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble;
Rev 18:13 and cinnamon,
incense, perfume, frankincense, wine, olive oil, fine flour, wheat,
sheep, horses, chariots, and people's bodies and souls.
Rev 18:14 The fruits
which your soul lusted after have been lost to you, and all things
that were dainty and sumptuous have perished from you, and you will
find them no more at all.
Rev 18:15 The merchants
of these things, who were made rich by her, will stand far away for
the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning;
Rev 18:16 saying, 'Woe,
woe, the great city, she who was dressed in fine linen, purple, and
scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls!
Rev 18:17 For in an
hour such great riches are made desolate.' Every shipmaster, and
everyone who sails anywhere, and mariners, and as many as gain their
living by sea, stood far away,
Rev 18:18 and cried out
as they looked at the smoke of her burning, saying, 'What is like the
great city?'
Rev 18:19 They cast
dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and mourning, saying, 'Woe,
woe, the great city, in which all who had their ships in the sea were
made rich by reason of her great wealth!' For in one hour is she made
desolate.
Rev 18:20 "Rejoice
over her, O heaven, you saints, apostles, and prophets; for God has
judged your judgment on her."
Rev 18:21 A mighty
angel took up a stone like a great millstone and cast it into the
sea, saying, "Thus with violence will Babylon, the great city,
be thrown down, and will be found no more at all.
Rev 18:22 The voice of
harpists, minstrels, flute players, and trumpeters will be heard no
more at all in you. No craftsman, of whatever craft, will be found
any more at all in you. The sound of a mill will be heard no more at
all in you.
Rev 18:23 The light of
a lamp will shine no more at all in you. The voice of the bridegroom
and of the bride will be heard no more at all in you; for your
merchants were the princes of the earth; for with your sorcery all
the nations were deceived.
Rev 18:24 In her was
found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all who have been
slain on the earth."