The Daily Audio Bible
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What the Lord will Do for Zion
8 This is this message from the Lord of the Heavenly Armies:
2 “This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘I’m greatly jealous about Zion, and that makes me furious about her.’
3 “This is what the Lord says: ‘I will return to Zion and I will live in the midst of Jerusalem. And Jerusalem will be called, “The City of Truth” and the mountain of the Lord of the Heavenly Armies will be called,[a] “The Holy Mountain”.’
4 “This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘There will yet be old men and old women sitting in the parks[b] of Jerusalem, each one of them holding canes in their hands due to their old age! 5 The city parks[c] will be filled with boys and girls. They will play in the city’s[d] open parks.’
6 “This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘It may seem impossible to the survivors of this people, but is it impossible for me?’ declares the Lord of the Heavenly Armies.
7 “This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘Look! After having saved my people from the land of the east and from the land of the west, 8 I will also bring them back to live in the midst of Jerusalem. They will be my people and I will truly be their righteous God.’”
An Exhortation to Rebuild the Temple
9 “This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘Be strong so the Temple can be built, you who are now listening to this message spoken by the prophets when the foundation was laid to the Temple of the Lord of the Heavenly Armies. 10 Before then, everyone was unemployed—even the draft animals—and no one was safe coming or going because of the enemy, because I caused everyone to oppose each other.[e]
11 “‘But now I will not treat the survivors of this people as I did formerly,’ declares the Lord of the Heavenly Armies. 12 ‘For there will be a sowing of peace: the vine will produce its fruit, the earth will produce its full[f] yield, the sky will produce its dew, and I will make the survivors of this people inherit all these things. 13 Furthermore, house of Judah and house of Israel, even though you used to be a curse among the nations, now I will surely save you, and you will be a blessing. Stop being afraid. Instead, grow stronger.’”[g]
The Lord will Do Good to Jerusalem and Judah
14 “This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘Just as I intended to bring harm to you when your ancestors angered me,’ says the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, ‘and I did not relent, 15 so I have decided at this time[h] to do good things for Jerusalem and for the house of Judah. So stop being afraid. 16 Here’s what you must do: tell the truth to your neighbors, administer true and peaceful justice in your courtrooms,[i] 17 don’t plot evil in your heart against a neighbor, and don’t tolerate[j] false testimonies,[k] because I hate all these things,’ declares the Lord.”
18 Once again this message from the Lord come to me: 19 “This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘The fasts that occur in the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth months will be joyful and glad times for the house of Judah, replete with[l] cheerful festivals. Therefore, love truth and peace.’”
Future Visits by Nations to Jerusalem
20 “This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘In the future, people will come, including residents of many cities, 21 and they will travel from one place to another place and say, “Let’s go quickly to pray in the presence of the Lord and to inquire of the Lord of the Heavenly Armies.’ And I will go, too. 22 Many people and powerful nations will come to inquire of the Lord of the Heavenly Armies in Jerusalem, and to pray in the presence of the Lord.”’”
23 “This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘In the future, ten men speaking[m] all the languages of the nations will grab hold of one Jewish person by the hem of his garment and say, “Let us go up to Jerusalem[n] with you, because we heard that God is with you.”’”
The Vision of the Seven Angels Pouring Out Their Bowls
16 Then I heard a loud voice from the Temple saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour the seven bowls of God’s wrath on the earth.” 2 So the first angel went and poured his bowl on the earth. A horrible, painful sore appeared on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshipped the image.
3 The second angel poured his bowl into the sea. It became like the blood of a dead body, and every living thing in the sea died.
4 The third angel poured his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they turned into blood. 5 Then I heard the angel in charge[a] of the water say,
“You are just. You are the one who is
and who was, the Holy One,
because you have judged these things.
6 You have given them blood to drink
because they spilled the blood of saints and prophets.
This is what they deserve.”
7 Then I heard the altar reply,
“Yes, Lord God Almighty,
your judgments are true and just.”
8 The fourth angel poured his bowl on the sun, which then was allowed to burn people with fire, 9 and they were burned by the fierce heat. They cursed the name of God, who has the authority over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory.
10 The fifth angel poured his bowl on the throne of the beast. Its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People[b] gnawed on their tongues in anguish 11 and cursed the God of heaven because of their pain-filled sores. But they did not repent of their behavior.
12 The sixth angel poured his bowl on the great Euphrates River. Its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the east. 13 Then I saw three disgusting spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 They are demonic spirits that perform signs. They go to the kings of the whole earth and gather them for the war of the great Day of God Almighty.
15 “See, I am coming like a thief.
How blessed is the person who remains alert
and keeps his clothes on!
He won’t have to go naked
and let others see his shame.”
16 The spirits[c] gathered the kings[d] to the place that is called Armageddon in Hebrew.
17 The seventh angel threw the contents of[e] his bowl across the sky. A loud voice came from the throne in the Temple and said, “It has happened!” 18 There were flashes of lightning, noises, peals of thunder, and a powerful earthquake. There has never been such a powerful earthquake since people have been on the earth. 19 The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. God remembered to give Babylon the Great the cup of wine filled with the fury of his wrath. 20 Every island vanished,[f] and the mountains could no longer be found. 21 Huge hailstones, each weighing about a talent,[g] fell from the sky on people, who cursed God because the plague of hail was so terrible.
Davidic
A Song for God’s Provision
144 Blessed be the Lord, my rock,
who trains my hands for battle
and my fingers for warfare,
2 he is my gracious love and my fortress,
my strong tower and my deliverer,
my shield and the one in whom I find refuge,
who subdues[a] peoples[b] under me.
3 Lord, what are human beings,
that you should care about them,
or mortal man,
that you should think about him?
4 The human person is a mere empty breath;
his days are like a fading shadow.
5 Bow your heavens, Lord, and descend;[c]
touch the mountains, and they will smolder.
6 Send forth lightning and scatter the enemy,[d]
shoot your arrows and confuse them.
7 Reach down your hand from your high place;
rescue me and deliver me from mighty waters,
from the control of foreigners.[e]
8 Their mouths speak lies,
and their right hand deceives,[f]
9 God, I will sing a new song to you.
On a harp of ten strings I will play to you—
10 to you who gives victory to kings,
rescuing his servant David from cruel swords.
11 Rescue me and deliver me
from the control of foreigners,[g]
whose mouths speak lies,
and whose right hand deceives.[h]
12 May our sons in their youth be like full-grown plants,
and our daughters like pillars
destined to decorate a palace.
13 May our granaries be filled,
storing produce in abundance;
may our sheep bring forth thousands,
even tens of thousands in our fields.
14 May our cattle grow heavy with young,
with no damage or loss.
May there be no cry of anguish in our streets!
15 Happy are the people to whom these things come;
happy are the people whose God is the Lord.
29 Three things are stately in procession,
four which are stately in their gait:
30 The lion, mighty among the beasts,
retreats before nothing.
31 The strutting rooster, as well as the goat,
and a king with his army.
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