The Angel and the Little Scroll

10 I saw another ^(A)strong angel ^(B)coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud; and the ^(C)rainbow was on his head, and ^(D)his face was like the sun, and his ^(E)feet like pillars of fire; ² and he had in his hand a ^(F)little scroll, which was open. He placed ^(G)his right foot on the sea and his left on the land; ³ and he cried out with a loud voice, ^(H)as when a lion roars; and when he had cried out, the ^(I)seven peals of thunder ^[a]uttered their voices. ⁴ When the seven peals of thunder had spoken, ^(J)I was about to write; and I ^(K)heard a voice from heaven, saying, “^(L)Seal up the things which the seven peals of thunder have spoken, and do not write them.” ⁵ Then the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land ^(M)raised his right hand to heaven, ^6 (N)and swore by ^(O)Him who lives forever and ever, ^(P)who created heaven and the things in it, and the earth and the things in it, and the sea and the things in it, that ^(Q)there will no longer be a delay, ⁷ but in the days of the voice of the ^(R)seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then ^(S)the mystery of God is finished, as He announced to His servants the prophets.

⁸ Then ^(T)the voice which I heard from heaven, I heard again speaking with me, and saying, “Go, take ^(U)the scroll which is open in the hand of the angel who ^(V)stands on the sea and on the land.” ⁹ And I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little scroll. And he *said to me, “^(W)Take it and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” ¹⁰ I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it, and in my mouth it was sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter. ¹¹ And ^(X)they *said to me, “You must ^(Y)prophesy again concerning ^(Z)many peoples, nations, languages, and ^(AA)kings.”

The Whole Creation Invoked to Praise the Lord.

Jonah’s Displeasure Rebuked

4 But it greatly displeased Jonah, and he became ^(A)angry. ² Then he ^(B)prayed to the Lord and said, “Please Lord, was this not ^[a]what I said when I was still in my own country? Therefore in anticipation of this I ^(C)fled to Tarshish, since I knew that You are a ^(D)gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in mercy, and One who relents of disaster. ³ So now, Lord, please ^(E)take my ^[b]life from me, for death is ^(F)better to me than life.” ⁴ But the Lord said, “Do you have a good reason to be angry?”

⁵ Then Jonah left the city and sat down east of ^[c]it. There he made a shelter for himself and ^(G)sat under it in the shade, until he could see what would happen in the city. ⁶ So the Lord God designated a ^[d]plant, and it grew up over Jonah to be a shade over his head, to ^[e]relieve him of his discomfort. And Jonah ^[f]was overjoyed about the plant. ⁷ But God designated a worm when dawn came the next day, and it attacked the plant and it ^(H)withered. ⁸ And when the sun came up God designated a scorching ^(I)east wind, and the ^(J)sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he became faint, and he begged with all his soul to die, saying, “^(K)Death is better to me than life!”

⁹ But God said to Jonah, “Do you have a good reason to be angry about the plant?” And he said, “I have good reason to be angry, even to the point of death!” ¹⁰ Then the Lord said, “You had compassion on the plant, for which you did not work and which you did not cause to grow, which ^[g]came up overnight and perished ^[h]overnight. ¹¹ Should I not also ^(L)have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 people, who do not ^(M)know the difference between their right hand and their left, as well as many ^(N)animals?”

Destruction in Israel and Judah

1 The ^(A)word of the Lord which came to ^(B)Micah of Moresheth in the days of ^(C)Jotham, ^(D)Ahaz, and ^(E)Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and which he saw regarding Samaria and Jerusalem.

Woe to Oppressors

³ Therefore this is what the Lord says: