Israel Encouraged

41 (A)Listen to Me (B)in silence, you coastlands,
And let the peoples (C)gain new strength;
(D)Let them come forward, then let them speak;
(E)Let’s come together for judgment.
(F)Who has stirred one from the east
Whom He (G)calls in righteousness to His [a]feet?
He (H)turns nations over to him
And subdues kings.
He makes them like (I)dust with his sword,
Like the wind-driven (J)chaff with his bow.
He pursues them, passing on in safety,
By a way he had not been [b]traversing with his feet.
(K)Who has performed and accomplished it,
Summoning the generations from the beginning?
(L)I, the Lord, am the first, and with the last. (M)I am He.’”

The (N)coastlands have seen and are afraid;
The (O)ends of the earth tremble;
They have approached and have come.
Each one helps his neighbor
And says to his brother, “Be strong!”
So the (P)craftsman encourages the (Q)smelter,
And he who smooths metal with the hammer encourages him who beats the anvil,
Saying of the soldering, “It is good”;
And he fastens it with nails,
(R)So that it will not totter.
“But you, Israel, (S)My servant,
Jacob whom I have chosen,
Descendant of (T)Abraham My (U)friend,
You whom I have [c](V)taken from the ends of the earth
And called from its (W)remotest parts,
And said to you, ‘You are (X)My servant,
I have (Y)chosen you and have not rejected you.
10 Do not (Z)fear, for I am with you;
Do not be afraid, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, (AA)I will also help you,
I will also uphold you with My righteous (AB)right hand.’
11 Behold, (AC)all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored;
(AD)Those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish.
12 (AE)You will seek those who quarrel with you, but will not find them,
Those who war with you will be as nothing and non-existent.
13 For I am the Lord your God (AF)who takes hold of your right hand,
Who says to you, ‘(AG)Do not fear, I will help you.’
14 Do not fear, you (AH)worm Jacob, you people of Israel;
I will help you,” declares the Lord, “and (AI)your [d]Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
15 Behold, I turned you into a new, sharp threshing sledge with double edges;
(AJ)You will thresh the (AK)mountains and pulverize them,
And make the hills like chaff.
16 You will (AL)winnow them, and the wind will carry them away,
And the storm will scatter them;
But you will (AM)rejoice in the Lord,
You will boast in the Holy One of Israel.

17 “The poor and needy are seeking (AN)water, but there is none,
And their tongues are parched with thirst.
I, the Lord, (AO)will answer them Myself;
As the God of Israel I (AP)will not abandon them.
18 I will open (AQ)rivers on the bare heights,
And springs in the midst of the valleys;
I will make (AR)the wilderness a pool of water,
And the dry land fountains of water.
19 I will put the cedar in the wilderness,
The acacia, the (AS)myrtle, and the olive tree;
I will place the (AT)juniper in the desert,
Together with the elm tree and the cypress,
20 So that (AU)they may see and recognize,
And consider and gain insight as well,
That the (AV)hand of the Lord has done this,
And the Holy One of Israel has created it.

21 [e]Present your case,” the Lord says.
“Bring forward your evidence,”
The (AW)King of Jacob says.
22 (AX)Let them bring them forward and declare to us what is going to take place;
As for the (AY)former events, declare what they were,
So that we may consider them and know their outcome.
Or announce to us what is coming;
23 (AZ)Declare the things that are going to come afterward,
So that we may know that you are gods;
Indeed, (BA)do good or evil, that we may be afraid and fear together.
24 Behold, (BB)you are less than nothing,
And (BC)your work is less than nothing!
He who chooses you is an (BD)abomination.

25 “I have put (BE)one from the north into motion, and he has come;
From the rising of the sun he will call on My name;
And he will come upon rulers as upon [f](BF)mortar,
As the potter treads on clay.”
26 Who has (BG)declared this from the beginning, that we might know?
Or from former times, that we may say, “He is right!”?
There was (BH)no one at all who declared,
There was no one at all who proclaimed,
There was no one at all who heard your words.
27 (BI)Previously I said to Zion, ‘Behold, here they are.’
And to Jerusalem, ‘I will give a (BJ)messenger of good news.’
28 But (BK)when I look, there is no one,
And there is no (BL)counselor [g]among them
Who, if I ask, can (BM)give an answer.
29 Behold, all of them are [h]false;
Their (BN)works are (BO)nothing,
Their cast metal images are (BP)wind and emptiness.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 41:2 Lit foot
  2. Isaiah 41:3 Lit going
  3. Isaiah 41:9 Lit seized
  4. Isaiah 41:14 Or Redeemer, the Holy One
  5. Isaiah 41:21 Lit Bring near
  6. Isaiah 41:25 I.e., the building material
  7. Isaiah 41:28 Lit out of those
  8. Isaiah 41:29 Another reading is nothing

The Two Witnesses

11 Then there was given to me a [a](A)measuring rod like a staff; [b]and (B)someone said, “Get up and measure the [c]temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it. [d]Leave out the (C)courtyard which is outside the [e]temple and do not measure it, because (D)it has been given to the nations; and they will (E)trample (F)the holy city for (G)forty-two months. And I will grant authority to my two (H)witnesses, and they will prophesy for (I)1,260 days, clothed in (J)sackcloth.” These are the (K)two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. And if anyone wants to harm them, (L)fire flows out of their mouth and devours their enemies; and so if anyone wants to harm them, (M)he must be killed in this way. These have the power to (N)shut up the sky, so that rain will not fall during (O)the days of their prophesying; and they have power over the waters to (P)turn them into blood, and (Q)to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire.

When they have finished their testimony, (R)the beast that comes up out of the (S)abyss will (T)make war with them, and overcome them and kill them. And their dead bodies will lie on the street of the (U)great city which [f]spiritually is called (V)Sodom and (W)Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. Those from (X)the peoples, tribes, languages, and nations will look at their dead [g]bodies for three and a half days, and [h](Y)will not allow their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb. 10 And (Z)those who live on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate; and they will (AA)send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented (AB)those who live on the earth.

11 And after the three and a half days, (AC)the breath of life from God came into them, and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were watching them. 12 And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “(AD)Come up here.” And they (AE)went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies watched them. 13 And [i]at that time there was a great (AF)earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; [j]seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and (AG)gave glory to the (AH)God of heaven.

14 The second (AI)woe has passed; behold, the third woe is coming quickly.

The Seventh Trumpet: Christ’s Reign Foreseen

15 Then the (AJ)seventh angel sounded; and there were (AK)loud voices in heaven, saying,

(AL)The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of (AM)His [k]Christ; and (AN)He will reign forever and ever.” 16 And the twenty-four elders, who (AO)sit on their thrones before God, (AP)fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying,

“We give You thanks, (AQ)Lord God, the Almighty, the One who is and who was, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to (AR)reign. 18 And (AS)the nations were enraged, and (AT)Your wrath came, and (AU)the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to [l]reward Your (AV)bond-servants the prophets and the [m]saints and those who fear Your name, (AW)the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”

19 And (AX)the [n]temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and (AY)the ark of His covenant appeared in His [o]temple, and there were flashes of (AZ)lightning and sounds and peals of thunder, and an earthquake, and a (BA)great [p]hailstorm.

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 11:1 Lit reed
  2. Revelation 11:1 Lit saying
  3. Revelation 11:1 Or sanctuary
  4. Revelation 11:2 Lit Throw out
  5. Revelation 11:2 Or sanctuary
  6. Revelation 11:8 I.e., from the viewpoint of the Holy Spirit
  7. Revelation 11:9 Lit body
  8. Revelation 11:9 Lit do not permit
  9. Revelation 11:13 Or in that hour
  10. Revelation 11:13 Lit names of people, seven thousand
  11. Revelation 11:15 I.e., Messiah
  12. Revelation 11:18 Lit give the reward to
  13. Revelation 11:18 Lit holy ones; i.e., God’s people
  14. Revelation 11:19 Or sanctuary
  15. Revelation 11:19 Or sanctuary
  16. Revelation 11:19 Lit hail

Bible Gateway Recommends