God Is Awesome

The (A)pronouncement of (B)Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite:

A (C)jealous and avenging God is the Lord;
The Lord is (D)avenging and [a]wrathful.
The Lord takes (E)vengeance on His adversaries,
And He reserves wrath for His enemies.
The Lord is (F)slow to anger and great in power,
And the Lord will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.
In the (G)gale and the storm is His way,
And (H)clouds are the dust beneath His feet.
He (I)rebukes the sea and dries it up;
He dries up all the rivers.
(J)Bashan and Carmel wither,
The blossoms of Lebanon wither.
Mountains (K)quake because of Him,
And the hills (L)come apart;
Indeed the earth is (M)upheaved by His presence,
The (N)world and all the inhabitants in it.
(O)Who can stand before His indignation?
Who can endure the (P)burning of His anger?
His (Q)wrath gushes forth like fire,
And the (R)rocks are broken up by Him.
The Lord is (S)good,
A stronghold in the day of trouble,
And (T)He knows those who take refuge in Him.
But with an (U)overflowing flood
He will make a complete end of [b]its site,
And will pursue His enemies into (V)darkness.

Whatever you (W)devise against the Lord,
He will make a (X)complete end of it.
Distress will not rise up twice.
10 Like tangled (Y)thorns,
And like those who are (Z)drunken with their drink,
They are (AA)consumed
Like stubble completely dried up.
11 From you has gone out
One who (AB)plotted evil against the Lord,
A [c](AC)wicked counselor.

12 This is what the Lord says:

“Though they are at full strength and so they are many,
So also they will be (AD)cut off and pass away.
Though I have afflicted you,
I will afflict you (AE)no longer.
13 So now, I will (AF)break his yoke from upon you,
And I will tear your shackles to pieces.”

14 The Lord has issued a command concerning [d]you:
[e]Your name will (AG)no longer be perpetuated.
I will eliminate the (AH)carved image and the cast metal image
From the house of your gods.
I will prepare your (AI)grave,
For you are contemptible.”

15 [f]Behold, (AJ)on the mountains, the feet of him who brings good news,
Who announces peace!
(AK)Celebrate your feasts, Judah,
Pay your vows.
For (AL)never again will the [g]wicked one pass through you;
He is (AM)eliminated completely.

The Overthrow of Nineveh

[h]The one who (AN)scatters has come up against [i]you.
Keep watch over the fortress, watch the road;
[j]Bind up your waist, [k]summon all your strength.
For the Lord will restore the (AO)splendor of Jacob
(AP)Like the splendor of Israel,
Even though destroyers have laid waste to them
And (AQ)ruined their vines.

The shields of [l]his warriors are dyed red,
The warriors are dressed in (AR)scarlet,
The chariots are fitted with [m]flashing steel
[n]When he is prepared to march,
And the juniper (AS)spears are brandished.
The (AT)chariots drive wildly in the streets,
They rush around in the [o]public squares;
Their appearance is like torches,
They drive back and forth like lightning flashes.
He remembers his (AU)officers;
They (AV)stumble in their advance,
They hurry to her wall,
And the [p]mantelet is set up.
The gates of the rivers are opened
And the palace sways back and forth.
It is set:
She is stripped, she is led away,
And her slave women are (AW)sobbing like the sound of doves,
(AX)Beating their [q]breasts.

Though Nineveh was like a pool of water throughout her days,
Yet they are fleeing;
“Stop, stop,”
But (AY)no one turns back.
Plunder the silver,
Plunder the (AZ)gold!
For there is no end to the treasure—
Wealth from every kind of desirable object.
10 She is (BA)emptied! Yes, she is desolate and waste!
(BB)Hearts are melting and knees wobbling!
Also trembling is in [r]the entire body,
And all their (BC)faces have become pale!
11 Where is the den of the lions
And the feeding place of the (BD)young lions,
Where the lion, lioness, and lion’s cub went
With nothing to disturb them?
12 The lion tore enough for his cubs,
[s]Killed enough prey for his lionesses,
And filled his lairs with prey
And his dens with torn flesh.

13 “Behold, (BE)I am against you,” declares the Lord of armies. “I will (BF)burn up her chariots in smoke, and a sword will devour your young lions; I will (BG)eliminate your prey from the land, and no longer will the voice of your messengers be heard.”

Nineveh’s Complete Ruin

(BH)Woe to the bloody city, completely full of lies and pillage;
Her prey does not leave.
The (BI)sound of the whip,
The sound of the roar of the wheel,
Galloping horses
And [t]bounding chariots!
Horsemen charging,
Swords flashing, (BJ)spears gleaming,
(BK)Many killed, a mass of corpses,
And there is (BL)no end to the dead bodies—
They stumble over [u]the dead bodies!
All because of the (BM)many sexual acts of the prostitute,
The charming one, the (BN)mistress of sorceries,
Who (BO)sells nations by her sexual acts,
And families by her sorceries.
“Behold, (BP)I am against you,” declares the Lord of armies;
“And I will [v](BQ)lift up your skirts over your face,
And (BR)show the nations your nakedness,
And the kingdoms your shame.
I will (BS)throw filth on you
And (BT)declare you worthless,
And set you up as a (BU)spectacle.
And it will come about that all who see you
Will [w]shrink from you and say,
‘Nineveh is devastated!
(BV)Who will have sympathy for her?’
Where shall I seek comforters for you?”

Are you better than [x](BW)No-amon,
Which was situated by the (BX)canals of the Nile,
With water surrounding her,
Whose rampart was [y]the sea,
Whose wall consisted of [z]the sea?
(BY)Ethiopia was her might,
Egypt too, without limits.
(BZ)Put and (CA)Lubim were among [aa]her helpers.
10 Yet she (CB)became an exile,
She went into captivity;
Also her (CC)small children were smashed to pieces
(CD)At the head of every street;
They (CE)cast lots for her honorable men,
And all her great men were bound with shackles.
11 You too will become (CF)drunk,
You will be (CG)hidden.
You too will search for a refuge from the enemy.
12 All your fortifications are (CH)fig trees with [ab](CI)ripe fruit—
When shaken, they fall into the eater’s mouth.
13 Behold, your people are (CJ)women in your midst!
The gates of your land are (CK)opened wide to your enemies;
Fire consumes your gate bars.
14 (CL)Draw for yourself water for a siege!
(CM)Strengthen your fortifications!
Go into the clay and tread the mortar!
Take hold of the brick mold!
15 There (CN)fire will consume you,
The sword will cut you down;
It will (CO)consume you as the creeping locust consumes a crop.
Multiply yourself like the creeping locust,
Multiply yourself like the migratory locust.
16 You have made your (CP)traders more numerous than the stars of heaven—
The creeping locust sheds its skin and flies away.
17 Your (CQ)courtiers are like the migratory locust.
Your (CR)officials are like a swarm of locusts
Settling in the stone shelters on a cold day.
The sun rises and they flee,
And the place where they are is not known.
18 Your shepherds are (CS)sleeping, O (CT)king of Assyria;
Your (CU)officers are lying down.
Your people are (CV)scattered on the mountains
And there is no one to gather them.
19 There is (CW)no relief for your collapse,
Your (CX)wound is incurable.
All who hear [ac]about you
Will (CY)clap their hands over you,
For upon whom has your evil not come continually?

Footnotes

  1. Nahum 1:2 Lit a possessor of wrath
  2. Nahum 1:8 I.e., Nineveh’s
  3. Nahum 1:11 Or worthless; Heb Belial
  4. Nahum 1:14 I.e., the king of Nineveh
  5. Nahum 1:14 Lit No more of your name will be sown
  6. Nahum 1:15 Ch 2:1 in Heb
  7. Nahum 1:15 Or worthless one; Heb Belial
  8. Nahum 2:1 Ch 2:2 in Heb
  9. Nahum 2:1 Lit your face
  10. Nahum 2:1 Lit Strengthen your loins
  11. Nahum 2:1 Lit strengthen power greatly
  12. Nahum 2:3 I.e., those attacking Nineveh
  13. Nahum 2:3 Lit fire of steel
  14. Nahum 2:3 Lit On the day of his preparation
  15. Nahum 2:4 Lit broad places
  16. Nahum 2:5 I.e., a shield used for stopping projectiles
  17. Nahum 2:7 Lit hearts
  18. Nahum 2:10 Lit all the loins
  19. Nahum 2:12 Lit Strangled
  20. Nahum 3:2 Lit leaping
  21. Nahum 3:3 Lit their
  22. Nahum 3:5 Lit uncover your private parts
  23. Nahum 3:7 Lit flee
  24. Nahum 3:8 I.e., the city of Amon: Thebes
  25. Nahum 3:8 I.e., the Nile
  26. Nahum 3:8 I.e., the Nile
  27. Nahum 3:9 Lit your
  28. Nahum 3:12 Lit first fruits
  29. Nahum 3:19 Lit your report

The Lamb and the 144,000 on Mount Zion

14 Then I looked, and behold, (A)the Lamb was standing on (B)Mount Zion, and with Him (C)144,000 who had (D)His name and the (E)name of His Father written (F)on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, like (G)the sound of many waters and like the (H)sound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the sound of (I)harpists playing on their harps. And they *sang [a](J)a new song before the throne and before the (K)four living creatures and the (L)elders; and (M)no one was able to learn the song except the (N)144,000 who had been (O)purchased from the earth. (P)These are the ones who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are celibate. These are the ones who (Q)follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been (R)purchased from mankind (S)as first fruits to God and to the Lamb. And (T)no lie was found in their mouths; they are (U)blameless.

Vision of the Angel with the Gospel

And I saw another angel flying in (V)midheaven with (W)an eternal gospel to preach to (X)those who [b]live on the earth, and to (Y)every nation, tribe, language, and people; and he said with a loud voice, “(Z)Fear God and (AA)give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who (AB)made the heaven and the earth, and sea and (AC)springs of waters.”

And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, “[c](AD)Fallen, fallen is (AE)Babylon the great, she who has (AF)made all the nations drink of the (AG)wine of the [d]passion of her sexual immorality.”

Doom for Worshipers of the Beast

Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone (AH)worships the beast and his (AI)image, and receives a (AJ)mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he also will drink of the (AK)wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed [e]in full strength (AL)in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with (AM)fire and [f]brimstone in the presence of the (AN)holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the (AO)smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; (AP)they have no rest day and night, those who (AQ)worship the beast and his (AR)image, and [g]whoever receives the (AS)mark of his name.” 12 Here is (AT)the [h]perseverance of the [i]saints who (AU)keep the commandments of God and [j](AV)their faith in Jesus.

13 And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Write: ‘(AW)Blessed are the dead who (AX)die in the Lord from now on!’” “Yes,” (AY)says the Spirit, “so that they may (AZ)rest from their labors, for their (BA)deeds follow with them.”

The Harvest

14 Then I looked, and behold, a (BB)white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one (BC)like [k]a son of man, with a golden (BD)crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. 15 And another angel (BE)came out of the [l]temple, calling out with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “[m](BF)Put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the (BG)harvest of the earth [n]is ripe.” 16 Then He who sat on the cloud [o]swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped.

17 And another angel (BH)came out of the [p]temple which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. 18 Then another angel, (BI)the one who has power over fire, came out from (BJ)the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “[q](BK)Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters [r]from the vine of the earth, (BL)because her grapes are ripe.” 19 So the angel [s]swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into (BM)the great wine press of the wrath of God. 20 And (BN)the wine press was trampled (BO)outside the city, and (BP)blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses’ bridles, [t]for a distance of [u]1,600 stadia.

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 14:3 One early ms something like a new song
  2. Revelation 14:6 Lit sit
  3. Revelation 14:8 Lit Babylon...fell, fell, she who
  4. Revelation 14:8 Or wrath (incurred from God)
  5. Revelation 14:10 Lit unmixed; in ancient times wine was usually diluted with water
  6. Revelation 14:10 I.e., burning sulfur
  7. Revelation 14:11 Lit if anyone
  8. Revelation 14:12 Or steadfastness
  9. Revelation 14:12 Lit holy ones; i.e., God’s people
  10. Revelation 14:12 Lit the faith of
  11. Revelation 14:14 Or the Son of Man
  12. Revelation 14:15 Or sanctuary
  13. Revelation 14:15 Lit Send forth
  14. Revelation 14:15 Lit has become dry
  15. Revelation 14:16 Lit cast
  16. Revelation 14:17 Or sanctuary
  17. Revelation 14:18 Lit Send forth
  18. Revelation 14:18 Lit of
  19. Revelation 14:19 Lit cast
  20. Revelation 14:20 Lit from
  21. Revelation 14:20 Possibly about 184 miles or 296 km; a Roman stadion perhaps averaged 607 ft. or 185 m

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