Old/New Testament
The Lord’s Indictment against Israel
6 Please hear what the Lord says:
“Get up and make your case before the mountains,
and let the hills listen to your voice.
2 Listen, you mountains, to the Lord’s argument!
Listen, you[a] strong foundations of the earth,
because the Lord has a dispute with his people,
and he will set out his case before Israel.
3 “My people, what have I done to you,
and how have I offended you?
Answer me!
4 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt,
and ransomed you from the house of slavery,
sending Moses, Aaron, and Miriam into your presence.
5 “My people, recall how king Balak of Moab deliberated,
and how Beor’s son Balaam counseled him from Shittim to Gilgal,
so that you may know the righteousness of the Lord.”
The Nature of True Righteousness
6 How am I to present myself in the Lord’s presence
and bow in the presence of the High God?
Should I present myself with burnt offerings,
with year-old calves?
7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
or with endless[b] rivers of oil?
Am I to give my firstborn to pay for[c] my rebellion,
the fruit of my body in exchange for[d] my soul?
8 He has made it clear to you, mortal man, what is good
and what the Lord is requiring from you—
to act with justice,
to treasure the Lord’s[e] gracious love,
and to walk humbly in the company of your God.
A Call to Honest Business Practices
9 The voice of the Lord cries out to the city—
wisdom fears your name:
“Heed the rod, and the one who prepared it!
10 Are there still wicked treasures in the house of the wicked,
along with deceitful and abominable measuring standards?[f]
11 Will I tolerate those who maintain deceptive standards[g]
and who use deceitful weights in their business?[h]
12 Her rich people are filled with violence,
and her inhabitants tell lies—
their tongues speak deceitfully!
13 “Therefore I will make you ill when I attack you;
I will bring you to ruin because of your offenses.
14 You’ll eat,
but you won’t have enough;
and hunger will be common among you.
You’ll horde things,
but you won’t save them,
and what you preserve
I’ll give over to the sword.
15 You’ll plant,
but you won’t reap.
You’ll crush the olive harvest,
but you’ll have no oil to anoint yourself.
You’ll tread out the grapes,
but you’ll never drink wine.
16 You keep Omri’s[i] statutes
and observe the customs of the house of Ahab.
Because you live according to their advice,
I’ll make you desolate
and turn your[j] inhabitants into an object of scorn.
Therefore you will bear the shame of my people.”
The Evil Behavior of the People
7 Poor me!
I feel like those who harvest summer fruit,
or like those who pick grapes—
there are no clusters to eat
or any fresh fruit that I want.
2 The faithful have died off,
and there is not one upright human being in the land.
They all stalk one another[k] with lethal intent,
a man will even hunt his own brother with a net.
3 And speaking of evil,
they practice it eagerly—with both hands!
Both leader and judge demand a bribe,
the famous confess their perverted desires,
and they scheme together.
4 The best of them is like a thorn,
and their most upright like a hedge of thorns.
The day announced by[l] your watchmen—
and by your own calculations—approaches.
Now it’s your time to be[m] confused!
5 Don’t trust your friends,
don’t confide in a companion,
watch what you say to your wife.[n]
6 The son disrespects his father,
the daughter rebels against her mother,
the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law,
and a man’s enemies are the people of his own house.[o]
Micah Looks to God
7 But as for me, I will look to the Lord;
I will wait for the God who will deliver me.
My God will hear me.
8 Don’t be glad on my account, my enemy.
When I fall, I’ll get up.
Though I sit in darkness,
the Lord is a light for me.
9 I will endure the Lord’s anger—
since I have sinned against him—
until he takes over my defense,
administers justice on my behalf,
and brings me out to the light,
where I will gaze on his righteousness.
10 Then my enemy will observe it,
and shame will engulf the ones[p] who asked me,
‘Where is the Lord your God?’
My own eyes will see them,[q]
they[r] will be trampled on like mud in the streets.
A Word of Restoration
11 When the time comes[s] for rebuilding your walls,
that time[t] will surely be extended.[u]
12 At that time[v] armies[w] will invade you from Assyria,
from Egyptian cities to the Euphrates[x] River,
from sea to sea
and from mountain to mountain.
13 The land will become desolate
because of its inhabitants,
and as a result of their behavior.
14 Use your rod to shepherd your people,
the flock that belongs to you,
that lives alone in the forest of Carmel.
Let them find pasture in Bashan and Gilead,
as they did long ago.
15 As I did when[y] you came out of the land of Egypt,
I will show you[z] awesome things.
16 The nations will look on
and will be ashamed in spite of all their power;
they will cup their hands over their mouths,
and their ears will be deaf.
17 They will lick the dust like a serpent;
they will crawl from their strongholds like snakes.
They will fear the Lord our God.
They will be terrified because of you.
Who is like God?
18 Is there any God like you,
forgiving iniquity,
passing over transgressions by the survivors who are your[aa] heritage?[ab]
He is not angry forever,
because he delights in gracious love.
19 He will again show us compassion;
he will subdue our iniquities.
You will hurl all their sins into the deepest sea.
20 You will remain true to Jacob,
and merciful to Abraham,
as you promised our ancestors long ago.
The Vision of the Beast from the Sea
13 I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns, seven heads, and ten royal crowns on its horns. On its heads were blasphemous names. 2 The beast that I saw was like a leopard. Its feet were like bear’s feet, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. The dragon gave it his power, his throne, and complete authority.
3 One of the beast’s[a] heads looked like it had sustained a mortal wound, but its fatal wound was healed. Rapt with amazement, the whole world followed the beast. 4 They worshipped the dragon because it had given authority to the beast. They also worshipped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight a war with it?” 5 The beast was allowed[b] to speak arrogant and blasphemous things, and it was given authority for 42 months. 6 It uttered[c] blasphemies against God, against his name, and against his residence,[d] that is, against those who are living in heaven. 7 It was allowed to wage war against the saints and to conquer them.[e] It was also given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation. 8 All those who had become settled down and at home, living on the earth, will worship it, everyone whose name had not been written in the Book of Life belonging to the lamb that had been slaughtered since the foundation of the world.
9 Let everyone listen:[f]
10 If anyone is to be taken captive,
into captivity he will go.
If anyone is to be killed with a sword,
with a sword he will be killed.
The Vision of the Beast from the Earth
Here is a call for endurance and faith of the saints:
11 I saw another beast coming up out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it talked like a dragon. 12 It uses all the authority of the first beast on its behalf,[g] and it makes the earth and those living on it worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. 13 It performs spectacular signs, even making 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 on behalf of[h] the first[i] beast, telling them to make an image for the beast who was wounded by a sword and yet lived. 15 The second beast[j] was allowed to impart life to the image of the first[k] beast so that the image of the beast could talk and order the execution of those who would not worship the image of the beast. 16 The second beast[l] forces all people—important and unimportant, rich and poor, free and slaves—to be marked on their right hands or on their foreheads, 17 so that no one may buy or sell unless he has the mark, which is the beast’s name or the number of its name.
18 In this case wisdom is needed: Let the person who has understanding[m] calculate[n] the total[o] of the beast, since it is a human multitude,[p] and the sum of the multitude[q] is 600, 60, and six.[r]
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