Wisdom’s Invitation

Wisdom has (A)built her house,
She has carved out her seven pillars;
She has [a](B)prepared her food, she has (C)mixed her wine;
She has also (D)set her table;
She has (E)sent out her attendants, she (F)calls out
From the (G)tops of the heights of the city:
(H)Whoever is naive, let him turn in here!”
To him who (I)lacks [b]understanding she says,
“Come, (J)eat of my food
And drink of the wine I have mixed.
[c]Abandon your foolishness and (K)live,
And (L)proceed in the way of understanding.”

One who (M)corrects a scoffer gets dishonor for himself,
And one who rebukes a wicked person gets [d]insults for himself.
(N)Do not rebuke a scoffer, or he will hate you;
(O)Rebuke a wise person and he will love you.
Give instruction to a wise person and he will become still wiser;
Teach a righteous person and he will (P)increase his insight.
10 The (Q)fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
11 For (R)by me your days will be multiplied,
And years of life will be added to you.
12 If you are wise, you are wise (S)for yourself,
And if you (T)scoff, you alone will [e]suffer from it.

13 [f]A woman of foolishness is (U)boisterous,
She has a lack of understanding and (V)knows nothing.
14 She sits at the doorway of her house,
On a seat by (W)the high places of the city,
15 Calling to those who pass by,
Who are going straight on their paths:
16 (X)Whoever is naive, let him turn in here,”
And to him who lacks [g]understanding she says,
17 “Stolen water is sweet;
And (Y)bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”
18 But he does not know that the [h]dead are there,
That her guests are in the (Z)depths of Sheol.

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 9:2 Lit slaughtered her slaughter
  2. Proverbs 9:4 Lit heart
  3. Proverbs 9:6 Or Abandon the naive
  4. Proverbs 9:7 Lit a blemish
  5. Proverbs 9:12 Lit bear
  6. Proverbs 9:13 Or A foolish woman
  7. Proverbs 9:16 Lit heart
  8. Proverbs 9:18 Lit departed spirits

The Sorrows of Zion

How (A)lonely sits the city
That once had (B)many people!
She has become like a (C)widow
Who was once (D)great among the nations!
She who was a princess among the [a]provinces
Has become a (E)forced laborer!
She (F)weeps bitterly in the night,
And her tears are on her cheeks;
She has no one to comfort her
Among all her (G)lovers.
All her friends have (H)dealt treacherously with her;
They have become her enemies.
(I)Judah has gone into exile out of affliction
And [b]harsh servitude;
She lives (J)among the nations,
But she has not found a resting place;
All those who (K)pursued her have overtaken her
In the midst of [c]distress.
The roads [d]of Zion are in mourning
Because (L)no one comes to an appointed feast.
All her gates are (M)deserted;
Her priests groan,
Her (N)virgins are worried,
And as for Zion herself, it is (O)bitter for her.
Her adversaries have become [e]her masters,
Her enemies are [f]secure;
For the Lord has [g](P)caused her grief
Because of the multitude of her wrongdoings;
Her little ones have gone away
As captives [h]led by the enemy.
All of her (Q)splendor
Is gone from the daughter of Zion;
Her leaders have become like deer
That have found no pasture,
And they have [i](R)fled without strength
[j]From the pursuer.
In the days of her affliction and homelessness
(S)Jerusalem remembers all her treasures
That were hers since the days of old,
When her people fell into the hand of the adversary
And (T)no one helped her.
The adversaries saw her,
They (U)laughed at her [k]ruin.
Jerusalem sinned (V)greatly,
Therefore (W)she has become an [l]object of ridicule.
All who honored her despise her
Because they have seen her nakedness;
Even (X)she herself groans and turns away.
Her (Y)uncleanness was in her garment’s seams;
She [m]did not think of her (Z)future.
So she has [n](AA)fallen in an astonishing way;
(AB)She has no comforter.
(AC)See, Lord, my affliction,
For the enemy has [o](AD)honored himself!”
10 The adversary has stretched out his hand
Over all her precious things,
For she has seen the (AE)nations enter her sanctuary,
The ones whom You commanded
That they were (AF)not to enter Your congregation.
11 All her people groan, (AG)seeking bread;
They have given their treasures for food
To (AH)restore their [p]lives.
“See, Lord, and look,
For I am (AI)despised.”
12 Is it (AJ)nothing to all you who pass this way?
Look and see if there is any pain like my pain
Which was inflicted on me,
With which the (AK)Lord tormented me on the day of His (AL)fierce anger.
13 From [q]the height He sent fire into my (AM)bones,
And it dominated them.
He has spread a (AN)net for my feet;
He has turned me back;
He has made me (AO)desolate,
[r]Faint all day long.
14 The (AP)yoke of my wrongdoings is bound;
By His hand they are woven together.
They have (AQ)come upon my neck;
He has made my strength [s]fail.
The Lord (AR)has handed me over
To those against whom I am not able to stand.
15 The (AS)Lord has thrown away all my strong men
In my midst;
He has called an appointed [t]time against me
To crush my (AT)young men;
The Lord has (AU)trodden as in a wine press
The virgin daughter of Judah.
16 For these things I (AV)weep;
[u]My eyes run down with water;
Because far from me is a (AW)comforter,
One to restore my soul.
My children are desolate
Because the enemy has prevailed.”
17 Zion (AX)stretches out with her hands;
There is no one to comfort her;
The Lord has (AY)commanded regarding Jacob
That those around him become his adversaries;
(AZ)Jerusalem has become a filthy thing among them.
18 “The Lord is (BA)righteous,
For I have (BB)rebelled against His [v]command;
Hear now, all peoples,
And (BC)see my pain;
(BD)My virgins and my young men
Have gone into captivity.
19 I (BE)called to my lovers, but they deserted me;
My (BF)priests and my elders perished in the city
While they sought food to (BG)restore their [w]strength themselves.
20 See, Lord, for I am in distress;
My [x](BH)spirit is greatly troubled;
My heart is overturned within me,
For I have been very (BI)rebellious.
In the street the sword has made women childless;
In the house it is like death.
21 They have heard that I (BJ)groan;
There is no one to comfort me,
All my enemies have heard of my disaster;
They are (BK)joyful that You have done it.
Oh, that You would bring the day which You have proclaimed,
So that they will become (BL)like me.
22 May all their wickedness come before You;
And (BM)deal with them just as You have dealt with me
For all my wrongdoings.
For my groans are many and my heart is faint.”

Footnotes

  1. Lamentations 1:1 Or districts
  2. Lamentations 1:3 Lit great
  3. Lamentations 1:3 Or narrow places
  4. Lamentations 1:4 Or to
  5. Lamentations 1:5 Lit head
  6. Lamentations 1:5 Or at ease
  7. Lamentations 1:5 Or tormented her
  8. Lamentations 1:5 Lit before
  9. Lamentations 1:6 Lit gone
  10. Lamentations 1:6 Lit Before
  11. Lamentations 1:7 Lit cessation
  12. Lamentations 1:8 Or abomination
  13. Lamentations 1:9 Or remember her final end
  14. Lamentations 1:9 Lit gone down
  15. Lamentations 1:9 Or boasted
  16. Lamentations 1:11 Lit soul
  17. Lamentations 1:13 I.e., heaven
  18. Lamentations 1:13 Or Sick
  19. Lamentations 1:14 Lit falter
  20. Lamentations 1:15 Another reading is feast
  21. Lamentations 1:16 Lit My eye, my eye
  22. Lamentations 1:18 Lit mouth
  23. Lamentations 1:19 Lit soul
  24. Lamentations 1:20 Lit inward parts are in ferment

God’s Anger over Israel

How the Lord has [a](A)covered the daughter of Zion
With a cloud in His anger!
He has (B)hurled
The (C)glory of Israel from heaven to earth,
And has not remembered His (D)footstool
In the day of His anger.
The Lord has [b](E)destroyed; He has not spared
All the settlements of Jacob.
In His wrath He has (F)overthrown
The strongholds of the daughter of Judah,
He has (G)hurled them down to the ground;
He has (H)profaned the kingdom and its leaders.
In fierce anger He has cut off
[c]All the (I)strength of Israel;
He has (J)pulled back His right hand
From the enemy.
And He has (K)burned in Jacob like a flaming fire
Consuming on all sides.
He has bent His (L)bow like an enemy;
His right hand is positioned like an adversary,
And He has killed everything that was (M)pleasant to the eye.
In the tent of the daughter of Zion
He has (N)poured out His wrath like fire.
The Lord has become like an (O)enemy.
He has (P)engulfed Israel;
He has engulfed all its (Q)palaces,
He has destroyed its strongholds
And (R)caused great mourning and grieving in the daughter of Judah.
And He has treated His [d]tabernacle violently, like a despised garden;
He has (S)destroyed His appointed [e]meeting place.
The Lord has (T)caused
The appointed feast and Sabbath in Zion to be forgotten,
And He has (U)despised king and priest
In the indignation of His anger.
The Lord has (V)rejected His altar,
He has [f]repudiated His sanctuary;
He (W)has handed over
The walls of her palaces to the enemy.
They have made a (X)noise in the house of the Lord
As on the day of an appointed feast.
The Lord determined to destroy
The wall of the daughter of Zion.
He has (Y)stretched out a line,
He has not restrained His hand from [g]destroying,
And He has (Z)caused rampart and wall to mourn;
They have languished together.
Her (AA)gates have sunk into the ground,
He has destroyed and broken her bars.
Her king and her leaders are among the nations;
The (AB)Law is gone.
Her prophets, too, find
(AC)No vision from the Lord.
10 The elders of the daughter of Zion
(AD)Sit on the ground and [h](AE)are silent.
They have thrown (AF)dust on their heads;
They have put on (AG)sackcloth.
The (AH)virgins of Jerusalem
Have bowed their heads to the ground.
11 My (AI)eyes fail because of tears,
My [i](AJ)spirit is greatly troubled;
My [j](AK)heart is poured out on the earth
(AL)Because of the [k]destruction of the daughter of my people,
When (AM)little ones and infants languish
In the streets of the city.
12 They say to their mothers,
(AN)Where is grain and wine?”
As they faint like a wounded person
In the streets of the city,
As their (AO)lives are poured out
[l]In their mothers’ arms.
13 How shall I admonish you?
What (AP)shall I compare to you,
Daughter of Jerusalem?
What shall I liken to you as I comfort you,
(AQ)Virgin daughter of Zion?
For your collapse is as vast as the sea;
Who can (AR)heal you?
14 Your (AS)prophets have seen for you
Worthless and deceptive visions;
And they have not (AT)exposed your wrongdoing
So as to restore you from captivity,
But they have (AU)seen for you worthless and misleading pronouncements.
15 All who pass along the way
(AV)Clap their hands in ridicule at you;
They (AW)[m]hiss and shake their heads
At the daughter of Jerusalem:
“Is this the city of which they said,
(AX)Perfect in beauty,
(AY)A joy to all the earth’?”
16 All (AZ)your enemies
Have opened their mouths wide against you;
They [n]hiss and (BA)gnash their teeth.
They say, “We have (BB)engulfed her!
This certainly is the (BC)day which we awaited;
We have reached it, we have seen it!”
17 The Lord has (BD)done what He determined;
He has accomplished His word
Which He commanded from days of old.
He has torn down (BE)without sparing,
And He has helped the enemy to (BF)rejoice over you;
He has (BG)exalted the [o]might of your adversaries.
18 Their (BH)heart cried out to the Lord:
“You (BI)wall of the daughter of Zion,
Let your (BJ)tears stream down like a river day and night;
Give yourself no relief,
Let [p]your eyes have no rest.
19 Arise, whimper in the (BK)night
At the beginning of the night watches;
(BL)Pour out your heart like water
Before the presence of the Lord;
Raise your hands to Him
For the (BM)life of your little ones
Who (BN)languish because of hunger
At the head of every street.
20 See, Lord, and look!
With (BO)whom have You dealt this way?
Should women really (BP)eat their [q]children,
The little ones who were [r]born healthy?
Should (BQ)priest and prophet really be killed
In the sanctuary of the Lord?
21 On the ground in the streets
Lie (BR)young and old;
My (BS)virgins and my young men
Have fallen by the sword.
You have put them to death on the day of Your anger,
You have slaughtered, (BT)without sparing.
22 You called as on the day of an appointed feast
My (BU)terrors on every side;
And there was (BV)no one who survived or escaped
On the day of the Lords anger.
As for those (BW)whom I brought forth healthy and whom I raised,
My enemy annihilated them.”

Footnotes

  1. Lamentations 2:1 Or scorned...Zion in His anger
  2. Lamentations 2:2 Lit engulfed
  3. Lamentations 2:3 Lit Every horn
  4. Lamentations 2:6 Or booth
  5. Lamentations 2:6 Or feast
  6. Lamentations 2:7 I.e., scornfully rejected
  7. Lamentations 2:8 Lit engulfing
  8. Lamentations 2:10 Another reading is wail
  9. Lamentations 2:11 Lit inward parts are in ferment
  10. Lamentations 2:11 Lit liver
  11. Lamentations 2:11 Lit breaking
  12. Lamentations 2:12 Lit on...breast
  13. Lamentations 2:15 Or whistle
  14. Lamentations 2:16 Or whistle
  15. Lamentations 2:17 Lit horn
  16. Lamentations 2:18 Lit the daughter of your eye
  17. Lamentations 2:20 Lit fruit
  18. Lamentations 2:20 Or tenderly cared for

Edom Will Be Humbled

The vision of Obadiah.

This is what the Lord [a]God says concerning (A)Edom—

(B)We have heard a report from the Lord,
And a (C)messenger has been sent among the nations saying,
(D)Arise, and let’s go up against her for battle”—
“Behold, I will make you (E)small among the nations;
You are greatly despised.
The (F)arrogance of your heart has deceived you,
The one who lives in the clefts of [b]the (G)rock,
On the height of his dwelling place,
Who says in his heart,
(H)Who will bring me down to earth?’
Though you (I)make your home high like the eagle,
Though you set your nest among the (J)stars,
From there I will bring you down,” declares the Lord.
“If (K)thieves came to you,
If [c]robbers by night—
Oh how you will be ruined!—
Would they not steal only [d]until they had enough?
If grape-pickers came to you,
(L)Would they not leave some gleanings?
Oh how Esau will be (M)searched,
And his hidden treasures searched out!
All the (N)people [e]allied with you
Will send you to the border,
And the people at peace with you
Will deceive you and overpower you.
They who eat your (O)bread
Will set an ambush for you.
(There is (P)no understanding [f]in him.)
Will I not on that day,” declares the Lord,
(Q)Eliminate wise men from Edom,
And understanding from the mountain of Esau?
Then your (R)warriors will be filled with terror, (S)Teman,
So that everyone will be (T)eliminated from the mountain of Esau by murder.

10 “Because of (U)violence to your brother Jacob,
Shame will cover you,
(V)And you will be eliminated forever.
11 On the day that you (W)stood aloof,
On the day that strangers carried off his wealth,
And foreigners entered his gate
And (X)cast lots for Jerusalem—
(Y)You too were as one of them.
12 (Z)Do not [g]gloat over your brother’s day,
The day of his misfortune.
And (AA)do not rejoice over the sons of Judah
On the day of their destruction;
Yes, (AB)do not [h]boast
On the day of their distress.
13 Do not enter the gate of My people
On the (AC)day of their disaster.
You indeed, do not [i]gloat over their catastrophe
On the day of their disaster.
And do not (AD)lay a hand on their wealth
On the day of their disaster.
14 Do not (AE)stand at the crossroads
To eliminate their survivors;
And do not hand over their refugees
On the day of their distress.

The Day of the Lord and the Future

15 “For the (AF)day of the Lord is near for all the nations.
(AG)Just as you have done, it will be done to you.
Your (AH)dealings will return on your own head.
16 For just as you (AI)drank on (AJ)My holy mountain,
All the nations (AK)will drink continually.
They will drink [j]to the last drop,
And become as if they had never existed.
17 But on Mount (AL)Zion there will be those who escape,
And it will be holy.
And the house of Jacob will [k](AM)possess their [l]property.
18 Then the house of Jacob will be a (AN)fire,
And the house of Joseph a flame;
But the house of Esau will be like stubble.
And they will set [m]them on fire and consume [n]them,
So that there will be (AO)no survivor of the house of Esau,”
For the Lord has spoken.
19 Then those of the [o]Negev will [p](AP)possess the mountain of Esau,
And those of the [q]Shephelah the (AQ)Philistine plain;
Also, (AR)they will [r]possess the territory of Ephraim and the territory of Samaria,
And Benjamin the territory of Gilead.
20 And the exiles of this army of the sons of Israel,
Who are among the Canaanites as far as (AS)Zarephath,
And the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad,
Will [s]possess the (AT)cities of the Negev.
21 [t]The (AU)deliverers will ascend Mount Zion
To judge the mountain of Esau,
And the (AV)kingdom will be the Lords.

Footnotes

  1. Obadiah 1:1 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  2. Obadiah 1:3 Or Sela
  3. Obadiah 1:5 Lit devastators of the night
  4. Obadiah 1:5 Lit their sufficiency
  5. Obadiah 1:7 Lit of your covenant
  6. Obadiah 1:7 I.e., in Esau; or of it
  7. Obadiah 1:12 Lit look on
  8. Obadiah 1:12 Lit make your mouth large
  9. Obadiah 1:13 Lit look at
  10. Obadiah 1:16 Lit and slurp
  11. Obadiah 1:17 Or take possession of
  12. Obadiah 1:17 or inheritance
  13. Obadiah 1:18 I.e., the people of Esau
  14. Obadiah 1:18 I.e., the people of Esau
  15. Obadiah 1:19 I.e., South country
  16. Obadiah 1:19 Or take possession of
  17. Obadiah 1:19 I.e., the foothills
  18. Obadiah 1:19 Or take possession of
  19. Obadiah 1:20 Or take possession of
  20. Obadiah 1:21 Or with ancient versions Those who are rescued

The Lamb and the 144,000 on Mount Zion

14 Then I looked, and behold, (A)the Lamb was standing on (B)Mount Zion, and with Him (C)144,000 who had (D)His name and the (E)name of His Father written (F)on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, like (G)the sound of many waters and like the (H)sound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the sound of (I)harpists playing on their harps. And they *sang [a](J)a new song before the throne and before the (K)four living creatures and the (L)elders; and (M)no one was able to learn the song except the (N)144,000 who had been (O)purchased from the earth. (P)These are the ones who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are celibate. These are the ones who (Q)follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been (R)purchased from mankind (S)as first fruits to God and to the Lamb. And (T)no lie was found in their mouths; they are (U)blameless.

Vision of the Angel with the Gospel

And I saw another angel flying in (V)midheaven with (W)an eternal gospel to preach to (X)those who [b]live on the earth, and to (Y)every nation, tribe, language, and people; and he said with a loud voice, “(Z)Fear God and (AA)give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who (AB)made the heaven and the earth, and sea and (AC)springs of waters.”

And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, “[c](AD)Fallen, fallen is (AE)Babylon the great, she who has (AF)made all the nations drink of the (AG)wine of the [d]passion of her sexual immorality.”

Doom for Worshipers of the Beast

Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone (AH)worships the beast and his (AI)image, and receives a (AJ)mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he also will drink of the (AK)wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed [e]in full strength (AL)in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with (AM)fire and [f]brimstone in the presence of the (AN)holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the (AO)smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; (AP)they have no rest day and night, those who (AQ)worship the beast and his (AR)image, and [g]whoever receives the (AS)mark of his name.” 12 Here is (AT)the [h]perseverance of the [i]saints who (AU)keep the commandments of God and [j](AV)their faith in Jesus.

13 And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Write: ‘(AW)Blessed are the dead who (AX)die in the Lord from now on!’” “Yes,” (AY)says the Spirit, “so that they may (AZ)rest from their labors, for their (BA)deeds follow with them.”

The Harvest

14 Then I looked, and behold, a (BB)white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one (BC)like [k]a son of man, with a golden (BD)crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. 15 And another angel (BE)came out of the [l]temple, calling out with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “[m](BF)Put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the (BG)harvest of the earth [n]is ripe.” 16 Then He who sat on the cloud [o]swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped.

17 And another angel (BH)came out of the [p]temple which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. 18 Then another angel, (BI)the one who has power over fire, came out from (BJ)the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “[q](BK)Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters [r]from the vine of the earth, (BL)because her grapes are ripe.” 19 So the angel [s]swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into (BM)the great wine press of the wrath of God. 20 And (BN)the wine press was trampled (BO)outside the city, and (BP)blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses’ bridles, [t]for a distance of [u]1,600 stadia.

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 14:3 One early ms something like a new song
  2. Revelation 14:6 Lit sit
  3. Revelation 14:8 Lit Babylon...fell, fell, she who
  4. Revelation 14:8 Or wrath (incurred from God)
  5. Revelation 14:10 Lit unmixed; in ancient times wine was usually diluted with water
  6. Revelation 14:10 I.e., burning sulfur
  7. Revelation 14:11 Lit if anyone
  8. Revelation 14:12 Or steadfastness
  9. Revelation 14:12 Lit holy ones; i.e., God’s people
  10. Revelation 14:12 Lit the faith of
  11. Revelation 14:14 Or the Son of Man
  12. Revelation 14:15 Or sanctuary
  13. Revelation 14:15 Lit Send forth
  14. Revelation 14:15 Lit has become dry
  15. Revelation 14:16 Lit cast
  16. Revelation 14:17 Or sanctuary
  17. Revelation 14:18 Lit Send forth
  18. Revelation 14:18 Lit of
  19. Revelation 14:19 Lit cast
  20. Revelation 14:20 Lit from
  21. Revelation 14:20 Possibly about 184 miles or 296 km; a Roman stadion perhaps averaged 607 ft. or 185 m

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