The Two Witnesses

11 Then I was given a measuring stick like a rod. I was told, “Go and measure the temple^[a] of God and the altar, and count the number of people worshiping there. ² But do not measure the yard outside the temple. Leave it alone. It has been given to the people who are not Jews. They will walk on the holy city for 42 months. ³ And I will give power to my two witnesses to prophesy for 1,260 days. They will be dressed in rough cloth to show how sad they are.”

⁴ These two witnesses are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. ⁵ If anyone tries to hurt the witnesses, fire comes from their mouths and kills their enemies. Anyone who tries to hurt them will die like this. ⁶ These witnesses have the power to stop the sky from raining during the time they are prophesying. They have power to make the waters become blood. They have power to send every kind of trouble to the earth. They can do this as many times as they want.

⁷ When the two witnesses have finished telling their message, the beast will fight against them. This is the beast that comes up from the bottomless pit. He will defeat them and kill them. ⁸ The bodies of the two witnesses will lie in the street of the great city. This city is named Sodom^[b] and Egypt. These names for the city have a special meaning. It is the city where the Lord was killed. ⁹ Men from every race of people, tribe, language, and nation will look at the bodies of the two witnesses for three and a half days. They will refuse to bury them. ¹⁰ People who live on the earth will be happy because these two are dead. They will have parties and send each other gifts. They will do these things because these two prophets brought much suffering to those who live on the earth.