Zechariah 9-10
English Standard Version
Judgment on Israel's Enemies
9 The oracle of the word of the Lord is against the land of Hadrach
and (A)Damascus is its resting place.
For the Lord has an eye on mankind
and on all the tribes of Israel,[a]
2 (B)and on Hamath also, which borders on it,
(C)Tyre and (D)Sidon, though (E)they are very wise.
3 Tyre has built herself (F)a rampart
and (G)heaped up silver like dust,
and fine gold like the mud of the streets.
4 But behold, the Lord will strip her of her possessions
and strike down (H)her power on the sea,
and (I)she shall be devoured by fire.
5 (J)Ashkelon shall see it, and be afraid;
Gaza too, and shall writhe in anguish;
Ekron also, because its hopes are confounded.
The king shall perish from Gaza;
Ashkelon shall be uninhabited;
6 (K)a mixed people[b] shall dwell in Ashdod,
and I will cut off the pride of Philistia.
7 I will take away (L)its blood from its mouth,
and (M)its abominations from between its teeth;
(N)it too shall be a remnant for our God;
it shall be like (O)a clan in Judah,
and Ekron shall be like the Jebusites.
8 Then (P)I will encamp at my house as a guard,
(Q)so that none shall march to and fro;
(R)no oppressor shall again march over them,
(S)for now I see with my own eyes.
The Coming King of Zion
9 (T)Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
(U)Behold, (V)your king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he,
(W)humble and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
10 (X)I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
and (Y)the war horse from Jerusalem;
and the battle bow shall be cut off,
and (Z)he shall speak peace to the nations;
(AA)his rule shall be from sea to sea,
and from (AB)the River[c] to the ends of the earth.
11 As for you also, because of (AC)the blood of my covenant with you,
(AD)I will set your prisoners free from (AE)the waterless pit.
12 Return to your stronghold, O (AF)prisoners of hope;
today I declare that (AG)I will restore to you double.
13 For (AH)I have bent Judah as my bow;
I have made Ephraim its arrow.
I will stir up your sons, O Zion,
against your sons, (AI)O Greece,
and wield you like a warrior's sword.
The Lord Will Save His People
14 Then the Lord will appear over them,
and (AJ)his arrow will go forth like lightning;
(AK)the Lord God will sound the trumpet
and will march forth in (AL)the whirlwinds (AM)of the south.
15 The Lord of hosts (AN)will protect them,
and (AO)they shall devour, (AP)and tread down the sling stones,
and (AQ)they shall drink and roar as if drunk with wine,
and be full like a bowl,
drenched (AR)like the corners of the altar.
16 On that day the Lord their God will save them,
as (AS)the flock of his people;
for (AT)like the jewels of a crown
they shall shine on his land.
17 (AU)For how great is his goodness, and how great his beauty!
(AV)Grain shall make the young men flourish,
and new wine the young women.
The Restoration for Judah and Israel
10 Ask rain (AW)from the Lord
in the season of (AX)the spring rain,
from the Lord (AY)who makes the storm clouds,
and (AZ)he will give them showers of rain,
to everyone the vegetation in the field.
2 For (BA)the household gods (BB)utter nonsense,
and the diviners see lies;
(BC)they tell false dreams
and give empty consolation.
Therefore (BD)the people wander like sheep;
they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd.
3 (BE)“My anger is hot against the shepherds,
and (BF)I will punish the leaders;[d]
for (BG)the Lord of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah,
and will make them like his majestic steed in battle.
4 From him shall come (BH)the cornerstone,
from him (BI)the tent peg,
from him the battle bow,
from him every ruler—(BJ)all of them together.
5 They shall be like mighty men in battle,
(BK)trampling the foe in the mud of the streets;
they shall fight because the Lord is with them,
and they shall put to shame (BL)the riders on horses.
6 (BM)“I will strengthen the house of Judah,
and (BN)I will save the house of Joseph.
(BO)I will bring them back (BP)because I have compassion on them,
and they shall be as though I had not rejected them,
for (BQ)I am the Lord their God and I will answer them.
7 Then Ephraim shall become like a mighty warrior,
and (BR)their hearts shall be glad as with wine.
Their children shall see it and be glad;
their hearts shall rejoice in the Lord.
8 (BS)“I will whistle for them and (BT)gather them in,
for I have redeemed them,
and (BU)they shall be as many as they were before.
9 (BV)Though I scattered them among the nations,
yet in far countries (BW)they shall remember me,
and with their children they shall live and return.
10 (BX)I will bring them home from the land of Egypt,
and gather them from Assyria,
and (BY)I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon,
(BZ)till there is no room for them.
11 (CA)He shall pass through the sea of troubles
and strike down the waves of the sea,
(CB)and all the depths of the Nile shall be dried up.
The pride of Assyria shall be laid low,
and (CC)the scepter of Egypt shall depart.
12 (CD)I will make them strong in the Lord,
and (CE)they shall walk in his name,”
declares the Lord.
Footnotes
- Zechariah 9:1 Or For the eye of mankind, especially of all the tribes of Israel, is toward the Lord
- Zechariah 9:6 Or a foreign people; Hebrew a bastard
- Zechariah 9:10 That is, the Euphrates
- Zechariah 10:3 Hebrew the male goats
Revelation 18
English Standard Version
The Fall of Babylon
18 After this I saw (A)another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and (B)the earth was made bright with his glory. 2 And he called out with a mighty voice,
(C)“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!
She has become (D)a dwelling place for demons,
a haunt (E)for every unclean spirit,
a haunt (F)for every unclean bird,
a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast.
3 For all nations have drunk[a]
(G)the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality,
and (H)the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her,
and (I)the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living.”
4 Then I heard another voice from heaven saying,
(J)“Come out of her, my people,
lest you take part in her sins,
lest you share in her plagues;
5 for (K)her sins are heaped high as heaven,
and (L)God has remembered her iniquities.
6 (M)Pay her back as she herself has paid back others,
and repay her (N)double for her deeds;
mix a double portion for her (O)in the cup she mixed.
7 (P)As she glorified herself and lived in luxury,
so give her a like measure of torment and mourning,
since in her heart she says,
(Q)‘I sit as a queen,
I am no widow,
and mourning I shall never see.’
8 For this reason her plagues will come (R)in a single day,
death and mourning and famine,
and (S)she will be burned up with fire;
for (T)mighty is the Lord God who has judged her.”
9 And (U)the kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her, (V)will weep and wail over her (W)when they see the smoke of her burning. 10 (X)They will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say,
“Alas! Alas! (Y)You great city,
you mighty city, Babylon!
For (Z)in a single hour your judgment has come.”
11 And (AA)the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore, 12 cargo of gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, all kinds of scented wood, all kinds of articles of ivory, all kinds of articles of costly wood, bronze, iron and marble, 13 cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls.[b]
14 “The fruit for which your soul longed
has gone from you,
and all your delicacies and your splendors
are lost to you,
never to be found again!”
15 (AB)The merchants of these wares, who gained wealth from her, (AC)will stand far off, in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud,
16 “Alas, alas, for the great city
(AD)that was clothed in fine linen,
in purple and scarlet,
adorned with gold,
with jewels, and with pearls!
17 For (AE)in a single hour all this wealth (AF)has been laid waste.”
And (AG)all shipmasters and seafaring men, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off 18 and (AH)cried out (AI)as they saw the smoke of her burning,
(AJ)“What city was like the great city?”
19 And they threw (AK)dust on their heads as they wept and mourned, crying out,
“Alas, alas, for the great city
(AL)where all who had ships at sea
grew rich by her wealth!
For (AM)in a single hour she has been laid waste.
20 (AN)Rejoice over her, O heaven,
and you saints and (AO)apostles and prophets,
for (AP)God has given judgment for you against her!”
21 Then (AQ)a mighty angel (AR)took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,
“So will Babylon (AS)the great city be thrown down with violence,
and will be found no more;
22 and (AT)the sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters,
will be heard in you no more,
and a craftsman of any craft
will be found in you no more,
and (AU)the sound of the mill
will be heard in you no more,
23 and the light of a lamp
will shine in you no more,
and (AV)the voice of bridegroom and bride
will be heard in you no more,
for (AW)your merchants were the great ones of the earth,
and all nations were deceived (AX)by your sorcery.
24 And (AY)in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints,
and of (AZ)all who have been slain on earth.”
Footnotes
- Revelation 18:3 Some manuscripts fallen by
- Revelation 18:13 Or and slaves, and human lives
Psalm 147:15-20
English Standard Version
15 He (A)sends out his command to the earth;
his word runs swiftly.
16 He gives (B)snow like wool;
he scatters (C)frost like ashes.
17 He hurls down his crystals of (D)ice like crumbs;
who can stand before his (E)cold?
18 He (F)sends out his word, and melts them;
he makes his wind blow and the waters flow.
19 He declares his word to Jacob,
his (G)statutes and rules[a] to Israel.
20 He (H)has not dealt thus with any other nation;
they do not know his rules.[b]
(I)Praise the Lord!
Footnotes
- Psalm 147:19 Or and just decrees
- Psalm 147:20 Or his just decrees
Proverbs 31:19-21
English Standard Version
19 She puts her hands to the distaff,
and her hands hold the spindle.
20 She (A)opens her hand to (B)the poor
and reaches out her hands to (C)the needy.
21 She is not afraid of snow for her household,
for all her household are clothed in (D)scarlet.[a]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 31:21 Or in double thickness
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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