The Apostles Commissioned^(A)

^19 (B)Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were ^[a]assembled, for ^(C)fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, ^(D)“Peace be with you.” ²⁰ When He had said this, He ^(E)showed them His hands and His side. ^(F)Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.

²¹ So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! ^(G)As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” ²² And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ^23 (H)If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

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Heaven Exults over Babylon

19 After these things ^(A)I ^[a]heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Alleluia! ^(B)Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to ^[b]the Lord our God! ² For ^(C)true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He ^(D)has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her.” ³ Again they said, “Alleluia! ^(E)Her smoke rises up forever and ever!” ⁴ And ^(F)the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, ^(G)“Amen! Alleluia!” ⁵ Then a voice came from the throne, saying, ^(H)“Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, ^(I)both^[c] small and great!”

^6 (J)And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For ^(K)the^[d] Lord God Omnipotent reigns! ⁷ Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for ^(L)the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” ⁸ And ^(M)to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, ^(N)for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

⁹ Then he said to me, “Write: ^(O)‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, ^(P)“These are the true sayings of God.” ¹⁰ And ^(Q)I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, ^(R)“See that you do not do that! I am your ^(S)fellow servant, and of your brethren ^(T)who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the ^(U)testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

Christ on a White Horse

^11 (V)Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, ^(W)a white horse. And He who sat on him was called ^(X)Faithful and True, and ^(Y)in righteousness He judges and makes war. ^12 (Z)His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. ^(AA)He ^[e]had a name written that no one knew except Himself. ^13 (AB)He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called ^(AC)The Word of God. ^14 (AD)And the armies in heaven, ^(AE)clothed in ^[f]fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. ¹⁵ Now ^(AF)out of His mouth goes a ^[g]sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And ^(AG)He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. ^(AH)He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. ¹⁶ And ^(AI)He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:

^(AJ)KING OF KINGS AND
LORD OF LORDS.

The Beast and His Armies Defeated

¹⁷ Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, ^(AK)“Come and gather together for the ^[h]supper of the great God, ^18 (AL)that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, ^[i]free and slave, both small and great.”

^19 (AM)And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. ^20 (AN)Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and ^(AO)those who worshiped his image. ^(AP)These two were cast alive into the lake of fire ^(AQ)burning with brimstone. ²¹ And the rest ^(AR)were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. ^(AS)And all the birds ^(AT)were filled with their flesh.

God’s Power and Wisdom

40 Moreover the Lord ^(A)answered Job, and said:

Job’s Response to God

³ Then Job answered the Lord and said:

God’s Challenge to Job

^6 (F)Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:

A Call to Repentance^(A)

1 In the eighth month ^(B)of the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came ^(C)to Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of ^(D)Iddo the prophet, saying, ² “The Lord has been very angry with your fathers. ³ Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Return ^(E)to Me,” says the Lord of hosts, “and I will return to you,” says the Lord of hosts. ⁴ “Do not be like your fathers, ^(F)to whom the former prophets preached, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(G)“Turn now from your evil ways and your evil deeds.” ’ But they did not hear nor heed Me,” says the Lord.

“So they returned and said:

Vision of the Horses

⁷ On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet: ⁸ I saw by night, and behold, ^(J)a man riding on a red horse, and it stood among the myrtle trees in the hollow; and behind him were ^(K)horses: red, sorrel, and white. ⁹ Then I said, ^(L)“My lord, what are these?” So the angel who talked with me said to me, “I will show you what they are.”

¹⁰ And the man who stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, ^(M)“These are the ones whom the Lord has sent to walk to and fro throughout the earth.”

^11 (N)So they answered the Angel of the Lord, who stood among the myrtle trees, and said, “We have walked to and fro throughout the earth, and behold, all the earth is ^[a]resting quietly.”

The Lord Will Comfort Zion

¹² Then the Angel of the Lord answered and said, “O Lord of hosts, ^(O)how long will You not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which You were angry ^(P)these seventy years?”

¹³ And the Lord answered the angel who talked to me, with ^(Q)good and comforting words. ¹⁴ So the angel who spoke with me said to me, ^[b]“Proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts:

¹⁶ ‘Therefore thus says the Lord:

¹⁷ “Again proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts:

Vision of the Horns

¹⁸ Then I raised my eyes and looked, and there were four ^(Z)horns. ¹⁹ And I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these?”

So he answered me, ^(AA)“These are the ^[f]horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.”

²⁰ Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen. ²¹ And I said, “What are these coming to do?”

So he said, “These are the ^(AB)horns that scattered Judah, so that no one could lift up his head; but ^[g]the craftsmen are coming to terrify them, to cast out the horns of the nations that ^(AC)lifted up their horn against the land of Judah to scatter it.”

Vision of the Measuring Line

2 Then I raised my eyes and looked, and behold, ^(AD)a man with a measuring line in his hand. ² So I said, “Where are you going?”

And he said to me, ^(AE)“To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length.”

³ And there was the angel who talked with me, going out; and another angel was coming out to meet him, ⁴ who said to him, “Run, speak to this young man, saying: ^(AF)‘Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls, because of the multitude of men and livestock in it. ⁵ For I,’ says the Lord, ‘will be ^(AG)a wall of fire all around her, ^(AH)and I will be the glory in her midst.’ ”

Future Joy of Zion and Many Nations

⁶ “Up, up! Flee ^(AI)from the land of the north,” says the Lord; “for I have ^(AJ)spread you abroad like the four winds of heaven,” says the Lord. ⁷ “Up, Zion! ^(AK)Escape, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon.”

⁸ For thus says the Lord of hosts: “He sent Me after glory, to the nations which plunder you; for he who ^(AL)touches you touches the ^[h]apple of His eye. ⁹ For surely I will ^(AM)shake My hand against them, and they shall become ^[i]spoil for their servants. Then ^(AN)you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me.

^10 (AO)“Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion! For behold, I am coming and I ^(AP)will dwell in your midst,” says the Lord. ^11 (AQ)“Many nations shall be joined to the Lord ^(AR)in that day, and they shall become ^(AS)My people. And I will dwell in your midst. Then ^(AT)you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you. ¹² And the Lord will ^(AU)take possession of Judah as His inheritance in the Holy Land, and will again choose Jerusalem. ^13 (AV)Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord, for He is aroused ^(AW)from His holy habitation!”

Vision of the High Priest

3 Then he showed me ^(AX)Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord, and ^(AY)Satan^[j] standing at his right hand to oppose him. ² And the Lord said to Satan, ^(AZ)“The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord who ^(BA)has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! ^(BB)Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?”

³ Now Joshua was clothed with ^(BC)filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel.

⁴ Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, ^(BD)and I will clothe you with rich robes.”

⁵ And I said, “Let them put a clean ^(BE)turban on his head.”

So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him. And the Angel of the Lord stood by.

The Coming Branch

⁶ Then the Angel of the Lord admonished Joshua, saying, ⁷ “Thus says the Lord of hosts:

Vision of the Lampstand and Olive Trees

4 Now ^(BQ)the angel who talked with me came back and wakened me, ^(BR)as a man who is wakened out of his sleep. ² And he said to me, “What do you see?”

So I said, “I am looking, and there is ^(BS)a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it, ^(BT)and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps. ^3 (BU)Two olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left.” ⁴ So I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, “What are these, my lord?”

⁵ Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?”

And I said, “No, my lord.”

⁶ So he answered and said to me:

⁸ Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

¹¹ Then I answered and said to him, “What are these ^(CG)two olive trees—at the right of the lampstand and at its left?” ¹² And I further answered and said to him, “What are these two olive branches that drip ^[n]into the receptacles of the two gold pipes from which the golden oil drains?”

¹³ Then he answered me and said, “Do you not know what these are?”

And I said, “No, my lord.”

¹⁴ So he said, ^(CH)“These are the two ^[o]anointed ones, ^(CI)who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth.”

Vision of the Flying Scroll

5 Then I turned and raised my eyes, and saw there a flying ^(CJ)scroll.

² And he said to me, “What do you see?”

So I answered, “I see a flying scroll. Its length is twenty cubits and its width ten cubits.”

³ Then he said to me, “This is the ^(CK)curse that goes out over the face of the whole earth: ‘Every thief shall be expelled,’ according to this side of the scroll; and, ‘Every perjurer shall be expelled,’ according to that side of it.”

Vision of the Woman in a Basket

⁵ Then the angel who talked with me came out and said to me, “Lift your eyes now, and see what this is that goes forth.”

⁶ So I asked, “What is it?” And he said, “It is a ^[p]basket that is going forth.”

He also said, “This is their resemblance throughout the earth: ⁷ Here is a lead disc lifted up, and this is a woman sitting inside the basket”; ⁸ then he said, “This is Wickedness!” And he thrust her down into the basket, and threw the lead ^[q]cover over its mouth. ⁹ Then I raised my eyes and looked, and there were two women, coming with the wind in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a ^(CO)stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and heaven.

¹⁰ So I said to the ^(CP)angel who talked with me, “Where are they carrying the basket?”

¹¹ And he said to me, “To ^(CQ)build a house for it in ^(CR)the land of ^[r]Shinar; when it is ready, the basket will be set there on its base.”