Baal Worship at Peor

25 While Israel lived in ^(A)Shittim, ^(B)the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. ^2 (C)These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. ³ So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel. ⁴ And the Lord said to Moses, ^(D)“Take all the chiefs of the people and ^(E)hang^[a] them in the sun before the Lord, ^(F)that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.” ⁵ And Moses said to ^(G)the judges of Israel, ^(H)“Each of you kill those of his men who have yoked themselves to Baal of Peor.”

⁶ And behold, one of the people of Israel came and brought a Midianite woman to his family, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the people of Israel, while they were ^(I)weeping in the entrance of the tent of meeting. ^7 (J)When Phinehas ^(K)the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose and left the congregation and took a spear in his hand ⁸ and went after the man of Israel into the chamber and pierced both of them, the man of Israel and the woman through her belly. Thus the plague on the people of Israel was stopped. ⁹ Nevertheless, ^(L)those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand.

The Zeal of Phinehas

¹⁰ And the Lord said to Moses, ¹¹ “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the people of Israel, in that he ^(M)was jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the people of Israel in ^(N)my jealousy. ¹² Therefore say, ^(O)‘Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace, ¹³ and it shall be to him and to ^(P)his descendants after him the covenant of ^(Q)a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the people of Israel.’”

¹⁴ The name of the slain man of Israel, who was killed with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, chief of a father's house belonging to the Simeonites. ¹⁵ And the name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi the daughter of ^(R)Zur, who was the tribal head of a father's house in Midian.

¹⁶ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ^17 (S)“Harass the Midianites and strike them down, ¹⁸ for they have harassed you with their ^(T)wiles, with which they beguiled you in the matter of ^(U)Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of the chief of Midian, their sister, who was killed on the day of the plague on account of Peor.”

The Proverbs of Solomon

10 ^(A)The proverbs of Solomon.

The Throne in Heaven

4 After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me ^(A)like a trumpet, said, ^(B)“Come up here, and ^(C)I will show you what must take place after this.” ² At once ^(D)I was in the Spirit, and behold, ^(E)a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. ³ And he who sat there had the appearance of ^(F)jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was ^(G)a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. ⁴ Around the throne were ^(H)twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, ^(I)clothed in white garments, with ^(J)golden crowns on their heads. ⁵ From the throne came ^(K)flashes of lightning, and rumblings^[a] and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning ^(L)seven torches of fire, ^(M)which are the seven spirits of God, ⁶ and before the throne there was ^(N)as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.

And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are ^(O)four living creatures, ^(P)full of eyes in front and behind: ^7 (Q)the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. ⁸ And the four living creatures, ^(R)each of them with six wings, are ^(S)full of eyes all around and within, and ^(T)day and night they never cease to say,

⁹ And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, ^(W)who lives forever and ever, ¹⁰ the twenty-four elders ^(X)fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast ^(Y)their crowns before the throne, saying,

The Scroll and the Lamb

5 Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne ^(AC)a scroll written within and on the back, ^(AD)sealed with seven seals. ² And ^(AE)I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” ³ And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, ⁴ and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. ⁵ And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, ^(AF)the Lion ^(AG)of the tribe of Judah, ^(AH)the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

⁶ And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw ^(AI)a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with ^(AJ)seven eyes, which are ^(AK)the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. ⁷ And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. ⁸ And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders ^(AL)fell down before the Lamb, ^(AM)each holding a harp, and ^(AN)golden bowls full of incense, ^(AO)which are the prayers of the saints. ⁹ And they sang ^(AP)a new song, saying,

¹¹ Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering ^(AU)myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, ¹² saying with a loud voice,

¹³ And I heard ^(AW)every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,

¹⁴ And the four living creatures ^(AX)said, “Amen!” and the elders ^(AY)fell down and worshiped.

The Seven Seals

6 Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of ^(AZ)the seven seals, and I heard ^(BA)one of the four living creatures say ^(BB)with a voice like thunder, ^(BC)“Come!” ² And I looked, and behold, ^(BD)a white horse! And ^(BE)its rider had a bow, and ^(BF)a crown was given to him, and he came out ^(BG)conquering, and to conquer.

³ When he opened the second seal, I heard ^(BH)the second living creature say, “Come!” ⁴ And out came another horse, ^(BI)bright red. Its rider was permitted ^(BJ)to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

⁵ When he opened the third seal, I heard the ^(BK)third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, ^(BL)a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. ⁶ And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, ^(BM)“A quart^[b] of wheat for a denarius,^[c] and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and ^(BN)do not harm the oil and wine!”

⁷ When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of ^(BO)the fourth living creature say, “Come!” ⁸ And I looked, and behold, ^(BP)a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill ^(BQ)with sword and with famine and with pestilence and ^(BR)by wild beasts of the earth.

⁹ When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under ^(BS)the altar ^(BT)the souls of those who had been slain ^(BU)for the word of God and for ^(BV)the witness they had borne. ¹⁰ They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, ^(BW)holy and true, ^(BX)how long ^(BY)before you will judge and ^(BZ)avenge our blood on ^(CA)those who dwell on the earth?” ¹¹ Then they were each given ^(CB)a white robe and ^(CC)told to rest a little longer, ^(CD)until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers^{[d] (CE)}should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

¹² When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, ^(CF)there was a great earthquake, and ^(CG)the sun became black as ^(CH)sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, ¹³ and ^(CI)the stars of the sky fell to the earth ^(CJ)as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. ^14 (CK)The sky vanished ^(CL)like a scroll that is being rolled up, and ^(CM)every mountain and island was removed from its place. ¹⁵ Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave^[e] and free, ^(CN)hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, ^16 (CO)calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of ^(CP)him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, ¹⁷ for ^(CQ)the great day of their wrath has come, and ^(CR)who can stand?”