Old/New Testament
Destruction in Israel and Judah
1 The (A)word of the Lord which came to (B)Micah of Moresheth in the days of (C)Jotham, (D)Ahaz and (E)Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
2 Hear, O peoples, all of [a]you;
(F)Listen, O earth and [b]all it contains,
And let the Lord [c]God be a (G)witness against you,
The Lord from His holy temple.
3 For behold, the Lord is (H)coming forth from His place.
He will come down and (I)tread on the high places of the [d]earth.
4 (J)The mountains will melt under Him
And the valleys will be split,
Like wax before the fire,
Like water poured down a steep place.
5 All this is for the rebellion of Jacob
And for the sins of the house of Israel.
What is the (K)rebellion of Jacob?
Is it not (L)Samaria?
What is the (M)high [e]place of Judah?
Is it not Jerusalem?
6 For I will make Samaria a (N)heap of ruins [f]in the open country,
(O)Planting places for a vineyard.
I will (P)pour her stones down into the valley
And will (Q)lay bare her foundations.
7 All of her (R)idols will be smashed,
All of her earnings will be burned with fire
And all of her images I will make desolate,
For she collected them from a (S)harlot’s earnings,
And to the earnings of a harlot they will return.
8 Because of this I must lament and wail,
I must go (T)barefoot and naked;
I must make a lament like the (U)jackals
And a mourning like the ostriches.
9 For her [g](V)wound is incurable,
For (W)it has come to Judah;
It has reached the (X)gate of my people,
Even to Jerusalem.
10 (Y)Tell it not in Gath,
Weep not at all.
At [h]Beth-le-aphrah roll yourself in the dust.
11 [i]Go on your way, inhabitant of [j]Shaphir, in (Z)shameful nakedness.
The inhabitant of [k](AA)Zaanan does not [l]escape.
The lamentation of [m]Beth-ezel: “He will take from you its [n]support.”
12 For the inhabitant of [o]Maroth
Becomes weak (AB)waiting for good,
Because a calamity has come down from the Lord
To the (AC)gate of Jerusalem.
13 Harness the chariot to the team of horses,
O inhabitant of (AD)Lachish—
She was the beginning of sin
To the daughter of Zion—
Because in you were found
The (AE)rebellious acts of Israel.
14 Therefore you will give parting (AF)gifts
On behalf of Moresheth-gath;
The houses of (AG)Achzib will become a (AH)deception
To the kings of Israel.
15 Moreover, I will bring on you
The one who takes possession,
O inhabitant of [p](AI)Mareshah.
The glory of Israel will enter (AJ)Adullam.
16 Make yourself (AK)bald and cut off your hair,
Because of the children of your delight;
Extend your baldness like the eagle,
For they will (AL)go from you into exile.
Woe to Oppressors
2 Woe to those who (AM)scheme iniquity,
Who work out evil on their beds!
[q](AN)When morning comes, they do it,
For it is in the (AO)power of their hands.
2 They (AP)covet fields and then (AQ)seize them,
And houses, and take them away.
They [r](AR)rob a man and his house,
A man and his inheritance.
3 Therefore thus says the Lord,
“Behold, I am (AS)planning against this (AT)family a calamity
From which you (AU)cannot remove your necks;
And you will not walk (AV)haughtily,
For it will be an (AW)evil time.
4 “On that day they will (AX)take up against you a [s]taunt
And [t](AY)utter a bitter lamentation and say,
‘We are completely (AZ)destroyed!
He exchanges the portion of my people;
How He removes it from me!
To the apostate He (BA)apportions our fields.’
5 “Therefore you will have no one [u](BB)stretching a measuring line
For you by lot in the assembly of the Lord.
6 ‘(BC)Do not [v]speak out,’ so they [w]speak out.
But if [x]they do (BD)not [y]speak out concerning these things,
(BE)Reproaches will not be turned back.
7 “Is it being said, O house of Jacob:
‘Is the Spirit of the Lord (BF)impatient?
Are these His doings?’
Do not My words (BG)do good
To the one (BH)walking uprightly?
8 “[z]Recently My people have arisen as an (BI)enemy—
You (BJ)strip the [aa]robe off the garment
From (BK)unsuspecting passers-by,
From those returned from war.
9 “The women of My people you (BL)evict,
Each one from her pleasant house.
From her children you take My (BM)splendor forever.
10 “Arise and go,
For this is no place (BN)of rest
Because of the (BO)uncleanness that brings on destruction,
A painful destruction.
11 “If a man walking after wind and (BP)falsehood
Had told lies and said,
‘I will [ab]speak out to you concerning (BQ)wine and liquor,’
He would be [ac]spokesman to (BR)this people.
12 “I will surely (BS)assemble all of you, Jacob,
I will surely gather the (BT)remnant of Israel.
I will put them together like sheep in the fold;
Like a flock in the midst of its pasture
They will be noisy with men.
13 “The breaker goes up before them;
They break out, pass through the gate and go out by it.
So their king goes on before them,
And the Lord at their head.”
Rulers Denounced
3 And I said,
“(BU)Hear now, heads of Jacob
And rulers of the house of Israel.
Is it not for you to (BV)know justice?
2 “You who hate good and love evil,
Who (BW)tear off their skin from them
And their flesh from their bones,
3 Who (BX)eat the flesh of my people,
Strip off their skin from them,
Break their bones
And (BY)chop them up as for the pot
And as meat in a kettle.”
4 Then they will (BZ)cry out to the Lord,
But He will not answer them.
Instead, He will (CA)hide His face from them at that time
Because they have (CB)practiced evil deeds.
5 Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who (CC)lead my people astray;
When they have something to bite with their teeth,
They (CD)cry, “Peace,”
But against him who puts nothing in their mouths
They declare holy war.
6 Therefore it will be (CE)night for you—without vision,
And darkness for you—without divination.
The (CF)sun will go down on the prophets,
And the day will become dark over them.
7 The seers will be (CG)ashamed
And the (CH)diviners will be embarrassed.
Indeed, they will all (CI)cover their [ad]mouths
Because there is (CJ)no answer from God.
8 On the other hand (CK)I am filled with power—
With the Spirit of the Lord—
And with justice and courage
To (CL)make known to Jacob his rebellious act,
Even to Israel his sin.
9 Now hear this, (CM)heads of the house of Jacob
And rulers of the house of Israel,
Who (CN)abhor justice
And twist everything that is straight,
10 Who (CO)build Zion with bloodshed
And Jerusalem with violent injustice.
11 Her leaders pronounce (CP)judgment for a bribe,
Her (CQ)priests instruct for a price
And her prophets divine for money.
Yet they lean on the Lord saying,
“(CR)Is not the Lord in our midst?
Calamity will not come upon us.”
12 Therefore, on account of you
(CS)Zion will be plowed as a field,
(CT)Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins,
And the (CU)mountain of the [ae]temple will become high places of a forest.
The Two Witnesses
11 Then there was given me a [a](A)measuring rod like a staff; [b]and (B)someone said, “Get up and measure the [c]temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it. 2 [d]Leave out the (C)court which is outside the [e]temple and do not measure it, for (D)it has been given to the nations; and they will (E)tread under foot (F)the holy city for (G)forty-two months. 3 And I will grant authority to my two (H)witnesses, and they will prophesy for (I)twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in (J)sackcloth.” 4 These are the (K)two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5 And if anyone wants to harm them, (L)fire flows out of their mouth and devours their enemies; so if anyone wants to harm them, (M)he must be killed in this way. 6 These have the power to (N)shut up the sky, so that rain will not fall during (O)the days of their prophesying; and they have power over the waters to (P)turn them into blood, and (Q)to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire.
7 When they have finished their testimony, (R)the beast that comes up out of the (S)abyss will (T)make war with them, and overcome them and kill them. 8 And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the (U)great city which [f]mystically is called (V)Sodom and (W)Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. 9 Those from (X)the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will look at their dead [g]bodies for three and a half days, and [h](Y)will not permit their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb. 10 And (Z)those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate; and they will (AA)send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented (AB)those who dwell on the earth.
11 But after the three and a half days, (AC)the breath of life from God came into them, and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were watching them. 12 And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “(AD)Come up here.” Then they (AE)went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies watched them. 13 And in that hour there was a great (AF)earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; [i]seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and (AG)gave glory to the (AH)God of heaven.
14 The second (AI)woe is past; behold, the third woe is coming quickly.
The Seventh Trumpet—Christ’s Reign Foreseen
15 Then the (AJ)seventh angel sounded; and there were (AK)loud voices in heaven, saying,
“(AL)The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of (AM)His [j]Christ; and (AN)He will reign forever and ever.” 16 And the twenty-four elders, who (AO)sit on their thrones before God, (AP)fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying,
“We give You thanks, (AQ)O Lord God, the Almighty, who are and who were, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to (AR)reign. 18 And (AS)the nations were enraged, and (AT)Your wrath came, and (AU)the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to [k]reward Your (AV)bond-servants the prophets and the [l]saints and those who fear Your name, (AW)the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”
19 And (AX)the [m]temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and (AY)the ark of His covenant appeared in His [n]temple, and there were flashes of (AZ)lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a (BA)great [o]hailstorm.
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