The Blessings of Israel

⁶ “This is what the Lord says, He who is the ^(K)King of Israel and his ^(L)Redeemer, the Lord of armies:

The Foolishness of Idolatry

⁹ Those who fashion an idol are all futile, and their treasured things are of no benefit; even their own witnesses fail to see or know, so that they will be ^(T)put to shame. ¹⁰ Who has fashioned a god or cast an idol to ^(U)no benefit? ¹¹ Behold, all his companions will be ^(V)put to shame, for the craftsmen themselves are mere men. Let them all assemble themselves, let them stand up, let them tremble, let them be put to shame together.

¹² The ^(W)craftsman of iron shapes a cutting tool and does his work over the coals, ^[h]fashioning it with hammers and working it with his strong arm. He also gets hungry and ^[i]his strength fails; he drinks no water and becomes weary. ^13 (X)The craftsman of wood extends a measuring line; he outlines it with a marker. He works it with carving knives and outlines it with a compass, and makes it like the form of a man, like the beauty of ^(Y)mankind, so that it may sit in a ^(Z)house. ¹⁴ He will cut cedars for himself, and he takes a holm-oak or another oak and lets it grow strong for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a laurel tree, and the rain makes it grow. ¹⁵ Then it becomes something for a person to burn, so he takes one of them and gets warm; he also makes a fire and bakes bread. He also ^(AA)makes a god and worships it; he makes it a carved image and ^(AB)bows down before it. ¹⁶ Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he eats meat, he roasts a roast, and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, “Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire.” ¹⁷ Yet the rest of it he ^(AC)makes into a god, his carved image. He bows down before it and worships; he also ^(AD)prays to it and says, “Save me, for you are my god.”

¹⁸ They do not ^(AE)know, nor do they understand, for He has ^(AF)smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see, and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend. ¹⁹ No one ^[j]remembers, nor is there ^(AG)knowledge or understanding to say, “I have burned half of it in the fire and also have baked bread over its coals. I roast meat and eat it. Then ^[k]I make the rest of it into an ^(AH)abomination, ^[l]I bow down before a block of wood!” ²⁰ He ^[m](AI)feeds on ashes; a ^(AJ)deceived heart has misled him. And he cannot save ^[n]himself, nor say, “^(AK)Is there not a lie in my right hand?”

God Forgives and Redeems

²⁴ This is what the Lord says, He who is your ^(AV)Redeemer, and the One who ^(AW)formed you from the womb:

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. ² 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. ³ 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. ^4 (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. ⁵ And ^(T)no lie was found in their mouths; they are ^(U)blameless.

Vision of the Angel with the Gospel

⁶ 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; ⁷ 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.”

⁸ 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

⁹ 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.