Priests to Be Disciplined

2 “And now this commandment is for you, O priests. ² If you do ^(A)not listen, and if you do not take it to heart to give honor to My name,” says the Lord of hosts, “then I will send the ^(B)curse upon you and I will curse your blessings; and indeed, I have ^(C)cursed them already, because you are not taking it to heart. ³ Behold, I am going to ^(D)rebuke your ^[a]offspring, and I will ^(E)spread ^[b]refuse on your faces, the ^[c]refuse of your ^(F)feasts; and you will be taken away ^[d]with it. ⁴ Then you will know that I have sent this commandment to you, ^[e]that My ^(G)covenant may ^[f]continue with Levi,” says the Lord of hosts. ⁵ “My covenant with him was one of life and ^(H)peace, and I gave them to him as an object of ^[g]reverence; so he ^[h](I)revered Me and stood in awe of My name. ^6 [i](J)True instruction was in his mouth and unrighteousness was not found on his lips; he walked ^(K)with Me in peace and uprightness, and he ^(L)turned many back from iniquity. ⁷ For the lips of a priest should preserve ^(M)knowledge, and ^[j]men should ^(N)seek ^[k]instruction from his mouth; for he is the ^(O)messenger of the Lord of hosts. ⁸ But as for you, you have turned aside from the way; you have caused many to ^(P)stumble ^[l]by the instruction; you have ^[m](Q)corrupted the covenant of Levi,” says the Lord of hosts. ⁹ “So ^(R)I also have made you despised and ^(S)abased ^[n]before all the people, just as you are not keeping My ways but are showing ^(T)partiality in the ^[o]instruction.

Sin in the Family

¹⁰ “Do we not all have ^(U)one father? ^(V)Has not one God created us? Why do we deal ^(W)treacherously each against his brother so as to profane the ^(X)covenant of our fathers? ¹¹ Judah has dealt ^(Y)treacherously, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has ^(Z)profaned the sanctuary of the Lord ^[p]which He loves and has married the daughter of a foreign god. ¹² As for the man who does this, may the ^(AA)Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob everyone who awakes and answers, or who ^(AB)presents ^[q]an offering to the Lord of hosts.

¹³ “This is ^[r]another thing you do: you cover the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping and with groaning, because He ^(AC)no longer regards the ^[s]offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. ¹⁴ Yet you say, ‘For what reason?’ Because the Lord has been a witness between you and the ^(AD)wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt ^(AE)treacherously, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. ^15 [t]But not one has ^(AF)done so who has a remnant of the Spirit. And ^[u]what did that one do while he was seeking a ^(AG)godly ^[v]offspring? Take heed then to your spirit, and let no one deal ^(AH)treacherously against the wife of your youth. ¹⁶ For ^[w]I hate ^[x](AI)divorce,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “and ^[y]him who covers his garment with ^[z](AJ)wrong,” says the Lord of hosts. “So take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.”

¹⁷ You have ^(AK)wearied the Lord with your words. Yet you say, “How have we wearied Him?” In that you say, “^(AL)Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and He ^(AM)delights in them,” or, “^(AN)Where is the God of ^(AO)justice?”

Satan Bound

20 Then I saw ^(A)an angel coming down from heaven, holding the ^(B)key of the abyss and a great chain ^[a]in his hand. ² And he laid hold of the ^(C)dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and ^(D)bound him for a thousand years; ³ and he threw him into the ^(E)abyss, and shut it and ^(F)sealed it over him, so that he would ^(G)not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.

⁴ Then I saw ^(H)thrones, and ^(I)they sat on them, and ^(J)judgment was given to them. And I saw ^(K)the souls of those who had been beheaded because of ^[b]their ^(L)testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not ^(M)worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the ^(N)mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they ^(O)came to life and ^(P)reigned with Christ for a thousand years. ⁵ The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. ^(Q)This is the first resurrection. ^6 (R)Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the ^(S)second death has no power, but they will be ^(T)priests of God and of Christ and will ^(U)reign with Him for a thousand years.

Satan Freed, Doomed

⁷ When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be ^(V)released from his prison, ⁸ and will come out to ^(W)deceive the nations which are in the ^(X)four corners of the earth, ^(Y)Gog and Magog, to ^(Z)gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the ^(AA)sand of the ^[c]seashore. ⁹ And they ^(AB)came up on the ^[d]broad plain of the earth and surrounded the ^(AC)camp of the ^[e]saints and the ^(AD)beloved city, and ^(AE)fire came down from heaven and devoured them. ¹⁰ And ^(AF)the devil who ^(AG)deceived them was thrown into the ^(AH)lake of fire and ^[f]brimstone, where the ^(AI)beast and the ^(AJ)false prophet are also; and they will be ^(AK)tormented day and night forever and ever.

Judgment at the Throne of God

¹¹ Then I saw a great white ^(AL)throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose ^[g]presence ^(AM)earth and heaven fled away, and ^(AN)no place was found for them. ¹² And I saw the dead, the ^(AO)great and the small, standing before the throne, and ^[h](AP)books were opened; and another ^[i]book was opened, which is ^(AQ)the book of life; and the dead ^(AR)were judged from the things which were written in the ^[j]books, ^(AS)according to their deeds. ¹³ And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and ^(AT)death and Hades ^(AU)gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them ^(AV)according to their deeds. ¹⁴ Then ^(AW)death and Hades were thrown into ^(AX)the lake of fire. This is the ^(AY)second death, the lake of fire. ¹⁵ And if ^[k]anyone’s name was not found written in ^(AZ)the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.