Isaiah 13:3
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
3 I myself have commanded my consecrated ones,
have summoned my warriors, my proudly exulting ones,
to execute my anger.[a](A)
Footnotes
- 13.3 Gk: Heb for my anger
Joel 3:11
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
11 Come quickly,[a]
all you nations all around;
gather yourselves there.
Bring down your warriors, O Lord.(A)
Footnotes
- 3.11 Meaning of Heb uncertain
Revelation 17:12-18
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
12 And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast.(A) 13 These are united in yielding their power and authority to the beast; 14 they will wage war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”(B)
15 And he said to me, “The waters that you saw, where the whore[a] is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages.(C) 16 And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the whore;[b] they will make her desolate and naked; they will devour her flesh and burn her up with fire.(D) 17 For God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by agreeing to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God will be fulfilled.(E) 18 The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”(F)
Read full chapter
Jeremiah 51:20-24
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Israel the Creator’s Instrument
20 You are my war club, my weapon of battle:
with you I smash nations;
with you I destroy kingdoms;(A)
21 with you I smash the horse and its rider;
with you I smash the chariot and the charioteer;
22 with you I smash man and woman;
with you I smash the old man and the boy;
with you I smash the young man and the girl;(B)
23 with you I smash shepherds and their flocks;
with you I smash farmers and their teams;
with you I smash governors and deputies.
The Doom of Babylon
24 I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea before your very eyes for all the wrong that they have done in Zion, says the Lord.(C)
Read full chapter
Revelation 18:20-19:7
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
20 Rejoice over her, O heaven, you saints and apostles and prophets! For God has condemned her condemnation of you.(A)
21 Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,
“With such violence Babylon the great city
will be thrown down
and will be found no more;(B)
22 and the sound of harpists and entertainers and of flutists and trumpeters
will be heard in you no more,
and an artisan of any trade
will be found in you no more,
and the sound of the millstone
will be heard in you no more,(C)
23 and the light of a lamp
will shine in you no more,
and the voice of bridegroom and bride
will be heard in you no more,
for your merchants were the magnates of the earth,
and all nations were deceived by your sorcery.(D)
24 And in you[a] was found the blood of prophets and of saints
and of all who have been slaughtered on earth.”(E)
The Rejoicing in Heaven
19 After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying,
“Hallelujah!
Salvation and glory and power to our God,(F)
2 for his judgments are true and just;
he has judged the great whore[b]
who corrupted the earth with her prostitution,
and he has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”(G)
3 Once more they said,
“Hallelujah!
The smoke goes up from her forever and ever.”(H)
4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who is seated on the throne, saying,
“Amen. Hallelujah!”(I)
5 And from the throne came a voice saying,
6 Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty thunderpeals, crying out,
Revelation 18:4-8
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
4 Then I heard another voice from heaven saying,
“Come out of her, my people,
so that you do not take part in her sins
and so that you do not share in her plagues,(A)
5 for her sins are heaped high as heaven,
and God has remembered her iniquities.(B)
6 Render to her as she herself has rendered,
and repay her double for her deeds;
mix a double dose for her in the cup she mixed.(C)
7 As she glorified herself and lived luxuriously,
so give her a like measure of torment and grief.
Since in her heart she says,
‘I rule as a queen;
I am no widow,
and I will never see grief,’(D)
8 therefore her plagues will come in a single day—
pestilence and mourning and famine—
and she will be burned with fire,
for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.”(E)
Jeremiah 50:21-46
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
21 Go up to the land of Merathaim;[a]
go up against her,
and attack the inhabitants of Pekod[b]
and utterly destroy the last of them,[c]
says the Lord;
do all that I have commanded you.(A)
22 The noise of battle is in the land
and great destruction!(B)
23 How the hammer of the whole earth
is cut down and broken!
How Babylon has become
a horror among the nations!(C)
24 I set a snare for you, and you were caught, O Babylon,
but you did not know it;
you were discovered and seized
because you challenged the Lord.(D)
25 The Lord has opened his armory
and brought out the weapons of his wrath,
for the Lord God of hosts has a task
in the land of the Chaldeans.(E)
26 Come against her from every quarter;
open her granaries;
pile her up like heaps of grain, and destroy her utterly;
let nothing be left of her.(F)
27 Kill all her bulls;
let them go down to the slaughter.
Alas for them, their day has come,
the time of their punishment!(G)
28 Listen! Fugitives and refugees from the land of Babylon are coming to declare in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God, vengeance for his temple.(H)
29 Summon archers against Babylon, all who bend the bow. Encamp all around her; let no one escape. Repay her according to her deeds; just as she has done, do to her—for she has arrogantly defied the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.(I) 30 Therefore her young men shall fall in her squares, and all her soldiers shall be destroyed on that day, says the Lord.(J)
31 I am against you, O arrogant one,
says the Lord God of hosts,
for your day has come,
the time when I will punish you.(K)
32 The arrogant one shall stumble and fall,
with no one to raise him up,
and I will kindle a fire in his cities,
and it will devour everything around him.(L)
33 Thus says the Lord of hosts: The people of Israel are oppressed, and so also are the people of Judah; all their captors have held them fast and refuse to let them go.(M) 34 Their Redeemer is strong; the Lord of hosts is his name. He will surely plead their cause, that he may give rest to the earth but unrest to the inhabitants of Babylon.(N)
35 A sword against the Chaldeans, says the Lord,
and against the inhabitants of Babylon
and against her officials and her sages!(O)
36 A sword against the diviners,
so that they may become fools!
A sword against her warriors,
so that they may be dismayed!(P)
37 A sword against her[d] horses and against her[e] chariots
and against all the foreign troops in her midst,
so that they may become women!
A sword against her treasures,
that they may be plundered!(Q)
38 A drought against her waters,
that they may be dried up!
For it is a land of images,
and they go mad over idols.(R)
39 Therefore wild animals shall live with hyenas in Babylon,[f] and ostriches shall inhabit her; she shall never again be peopled or inhabited for all generations.(S) 40 As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbors, says the Lord, so no one shall live there, nor shall anyone settle in her.(T)
41 Look, a people is coming from the north;
a mighty nation and many kings
are stirring from the farthest parts of the earth.(U)
42 They wield bow and spear;
they are cruel and have no mercy.
The sound of them is like the roaring sea;
they ride upon horses,
set in array as a warrior for battle,
against you, O daughter Babylon!(V)
43 The king of Babylon heard news of them,
and his hands fell helpless;
anguish seized him,
pain like that of a woman in labor.(W)
44 Like a lion coming up from the thickets of the Jordan to a perennial pasture, I will suddenly chase them away from her, and I will appoint over her whomever I choose.[g] For who is like me? Who can summon me? Who is the shepherd who can stand before me?(X) 45 Therefore hear the plan that the Lord has made against Babylon and the purposes that he has formed against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely the little ones of the flock shall be dragged away; surely the fold shall be appalled at their fate. 46 At the sound of the capture of Babylon the earth shall tremble, and a cry shall be heard among the nations.(Y)
Read full chapter
Isaiah 45:4-5
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
4 For the sake of my servant Jacob
and Israel my chosen,
I call you by your name;
I give you a title, though you do not know me.(A)
5 I am the Lord, and there is no other;
besides me there is no god.
I arm you, though you do not know me,(B)
Isaiah 44:27-28
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
27 who says to the deep, “Be dry—
I will dry up your rivers”;(A)
28 who says of Cyrus, “He is my shepherd,
and he shall carry out all my purpose”;
and who says of Jerusalem, “It shall be rebuilt,”
and of the temple, “Your foundation shall be laid.”(B)
Isaiah 23:11
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
11 He has stretched out his hand over the sea;
he has shaken the kingdoms;
the Lord has given command concerning Canaan,
to destroy its fortresses.(A)
Psalm 149:5-9
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
5 Let the faithful exult in glory;
let them sing for joy on their couches.(A)
6 Let the high praises of God be in their throats
and two-edged swords in their hands,(B)
7 to execute vengeance on the nations
and punishment on the peoples,
8 to bind their kings with fetters
and their nobles with chains of iron,
9 to execute on them the judgment decreed.
This is glory for all his faithful ones.
Praise the Lord!(C)
Psalm 149:2
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
2 Let Israel be glad in its Maker;
let the children of Zion rejoice in their King.(A)
Ezra 7:12-26
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
12 “Artaxerxes, king of kings, to the priest Ezra, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven: Peace.[a] And now(A) 13 I decree that any of the people of Israel or their priests or Levites in my kingdom who freely offers to go to Jerusalem may go with you. 14 For you are sent by the king and his seven counselors to make inquiries about Judah and Jerusalem according to the law of your God, which is in your hand,(B) 15 and also to convey the silver and gold that the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem,(C) 16 with all the silver and gold that you shall find in the whole province of Babylonia and with the freewill offerings of the people and the priests, given willingly for the house of their God in Jerusalem.(D) 17 With this money, then, you shall with all diligence buy bulls, rams, and lambs and their grain offerings and their drink offerings, and you shall offer them on the altar of the house of your God in Jerusalem.(E) 18 Whatever seems good to you and your colleagues to do with the rest of the silver and gold, you may do, according to the will of your God. 19 The vessels that have been given you for the service of the house of your God, you shall deliver before the God of Jerusalem. 20 And whatever else is required for the house of your God that you are responsible for providing, you may provide out of the king’s treasury.(F)
21 “I, King Artaxerxes, decree to all the treasurers in the province Beyond the River: Whatever the priest Ezra, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, requires of you, let it be done with all diligence,(G) 22 up to one hundred talents of silver, one hundred cors of wheat, one hundred baths[b] of wine, one hundred baths[c] of oil, and unlimited salt. 23 Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be done with zeal for the house of the God of heaven, or wrath will come upon the realm of the king and his heirs.(H) 24 We also notify you that it shall not be lawful to impose tribute, custom, or toll on any of the priests, the Levites, the singers, the doorkeepers, the temple servants, or other servants of this house of God.
25 “And you, Ezra, according to the God-given wisdom you possess, appoint magistrates and judges who may judge all the people in the province Beyond the River who know the laws of your God, and you shall teach those who do not know them.(I) 26 All who will not obey the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be strictly executed on them, whether for death or for banishment or for confiscation of their goods or for imprisonment.”
Read full chapter
Ezra 6
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Decree of Darius
6 Then King Darius made a decree, and they searched the archives where the documents were stored in Babylon.(A) 2 But it was in Ecbatana, the capital in the province of Media, that a scroll was found on which this was written: “A record. 3 In the first year of his reign, King Cyrus issued a decree: Concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, let the house be rebuilt, the place where sacrifices are offered and burnt offerings are brought;[a] its height shall be sixty cubits and its width sixty cubits,(B) 4 with three courses of hewn stones and one course of timber; let the cost be paid from the royal treasury.(C) 5 Moreover, let the gold and silver vessels of the house of God that Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon be restored and brought back to the temple in Jerusalem, each to its place; you shall put them in the house of God.”(D)
6 “Now you, Tattenai, governor of the province Beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and you, their associates, the envoys in the province Beyond the River, keep away;(E) 7 let the work on this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild this house of God on its site. 8 Moreover, I make a decree regarding what you shall do for these elders of the Jews for the rebuilding of this house of God: the cost is to be paid to these people, in full and without delay, from the royal revenue, the tribute of the province Beyond the River. 9 Whatever is needed—young bulls, rams, or sheep for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, or oil, as the priests in Jerusalem require—let that be given to them day by day without fail, 10 so that they may offer pleasing sacrifices to the God of heaven and pray for the life of the king and his children.(F) 11 Furthermore, I decree that, if anyone alters this edict, a beam shall be pulled out of the house of the perpetrator, who then shall be impaled on it. The house shall be made a dunghill.(G) 12 May the God who has established his name there overthrow any king or people who shall put forth a hand to alter this or to destroy this house of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, make a decree; let it be done with all diligence.”(H)
Completion and Dedication of the Temple
13 Then, according to the word sent by King Darius, Tattenai, the governor of the province Beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates did with all diligence what King Darius had ordered.(I) 14 So the elders of the Jews built and prospered, through the prophesying of the prophet Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo. They finished their building by command of the God of Israel and by decree of Cyrus, Darius, and King Artaxerxes of Persia,(J) 15 and this house was finished on the third day of the month of Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.
16 The people of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the returned exiles celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy.(K) 17 They offered at the dedication of this house of God one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel, twelve male goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.(L) 18 Then they set the priests in their divisions and the Levites in their courses for the service of God at Jerusalem, as it is written in the book of Moses.(M)
The Passover Celebrated
19 On the fourteenth day of the first month the returned exiles kept the Passover.(N) 20 For both the priests and the Levites had purified themselves; all of them were clean. So they slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the returned exiles, for their fellow priests, and for themselves.(O) 21 It was eaten by the people of Israel who had returned from exile and also by all who had joined them and separated themselves from the pollutions of the nations of the land to seek the Lord, the God of Israel.(P) 22 With joy they celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread seven days, for the Lord had made them joyful and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them, so that he aided them in the work on the house of God, the God of Israel.(Q)
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 6.3 Meaning of Aram uncertain
Ezra 1
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
End of the Babylonian Captivity
1 In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, to fulfill the word of the Lord from the mouth of Jeremiah, the Lord stirred up the spirit of King Cyrus of Persia so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also in writing, saying:(A)
2 “Thus says King Cyrus of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.(B) 3 Let any of those among you who are of his people—may their God be with them!—go up to Jerusalem in Judah and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel; he is the God who is in Jerusalem.(C) 4 And let all survivors in whatever place they reside be assisted by the people of their place with silver and gold, with goods, and with livestock, besides freewill offerings for the house of God in Jerusalem.”
5 Then the heads of the families of Judah and Benjamin and the priests and the Levites—everyone whose spirit God had stirred—got ready to go up and rebuild the house of the Lord in Jerusalem.(D) 6 All their neighbors aided them with silver vessels, with gold, with goods, with livestock, and with valuable gifts, besides all that was freely offered. 7 King Cyrus himself brought out the vessels of the house of the Lord that Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and placed in the house of his gods.(E) 8 King Cyrus of Persia had them released into the charge of Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah.(F) 9 And this was the inventory: gold basins, thirty; silver basins, one thousand; knives,[a] twenty-nine; 10 gold bowls, thirty; other silver bowls, four hundred ten; other vessels, one thousand; 11 the total of the gold and silver vessels was five thousand four hundred. All these Sheshbazzar brought up when the exiles were brought up from Babylonia to Jerusalem.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1.9 Vg: Meaning of Heb uncertain
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.