Micah 1-4
Christian Standard Bible
1 The word of the Lord that came(A) to Micah(B) the Moreshite(C)—what he saw regarding Samaria and Jerusalem in the days of Jotham,(D) Ahaz,(E) and Hezekiah,(F) kings of Judah.
Coming Judgment on Israel
2 Listen, all you peoples;(G)
pay attention, earth[a] and everyone in it!(H)
The Lord God will be a witness against you,(I)
the Lord, from his holy temple.(J)
3 Look, the Lord is leaving his place(K)
and coming down to trample
the heights[b] of the earth.(L)
4 The mountains will melt beneath him,
and the valleys will split apart,
like wax near a fire,(M)
like water cascading down a mountainside.
5 All this will happen because of Jacob’s rebellion
and the sins of the house of Israel.
What is the rebellion of Jacob?
Isn’t it Samaria?(N)
And what is the high place of Judah?(O)
Isn’t it Jerusalem?
6 Therefore, I will make Samaria
a heap of ruins(P) in the countryside,
a planting area(Q) for a vineyard.
I will roll her stones(R) into the valley
and expose her foundations.(S)
7 All her carved images will be smashed(T) to pieces;
all her wages(U) will be burned in the fire,
and I will destroy all her idols.
Since she collected the wages of a prostitute,(V)
they will be used again for a prostitute.
Micah’s Lament
8 Because of this I will lament and wail;
I will walk barefoot and naked.(W)
I will howl like the jackals(X)
and mourn like ostriches.[c]
9 For her wound is incurable(Y)
and has reached even Judah;(Z)
it has approached my people’s city gate,(AA)
as far as Jerusalem.
10 Don’t announce it in Gath,(AB)
don’t weep at all.
Roll in the dust in Beth-leaphrah.
11 Depart in shameful nakedness,(AC)
you residents of Shaphir;
the residents of Zaanan(AD) will not come out.
Beth-ezel is lamenting;
its support[d] is taken from you.
12 Though the residents of Maroth
anxiously wait for something good,(AE)
disaster has come from the Lord(AF)
to the gate of Jerusalem.
13 Harness the horses to the chariot,
you residents of Lachish.(AG)
This was the beginning of sin for Daughter Zion
because Israel’s acts of rebellion(AH) can be traced to you.
14 Therefore, send farewell gifts(AI) to Moresheth-gath;
the houses of Achzib(AJ) are a deception(AK)
to the kings of Israel.
15 I will again bring a conqueror
against you who live in Mareshah.(AL)
The nobility[e] of Israel will come to Adullam.(AM)
16 Shave yourselves bald and cut off your hair(AN)
in sorrow for your precious children;
make yourselves as bald as an eagle,
for they have been taken from you into exile.(AO)
Oppressors Judged
2 Woe to those who dream up wickedness
and prepare evil plans(AP) on their beds!
At morning light(AQ) they accomplish it
because the power is in their hands.(AR)
2 They covet fields(AS) and seize them;(AT)
they also take houses.
They deprive a man of his home,(AU)
a person of his inheritance.(AV)
3 Therefore, the Lord says:
I am now planning(AW) a disaster
against this nation;(AX)
you cannot free your necks from it.(AY)
Then you will not walk so proudly(AZ)
because it will be an evil time.(BA)
4 In that day one will take up(BB) a taunt against you
and lament mournfully,(BC) saying,
“We are totally ruined!(BD)
He measures out the allotted land of my people.
How he removes it from me!
He allots our fields(BE) to traitors.”
5 Therefore, there will be no one
in the assembly of the Lord
to divide the land by casting lots.[f](BF)
God’s Word Rejected
6 “Quit your preaching,”(BG) they[g] preach.
“They should not preach these things;(BH)
shame will not overtake us.”[h](BI)
7 House of Jacob, should it be asked,
“Is the Spirit of the Lord impatient?(BJ)
Are these the things he does?”
Don’t my words bring good(BK)
to the one who walks uprightly?(BL)
8 But recently my people have risen up
like an enemy:(BM)
You strip off the splendid robe(BN)
from those who are passing through confidently,(BO)
like those returning from war.
9 You force(BP) the women of my people
out of their comfortable homes,
and you take my blessing[i](BQ)
from their children forever.
10 Get up and leave,
for this is not your place of rest(BR)
because defilement(BS) brings destruction—
a grievous destruction!(BT)
11 If a man comes
and utters empty lies(BU)—
“I will preach to you about wine and beer”(BV)—
he would be just the preacher for this people!(BW)
The Remnant Regathered
12 I will indeed gather(BX) all of you, Jacob;
I will collect the remnant of Israel.(BY)
I will bring them together like sheep in a pen,
like a flock in the middle of its pasture.
It will be noisy with people.(BZ)
13 One who breaks open the way
will advance before them;
they will break out, pass through the city gate,
and leave by it.
Their King will pass through before them,
the Lord as their leader.
Unjust Leaders Judged
3 Then I said, “Now listen,(CA) leaders of Jacob,
you rulers of the house of Israel.
Aren’t you supposed to know what is just?(CB)
2 You hate good and love evil.
You tear off people’s skin(CC)
and strip their flesh from their bones.
3 You eat the flesh(CD) of my people
after you strip their skin from them
and break their bones.
You chop them up(CE)
like flesh for the cooking pot,
like meat in a cauldron.”
4 Then they will cry out(CF) to the Lord,
but he will not answer them.
He will hide his face from them at that time(CG)
because of the crimes they have committed.
False Prophets Judged
5 This is what the Lord says
concerning the prophets
who lead my people astray,(CH)
who proclaim(CI) peace
when they have food to sink their teeth into
but declare war against the one
who puts nothing in their mouths.
6 Therefore, it will be night(CJ) for you—
without visions;
it will grow dark for you—
without divination.(CK)
The sun will set(CL) on these prophets,
and the daylight will turn black over them.
7 Then the seers will be ashamed(CM)
and the diviners disappointed.(CN)
They will all cover their mouths[j](CO)
because there will be no answer from God.(CP)
8 As for me, however, I am filled with power(CQ)
by the Spirit of the Lord,
with justice and courage,
to proclaim to Jacob his rebellion
and to Israel his sin.(CR)
Zion’s Destruction
9 Listen to this, leaders of the house of Jacob,(CS)
you rulers of the house of Israel,
who abhor justice(CT)
and pervert everything that is right,
10 who build Zion with bloodshed(CU)
and Jerusalem with injustice.
11 Her leaders issue rulings for a bribe,(CV)
her priests teach for payment,(CW)
and her prophets practice divination for silver.
Yet they lean on the Lord, saying,
“Isn’t the Lord(CX) among us?
No disaster will overtake us.”
12 Therefore, because of you,
Zion will be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem will become ruins,(CY)
and the temple’s mountain(CZ)
will be a high thicket.(DA)
The Lord’s Rule from Restored Zion
4 In the last days(DB)
the mountain of the Lord’s house(DC)
will be established
at the top of the mountains
and will be raised above the hills.
Peoples will stream to it,(DD)
2 and many nations will come and say,(DE)
“Come, let’s go up to the mountain of the Lord,(DF)
to the house of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us about his ways(DG)
so we may walk in his paths.”
For instruction will go out of Zion(DH)
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
3 He will settle disputes among many peoples(DI)
and provide arbitration for strong nations
that are far away.
They will beat their swords into plows
and their spears into pruning knives.
Nation will not take up the sword against nation,
and they will never again train for war.
4 But each person will sit under his grapevine(DJ)
and under his fig tree
with no one to frighten him.(DK)
For the mouth of the Lord(DL) of Armies
has spoken.
5 Though all the peoples walk
in the name of their own gods,(DM)
we will walk(DN) in the name of the Lord our God
forever and ever.(DO)
6 On that day—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
I will assemble the lame
and gather the scattered,(DP)
those I have injured.
7 I will make the lame into a remnant,(DQ)
those far removed into a strong nation.
Then the Lord will reign over them(DR) in Mount Zion
from this time on and forever.
8 And you, watchtower for the flock,(DS)
fortified hill[k] of Daughter Zion,
the former rule(DT) will come to you;
sovereignty will come to Daughter Jerusalem.
From Exile to Victory
9 Now, why are you shouting loudly?(DU)
Is there no king with you?
Has your counselor perished(DV)
so that anguish grips you like a woman in labor?
10 Writhe and cry out,[l](DW) Daughter Zion,
like a woman in labor,
for now you will leave the city(DX)
and camp in the open fields.
You will go to Babylon;
there you will be rescued;(DY)
there the Lord will redeem you(DZ)
from the grasp of your enemies!
11 Many nations have now assembled against you;(EA)
they say, “Let her be defiled,
and let us feast our eyes on Zion.”
12 But they do not know the Lord’s intentions(EB)
or understand his plan,
that he has gathered them
like sheaves to the threshing floor.
13 Rise and thresh,(EC) Daughter Zion,
for I will make your horns iron
and your hooves bronze
so you can crush many peoples.(ED)
Then you[m] will set apart their plunder(EE)
for the Lord,
their wealth for the Lord of the whole earth.
Footnotes
- 1:2 Or land
- 1:3 Or high places
- 1:8 Or eagle owls; lit daughters of the desert
- 1:11 Lit its standing place; Hb obscure
- 1:15 Lit glory
- 2:5 Lit Lord stretching the measuring line by lot
- 2:6 = the prophets
- 2:6 Text emended; MT reads things. Shame will not depart
- 2:9 Perhaps the land
- 3:7 Lit mustache
- 4:8 Or flock, Ophel
- 4:10 Hb obscure
- 4:13 LXX, Syr, Tg; MT reads I
Psalm 10
Christian Standard Bible
Psalm 10
Need for God’s Justice
1 Lord,[a][b] why do you stand so far away?(A)
Why do you hide in times of trouble?(B)
2 In arrogance the wicked relentlessly pursue their victims;
let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.(C)
3 For the wicked one boasts about his own cravings;(D)
the one who is greedy curses[c] and despises the Lord.(E)
4 In all his scheming,
the wicked person arrogantly thinks,[d]
“There’s no accountability,
since there’s no God.”(F)
5 His ways are always secure;[e]
your lofty judgments have no effect on him;[f]
he scoffs at all his adversaries.(G)
6 He says to himself, “I will never be moved—
from generation to generation I will be without calamity.”(H)
7 Cursing, deceit, and violence fill his mouth;
trouble and malice are under his tongue.(I)
8 He waits in ambush near settlements;(J)
he kills the innocent in secret places.
His eyes are on the lookout for the helpless;(K)
9 he lurks in secret like a lion in a thicket.
He lurks in order to seize a victim;
he seizes a victim and drags him in his net.
10 So he is oppressed and beaten down;
helpless people fall because of the wicked one’s strength.(L)
11 He says to himself, “God has forgotten;
he hides his face and will never see.”(M)
12 Rise up, Lord God! Lift up your hand.(N)
Do not forget the oppressed.(O)
13 Why has the wicked person despised God?
He says to himself, “You will not demand an account.”(P)
14 But you yourself have seen trouble and grief,
observing it in order to take the matter into your hands.(Q)
The helpless one entrusts himself to you;
you are a helper of the fatherless.(R)
15 Break the arm of the wicked, evil person,(S)
until you look for his wickedness,
but it can’t be found.(T)
16 The Lord is King forever and ever;(U)
the nations will perish from his land.(V)
17 Lord, you have heard the desire of the humble;
you will strengthen their hearts.
You will listen carefully,(W)
18 doing justice for the fatherless and the oppressed
so that mere humans from the earth may terrify them no more.(X)
Matthew 24
Christian Standard Bible
Destruction of the Temple Predicted
24 As Jesus left and was going out of the temple,(A) his disciples(B) came up and called his attention to its buildings. 2 He replied to them, “Do you see all these things? Truly I tell you, not one stone will be left here on another that will not be thrown down.”
Signs of the End of the Age
3 While he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples approached him privately and said, “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what is the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” (C)
4 Jesus replied to them, “Watch out that no one deceives(D) you. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and they will deceive many.(E) 6 You are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, because these things must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines[a](F) and earthquakes in various places.(G) 8 All these events are the beginning of labor pains.(H)
Persecutions Predicted
9 “Then they will hand you over to be persecuted, and they will kill you. You will be hated by all nations because of my name.(I) 10 Then many will fall away, betray one another, and hate one another. 11 Many false prophets(J) will rise up and deceive many. 12 Because lawlessness(K) will multiply, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 This good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the world[b] as a testimony to all nations,(L) and then the end will come.(M)
The Great Tribulation
15 “So when you see the abomination of desolation,[c] spoken of by the prophet Daniel,(N) standing in the holy place”(O) (let the reader understand), 16 “then those in Judea must flee to the mountains. 17 A man on the housetop[d] must not come down to get things out of his house,(P) 18 and a man in the field must not go back to get his coat. 19 Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days! 20 Pray that your escape may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. 21 For at that time there will be great distress,[e](Q) the kind that hasn’t taken place from the beginning of the world until now and never will again. 22 Unless those days were cut short, no one would[f] be saved. But those days will be cut short because of the elect.(R)
23 “If anyone tells you then, ‘See, here is the Messiah!’(S) or, ‘Over here!’ do not believe it.(T) 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders to lead astray,(U) if possible, even the elect. 25 Take note: I have told you in advance. 26 So if they tell you, ‘See, he’s in the wilderness!’ don’t go out; or, ‘See, he’s in the storerooms!’ do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.(V) 28 Wherever the carcass is, there the vultures[g] will gather.(W)
The Coming of the Son of Man
29 “Immediately after the distress(X) of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not shed its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the peoples of the earth[h] will mourn;[i] and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.(Y) 31 He will send out his angels with a loud trumpet,(Z) and they will gather his elect from the four winds,(AA) from one end of the sky to the other.
The Parable of the Fig Tree
32 “Learn this lesson(AB) from the fig tree: As soon as its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 In the same way, when you see all these things, recognize[j] that he[k] is near—at the door.(AC) 34 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things take place.(AD) 35 Heaven and earth will pass away,(AE) but my words will never pass away.(AF)
No One Knows the Day or Hour
36 “Now concerning that day and hour no one knows—neither the angels of heaven nor the Son[l] —except the Father alone.(AG) 37 As the days of Noah were, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. 38 For in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah boarded the ark.(AH) 39 They didn’t know until the flood came and swept them all away. This is the way the coming of the Son of Man will be. 40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41 Two women will be grinding grain with a hand mill; one will be taken and one left.(AI) 42 Therefore be alert, since you don’t know what day[m] your Lord is coming.(AJ) 43 But know this: If the homeowner had known what time[n] the thief was coming, he would have stayed alert and not let his house be broken into.(AK) 44 This is why you are also to be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.(AL)
Faithful Service to Christ
45 “Who then is a faithful and wise servant,(AM) whom his master has put in charge of his household, to give them food at the proper time?(AN) 46 Blessed is that servant whom the master finds doing his job when he comes.(AO) 47 Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 But if that wicked servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delayed,’ 49 and starts to beat his fellow servants, and eats and drinks with drunkards,(AP) 50 that servant’s master will come on a day he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know. 51 He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Footnotes
- 24:7 Other mss add epidemics
- 24:14 Or in all the inhabited earth
- 24:15 Dn 9:27
- 24:17 Or roof
- 24:21 Or tribulation, also in v. 29
- 24:22 Lit short, all flesh would not
- 24:28 Or eagles
- 24:30 Or all the tribes of the land
- 24:30 Lit will beat; that is, beat their chests
- 24:33 Or things, you know
- 24:33 Or it; that is, summer
- 24:36 Other mss omit nor the Son
- 24:42 Other mss read hour; = time
- 24:43 Lit watch; a division of the night in ancient times
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