The Daily Audio Bible
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2 (1:18) Then I looked up and saw four horns. 2 (1:19) I asked the angel who was speaking to me, “What are these?” He answered, “These are the horns that scattered Y’hudah, Isra’el and Yerushalayim.”
3 (1:20) Next, Adonai showed me four artisans. 4 (1:21) I asked, “What are these coming to do?” He said, “Those horns that scattered Y’hudah so completely that no one could even raise his head — well, these men have come to terrify them, to overthrow the nations that raised their horns against the land of Y’hudah to scatter it.”
5 (1) I looked up and saw a man with a measuring line in his hand. 6 (2) I asked, “Where are you going?” He said to me, “To measure Yerushalayim, to determine its width and length.”
7 (3) Here the angel who was speaking to me went forward, and another angel went out, met him 8 (4) and said to him, “Run and tell this young man, ‘Yerushalayim will be inhabited without walls, because there will be so many people and animals; 9 (5) “for,” says Adonai, “I will be for her a wall of fire surrounding her; and I will be the glory within her. 10 (6) Up!” says Adonai, “Move! Flee the land of the north! For I scattered you like the four winds of the sky,” says Adonai. 11 (7) “Move, Tziyon! You who are living with the daughter of Bavel, escape!” 12 (8) For Adonai-Tzva’ot has sent me on a glorious mission to the nations that plundered you, and this is what he says: “Anyone who injures you injures the very pupil of my eye. 13 (9) But I will shake my hand over them, and they will be plundered by those who were formerly their slaves.” Then you will know that Adonai-Tzva’ot sent me. 14 (10) “Sing, daughter of Tziyon; rejoice! For, here, I am coming; and I will live among you,” says Adonai. 15 (11) When that time comes, many nations will join themselves to Adonai. “They will be my people, and I will live among you.” Then you will know that it was Adonai-Tzva’ot who sent me to you. 16 (12) Adonai will take possession of Y’hudah as his portion in the holy land, and he will again make Yerushalayim his choice. 17 (13) Be silent, all humanity, before Adonai; for he has been roused from his holy dwelling.’”
3 He showed me Y’hoshua the cohen hagadol standing before the angel of Adonai, with the Accuser [a] standing at his right to accuse him. 2 Adonai said to the Accuser, “May Adonai rebuke you, Accuser! Indeed, may Adonai, who has made Yerushalayim his choice, rebuke you! Isn’t this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?” 3 Y’hoshua was clothed in garments covered with dung; and he was standing before the angel, 4 who said to those standing in front of him, “Take those filthy garments off of him.” Then to him he said, “See, I am taking your guilt away. I will clothe you in fine robes.” 5 I said, “They should put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and gave him fine robes to wear, while the angel of Adonai stood by. 6 Then the angel of Adonai gave Y’hoshua this warning: 7 “Adonai-Tzva’ot says this: ‘If you will walk in my ways, obey my commission, judge my house and guard my courtyards; then I will give you free access among these who are standing here. 8 Listen, cohen gadol Y’hoshua, both you and your colleagues seated here before you, because these men are a sign that I am going to bring my servant Tzemach [Sprout]. 9 For look at the stone I have put in front of Y’hoshua: on one stone are seven eyes; I will engrave what is to be written on it,’ says Adonai-Tzva’ot; ‘and I will remove the guilt of this land in one day. 10 When that time comes,’ says Adonai-Tzva’ot, ‘you will all invite each other to join you under your vines and fig trees.’”
13 and I saw a beast come up out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads. On its horns were ten royal crowns and on its heads blasphemous names. 2 The beast which I saw was like a leopard, but with feet like those of a bear and a mouth like the mouth of a lion. To it the dragon gave its power, its throne and great authority. 3 One of the heads of the beast appeared to have received a fatal wound, but its fatal wound was healed, and the whole earth followed after the beast in amazement. 4 They worshipped the dragon, because he had given his authority to the beast; and they worshipped the beast, saying,
“Who is like the beast?
Who can fight against it?”
5 It was given a mouth speaking arrogant blasphemies; and it was given authority to act for forty-two months. 6 So it opened its mouth in blasphemies against God to insult his name and his Sh’khinah, and those living in heaven; 7 it was allowed to make war on God’s holy people and to defeat them; and it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. 8 Everyone living on earth will worship it except those whose names are written in the Book of Life belonging to the Lamb slaughtered before the world was founded. 9 Those who have ears, let them hear!
10 “If anyone is meant for captivity,
into captivity he goes!
If anyone is to be killed with the sword,
with the sword he is to be killed!”[a]
This is when God’s holy people must persevere and trust!
11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth. It had two horns like those of a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence; and it makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, the one whose fatal wound had been healed. 13 It performs great miracles, even causing fire to come down from heaven onto the earth as people watch. 14 It deceives the people living on earth by the miracles it is allowed to perform in the presence of the beast, and it tells them to make an image honoring the beast that was struck by the sword but came alive again. 15 It was allowed to put breath into the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast could even speak; and it was allowed to cause anyone who would not worship the image of the beast to be put to death. 16 Also it forces everyone — great and small, rich and poor, free and slave — to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead 17 preventing anyone from buying or selling unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. 18 This is where wisdom is needed; those who understand should count the number of the beast, for it is the number of a person, and its number is 666.
141 (0) A psalm of David:
(1) Adonai, I have called you; come to me quickly!
Listen to my plea when I call to you.
2 Let my prayer be like incense set before you,
my uplifted hands like an evening sacrifice.
3 Set a guard, Adonai, over my mouth;
keep watch at the door of my lips.
4 Don’t let my heart turn to anything evil
or allow me to act wickedly
with men who are evildoers;
keep me from eating their delicacies.
5 Let the righteous strike me, let him correct me;
it will be an act of love.
Let my head not refuse such choice oil,
for I will keep on praying about their wickedness.
6 When their rulers are thrown down from the cliff,
[the wicked] will hear that my words were fitting.
7 As when one plows and breaks the ground into clods,
our bones are strewn at the mouth of Sh’ol.
8 For my eyes, Adonai, Adonai, are on you;
in you I take refuge; don’t pour out my life.
9 Keep me from the trap they have set for me,
from the snares of evildoers.
10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
while I pass by in safety.
18 Three things are too wonderful for me,
four beyond my knowledge —
19 the way of an eagle in the sky,
the way of a snake on a rock,
the way of a ship on the open sea,
and the way of a man with a girl.
20 This is how an unfaithful wife behaves:
she eats, wipes her mouth, and says, “I did nothing wrong.”
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.