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Jerusalem on that day
12 A pronouncement. The Lord’s word against Israel,
an utterance of the Lord
who stretches out the heavens,
who establishes the earth,
and who fashions the spirit of humanity within it:
2 I am about to make Jerusalem a cup that will stagger all the surrounding nations.
There will be a siege against Judah and against Jerusalem.
3 On that day I will make Jerusalem into a heavy stone[a] for all the peoples.
All who carry it will hurt themselves;
nevertheless, the nations of the earth will conspire against it.
4 On that day, says the Lord, I will strike every horse with confusion
and its rider with madness.
I will keep my eyes open for the house of Judah;
I will strike blind every horse of the peoples.
5 The chieftains of Judah will say to themselves, We are strong;
the inhabitants of Jerusalem will say,
The Lord their God of heavenly forces is strong.[b]
6 On that day I will place the chieftains of Judah like a pot on a wood fire and like a burning torch among the bundles of grain.
They will devour all the surrounding nations to the right and the left.
Jerusalem will dwell again in its place, in Jerusalem.
7 The Lord will first deliver the tents of Judah so that the splendor of David’s house
and the splendor of Jerusalem’s inhabitants won’t overshadow Judah.
8 On that day the Lord will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
Anyone among them who stumbles on that day will become like David,
and David’s house will become like God,
like the Lord’s messenger in front of them.
9 On that day I intend to destroy all the nations who come against Jerusalem,
10 but I will pour out a spirit of grace and mercy on David’s house
and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
They will look to me concerning the one whom they pierced;
they will mourn over him like the mourning for an only child.
They will mourn bitterly over him like the bitter mourning over the death of[c] an oldest child.
11 On that day, the mourning in Jerusalem
will be as great as the mourning of Hadad-Rimmon in the Megiddo Valley.
12 The land will mourn, each of the clans by itself:
the clan of David’s house by themselves, and their women by themselves;
the clan of Nathan’s house by themselves, and their women by themselves;
13 the clan of Levi’s house by themselves, and their women by themselves;
and the Shimeites’ clan by themselves, and their women by themselves;
14 and all the remaining clans, each clan by itself, and their women by themselves.
13 On that day, a fountain will open
to cleanse[d] the sin and impurity of David’s house and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
2 On that day, says the Lord of heavenly forces,
I will eliminate the names of the idols from the land;
they will no longer be remembered.
Moreover, I will remove the prophets and the sinful spirit from the land.
3 If anyone again prophesies,
then that person’s birth father and mother will say,
“You won’t live, for you have told a lie in the name of the Lord.”
That person’s own birth father and mother will stab him when he prophesies.
4 On that day each of the prophets will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies
and won’t put on a shaggy coat in order to deceive.
5 Each will say, “I’m not a prophet.
I’m a man who works the ground, for the soil has been my occupation since I was young.”
6 Someone will say to him,
“What are these wounds between your hands?”
And he will say, “These happened when I was hit in my friends’ home.”
7 Sword, arise against my shepherd,
against the man responsible for[e] my community, says the Lord of heavenly forces!
Strike the shepherd in order to scatter the flock!
I will turn my hand against the little ones.
8 Throughout all the land, says the Lord,
two-thirds will be cut off and die;
but one-third will be left in it.
9 I will put the third part into the fire.
I will refine them like one refines silver;
I will test them like one tests gold.
They will call on my name, and I will respond to them.
I will say, “They are my people.”
And they will say, “The Lord is our God.”
Celebration in heaven
19 After this I heard what sounded like a huge crowd in heaven. They said,
“Hallelujah! The salvation and glory and power of our God!
2 His judgments are true and just,
because he judged the great prostitute,
who ruined the earth by her whoring,
and he exacted the penalty for the blood of his servants
from her hand.”
3 Then they said a second time,
“Hallelujah! Smoke goes up from her forever and always.”
4 The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshipped God, who is seated on the throne, and they said, “Amen. Hallelujah!”
5 Then a voice went out from the throne and said,
“Praise our God, all you his servants,
and you who fear him, both small and great.”
6 And I heard something that sounded like a huge crowd, like rushing water and powerful thunder. They said,
“Hallelujah! The Lord our God, the Almighty,
exercised his royal power!
7 Let us rejoice and celebrate, and give him the glory,
for the wedding day of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.
8 She was given fine, pure white linen to wear,
for the fine linen is the saints’ acts of justice.”
9 Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Favored are those who have been invited to the wedding banquet of the Lamb.” He said to me, “These are the true words of God.” 10 Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said, “Don’t do that! I’m a servant just like you and your brothers and sisters who hold firmly to the witness of Jesus. Worship God! The witness of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy!”
Christ defeats the beast
11 Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse. Its rider was called Faithful and True, and he judges and makes war justly. 12 His eyes were like a fiery flame, and on his head were many royal crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13 He wore a robe dyed[a] with blood, and his name was called the Word of God. 14 Heaven’s armies, wearing fine linen that was white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword that he will use to strike down the nations. He is the one who will rule them with an iron rod. And he is the one who will trample the winepress of the Almighty God’s passionate anger. 16 He has a name written on his robe and on his thigh: King of kings and Lord of lords.
17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he called out with a loud voice and said to all the birds flying high overhead, “Come and gather for God’s great supper. 18 Come and eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of generals, the flesh of the powerful, and the flesh of horses and their riders. Come and eat the flesh of all, both free and slave, both small and great.” 19 Then I saw that the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies had gathered to make war against the rider on the horse and his army. 20 But the beast was seized, along with the false prophet who had done signs in the beast’s presence. (He had used the signs to deceive people into receiving the beast’s mark and into worshipping the beast’s image.) The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake that burns with sulfur. 21 The rest were killed by the sword that comes from the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds ate their fill of their flesh.
Psalm 147
147 Praise the Lord!
Because it is good to sing praise to our God!
Because it is a pleasure to make beautiful praise!
2 The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem, gathering up Israel’s exiles.
3 God heals the brokenhearted
and bandages their wounds.
4 God counts the stars by number,
giving each one a name.
5 Our Lord is great and so strong!
God’s knowledge can’t be grasped!
6 The Lord helps the poor,
but throws the wicked down on the dirt!
7 Sing to the Lord with thanks;
sing praises to our God with a lyre!
8 God covers the skies with clouds;
God makes rain for the earth;
God makes the mountains sprout green grass.
9 God gives food to the animals—
even to the baby ravens when they cry out.
10 God doesn’t prize the strength of a horse;
God doesn’t treasure the legs of a runner.
11 No. The Lord treasures the people
who honor him,
the people who wait for his faithful love.
12 Worship the Lord, Jerusalem!
Praise your God, Zion!
13 Because God secures the bars on your gates,
God blesses the children you have there.
14 God establishes your borders peacefully.
God fills you full with the very best wheat.
15 God issues his command to the earth—
God’s word speeds off fast!
16 God spreads snow like it was wool;
God scatters frost like it was ashes;
17 God throws his hail down like crumbs—
who can endure God’s freezing cold?
18 Then God issues his word and melts it all away!
God makes his winds blow;
the water flows again.
19 God proclaims his word to Jacob;
his statutes and rules to Israel.
20 God hasn’t done that with any other nation;
those nations have no knowledge of God’s rules.[a]
Praise the Lord!
Words of King Lemuel
31 The words of King Lemuel of Massa, which his mother taught him:
2 No, my son!
No, son of my womb!
No, son of my solemn promises!
3 Don’t give your strength to women,
your ways to those who wipe out kings.
4 It isn’t for kings, Lemuel,
it isn’t for kings to drink wine,
for rulers to crave[a] strong drink.
5 Otherwise, they will drink and forget the law,
and violate the rights of the needy.
6 Give strong drink to those who are perishing
and wine to those whose hearts are bitter.
7 Let them drink and forget their poverty
and no longer remember their toil.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible