Psalm 81
New King James Version
An Appeal for Israel’s Repentance
To the Chief Musician. (A)On[a] an instrument of Gath. A Psalm of Asaph.
81 Sing aloud to God our strength;
Make a joyful shout to the God of Jacob.
2 Raise a song and strike the timbrel,
The pleasant harp with the lute.
3 Blow the trumpet at the time of the New Moon,
At the full moon, on our solemn feast day.
4 For (B)this is a statute for Israel,
A law of the God of Jacob.
5 This He established in Joseph as a testimony,
When He went throughout the land of Egypt,
(C)Where I heard a language I did not understand.
6 “I removed his shoulder from the burden;
His hands were freed from the baskets.
7 (D)You called in trouble, and I delivered you;
(E)I answered you in the secret place of thunder;
I (F)tested you at the waters of [b]Meribah. Selah
8 “Hear,(G) O My people, and I will admonish you!
O Israel, if you will listen to Me!
9 There shall be no (H)foreign god among you;
Nor shall you worship any foreign god.
10 (I)I am the Lord your God,
Who brought you out of the land of Egypt;
(J)Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
11 “But My people would not heed My voice,
And Israel would have (K)none of Me.
12 (L)So I gave them over to [c]their own stubborn heart,
To walk in their own counsels.
13 “Oh,(M) that My people would listen to Me,
That Israel would walk in My ways!
14 I would soon subdue their enemies,
And turn My hand against their adversaries.
15 (N)The haters of the Lord would pretend submission to Him,
But their [d]fate would endure forever.
16 He would (O)have fed them also with [e]the finest of wheat;
And with honey (P)from the rock I would have satisfied you.”
Footnotes
- Psalm 81:1 Heb. Al Gittith
- Psalm 81:7 Lit. Strife or Contention
- Psalm 81:12 the dictates of their heart
- Psalm 81:15 Lit. time
- Psalm 81:16 Lit. fat of wheat
Psalm 110
New King James Version
Announcement of the Messiah’s Reign(A)
A Psalm of David.
110 The (B)Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your (C)footstool.”
2 The Lord shall send the rod of Your strength (D)out of Zion.
(E)Rule in the midst of Your enemies!
3 (F)Your people shall be volunteers
In the day of Your power;
(G)In the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning,
You have the dew of Your youth.
4 The Lord has sworn
And (H)will not relent,
“You are a (I)priest forever
According to the order of (J)Melchizedek.”
5 The Lord is (K)at Your right hand;
He shall [a]execute kings (L)in the day of His wrath.
6 He shall judge among the nations,
He shall fill the places with dead bodies,
(M)He shall [b]execute the heads of many countries.
7 He shall drink of the brook by the wayside;
(N)Therefore He shall lift up the head.
Footnotes
- Psalm 110:5 Lit. break kings in pieces
- Psalm 110:6 Lit. break in pieces
Psalm 145
New King James Version
A Song of God’s Majesty and Love
(A)A Praise of David.
145 I will [a]extol You, my God, O King;
And I will bless Your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless You,
And I will praise Your name forever and ever.
3 (B)Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
And (C)His greatness is [b]unsearchable.
4 (D)One generation shall praise Your works to another,
And shall declare Your mighty acts.
5 [c]I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty,
And [d]on Your wondrous works.
6 Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts,
And I will declare Your greatness.
7 They shall [e]utter the memory of Your great goodness,
And shall sing of Your righteousness.
8 (E)The Lord is gracious and full of compassion,
Slow to anger and great in mercy.
9 (F)The Lord is good to all,
And His tender mercies are over all His works.
10 (G)All Your works shall praise You, O Lord,
And Your saints shall bless You.
11 They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom,
And talk of Your power,
12 To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts,
And the glorious majesty of His kingdom.
13 (H)Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
And Your dominion endures throughout all [f]generations.
14 The Lord upholds all who fall,
And (I)raises up all who are bowed down.
15 (J)The eyes of all look expectantly to You,
And (K)You give them their food in due season.
16 You open Your hand
(L)And satisfy the desire of every living thing.
17 The Lord is righteous in all His ways,
Gracious in all His works.
18 (M)The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,
To all who call upon Him (N)in truth.
19 He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;
He also will hear their cry and save them.
20 (O)The Lord preserves all who love Him,
But all the wicked He will destroy.
21 My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord,
And all flesh shall bless His holy name
Forever and ever.
Footnotes
- Psalm 145:1 praise
- Psalm 145:3 Beyond our understanding
- Psalm 145:5 So with MT, Tg.; DSS, LXX, Syr., Vg. They
- Psalm 145:5 Lit. on the words of Your wondrous works
- Psalm 145:7 eagerly utter, lit. bubble forth
- Psalm 145:13 So with MT, Tg.; DSS, LXX, Syr., Vg. add The Lord is faithful in all His words, And holy in all His works
Lamentations 1-5
New King James Version
Jerusalem in Affliction
1 How lonely sits the city
That was full of people!
(A)How like a widow is she,
Who was great among the nations!
The (B)princess among the provinces
Has become a [a]slave!
2 She (C)weeps bitterly in the (D)night,
Her tears are on her cheeks;
Among all her lovers
She has none to comfort her.
All her friends have dealt treacherously with her;
They have become her enemies.
3 (E)Judah has gone into captivity,
Under affliction and hard servitude;
(F)She dwells among the [b]nations,
She finds no (G)rest;
All her persecutors overtake her in dire straits.
4 The roads to Zion mourn
Because no one comes to the [c]set feasts.
All her gates are (H)desolate;
Her priests sigh,
Her virgins are afflicted,
And she is in bitterness.
5 Her adversaries (I)have become [d]the master,
Her enemies prosper;
For the Lord has afflicted her
(J)Because of the multitude of her transgressions.
Her (K)children have gone into captivity before the enemy.
6 And from the daughter of Zion
All her splendor has departed.
Her princes have become like deer
That find no pasture,
That [e]flee without strength
Before the pursuer.
7 In the days of her affliction and roaming,
Jerusalem (L)remembers all her pleasant things
That she had in the days of old.
When her people fell into the hand of the enemy,
With no one to help her,
The adversaries saw her
And mocked at her [f]downfall.
8 (M)Jerusalem has sinned gravely,
Therefore she has become [g]vile.
All who honored her despise her
Because (N)they have seen her nakedness;
Yes, she sighs and turns away.
9 Her uncleanness is in her skirts;
She (O)did not consider her destiny;
Therefore her collapse was awesome;
She had no comforter.
“O Lord, behold my affliction,
For the enemy is exalted!”
10 The adversary has spread his hand
Over all her [h]pleasant things;
For she has seen (P)the nations enter her [i]sanctuary,
Those whom You commanded
(Q)Not to enter Your assembly.
11 All her people sigh,
(R)They [j]seek bread;
They have given their [k]valuables for food to restore life.
“See, O Lord, and consider,
For I am scorned.”
12 “Is it nothing to you, all you who [l]pass by?
Behold and see
(S)If there is any sorrow like my sorrow,
Which has been brought on me,
Which the Lord has inflicted
In the day of His fierce anger.
13 “From above He has sent fire into my bones,
And it overpowered them;
He has (T)spread a net for my feet
And turned me back;
He has made me desolate
And faint all the day.
14 “The(U) yoke of my transgressions was [m]bound;
They were woven together by His hands,
And thrust upon my neck.
He made my strength fail;
The Lord delivered me into the hands of those whom I am not able to withstand.
15 “The Lord has trampled underfoot all my mighty men in my midst;
He has called an assembly against me
To crush my young men;
(V)The Lord trampled as in a winepress
The virgin daughter of Judah.
16 “For these things I weep;
My eye, (W)my eye overflows with water;
Because the comforter, who should restore my life,
Is far from me.
My children are desolate
Because the enemy prevailed.”
17 (X)Zion [n]spreads out her hands,
But no one comforts her;
The Lord has commanded concerning Jacob
That those (Y)around him become his adversaries;
Jerusalem has become an unclean thing among them.
18 “The Lord is (Z)righteous,
For I (AA)rebelled against His [o]commandment.
Hear now, all peoples,
And behold my sorrow;
My virgins and my young men
Have gone into captivity.
19 “I called for my lovers,
But they deceived me;
My priests and my elders
Breathed their last in the city,
While they sought food
To restore their life.
20 “See, O Lord, that I am in distress;
My (AB)soul[p] is troubled;
My heart is overturned within me,
For I have been very rebellious.
(AC)Outside the sword bereaves,
At home it is like death.
21 “They have heard that I sigh,
But no one comforts me.
All my enemies have heard of my trouble;
They are (AD)glad that You have done it.
Bring on (AE)the day You have [q]announced,
That they may become like me.
22 “Let(AF) all their wickedness come before You,
And do to them as You have done to me
For all my transgressions;
For my sighs are many,
And my heart is faint.”
God’s Anger with Jerusalem
2 How the Lord has covered the daughter of Zion
With a (AG)cloud in His anger!
(AH)He cast down from heaven to the earth
(AI)The beauty of Israel,
And did not remember (AJ)His footstool
In the day of His anger.
2 The Lord has swallowed up and has (AK)not pitied
All the dwelling places of Jacob.
He has thrown down in His wrath
The strongholds of the daughter of Judah;
He has brought them down to the ground;
(AL)He has profaned the kingdom and its princes.
3 He has cut off in fierce anger
Every [r]horn of Israel;
(AM)He has drawn back His right hand
From before the enemy.
(AN)He has blazed against Jacob like a flaming fire
Devouring all around.
4 (AO)Standing like an enemy, He has bent His bow;
With His right hand, like an adversary,
He has slain (AP)all who were pleasing to His eye;
On the tent of the daughter of Zion,
He has poured out His fury like fire.
5 (AQ)The Lord was like an enemy.
He has swallowed up Israel,
He has swallowed up all her palaces;
(AR)He has destroyed her strongholds,
And has increased mourning and lamentation
In the daughter of Judah.
6 He has done violence (AS)to His [s]tabernacle,
(AT)As if it were a garden;
He has destroyed His place of assembly;
The Lord has caused
The appointed feasts and Sabbaths to be forgotten in Zion.
In His burning indignation He has (AU)spurned the king and the priest.
7 The Lord has spurned His altar,
He has (AV)abandoned His sanctuary;
He has [t]given up the walls of her palaces
Into the hand of the enemy.
(AW)They have made a noise in the house of the Lord
As on the day of a set feast.
8 The Lord has [u]purposed to destroy
The (AX)wall of the daughter of Zion.
(AY)He has stretched out a line;
He has not withdrawn His hand from destroying;
Therefore He has caused the rampart and wall to lament;
They languished together.
9 Her gates have sunk into the ground;
He has destroyed and (AZ)broken her bars.
(BA)Her king and her princes are among the [v]nations;
(BB)The Law is no more,
And her (BC)prophets find no [w]vision from the Lord.
10 The elders of the daughter of Zion
(BD)Sit on the ground and keep silence;
[x]They (BE)throw dust on their heads
And (BF)gird themselves with sackcloth.
The virgins of Jerusalem
Bow their heads to the ground.
11 (BG)My eyes fail with tears,
My [y]heart is troubled;
(BH)My [z]bile is poured on the ground
Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people,
Because (BI)the children and the infants
Faint in the streets of the city.
12 They say to their mothers,
“Where is grain and wine?”
As they swoon like the wounded
In the streets of the city,
As their life is poured out
In their mothers’ bosom.
13 How shall I (BJ)console[aa] you?
To what shall I liken you,
O daughter of Jerusalem?
What shall I compare with you, that I may comfort you,
O virgin daughter of Zion?
For your ruin is spread wide as the sea;
Who can heal you?
14 Your (BK)prophets have seen for you
False and deceptive visions;
They have not (BL)uncovered your iniquity,
To bring back your captives,
But have envisioned for you false (BM)prophecies and delusions.
15 All who [ab]pass by (BN)clap their hands at you;
They hiss (BO)and shake their heads
At the daughter of Jerusalem:
“Is this the city that is called
(BP)‘The perfection of beauty,
The joy of the whole earth’?”
16 (BQ)All your enemies have opened their mouth against you;
They hiss and gnash their teeth.
They say, (BR)“We have swallowed her up!
Surely this is the (BS)day we have waited for;
We have found it, (BT)we have seen it!”
17 The Lord has done what He (BU)purposed;
He has fulfilled His word
Which He commanded in days of old.
He has thrown down and has not pitied,
And He has caused an enemy to (BV)rejoice over you;
He has exalted the [ac]horn of your adversaries.
18 Their heart cried out to the Lord,
“O wall of the daughter of Zion,
(BW)Let tears run down like a river day and night;
Give yourself no relief;
Give [ad]your eyes no rest.
19 “Arise, (BX)cry out in the night,
At the beginning of the watches;
(BY)Pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord.
Lift your hands toward Him
For the life of your young children,
Who faint from hunger (BZ)at the head of every street.”
20 “See, O Lord, and consider!
To whom have You done this?
(CA)Should the women eat their offspring,
The children [ae]they have cuddled?
Should the priest and prophet be slain
In the sanctuary of the Lord?
21 “Young(CB) and old lie
On the ground in the streets;
My virgins and my young men
Have fallen by the (CC)sword;
You have slain them in the day of Your anger,
You have slaughtered and not pitied.
22 “You have invited as to a feast day
(CD)The terrors that surround me.
In the day of the Lord’s anger
There was no refugee or survivor.
(CE)Those whom I have borne and brought up
My enemies have (CF)destroyed.”
The Prophet’s Anguish and Hope
3 I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of His wrath.
2 He has led me and made me walk
In darkness and not in light.
3 Surely He has turned His hand against me
Time and time again throughout the day.
4 He has aged (CG)my flesh and my skin,
And (CH)broken my bones.
5 He has besieged me
And surrounded me with bitterness and [af]woe.
6 (CI)He has set me in dark places
Like the dead of long ago.
7 (CJ)He has hedged me in so that I cannot get out;
He has made my chain heavy.
8 Even (CK)when I cry and shout,
He shuts out my prayer.
9 He has blocked my ways with hewn stone;
He has made my paths crooked.
10 (CL)He has been to me a bear lying in wait,
Like a lion in [ag]ambush.
11 He has turned aside my ways and (CM)torn me in pieces;
He has made me desolate.
12 He has bent His bow
And (CN)set me up as a target for the arrow.
13 He has caused (CO)the [ah]arrows of His quiver
To pierce my [ai]loins.
14 I have become the (CP)ridicule of all my people—
(CQ)Their taunting song all the day.
15 (CR)He has filled me with bitterness,
He has made me drink wormwood.
16 He has also broken my teeth (CS)with gravel,
And [aj]covered me with ashes.
17 You have moved my soul far from peace;
I have forgotten [ak]prosperity.
18 (CT)And I said, “My strength and my hope
Have perished from the Lord.”
19 Remember my affliction and roaming,
(CU)The wormwood and the [al]gall.
20 My soul still remembers
And [am]sinks within me.
21 This I recall to my mind,
Therefore I have (CV)hope.
22 (CW)Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions (CX)fail not.
23 They are new (CY)every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my (CZ)portion,” says my soul,
“Therefore I (DA)hope in Him!”
25 The Lord is good to those who (DB)wait for Him,
To the soul who seeks Him.
26 It is good that one should (DC)hope (DD)and wait quietly
For the salvation of the Lord.
27 (DE)It is good for a man to bear
The yoke in his youth.
28 (DF)Let him sit alone and keep silent,
Because God has laid it on him;
29 (DG)Let him put his mouth in the dust—
There may yet be hope.
30 (DH)Let him give his cheek to the one who strikes him,
And be full of reproach.
31 (DI)For the Lord will not cast off forever.
32 Though He causes grief,
Yet He will show compassion
According to the multitude of His mercies.
33 For (DJ)He does not afflict [an]willingly,
Nor grieve the children of men.
34 To crush under one’s feet
All the prisoners of the earth,
35 To turn aside the justice due a man
Before the face of the Most High,
36 Or subvert a man in his cause—
(DK)The Lord does not approve.
37 Who is he (DL)who speaks and it comes to pass,
When the Lord has not commanded it?
38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
That (DM)woe and well-being proceed?
39 (DN)Why should a living man [ao]complain,
(DO)A man for the punishment of his sins?
40 Let us search out and examine our ways,
And turn back to the Lord;
41 (DP)Let us lift our hearts and hands
To God in heaven.
42 (DQ)We have transgressed and rebelled;
You have not pardoned.
43 You have covered Yourself with anger
And pursued us;
You have slain and not pitied.
44 You have covered Yourself with a cloud,
That prayer should not pass through.
45 You have made us an (DR)offscouring and refuse
In the midst of the peoples.
46 (DS)All our enemies
Have opened their mouths against us.
47 (DT)Fear and a snare have come upon us,
(DU)Desolation and destruction.
48 (DV)My eyes overflow with rivers of water
For the destruction of the daughter of my people.
49 (DW)My eyes flow and do not cease,
Without interruption,
50 Till the Lord from heaven
(DX)Looks down and sees.
51 My eyes bring suffering to my soul
Because of all the daughters of my city.
52 My enemies (DY)without cause
Hunted me down like a bird.
53 They [ap]silenced my life (DZ)in the pit
And (EA)threw [aq]stones at me.
54 (EB)The waters flowed over my head;
(EC)I said, “I am cut off!”
55 (ED)I called on Your name, O Lord,
From the lowest (EE)pit.
56 (EF)You have heard my voice:
“Do not hide Your ear
From my sighing, from my cry for help.”
57 You (EG)drew near on the day I called on You,
And said, (EH)“Do not fear!”
58 O Lord, You have (EI)pleaded the case for my soul;
(EJ)You have redeemed my life.
59 O Lord, You have seen [ar]how I am wronged;
(EK)Judge my case.
60 You have seen all their vengeance,
All their (EL)schemes against me.
61 You have heard their reproach, O Lord,
All their schemes against me,
62 The lips of my enemies
And their whispering against me all the day.
63 Look at their (EM)sitting down and their rising up;
I am their taunting song.
64 (EN)Repay them, O Lord,
According to the work of their hands.
65 Give them [as]a veiled heart;
Your curse be upon them!
66 In Your anger,
Pursue and destroy them
(EO)From under the heavens of the (EP)Lord.
The Degradation of Zion
4 How the gold has become dim!
How changed the fine gold!
The stones of the sanctuary are [at]scattered
At the head of every street.
2 The precious sons of Zion,
[au]Valuable as fine gold,
How they are [av]regarded (EQ)as clay pots,
The work of the hands of the potter!
3 Even the jackals present their breasts
To nurse their young;
But the daughter of my people is cruel,
(ER)Like ostriches in the wilderness.
4 The tongue of the infant clings
To the roof of its mouth for thirst;
(ES)The young children ask for bread,
But no one breaks it for them.
5 Those who ate delicacies
Are desolate in the streets;
Those who were brought up in scarlet
(ET)Embrace ash heaps.
6 The punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people
Is greater than the punishment of the (EU)sin of Sodom,
Which was (EV)overthrown in a moment,
With no hand to help her!
7 Her [aw]Nazirites were [ax]brighter than snow
And whiter than milk;
They were more ruddy in body than rubies,
Like sapphire in their [ay]appearance.
8 Now their appearance is blacker than soot;
They go unrecognized in the streets;
(EW)Their skin clings to their bones,
It has become as dry as wood.
9 Those slain by the sword are better off
Than those who die of hunger;
For these (EX)pine away,
Stricken for lack of the fruits of the (EY)field.
10 The hands of the (EZ)compassionate women
Have [az]cooked their (FA)own children;
They became (FB)food for them
In the destruction of the daughter of my people.
11 The Lord has fulfilled His fury,
(FC)He has poured out His fierce anger.
(FD)He kindled a fire in Zion,
And it has devoured its foundations.
12 The kings of the earth,
And all inhabitants of the world,
Would not have believed
That the adversary and the enemy
Could (FE)enter the gates of Jerusalem—
13 (FF)Because of the sins of her prophets
And the iniquities of her priests,
(FG)Who shed in her midst
The blood of the just.
14 They wandered blind in the streets;
(FH)They have defiled themselves with blood,
(FI)So that no one would touch their garments.
15 They cried out to them,
“Go away, (FJ)unclean!
Go away, go away,
Do not touch us!”
When they fled and wandered,
Those among the nations said,
“They shall no longer dwell here.”
16 The [ba]face of the Lord scattered them;
He no longer regards them.
(FK)The people do not respect the priests
Nor show favor to the elders.
17 Still (FL)our eyes failed us,
Watching vainly for our help;
In our watching we watched
For a nation that could not save us.
18 (FM)They [bb]tracked our steps
So that we could not walk in our streets.
(FN)Our end was near;
Our days were over,
For our end had come.
19 Our pursuers were (FO)swifter
Than the eagles of the heavens.
They pursued us on the mountains
And lay in wait for us in the wilderness.
20 The (FP)breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the Lord,
(FQ)Was caught in their pits,
Of whom we said, “Under his shadow
We shall live among the nations.”
21 Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of (FR)Edom,
You who dwell in the land of Uz!
(FS)The cup shall also pass over to you
And you shall become drunk and make yourself naked.
22 (FT)The punishment of your iniquity [bc]is accomplished,
O daughter of Zion;
He will no longer send you into captivity.
(FU)He will punish your iniquity,
O daughter of Edom;
He will uncover your sins!
Prayer for Restoration
5 Remember, (FV)O Lord, what has come upon us;
Look, and behold (FW)our reproach!
2 (FX)Our inheritance has been turned over to aliens,
And our houses to foreigners.
3 We have become orphans and waifs,
Our mothers are like (FY)widows.
4 We pay for the water we drink,
And our wood comes at a price.
5 (FZ)They pursue at our [bd]heels;
We labor and have no rest.
6 (GA)We have given our hand (GB)to the Egyptians
And the (GC)Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread.
7 (GD)Our fathers sinned and are no more,
But we bear their iniquities.
8 Servants rule over us;
There is none to deliver us from their hand.
9 We get our bread at the risk of our lives,
Because of the sword in the wilderness.
10 Our skin is hot as an oven,
Because of the fever of famine.
11 They (GE)ravished the women in Zion,
The maidens in the cities of Judah.
12 Princes were hung up by their hands,
And elders were not respected.
13 Young men (GF)ground at the millstones;
Boys staggered under loads of wood.
14 The elders have ceased gathering at the gate,
And the young men from their (GG)music.
15 The joy of our heart has ceased;
Our dance has turned into (GH)mourning.
16 (GI)The crown has fallen from our head.
Woe to us, for we have sinned!
17 Because of this our heart is faint;
(GJ)Because of these things our eyes grow dim;
18 Because of Mount Zion which is (GK)desolate,
With foxes walking about on it.
19 You, O Lord, (GL)remain forever;
(GM)Your throne from generation to generation.
20 (GN)Why do You forget us forever,
And forsake us for so long a time?
21 (GO)Turn us back to You, O Lord, and we will be [be]restored;
Renew our days as of old,
22 Unless You have utterly rejected us,
And are very angry with us!
Footnotes
- Lamentations 1:1 Lit. forced laborer
- Lamentations 1:3 Gentiles
- Lamentations 1:4 appointed
- Lamentations 1:5 Lit. her head
- Lamentations 1:6 Lit. are gone
- Lamentations 1:7 Vg. Sabbaths
- Lamentations 1:8 LXX, Vg. moved or removed
- Lamentations 1:10 desirable
- Lamentations 1:10 holy place, the temple
- Lamentations 1:11 hunt food
- Lamentations 1:11 desirable things
- Lamentations 1:12 Lit. pass by this way
- Lamentations 1:14 So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Syr., Vg. watched over
- Lamentations 1:17 Prays
- Lamentations 1:18 Lit. mouth
- Lamentations 1:20 Lit. inward parts
- Lamentations 1:21 proclaimed
- Lamentations 2:3 Strength
- Lamentations 2:6 Lit. booth
- Lamentations 2:7 delivered
- Lamentations 2:8 determined
- Lamentations 2:9 Gentiles
- Lamentations 2:9 Prophetic revelation
- Lamentations 2:10 A sign of mourning
- Lamentations 2:11 Lit. inward parts
- Lamentations 2:11 Lit. liver
- Lamentations 2:13 Or bear witness to
- Lamentations 2:15 Lit. pass by this way
- Lamentations 2:17 Strength
- Lamentations 2:18 Lit. the daughter of your eye
- Lamentations 2:20 Vg. a span long
- Lamentations 3:5 hardship or weariness
- Lamentations 3:10 Lit. secret places
- Lamentations 3:13 Lit. sons of
- Lamentations 3:13 Lit. kidneys
- Lamentations 3:16 Lit. bent me down in
- Lamentations 3:17 Lit. good
- Lamentations 3:19 bitterness
- Lamentations 3:20 Lit. bowed down
- Lamentations 3:33 Lit. from His heart
- Lamentations 3:39 Or murmur
- Lamentations 3:53 LXX put to death
- Lamentations 3:53 Lit. a stone on
- Lamentations 3:59 Lit. my wrong
- Lamentations 3:65 A Jewish tradition sorrow of
- Lamentations 4:1 Lit. poured out
- Lamentations 4:2 Lit. Weighed against
- Lamentations 4:2 reckoned
- Lamentations 4:7 Or nobles
- Lamentations 4:7 Or purer
- Lamentations 4:7 Lit. polishing
- Lamentations 4:10 boiled
- Lamentations 4:16 Tg. anger
- Lamentations 4:18 Lit. hunted
- Lamentations 4:22 has been completed
- Lamentations 5:5 Lit. necks
- Lamentations 5:21 returned
Ezekiel 33-39
New King James Version
The Watchman and His Message
33 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, speak to (A)the children of your people, and say to them: (B)‘When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their (C)watchman, 3 when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people, 4 then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does (D)not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, (E)his blood shall be on his own head. 5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will [a]save his life. 6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, (F)he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.’
7 (G)“So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me. 8 When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you shall surely die!’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. 9 Nevertheless if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have [b]delivered your soul.
10 “Therefore you, O son of man, say to the house of Israel: ‘Thus you say, “If our transgressions and our sins lie upon us, and we (H)pine[c] away in them, (I)how can we then live?” ’ 11 Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, (J)‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked (K)turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For (L)why should you die, O house of Israel?’
The Fairness of God’s Judgment
12 “Therefore you, O son of man, say to the children of your people: ‘The (M)righteousness of the righteous man shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression; as for the wickedness of the wicked, (N)he shall not fall because of it in the day that he turns from his wickedness; nor shall the righteous be able to live because of his righteousness in the day that he sins.’ 13 When I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, (O)but he trusts in his own righteousness and commits iniquity, none of his righteous works shall be remembered; but because of the iniquity that he has committed, he shall die. 14 Again, (P)when I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ if he turns from his sin and does [d]what is lawful and [e]right, 15 if the wicked (Q)restores the pledge, (R)gives back what he has stolen, and walks in (S)the statutes of life without committing iniquity, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 16 (T)None of his sins which he has committed shall be remembered against him; he has done what is lawful and right; he shall surely live.
17 (U)“Yet the children of your people say, ‘The way of the Lord is not [f]fair.’ But it is their way which is not fair! 18 (V)When the righteous turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he shall die because of it. 19 But when the wicked turns from his wickedness and does what is lawful and right, he shall live because of it. 20 Yet you say, (W)‘The way of the Lord is not [g]fair.’ O house of Israel, I will judge every one of you according to his own ways.”
The Fall of Jerusalem
21 And it came to pass in the twelfth year (X)of our captivity, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, (Y)that one who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me and said, (Z)“The city has been [h]captured!”
22 Now (AA)the hand of the Lord had been upon me the evening before the man came who had escaped. And He had (AB)opened my mouth; so when he came to me in the morning, my mouth was opened, and I was no longer mute.
The Cause of Judah’s Ruin
23 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: 24 “Son of man, (AC)they who inhabit those (AD)ruins in the land of Israel are saying, (AE)‘Abraham was only one, and he inherited the land. (AF)But we are many; the land has been given to us as a (AG)possession.’
25 “Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: (AH)“You eat meat with blood, you (AI)lift up your eyes toward your idols, and (AJ)shed blood. Should you then possess the (AK)land? 26 You rely on your sword, you commit abominations, and you (AL)defile one another’s wives. Should you then possess the land?” ’
27 “Say thus to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “As I live, surely (AM)those who are in the ruins shall fall by the sword, and the one who is in the open field (AN)I will give to the beasts to be devoured, and those who are in the strongholds and (AO)caves shall die of the pestilence. 28 (AP)For I will make the land most desolate, [i]her (AQ)arrogant strength shall cease, and (AR)the mountains of Israel shall be so desolate that no one will pass through. 29 Then they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have made the land most desolate because of all their abominations which they have committed.” ’
Hearing and Not Doing
30 “As for you, son of man, the children of your people are talking about you beside the walls and in the doors of the houses; and they (AS)speak to one another, everyone saying to his brother, ‘Please come and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord.’ 31 So (AT)they come to you as people do, they (AU)sit before you as My people, and they (AV)hear your words, but they do not do them; (AW)for with their mouth they show much love, but (AX)their hearts pursue their own gain. 32 Indeed you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do (AY)not do them. 33 (AZ)And when this comes to pass—surely it will come—then (BA)they will know that a prophet has been among them.”
Irresponsible Shepherds
34 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God to the shepherds: (BB)“Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? 3 (BC)You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you (BD)slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock. 4 (BE)The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor (BF)sought what was lost; but with (BG)force and [j]cruelty you have ruled them. 5 (BH)So they were (BI)scattered because there was no shepherd; (BJ)and they became food for all the beasts of the field when they were scattered. 6 My sheep (BK)wandered through all the mountains, and on every high hill; yes, My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and no one was seeking or searching for them.”
7 ‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 8 “As I live,” says the Lord God, “surely because My flock became a prey, and My flock (BL)became food for every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, nor did My shepherds search for My flock, (BM)but the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock”— 9 therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the Lord! 10 Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am (BN)against the shepherds, and (BO)I will require My flock at their hand; I will cause them to cease feeding the sheep, and the shepherds shall (BP)feed themselves no more; for I will (BQ)deliver My flock from their mouths, that they may no longer be food for them.”
God, the True Shepherd
11 ‘For thus says the Lord God: “Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. 12 As a (BR)shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on (BS)a cloudy and dark day. 13 And (BT)I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land; I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, [k]in the valleys and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14 (BU)I will feed them in good pasture, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. (BV)There they shall lie down in a good fold and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down,” says the Lord God. 16 (BW)“I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick; but I will destroy (BX)the fat and the strong, and feed them (BY)in judgment.”
17 ‘And as for you, O My flock, thus says the Lord God: (BZ)“Behold, I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats. 18 Is it too little for you to have eaten up the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the [l]residue of your pasture—and to have drunk of the clear waters, that you must foul the residue with your feet? 19 And as for My flock, they eat what you have trampled with your feet, and they drink what you have fouled with your feet.”
20 ‘Therefore thus says the Lord God to them: (CA)“Behold, I Myself will judge between the fat and the lean sheep. 21 Because you have pushed with side and shoulder, butted all the weak ones with your horns, and scattered them abroad, 22 therefore I will save My flock, and they shall no longer be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep. 23 I will establish one (CB)shepherd over them, and he shall feed them—(CC)My servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd. 24 And (CD)I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant David (CE)a prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken.
25 (CF)“I will make a covenant of peace with them, and (CG)cause wild beasts to cease from the land; and they (CH)will dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. 26 I will make them and the places all around (CI)My hill (CJ)a blessing; and I will (CK)cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be (CL)showers of blessing. 27 Then (CM)the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase. They shall be safe in their land; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have (CN)broken the bands of their yoke and delivered them from the hand of those who (CO)enslaved them. 28 And they shall no longer be a prey for the nations, nor shall beasts of the land devour them; but (CP)they shall dwell safely, and no one shall make them afraid. 29 I will raise up for them a (CQ)garden[m] of renown, and they shall (CR)no longer be consumed with hunger in the land, (CS)nor bear the shame of the Gentiles anymore. 30 Thus they shall know that (CT)I, the Lord their God, am with them, and they, the house of Israel, are (CU)My people,” says the Lord God.’
31 “You are My (CV)flock, the flock of My pasture; you are men, and I am your God,” says the Lord God.
Judgment on Mount Seir
35 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, set your face against (CW)Mount Seir and (CX)prophesy against it, 3 and say to it, ‘Thus says the Lord God:
“Behold, O Mount Seir, I am against you;
(CY)I will stretch out My hand against you,
And make you [n]most desolate;
4 I shall lay your cities waste,
And you shall be desolate.
Then you shall know that I am the Lord.
5 (CZ)“Because you have had an [o]ancient hatred, and have shed the blood of the children of Israel by the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, (DA)when their iniquity came to an end, 6 therefore, as I live,” says the Lord God, “I will prepare you for (DB)blood, and blood shall pursue you; (DC)since you have not hated [p]blood, therefore blood shall pursue you. 7 Thus I will make Mount Seir [q]most desolate, and cut off from it the (DD)one who leaves and the one who returns. 8 And I will fill its mountains with the slain; on your hills and in your valleys and in all your ravines those who are slain by the sword shall fall. 9 (DE)I will make you [r]perpetually desolate, and your cities shall be uninhabited; (DF)then you shall know that I am the Lord.
10 “Because you have said, ‘These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will (DG)possess them,’ although (DH)the Lord was there, 11 therefore, as I live,” says the Lord God, “I will do (DI)according to your anger and according to the envy which you showed in your hatred against them; and I will make Myself known among them when I judge you. 12 (DJ)Then you shall know that I am the Lord. I have (DK)heard all your (DL)blasphemies which you have spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, ‘They are desolate; they are given to us to consume.’ 13 Thus (DM)with your mouth you have [s]boasted against Me and multiplied your (DN)words against Me; I have heard them.”
14 ‘Thus says the Lord God: (DO)“The whole earth will rejoice when I make you desolate. 15 (DP)As you rejoiced because the inheritance of the house of Israel was desolate, (DQ)so I will do to you; you shall be desolate, O Mount Seir, as well as all of Edom—all of it! Then they shall know that I am the Lord.” ’
Blessing on Israel
36 “And you, son of man, prophesy to the (DR)mountains of Israel, and say, ‘O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord! 2 Thus says the Lord God: “Because (DS)the enemy has said of you, ‘Aha! (DT)The [t]ancient heights (DU)have become our possession,’ ” ’ 3 therefore prophesy, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Because they made you desolate and swallowed you up on every side, so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations, (DV)and you are taken up by the lips of (DW)talkers and slandered by the people”— 4 therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God! Thus says the Lord God to the mountains, the hills, the [u]rivers, the valleys, the desolate wastes, and the cities that have been forsaken, which (DX)became plunder and (DY)mockery to the rest of the nations all around— 5 therefore thus says the Lord God: (DZ)“Surely I have spoken in My burning jealousy against the rest of the nations and against all Edom, (EA)who gave My land to themselves as a possession, with wholehearted joy and [v]spiteful minds, in order to plunder its open country.” ’
6 “Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to the mountains, the hills, the rivers, and the valleys, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I have spoken in My jealousy and My fury, because you have (EB)borne the shame of the nations.” 7 Therefore thus says the Lord God: “I have (EC)raised My hand in an oath that surely the nations that are around you shall (ED)bear their own shame. 8 But you, O mountains of Israel, you shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to My people Israel, for they are about to come. 9 For indeed I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown. 10 I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, all of it; and the cities shall be inhabited and (EE)the ruins rebuilt. 11 (EF)I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and [w]bear young; I will make you inhabited as in former times, and do (EG)better for you than at your beginnings. (EH)Then you shall know that I am the Lord. 12 Yes, I will cause men to walk on you, My people Israel; (EI)they shall take possession of you, and you shall be their inheritance; no more shall you (EJ)bereave them of children.”
13 ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Because they say to you, (EK)‘You devour men and bereave your nation of children,’ 14 therefore you shall devour men no more, nor bereave your nation anymore,” says the Lord God. 15 (EL)“Nor will I let you hear the taunts of the nations anymore, nor bear the reproach of the peoples anymore, nor shall you cause your nation to stumble anymore,” says the Lord God.’ ”
The Renewal of Israel
16 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying: 17 “Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, (EM)they defiled it by their own ways and deeds; to Me their way was like (EN)the uncleanness of a woman in her customary impurity. 18 Therefore I poured out My fury on them (EO)for the blood they had shed on the land, and for their idols with which they had defiled it. 19 So I (EP)scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed throughout the countries; I judged them (EQ)according to their ways and their deeds. 20 When they came to the nations, wherever they went, they (ER)profaned My holy name—when they said of them, ‘These are the people of the Lord, and yet they have gone out of His land.’ 21 But I had concern (ES)for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations wherever they went.
22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, (ET)but for My holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. 23 And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord,” says the Lord God, “when I am (EU)hallowed in you before their eyes. 24 For (EV)I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. 25 (EW)Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you (EX)from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a (EY)new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put My (EZ)Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. 28 (FA)Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; (FB)you shall be My people, and I will be your God. 29 I will (FC)deliver you from all your uncleannesses. (FD)I will call for the grain and multiply it, and (FE)bring no famine upon you. 30 (FF)And I will multiply the fruit of your trees and the increase of your fields, so that you need never again bear the reproach of famine among the nations. 31 Then (FG)you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good; and you (FH)will [x]loathe yourselves in your own sight, for your iniquities and your abominations. 32 (FI)Not for your sake do I do this,” says the Lord God, “let it be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel!”
33 ‘Thus says the Lord God: “On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will also enable you to dwell in the cities, (FJ)and the ruins shall be rebuilt. 34 The desolate land shall be tilled instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass by. 35 So they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of (FK)Eden; and the wasted, desolate, and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’ 36 Then the nations which are left all around you shall know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt the ruined places and planted what was desolate. (FL)I, the Lord, have spoken it, and I will do it.”
37 ‘Thus says the Lord God: (FM)“I will also let the house of Israel inquire of Me to do this for them: I will (FN)increase their men like a flock. 38 Like a [y]flock offered as holy sacrifices, like the flock at Jerusalem on its [z]feast days, so shall the ruined cities be filled with flocks of men. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”
The Dry Bones Live
37 The (FO)hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out (FP)in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. 2 Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. 3 And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
So I answered, “O Lord God, (FQ)You know.”
4 Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely I will (FR)cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. 6 I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. (FS)Then you shall know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them.
9 Also He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the [aa]breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God: (FT)“Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” ’ ” 10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, (FU)and [ab]breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.
11 Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the (FV)whole house of Israel. They indeed say, (FW)‘Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, (FX)O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and (FY)bring you into the land of Israel. 13 Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. 14 I (FZ)will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it,” says the Lord.’ ”
One Kingdom, One King
15 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 16 “As for you, son of man, (GA)take a stick for yourself and write on it: ‘For Judah and for (GB)the children of Israel, his companions.’ Then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel, his companions.’ 17 Then (GC)join them one to another for yourself into one stick, and they will become one in your hand.
18 “And when the children of your people speak to you, saying, (GD)‘Will you not show us what you mean by these?’— 19 (GE)say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Surely I will take (GF)the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions; and I will join them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one in My hand.” ’ 20 And the sticks on which you write will be in your hand (GG)before their eyes.
21 “Then say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Surely (GH)I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; 22 and (GI)I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and (GJ)one king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again. 23 (GK)They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but (GL)I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God.
24 (GM)“David My servant shall be king over them, and (GN)they shall all have one shepherd; (GO)they shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes, and do them. 25 (GP)Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob My servant, where your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children’s children, (GQ)forever; and (GR)My servant David shall be their prince forever. 26 Moreover I will [ac]make (GS)a covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; I will establish them and (GT)multiply them, and I will set My (GU)sanctuary in their midst forevermore. 27 (GV)My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed I will be (GW)their God, and they shall be My people. 28 (GX)The nations also will know that I, the Lord, (GY)sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.” ’ ”
Gog and Allies Attack Israel
38 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 (GZ)“Son of man, (HA)set your face against (HB)Gog, of the land of (HC)Magog, [ad]the prince of Rosh, (HD)Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, 3 and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. 4 (HE)I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and (HF)lead you out, with all your army, horses, and horsemen, (HG)all splendidly clothed, a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords. 5 Persia, [ae]Ethiopia, and [af]Libya are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; 6 (HH)Gomer and all its troops; the house of (HI)Togarmah from the far north and all its troops—many people are with you.
7 (HJ)“Prepare yourself and be ready, you and all your companies that are gathered about you; and be a guard for them. 8 (HK)After many days (HL)you will be visited. In the latter years you will come into the land of those brought back from the sword (HM)and gathered from many people on (HN)the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; they were brought out of the nations, and now all of them (HO)dwell safely. 9 You will ascend, coming (HP)like a storm, covering the (HQ)land like a cloud, you and all your troops and many peoples with you.”
10 ‘Thus says the Lord God: “On that day it shall come to pass that thoughts will arise in your mind, and you will make an evil plan: 11 You will say, ‘I will go up against a land of (HR)unwalled villages; I will (HS)go to a peaceful people, (HT)who dwell [ag]safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates’— 12 to take plunder and to take booty, to stretch out your hand against the waste places that are again inhabited, (HU)and against a people gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell in the midst of the land. 13 (HV)Sheba, (HW)Dedan, the merchants (HX)of Tarshish, and all (HY)their young lions will say to you, ‘Have you come to take plunder? Have you gathered your army to take booty, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to take great plunder?’ ” ’
14 “Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog, ‘Thus says the Lord God: (HZ)“On that day when My people Israel (IA)dwell safely, will you not know it? 15 (IB)Then you will come from your place out of the far north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a mighty army. 16 You will come up against My people Israel like a cloud, to cover the land. It will be in the latter days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may (IC)know Me, when I am (ID)hallowed in you, O Gog, before their eyes.” 17 Thus says the Lord God: “Are you he of whom I have spoken in former days by My servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied for years in those days that I would bring you against them?
Judgment on Gog
18 “And it will come to pass at the same time, when Gog comes against the land of Israel,” says the Lord God, “that My fury will show in My face. 19 For (IE)in My jealousy (IF)and in the fire of My wrath I have spoken: (IG)‘Surely in that day there shall be a great [ah]earthquake in the land of Israel, 20 so that (IH)the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all creeping things that creep on the earth, and all men who are on the face of the earth shall shake at My presence. (II)The mountains shall be thrown down, the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.’ 21 I will (IJ)call for (IK)a sword against Gog throughout all My mountains,” says the Lord God. (IL)“Every man’s sword will be against his brother. 22 And I will (IM)bring him to judgment with (IN)pestilence and bloodshed; (IO)I will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, flooding rain, (IP)great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. 23 Thus I will magnify Myself and (IQ)sanctify Myself, (IR)and I will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.” ’
Gog’s Armies Destroyed
39 “And (IS)you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, [ai]the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal; 2 and I will (IT)turn you around and lead you on, (IU)bringing you up from the far north, and bring you against the mountains of Israel. 3 Then I will knock the bow out of your left hand, and cause the arrows to fall out of your right hand. 4 (IV)You shall [aj]fall upon the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the peoples who are with you; (IW)I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. 5 You shall [ak]fall on [al]the open field; for I have spoken,” says the Lord God. 6 (IX)“And I will send fire on Magog and on those who live [am]in security in (IY)the coastlands. Then they shall know that I am the Lord. 7 (IZ)So I will make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel, and I will not let them (JA)profane My holy name anymore. (JB)Then the nations shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel. 8 (JC)Surely it is coming, and it shall be done,” says the Lord God. “This is the day (JD)of which I have spoken.
9 “Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out and set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and bucklers, the bows and arrows, the [an]javelins and spears; and they will make fires with them for seven years. 10 They will not take wood from the field nor cut down any from the forests, because they will make fires with the weapons; (JE)and they will plunder those who plundered them, and pillage those who pillaged them,” says the Lord God.
The Burial of Gog
11 “It will come to pass in that day that I will give Gog a burial place there in Israel, the valley of those who pass by east of the sea; and it will obstruct travelers, because there they will bury Gog and all his multitude. Therefore they will call it the Valley of [ao]Hamon Gog. 12 For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them, (JF)in order to cleanse the land. 13 Indeed all the people of the land will be burying, and they will gain (JG)renown for it on the day that (JH)I am glorified,” says the Lord God. 14 “They will set apart men regularly employed, with the help of [ap]a search party, to pass through the land and bury those bodies remaining on the ground, in order (JI)to cleanse it. At the end of seven months they will make a search. 15 The search party will pass through the land; and when anyone sees a man’s bone, he shall [aq]set up a marker by it, till the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon Gog. 16 The name of the city will also be [ar]Hamonah. Thus they shall (JJ)cleanse the land.” ’
A Triumphant Festival
17 “And as for you, son of man, thus says the Lord God, (JK)‘Speak to every sort of bird and to every beast of the field:
(JL)“Assemble yourselves and come;
Gather together from all sides to My (JM)sacrificial meal
Which I am sacrificing for you,
A great sacrificial meal (JN)on the mountains of Israel,
That you may eat flesh and drink blood.
18 (JO)You shall eat the flesh of the mighty,
Drink the blood of the princes of the earth,
Of rams and lambs,
Of goats and bulls,
All of them (JP)fatlings of Bashan.
19 You shall eat fat till you are full,
And drink blood till you are drunk,
At My sacrificial meal
Which I am sacrificing for you.
20 (JQ)You shall be filled at My table
With horses and riders,
(JR)With mighty men
And with all the men of war,” says the Lord God.
Israel Restored to the Land
21 (JS)“I will set My glory among the nations; all the nations shall see My judgment which I have executed, and (JT)My hand which I have laid on them. 22 (JU)So the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day forward. 23 (JV)The Gentiles shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity; because they were unfaithful to Me, therefore (JW)I hid My face from them. I (JX)gave them into the hand of their enemies, and they all fell by the sword. 24 (JY)According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I have dealt with them, and hidden My face from them.” ’
25 “Therefore thus says the Lord God: (JZ)‘Now I will bring back the captives of Jacob, and have mercy on the (KA)whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name— 26 (KB)after they have borne their shame, and all their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, when they (KC)dwelt safely in their own land and no one made them afraid. 27 (KD)When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and I (KE)am hallowed in them in the sight of many nations, 28 (KF)then they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who sent them into captivity among the nations, but also brought them back to their land, and left none of them [as]captive any longer. 29 (KG)And I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have (KH)poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,’ says the Lord God.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 33:5 Or deliver his soul
- Ezekiel 33:9 Or saved your life
- Ezekiel 33:10 Or waste away
- Ezekiel 33:14 justice
- Ezekiel 33:14 righteousness
- Ezekiel 33:17 Or equitable
- Ezekiel 33:20 Or equitable
- Ezekiel 33:21 Lit. struck down
- Ezekiel 33:28 Lit. pride of her strength
- Ezekiel 34:4 harshness or rigor
- Ezekiel 34:13 Or by the streams
- Ezekiel 34:18 remainder
- Ezekiel 34:29 Lit. planting place
- Ezekiel 35:3 Lit. a desolation and a waste
- Ezekiel 35:5 Or everlasting
- Ezekiel 35:6 Or bloodshed
- Ezekiel 35:7 Lit. a waste and a desolation
- Ezekiel 35:9 Lit. desolated forever
- Ezekiel 35:13 Lit. made yourself great
- Ezekiel 36:2 Or everlasting
- Ezekiel 36:4 Or ravines
- Ezekiel 36:5 Lit. scorning souls
- Ezekiel 36:11 Lit. be fruitful
- Ezekiel 36:31 despise
- Ezekiel 36:38 Lit. holy flock
- Ezekiel 36:38 appointed feasts
- Ezekiel 37:9 Breath of life
- Ezekiel 37:10 Breath of life
- Ezekiel 37:26 Lit. cut
- Ezekiel 38:2 Tg., Vg., Aquila the chief prince of Meshech, also v. 3
- Ezekiel 38:5 Heb. Cush
- Ezekiel 38:5 Heb. Put
- Ezekiel 38:11 securely
- Ezekiel 38:19 Lit. shaking
- Ezekiel 39:1 Tg., Vg., Aquila the chief prince of Meshech
- Ezekiel 39:4 Be slain
- Ezekiel 39:5 Be slain
- Ezekiel 39:5 Lit. the face of the field
- Ezekiel 39:6 securely or confidently
- Ezekiel 39:9 Lit. hand staffs
- Ezekiel 39:11 Lit. The Multitude of Gog
- Ezekiel 39:14 Lit. those who pass through
- Ezekiel 39:15 build
- Ezekiel 39:16 Lit. Multitude
- Ezekiel 39:28 Lit. there
Daniel 1-4
New King James Version
Daniel and His Friends Obey God(A)
1 In the third year of the reign of (B)Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with (C)some of the articles of [a]the house of God, which he carried (D)into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; (E)and he brought the articles into the treasure house of his god.
3 Then the king instructed Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, to bring (F)some of the children of Israel and some of the king’s descendants and some of the nobles, 4 young men (G)in whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the king’s palace, and (H)whom they might teach the language and [b]literature of the Chaldeans. 5 And the king appointed for them a daily provision of the king’s delicacies and of the wine which he drank, and three years of training for them, so that at the end of that time they might (I)serve before the king. 6 Now from among those of the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 7 (J)To them the chief of the eunuchs gave names: (K)he gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abed-Nego.
8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself (L)with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. 9 Now (M)God had brought Daniel into the favor and [c]goodwill of the chief of the eunuchs. 10 And the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who has appointed your food and drink. For why should he see your faces looking worse than the young men who are your age? Then you would endanger my head before the king.”
11 So Daniel said to [d]the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 “Please test your servants for ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then let our appearance be examined before you, and the appearance of the young men who eat the portion of the king’s delicacies; and as you see fit, so deal with your servants.” 14 So he consented with them in this matter, and tested them ten days.
15 And at the end of ten days their features appeared better and fatter in flesh than all the young men who ate the portion of the king’s delicacies. 16 Thus [e]the steward took away their portion of delicacies and the wine that they were to drink, and gave them vegetables.
17 As for these four young men, (N)God gave them (O)knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom; and Daniel had (P)understanding in all visions and dreams.
18 Now at the end of the days, when the king had said that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. 19 Then the king [f]interviewed them, and among them all none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; therefore (Q)they served before the king. 20 (R)And in all matters of wisdom and understanding about which the king examined them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in all his realm. 21 (S)Thus Daniel continued until the first year of King Cyrus.
Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream
2 Now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; (T)and his spirit was so troubled that (U)his sleep left him. 2 (V)Then the king gave the command to call the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. 3 And the king said to them, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to [g]know the dream.”
4 Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, (W)“O[h] king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.”
5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “My [i]decision is firm: if you do not make known the dream to me, and its interpretation, you shall be (X)cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made an ash heap. 6 (Y)However, if you tell the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts, rewards, and great honor. Therefore tell me the dream and its interpretation.”
7 They answered again and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will give its interpretation.”
8 The king answered and said, “I know for certain that you would gain time, because you see that my decision is firm: 9 if you do not make known the dream to me, there is only one decree for you! For you have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the [j]time has changed. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can [k]give me its interpretation.”
10 The Chaldeans answered the king, and said, “There is not a man on earth who can tell the king’s matter; therefore no king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such things of any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean. 11 It is a [l]difficult thing that the king requests, and there is no other who can tell it to the king (Z)except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”
12 For this reason the king was angry and very furious, and gave the command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. 13 So the decree went out, and they began killing the wise men; and they sought (AA)Daniel and his companions, to kill them.
God Reveals Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream
14 Then with counsel and wisdom Daniel answered Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon; 15 he answered and said to Arioch the king’s captain, “Why is the decree from the king so [m]urgent?” Then Arioch made the decision known to Daniel.
16 So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him time, that he might tell the king the interpretation. 17 Then Daniel went to his house, and made the decision known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, 18 (AB)that they might seek mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret, so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19 Then the secret was revealed to Daniel (AC)in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
20 Daniel answered and said:
(AD)“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,
(AE)For wisdom and might are His.
21 And He changes (AF)the times and the seasons;
(AG)He removes kings and raises up kings;
(AH)He gives wisdom to the wise
And knowledge to those who have understanding.
22 (AI)He reveals deep and secret things;
(AJ)He knows what is in the darkness,
And (AK)light dwells with Him.
23 “I thank You and praise You,
O God of my fathers;
You have given me wisdom and might,
And have now made known to me what we (AL)asked of You,
For You have made known to us the king’s [n]demand.”
Daniel Explains the Dream
24 Therefore Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; take me before the king, and I will tell the king the interpretation.”
25 Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king, and said thus to him, “I have found a man of the [o]captives of Judah, who will make known to the king the interpretation.”
26 The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen, and its interpretation?”
27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, “The secret which the king has demanded, the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers cannot declare to the king. 28 (AM)But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar (AN)what will be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, were these: 29 As for you, O king, thoughts came to your mind while on your bed, about what would come to pass after this; (AO)and He who reveals secrets has made known to you what will be. 30 (AP)But as for me, this secret has not been revealed to me because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but for our sakes who make known the interpretation to the king, (AQ)and that you may [p]know the thoughts of your heart.
31 “You, O king, were watching; and behold, a great image! This great image, whose splendor was excellent, stood before you; and its form was awesome. 32 (AR)This image’s head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and [q]thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of [r]clay. 34 You watched while a stone was cut out (AS)without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. 35 (AT)Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became (AU)like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that (AV)no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image (AW)became a great mountain (AX)and filled the whole earth.
36 “This is the dream. Now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king. 37 (AY)You, O king, are a king of kings. (AZ)For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory; 38 (BA)and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all—(BB)you are this head of gold. 39 But after you shall arise (BC)another kingdom (BD)inferior to yours; then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. 40 And (BE)the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others. 41 Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, (BF)so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly [s]fragile. 43 As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay. 44 And in the days of these kings (BG)the God of heaven will set up a kingdom (BH)which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; (BI)it shall [t]break in pieces and [u]consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. 45 (BJ)Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold—the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.”
Daniel and His Friends Promoted
46 (BK)Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, prostrate before Daniel, and commanded that they should present an offering (BL)and incense to him. 47 The king answered Daniel, and said, “Truly (BM)your God is the God of (BN)gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret.” 48 (BO)Then the king promoted Daniel (BP)and gave him many great gifts; and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and (BQ)chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon. 49 Also Daniel petitioned the king, (BR)and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel (BS)sat in [v]the gate of the king.
The Image of Gold
3 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was [w]sixty cubits and its width six cubits. He set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. 2 And King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to gather together the satraps, the administrators, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 3 So the satraps, the administrators, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered together for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 4 Then a herald cried [x]aloud: “To you it is commanded, (BT)O peoples, nations, and languages, 5 that at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, you shall fall down and worship the gold image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up; 6 and whoever does not fall down and worship shall (BU)be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.”
7 So at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the horn, flute, harp, and lyre, in symphony with all kinds of music, all the people, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the gold image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
Daniel’s Friends Disobey the King
8 Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans (BV)came forward and accused the Jews. 9 They spoke and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, (BW)“O king, live forever! 10 You, O king, have made a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the gold image; 11 and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. 12 (BX)There are certain Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego; these men, O king, have (BY)not paid due regard to you. They do not serve your gods or worship the gold image which you have set up.”
13 Then Nebuchadnezzar, in (BZ)rage and fury, gave the command to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. So they brought these men before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up? 15 Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, (CA)good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. (CB)And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?”
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, (CC)we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If that is the case, our (CD)God whom we serve is able to (CE)deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. 18 But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we (CF)worship the gold image which you have set up.”
Saved in Fiery Trial
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. 20 And he commanded certain mighty men of valor who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, and cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21 Then these men were bound in their coats, their trousers, their turbans, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 22 Therefore, because the king’s command was [y]urgent, and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his [z]counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?”
They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.”
25 “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, (CG)walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like (CH)the[aa] Son of God.”
Nebuchadnezzar Praises God
26 Then Nebuchadnezzar went near the [ab]mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke, saying, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, servants of the (CI)Most High God, come out, and come here.” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego came from the midst of the fire. 27 And the satraps, administrators, governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together, and they saw these men (CJ)on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them.
28 Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His (CK)Angel[ac] and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God! 29 (CL)Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the (CM)God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego shall be (CN)cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made an ash heap; (CO)because there is no other God who can deliver like this.”
30 Then the king [ad]promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego in the province of Babylon.
Nebuchadnezzar’s Second Dream
4 Nebuchadnezzar the king,
(CP)To all peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth:
Peace be multiplied to you.
2 I thought it good to declare the signs and wonders (CQ)that the Most High God has worked for me.
3 (CR)How great are His signs,
And how mighty His wonders!
His kingdom is (CS)an everlasting kingdom,
And His dominion is from generation to generation.
4 I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at rest in my house, and flourishing in my palace. 5 I saw a dream which made me afraid, (CT)and the thoughts on my bed and the visions of my head (CU)troubled me. 6 Therefore I issued a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. 7 (CV)Then the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers came in, and I told them the dream; but they did not make known to me its interpretation. 8 But at last Daniel came before me (CW)(his name is Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god; (CX)in him is the Spirit of the Holy God), and I told the dream before him, saying: 9 “Belteshazzar, (CY)chief of the magicians, because I know that the Spirit of the Holy God is in you, and no secret troubles you, explain to me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and its interpretation.
10 “These were the visions of my head while on my bed:
I was looking, and behold,
(CZ)A tree in the midst of the earth,
And its height was great.
11 The tree grew and became strong;
Its height reached to the heavens,
And it could be seen to the ends of all the earth.
12 Its leaves were lovely,
Its fruit abundant,
And in it was food for all.
(DA)The beasts of the field found shade under it,
The birds of the heavens dwelt in its branches,
And all flesh was fed from it.
13 “I saw in the visions of my head while on my bed, and there was (DB)a watcher, (DC)a holy one, coming down from heaven. 14 He cried [ae]aloud and said thus:
(DD)‘Chop down the tree and cut off its branches,
Strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit.
(DE)Let the beasts get out from under it,
And the birds from its branches.
15 Nevertheless leave the stump and roots in the earth,
Bound with a band of iron and bronze,
In the tender grass of the field.
Let it be wet with the dew of heaven,
And let him graze with the beasts
On the grass of the earth.
16 Let his heart be changed from that of a man,
Let him be given the heart of a beast,
And let seven (DF)times[af] pass over him.
17 ‘This decision is by the decree of the watchers,
And the sentence by the word of the holy ones,
In order (DG)that the living may know
(DH)That the Most High rules in the kingdom of men,
(DI)Gives it to whomever He will,
And sets over it the (DJ)lowest of men.’
18 “This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen. Now you, Belteshazzar, declare its interpretation, (DK)since all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation; but you are able, (DL)for the Spirit of the Holy God is in you.”
Daniel Explains the Second Dream
19 Then Daniel, (DM)whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonished for a time, and his thoughts (DN)troubled him. So the king spoke, and said, “Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its interpretation trouble you.”
Belteshazzar answered and said, “My lord, may (DO)the dream [ag]concern those who hate you, and its interpretation [ah]concern your enemies!
20 (DP)“The tree that you saw, which grew and became strong, whose height reached to the heavens and which could be seen by all the earth, 21 whose leaves were lovely and its fruit abundant, in which was food for all, under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and in whose branches the birds of the heaven had their home— 22 (DQ)it is you, O king, who have grown and become strong; for your greatness has grown and reaches to the heavens, (DR)and your dominion to the end of the earth.
23 (DS)“And inasmuch as the king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave its stump and roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze in the tender grass of the field; let it be wet with the dew of heaven, (DT)and let him graze with the beasts of the field, till seven [ai]times pass over him’; 24 this is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king: 25 They shall (DU)drive you from men, your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make you (DV)eat grass like oxen. They shall wet you with the dew of heaven, and seven [aj]times shall pass over you, (DW)till you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and (DX)gives it to whomever He chooses.
26 “And inasmuch as they gave the command to leave the stump and roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be assured to you, after you come to know that (DY)Heaven[ak] rules. 27 Therefore, O king, let my advice be acceptable to you; (DZ)break off your sins by being righteous, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor. (EA)Perhaps there may be (EB)a [al]lengthening of your prosperity.”
Nebuchadnezzar’s Humiliation
28 All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. 29 At the end of the twelve months he was walking [am]about the royal palace of Babylon. 30 The king (EC)spoke, saying, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?”
31 (ED)While the word was still in the king’s mouth, (EE)a voice fell from heaven: “King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you! 32 And (EF)they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen; and seven [an]times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.”
33 That very hour the word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar; he was driven from men and ate grass like oxen; his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.
Nebuchadnezzar Praises God
34 And (EG)at the end of the [ao]time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him (EH)who lives forever:
For His dominion is (EI)an everlasting dominion,
And His kingdom is from generation to generation.
35 (EJ)All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing;
(EK)He does according to His will in the army of heaven
And among the inhabitants of the earth.
(EL)No one can restrain His hand
Or say to Him, (EM)“What have You done?”
36 At the same time my reason returned to me, (EN)and for the glory of my kingdom, my honor and splendor returned to me. My counselors and nobles resorted to me, I was (EO)restored to my kingdom, and excellent majesty was (EP)added to me. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, (EQ)praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, (ER)all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. (ES)And those who walk in pride He is able to put down.
Footnotes
- Daniel 1:2 The temple
- Daniel 1:4 Lit. writing or book
- Daniel 1:9 kindness
- Daniel 1:11 Or Melzar
- Daniel 1:16 Or Melzar
- Daniel 1:19 Lit. talked with them
- Daniel 2:3 Or understand
- Daniel 2:4 The original language of Daniel 2:4b through 7:28 is Aramaic.
- Daniel 2:5 The command
- Daniel 2:9 Situation
- Daniel 2:9 Or declare to me
- Daniel 2:11 Or rare
- Daniel 2:15 Or harsh
- Daniel 2:23 Lit. word
- Daniel 2:25 Lit. sons of the captivity
- Daniel 2:30 Understand
- Daniel 2:32 Or sides
- Daniel 2:33 Or baked clay, also vv. 34, 35, 42
- Daniel 2:42 Or brittle
- Daniel 2:44 Or crush
- Daniel 2:44 Lit. put an end to
- Daniel 2:49 The king’s court
- Daniel 3:1 About 90 feet
- Daniel 3:4 Lit. with strength
- Daniel 3:22 Or harsh
- Daniel 3:24 High officials
- Daniel 3:25 Or a son of the gods
- Daniel 3:26 Lit. door
- Daniel 3:28 Or angel
- Daniel 3:30 Lit. caused to prosper
- Daniel 4:14 Lit. with strength
- Daniel 4:16 Possibly years
- Daniel 4:19 be for
- Daniel 4:19 for
- Daniel 4:23 Possibly years
- Daniel 4:25 Possibly years
- Daniel 4:26 God
- Daniel 4:27 prolonging
- Daniel 4:29 Or upon
- Daniel 4:32 Possibly years
- Daniel 4:34 Lit. days
Obadiah
New King James Version
The Coming Judgment on Edom
1 The vision of Obadiah.
Thus says the Lord God (A)concerning Edom
(B)(We have heard a report from the Lord,
And a messenger has been sent among the nations, saying,
“Arise, and let us rise up against her for battle”):
2 “Behold, I will make you small among the nations;
You shall be greatly despised.
3 The (C)pride of your heart has deceived you,
You who dwell in the clefts of the rock,
Whose habitation is high;
(D)You who say in your heart, ‘Who will bring me down to the ground?’
4 (E)Though you ascend as high as the eagle,
And though you (F)set your nest among the stars,
From there I will bring you down,” says the Lord.
5 “If (G)thieves had come to you,
If robbers by night—
Oh, how you will be cut off!—
Would they not have stolen till they had enough?
If grape-gatherers had come to you,
(H)Would they not have left some gleanings?
6 “Oh, how Esau shall be searched out!
How his hidden treasures shall be sought after!
7 All the men in your confederacy
Shall force you to the border;
(I)The men at peace with you
Shall deceive you and prevail against you.
Those who eat your bread shall lay a [a]trap for you.
(J)No[b] one is aware of it.
8 “Will(K) I not in that day,” says the Lord,
“Even destroy the wise men from Edom,
And understanding from the mountains of Esau?
9 Then your (L)mighty men, O (M)Teman, shall be dismayed,
To the end that everyone from the mountains of Esau
May be cut off by slaughter.
Edom Mistreated His Brother
10 “For (N)violence against your brother Jacob,
Shame shall cover you,
And (O)you shall be cut off forever.
11 In the day that you (P)stood on the other side—
In the day that strangers carried captive his forces,
When foreigners entered his gates
And (Q)cast lots for Jerusalem—
Even you were as one of them.
12 “But you should not have (R)gazed[c] on the day of your brother
[d]In the day of his captivity;
Nor should you have (S)rejoiced over the children of Judah
In the day of their destruction;
Nor should you have spoken proudly
In the day of distress.
13 You should not have entered the gate of My people
In the day of their calamity.
Indeed, you should not have [e]gazed on their affliction
In the day of their calamity,
Nor laid hands on their substance
In the day of their calamity.
14 You should not have stood at the crossroads
To cut off those among them who escaped;
Nor should you have [f]delivered up those among them who remained
In the day of distress.
15 “For(T) the day of the Lord upon all the nations is near;
(U)As you have done, it shall be done to you;
Your [g]reprisal shall return upon your own head.
16 (V)For as you drank on My holy mountain,
So shall all the nations drink continually;
Yes, they shall drink, and swallow,
And they shall be as though they had never been.
Israel’s Final Triumph
17 “But on Mount Zion there (W)shall be [h]deliverance,
And there shall be holiness;
The house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.
18 The house of Jacob shall be a fire,
And the house of Joseph (X)a flame;
But the house of Esau shall be stubble;
They shall kindle them and devour them,
And no survivor shall remain of the house of Esau,”
For the Lord has spoken.
19 The [i]South (Y)shall possess the mountains of Esau,
(Z)And the Lowland shall possess Philistia.
They shall possess the fields of Ephraim
And the fields of Samaria.
Benjamin shall possess Gilead.
20 And the captives of this host of the children of Israel
Shall possess the land of the Canaanites
As (AA)far as Zarephath.
The captives of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad
(AB)Shall possess the cities of the [j]South.
21 Then (AC)saviors[k] shall come to Mount Zion
To judge the mountains of Esau,
And the (AD)kingdom shall be the Lord’s.
Footnotes
- Obadiah 1:7 Or wound or plot
- Obadiah 1:7 Or There is no understanding in him
- Obadiah 1:12 Gloated over
- Obadiah 1:12 Lit. On the day he became a foreigner
- Obadiah 1:13 Gloated over
- Obadiah 1:14 Handed over to the enemy
- Obadiah 1:15 Or reward
- Obadiah 1:17 Or salvation
- Obadiah 1:19 Heb. Negev
- Obadiah 1:20 Heb. Negev
- Obadiah 1:21 deliverers
Revelation 14-20
New King James Version
The Lamb and the 144,000
14 Then I looked, and behold, [a]a (A)Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him (B)one hundred and forty-four thousand, [b]having His Father’s name (C)written on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a voice from heaven, (D)like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder. And I heard the sound of (E)harpists playing their harps. 3 They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, and the elders; and no one could learn that song (F)except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth. 4 These are the ones who were not defiled with women, (G)for they are virgins. These are the ones (H)who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These (I)were [c]redeemed from among men, (J)being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. 5 And (K)in their mouth was found no [d]deceit, for (L)they are without fault [e]before the throne of God.
The Proclamations of Three Angels
6 Then I saw another angel (M)flying in the midst of heaven, (N)having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—(O)to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people— 7 saying with a loud voice, (P)“Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; (Q)and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.”
8 And another angel followed, saying, (R)“Babylon[f] is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because (S)she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.”
9 Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, (T)“If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his (U)mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he himself (V)shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is (W)poured out full strength into (X)the cup of His indignation. (Y)He shall be tormented with (Z)fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And (AA)the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”
12 (AB)Here is the [g]patience of the saints; (AC)here[h] are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
13 Then I heard a voice from heaven saying [i]to me, “Write: (AD)‘Blessed are the dead (AE)who die in the Lord from now on.’ ”
“Yes,” says the Spirit, (AF)“that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow (AG)them.”
Reaping the Earth’s Harvest
14 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. 15 And another angel (AH)came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, (AI)“Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come [j]for You to reap, for the harvest (AJ)of the earth is ripe.” 16 So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.
Reaping the Grapes of Wrath
17 Then another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
18 And another angel came out from the altar, (AK)who had power over fire, and he cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, (AL)“Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe.” 19 So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into (AM)the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20 And (AN)the winepress was trampled (AO)outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, (AP)up to the horses’ bridles, for one thousand six hundred [k]furlongs.
Prelude to the Bowl Judgments
15 Then (AQ)I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous: (AR)seven angels having the seven last plagues, (AS)for in them the wrath of God is complete.
2 And I saw something like (AT)a sea of glass (AU)mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, (AV)over his image and [l]over his mark and over the (AW)number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, (AX)having harps of God. 3 They sing (AY)the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the (AZ)Lamb, saying:
(BA)“Great and marvelous are Your works,
Lord God Almighty!
(BB)Just and true are Your ways,
O King of the [m]saints!
4 (BC)Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name?
For You alone are (BD)holy.
For (BE)all nations shall come and worship before You,
For Your judgments have been manifested.”
5 After these things I looked, and [n]behold, (BF)the [o]temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened. 6 And out of the [p]temple came the seven angels having the seven plagues, (BG)clothed in pure bright linen, and having their chests girded with golden bands. 7 (BH)Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God (BI)who lives forever and ever. 8 (BJ)The temple was filled with smoke (BK)from the glory of God and from His power, and no one was able to enter the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.
The Seven Bowls
16 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying (BL)to the seven angels, “Go and pour out the [q]bowls (BM)of the wrath of God on the earth.”
First Bowl: Loathsome Sores
2 So the first went and poured out his bowl (BN)upon the earth, and a [r]foul and (BO)loathsome sore came upon the men (BP)who had the mark of the beast and those (BQ)who worshiped his image.
Second Bowl: The Sea Turns to Blood
3 Then the second angel poured out his bowl (BR)on the sea, and (BS)it became blood as of a dead man; (BT)and every living creature in the sea died.
Third Bowl: The Waters Turn to Blood
4 Then the third angel poured out his bowl (BU)on the rivers and springs of water, (BV)and they became blood. 5 And I heard the angel of the waters saying:
(BW)“You are righteous, [s]O Lord,
The One (BX)who is and who [t]was and who is to be,
Because You have judged these things.
6 For (BY)they have shed the blood (BZ)of saints and prophets,
(CA)And You have given them blood to drink.
[u]For it is their just due.”
7 And I heard [v]another from the altar saying, “Even so, (CB)Lord God Almighty, (CC)true and righteous are Your judgments.”
Fourth Bowl: Men Are Scorched
8 Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl (CD)on the sun, (CE)and power was given to him to scorch men with fire. 9 And men were scorched with great heat, and they (CF)blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; (CG)and they did not repent (CH)and give Him glory.
Fifth Bowl: Darkness and Pain
10 Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl (CI)on the throne of the beast, (CJ)and his kingdom became full of darkness; (CK)and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain. 11 They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.
Sixth Bowl: Euphrates Dried Up
12 Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl (CL)on the great river Euphrates, (CM)and its water was dried up, (CN)so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared. 13 And I saw three unclean (CO)spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of (CP)the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of (CQ)the false prophet. 14 For they are spirits of demons, (CR)performing signs, which go out to the kings [w]of the earth and of (CS)the whole world, to gather them to (CT)the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
15 (CU)“Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, (CV)lest he walk naked and they see his shame.”
16 (CW)And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, [x]Armageddon.
Seventh Bowl: The Earth Utterly Shaken
17 Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, (CX)“It is done!” 18 And (CY)there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; (CZ)and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake (DA)as had not occurred since men were on the earth. 19 Now (DB)the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And (DC)great Babylon (DD)was remembered before God, (DE)to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. 20 Then (DF)every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. 21 And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great.
The Scarlet Woman and the Scarlet Beast
17 Then (DG)one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying [y]to me, “Come, (DH)I will show you the judgment of (DI)the great harlot (DJ)who sits on many waters, 2 (DK)with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and (DL)the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.”
3 So he carried me away in the Spirit (DM)into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting (DN)on a scarlet beast which was full of (DO)names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman (DP)was arrayed in purple and scarlet, (DQ)and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, (DR)having in her hand a golden cup (DS)full of abominations and the filthiness of [z]her fornication. 5 And on her forehead a name was written:
(DT)MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT,
THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS
AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS
OF THE EARTH.
6 I saw (DU)the woman, drunk (DV)with the blood of the saints and with the blood of (DW)the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.
The Meaning of the Woman and the Beast
7 But the angel said to me, “Why did you marvel? I will tell you the [aa]mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns. 8 The beast that you saw was, and is not, and (DX)will ascend out of the bottomless pit and (DY)go to [ab]perdition. And those who (DZ)dwell on the earth (EA)will marvel, (EB)whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and [ac]yet is.
9 (EC)“Here is the mind which has wisdom: (ED)The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. 10 There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must (EE)continue a short time. 11 The (EF)beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to [ad]perdition.
12 (EG)“The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. 13 These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. 14 (EH)These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will (EI)overcome them, (EJ)for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; (EK)and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.”
15 Then he said to me, (EL)“The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, (EM)are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues. 16 And the ten horns which you [ae]saw on the beast, (EN)these will hate the harlot, make her (EO)desolate (EP)and naked, eat her flesh and (EQ)burn her with fire. 17 (ER)For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, (ES)until the words of God are fulfilled. 18 And the woman whom you saw (ET)is that great city (EU)which reigns over the kings of the earth.”
The Fall of Babylon the Great
18 After(EV) these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, (EW)and the earth was illuminated with his glory. 2 And he cried [af]mightily with a loud voice, saying, (EX)“Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and (EY)has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and (EZ)a cage for every unclean and hated bird! 3 For all the nations (FA)have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, (FB)and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the [ag]abundance of her luxury.”
4 And I heard another voice from heaven saying, (FC)“Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. 5 (FD)For her sins [ah]have reached to heaven, and (FE)God has remembered her iniquities. 6 (FF)Render to her just as she rendered [ai]to you, and repay her double according to her works; (FG)in the cup which she has mixed, (FH)mix double for her. 7 (FI)In the measure that she glorified herself and lived [aj]luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow; for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as (FJ)queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.’ 8 Therefore her plagues will come (FK)in one day—death and mourning and famine. And (FL)she will be utterly burned with fire, (FM)for strong is the Lord God who [ak]judges her.
The World Mourns Babylon’s Fall
9 (FN)“The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her (FO)will weep and lament for her, (FP)when they see the smoke of her burning, 10 standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, (FQ)‘Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! (FR)For in one hour your judgment has come.’
11 “And (FS)the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore: 12 (FT)merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet, every kind of citron wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of most precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble; 13 and cinnamon and incense, fragrant oil and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and bodies and (FU)souls of men. 14 The fruit that your soul longed for has gone from you, and all the things which are rich and splendid have [al]gone from you, and you shall find them no more at all. 15 The merchants of these things, who became rich by her, will stand at a distance for fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, 16 and saying, ‘Alas, alas, (FV)that great city (FW)that was clothed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls! 17 (FX)For in one hour such great riches [am]came to nothing.’ (FY)Every shipmaster, all who travel by ship, sailors, and as many as trade on the sea, stood at a distance 18 (FZ)and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, (GA)‘What is like this great city?’
19 (GB)“They threw dust on their heads and cried out, weeping and wailing, and saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city, in which all who had ships on the sea became rich by her wealth! (GC)For in one hour she [an]is made desolate.’
20 (GD)“Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you [ao]holy apostles and prophets, for (GE)God has avenged you on her!”
Finality of Babylon’s Fall
21 Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, (GF)“Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down, and (GG)shall not be found anymore. 22 (GH)The sound of harpists, musicians, flutists, and trumpeters shall not be heard in you anymore. No craftsman of any craft shall be found in you anymore, and the sound of a millstone shall not be heard in you anymore. 23 (GI)The light of a lamp shall not shine in you anymore, (GJ)and the voice of bridegroom and bride shall not be heard in you anymore. For (GK)your merchants were the great men of the earth, (GL)for by your sorcery all the nations were deceived. 24 And (GM)in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who (GN)were slain on the earth.”
Heaven Exults over Babylon
19 After these things (GO)I [ap]heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Alleluia! (GP)Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to [aq]the Lord our God! 2 For (GQ)true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He (GR)has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her.” 3 Again they said, “Alleluia! (GS)Her smoke rises up forever and ever!” 4 And (GT)the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, (GU)“Amen! Alleluia!” 5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying, (GV)“Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, (GW)both[ar] small and great!”
6 (GX)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 (GY)the[as] Lord God Omnipotent reigns! 7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for (GZ)the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” 8 And (HA)to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, (HB)for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
9 Then he said to me, “Write: (HC)‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, (HD)“These are the true sayings of God.” 10 And (HE)I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, (HF)“See that you do not do that! I am your (HG)fellow servant, and of your brethren (HH)who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the (HI)testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
Christ on a White Horse
11 (HJ)Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, (HK)a white horse. And He who sat on him was called (HL)Faithful and True, and (HM)in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 (HN)His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. (HO)He [at]had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 13 (HP)He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called (HQ)The Word of God. 14 (HR)And the armies in heaven, (HS)clothed in [au]fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 15 Now (HT)out of His mouth goes a [av]sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And (HU)He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. (HV)He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And (HW)He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:
(HX)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, (HY)“Come and gather together for the [aw]supper of the great God, 18 (HZ)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, [ax]free and slave, both small and great.”
19 (IA)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 (IB)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 (IC)those who worshiped his image. (ID)These two were cast alive into the lake of fire (IE)burning with brimstone. 21 And the rest (IF)were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. (IG)And all the birds (IH)were filled with their flesh.
Satan Bound 1,000 Years
20 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, (II)having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 He laid hold of (IJ)the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and (IK)set a seal on him, (IL)so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.
The Saints Reign with Christ 1,000 Years
4 And I saw (IM)thrones, and they sat on them, and (IN)judgment was committed to them. Then I saw (IO)the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, (IP)who had not worshiped the beast (IQ)or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they (IR)lived and (IS)reigned with Christ for [ay]a thousand years. 5 But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such (IT)the second death has no power, but they shall be (IU)priests of God and of Christ, (IV)and shall reign with Him a thousand years.
Satanic Rebellion Crushed(IW)
7 Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out (IX)to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, (IY)Gog and Magog, (IZ)to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. 9 (JA)They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. 10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone (JB)where[az] the beast and the false prophet are. And they (JC)will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
The Great White Throne Judgment
11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face (JD)the earth and the heaven fled away. (JE)And there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, (JF)small and great, standing before [ba]God, (JG)and books were opened. And another (JH)book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged (JI)according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, (JJ)and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. (JK)And they were judged, each one according to his works. 14 Then (JL)Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. (JM)This is the second [bb]death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life (JN)was cast into the lake of fire.
Footnotes
- Revelation 14:1 NU, M the
- Revelation 14:1 NU, M add His name and
- Revelation 14:4 M adds by Jesus
- Revelation 14:5 NU, M falsehood
- Revelation 14:5 NU, M omit the rest of v. 5.
- Revelation 14:8 NU Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, which has made; M Babylon the great is fallen. She has made
- Revelation 14:12 steadfastness, perseverance
- Revelation 14:12 NU, M omit here are those
- Revelation 14:13 NU, M omit to me
- Revelation 14:15 NU, M omit for You
- Revelation 14:20 Lit. stadia, about 184 miles in all
- Revelation 15:2 NU, M omit over his mark
- Revelation 15:3 NU, M nations
- Revelation 15:5 NU, M omit behold
- Revelation 15:5 sanctuary, the inner shrine
- Revelation 15:6 sanctuary, the inner shrine
- Revelation 16:1 NU, M seven bowls
- Revelation 16:2 severe and malignant, lit. bad and evil
- Revelation 16:5 NU, M omit O Lord
- Revelation 16:5 NU, M was, the Holy One
- Revelation 16:6 NU, M omit For
- Revelation 16:7 NU, M omit another from
- Revelation 16:14 NU, M omit of the earth and
- Revelation 16:16 Lit. Mount Megiddo; M Megiddo
- Revelation 17:1 NU, M omit to me
- Revelation 17:4 M the fornication of the earth
- Revelation 17:7 hidden truth
- Revelation 17:8 destruction
- Revelation 17:8 NU, M shall be present
- Revelation 17:11 destruction
- Revelation 17:16 NU, M saw, and the beast
- Revelation 18:2 NU, M omit mightily
- Revelation 18:3 Lit. strengths
- Revelation 18:5 NU, M have been heaped up
- Revelation 18:6 NU, M omit to you
- Revelation 18:7 sensually
- Revelation 18:8 NU, M has judged
- Revelation 18:14 NU, M been lost to you
- Revelation 18:17 have been laid waste
- Revelation 18:19 have been laid waste
- Revelation 18:20 NU, M saints and apostles
- Revelation 19:1 NU, M add something like
- Revelation 19:1 NU, M omit the Lord
- Revelation 19:5 NU, M omit both
- Revelation 19:6 NU, M our
- Revelation 19:12 M adds names written, and
- Revelation 19:14 NU, M pure white linen
- Revelation 19:15 M sharp two-edged
- Revelation 19:17 NU, M great supper of God
- Revelation 19:18 NU, M both free
- Revelation 20:4 M the
- Revelation 20:10 NU, M where also
- Revelation 20:12 NU, M the throne
- Revelation 20:14 NU, M death, the lake of fire.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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