Old/New Testament
The Lord’s Lawsuit against His People
6 Now listen to what Yahweh is saying,
“Stand up! Plead your case in front of the mountains,
and let the hills listen to your request.
2 Listen to Yahweh’s lawsuit, you mountains.
Listen, you strong foundations of the earth.
Yahweh has filed a lawsuit against his people.
He is arguing his case against Israel.
3 “My people, what have I done to you?
How have I tried your patience? Answer me!
4 I brought you out of Egypt and freed you from slavery.
I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to lead you.
5 My people, remember what King Balak of Moab planned to do to you
and how Balaam, son of Beor, responded to him.
Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal[a]
so that you may know the victories of Yahweh.”
6 What should I bring when I come into Yahweh’s presence,
when I bow in front of the God of heaven?
Should I bring him year-old calves as burnt offerings?
7 Will Yahweh be pleased with thousands of rams
or with endless streams of olive oil?
Should I give him my firstborn child because of my rebellious acts?
Should I give him my young child for my sin?
8 You mortals, Yahweh has told you what is good.
This is what Yahweh requires from you:
to do what is right,
to love mercy,
and to live humbly with your Elohim.
9 The voice of Yahweh calls out to the city.
(The fear of your name is wisdom.)
“Listen, you tribe assembled in the city.[b]
10 I have cursed all the wicked people who use their money for evil
and use inaccurate weights and measures.
11 I cannot tolerate dishonest scales
and bags filled with inaccurate weights.
12 The rich people in the city are violent.
Those who live in the city speak lies,
and their tongues speak deceitfully.
13 I have begun to strike you with heavy blows
and to ruin you because of your sins.
14 You will eat, but you won’t be full.
So you will always be hungry.
You will put things away, but you won’t save them.
Anything you save I will destroy.
15 You will plant, but you won’t harvest.
You will crush olives, but you won’t rub the oil on your skin.
You will make new wine, but you won’t drink it.
16 You have kept Omri’s laws
and all the practices of the descendants of Ahab,
and you have followed their advice.
That is why I will ruin you.
Your people will be ridiculed.
You will bear the disgrace of my people.”
The Lord’s People Confess Their Sin
7 Poor me!
I am like those gathering summer fruit,
like those picking grapes.
But there aren’t any grapes to eat
or any ripened figs that I crave.
2 Faithful people are gone from the earth,
and no one is decent.
All people lie in ambush to commit murder.
They trap each other with nets.
3 Their hands are skilled in doing evil.
Officials ask for gifts.
Judges accept bribes.
Powerful people dictate what they want.
So they scheme together.[c]
4 The best of them is like a briar.
The most decent person is sharper than thornbushes.
The day you thought you would be punished has come.
Now is the time you will be confused.
5 Don’t trust your neighbors.
Don’t have confidence in your friends.
Keep your mouth shut even when a woman is lying in your arms.
6 A son treats his father with contempt.
A daughter rebels against her mother.
A daughter-in-law rebels against her mother-in-law.
People’s enemies are the members of their own families.
7 I will look to Yahweh.
I will wait for Elohim to save me.
I will wait for my Elohim to listen to me.
8 Don’t laugh at me, my enemies.
Although I’ve fallen, I will get up.
Although I sit in the dark, Yahweh is my light.
9 I have sinned against Yahweh.
So I will endure his fury
until he takes up my cause and wins my case.
He will bring me into the light,
and I will see his victory.
10 Then my enemies will see this, and they will be covered with shame,
because they asked me, “Where is Yahweh your Elohim?”
Now I look at them.
They are trampled like mud in the streets.
11 The day for rebuilding your walls
and extending your borders is coming.
12 When that day comes, your people will come to you
from Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
from Egypt to the Euphrates River,
from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain.
13 The earth will become a wasteland for those who live on it
because of what the people living there have done.
14 With your shepherd’s staff, take care of your people,
the sheep that belong to you.
They live alone in the woods, in fertile pastures.
Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead like before.
15 Let us see miracles
like the time you came out of Egypt.
16 Nations will see this and be ashamed in spite of all their strength.
They will put their hands over their mouths.
Their ears will become deaf.
17 They will lick dust like snakes,
like animals that crawl on the ground.
They will come out of their hiding places trembling.
They will turn away from your presence in fear, O Yahweh our Elohim.
They will be afraid of you.
18 Who is an El like you?
You forgive sin
and overlook the rebellion of your faithful people.
You will not be angry forever,
because you would rather show mercy.
19 You will again have compassion on us.
You will overcome our wrongdoing.
You will throw all our sins into the deep sea.
20 You will be faithful to Jacob.
You will have mercy on Abraham
as you swore by an oath to our ancestors long ago.
The Beast from the Sea
13 I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns, seven heads, and ten crowns on its horns. There were insulting names on its heads. 2 The beast that I saw was like a leopard. Its feet were like bear’s feet. Its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. The serpent gave its power, kingdom, and far-reaching authority to the beast. 3 One of the beast’s heads looked like it had a fatal wound, but its fatal wound was healed.
All the people of the world were amazed and followed the beast. 4 They worshiped the serpent because it had given authority to the beast. They also worshiped the beast and said, “Who is like the beast? Who can fight a war with it?” 5 The beast was allowed to speak arrogant and insulting things. It was given authority to act for 42 months. 6 It opened its mouth to insult God, to insult his name and his tent—those who are living in heaven. 7 It was allowed to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. It was also given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation. 8 Everyone living on earth will worship it, everyone whose name is not written in the Book of Life. That book belongs to the lamb who was slaughtered before the creation of the world.
9 If anyone has ears, let him listen:
10 If anyone is taken prisoner, he must go to prison.
If anyone is killed with a sword, with a sword he must be killed.
In this situation God’s holy people need endurance and confidence.
The Beast from the Earth
11 I saw another beast come from the earth, and it had two horns like a lamb. It talked like a serpent. 12 The second beast uses all the authority of the first beast in its presence. The second beast makes the earth and those living on it worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. 13 The second beast performs spectacular signs. It even makes fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people. 14 It deceives those living on earth with the signs that it is allowed to do in front of the first beast. It tells those living on earth to make a statue for the beast who was wounded by a sword and yet lived.
15 The second beast was allowed to put breath into the statue of the first beast. Then the statue of the first beast could talk and put to death whoever would not worship it. 16 The second beast forces all people—important and unimportant people, rich and poor people, free people and slaves—to be branded on their right hands or on their foreheads. 17 It does this so that no one may buy or sell unless he has the brand, which is the beast’s name or the number of its name.
18 In this situation wisdom is needed. Let the person who has insight figure out the number of the beast, because it is a human number.[a] The beast’s number is 666.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.