Ezra Reads the Law

8 And all the people gathered as one man at the square which was in front of ^(A)the Water Gate, and they ^[a]asked ^(B)Ezra the scribe to bring ^(C)the book of the law of Moses which the Lord had ^[b]given to Israel. ² Then ^(D)Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly of men, women and all who could listen with understanding, on ^(E)the first day of the seventh month. ³ He read from it before the square which was in front of ^(F)the Water Gate from ^[c]early morning until midday, in the presence of men and women, those who could understand; and all the people were attentive to the book of the law. ⁴ Ezra the scribe stood at a wooden podium which they had made for the purpose. And beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand; and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah and Meshullam on his left hand. ⁵ Ezra opened ^(G)the book in the sight of all the people for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people ^(H)stood up. ⁶ Then Ezra blessed the Lord the great God. And all the people answered, “^(I)Amen, Amen!” while lifting up their hands; then ^(J)they bowed low and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. ⁷ Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites, explained the law to the people while the people remained in their place. ⁸ They read from the book, from the law of God, ^[d]translating to give the sense so that they understood the reading.

“This Day Is Holy”

⁹ Then Nehemiah, who was the ^[e](K)governor, and Ezra ^(L)the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “^(M)This day is holy to the Lord your God; ^(N)do not mourn or weep.” For all the people were weeping when they heard the words of the law. ¹⁰ Then he said to them, “Go, eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, and ^(O)send portions to him who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” ¹¹ So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved.” ¹² All the people went away to eat, to drink, ^(P)to send portions and to ^[f]celebrate a great festival, ^(Q)because they understood the words which had been made known to them.

Feast of Booths Restored

¹³ Then on the second day the heads of fathers’ households of all the people, the priests and the Levites were gathered to Ezra the scribe that they might gain insight into the words of the law. ¹⁴ They found written in the law how the Lord had commanded through Moses that the sons of Israel ^(R)should live in booths during the feast of the seventh month. ^15 [g](S)So they proclaimed and circulated a proclamation in all their cities and ^(T)in Jerusalem, saying, “^(U)Go out to the hills, and bring olive branches and ^[h]wild olive branches, myrtle branches, palm branches and branches of other leafy trees, to make booths, as it is written.” ¹⁶ So the people went out and brought them and made booths for themselves, each ^(V)on his roof, and in their courts and in the courts of the house of God, and in the square at ^(W)the Water Gate and in the square at ^(X)the Gate of Ephraim. ¹⁷ The entire assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in ^[i]them. The sons of Israel ^(Y)had indeed not done so from the days of Joshua the son of Nun to that day. And ^(Z)there was great rejoicing. ^18 (AA)He read from the book of the law of God daily, from the first day to the last day. And they ^(AB)celebrated the feast seven days, and on ^(AC)the eighth day there was a solemn assembly according to the ordinance.

The Lord Extolled for His Goodness.

A Psalm of Praise, of David.

The Beast from the Sea

13 And the dragon stood on the sand of the ^[a]seashore.

Then I saw a ^(A)beast coming up out of the sea, having ^(B)ten horns and ^(C)seven heads, and on his horns were ^(D)ten diadems, and on his heads were ^(E)blasphemous names. ² And the beast which I saw was ^(F)like a leopard, and his feet were like those of ^(G)a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of ^(H)a lion. And the ^(I)dragon gave him his power and his ^(J)throne and great authority. ³ I saw one of his heads as if it had been ^[b]slain, and his ^(K)fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth ^(L)was amazed and followed after the beast; ⁴ they worshiped the ^(M)dragon because he ^(N)gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “^(O)Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?” ⁵ There was given to him a mouth ^(P)speaking ^[c]arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for ^(Q)forty-two months was given to him. ⁶ And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, ^(R)those who ^[d]dwell in heaven.

⁷ It was also given to him to ^(S)make war with the ^[e]saints and to overcome them, and authority over ^(T)every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him. ⁸ All who ^(U)dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone ^(V)whose name has not been ^[f]written ^(W)from the foundation of the world in the ^(X)book of life of ^(Y)the Lamb who has been slain. ^9 (Z)If anyone has an ear, let him hear. ^10 (AA)If anyone ^[g]is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; ^(AB)if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is ^(AC)the ^[h]perseverance and the faith of the ^[i]saints.

The Beast from the Earth

¹¹ Then ^(AD)I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had ^(AE)two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a ^(AF)dragon. ¹² He ^(AG)exercises all the authority of the first beast ^[j](AH)in his presence. And he makes ^(AI)the earth and those who dwell in it to ^(AJ)worship the first beast, whose ^(AK)fatal wound was healed. ¹³ He ^(AL)performs great signs, so that he even makes ^(AM)fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. ¹⁴ And he ^(AN)deceives ^(AO)those who dwell on the earth because of ^(AP)the signs which it was given him to perform ^[k](AQ)in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who *had the ^(AR)wound of the sword and has come to life. ¹⁵ And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even ^[l]speak and cause ^(AS)as many as do not ^(AT)worship the image of the beast to be killed. ¹⁶ And he causes all, ^(AU)the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, ^[m]to be given a ^(AV)mark on their right hand or on their forehead, ¹⁷ and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the ^(AW)mark, either ^(AX)the name of the beast or ^(AY)the number of his name. ^18 (AZ)Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that ^(BA)of a man; and his number is ^[n]six hundred and sixty-six.