NAHUM 1-3

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  1:1 An oracle concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum of Elkosh. God’s Wrath Against Nineveh2

The Lord is a jealous and avenging God;

the Lord is avenging and wrathful;

the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries

and keeps wrath for his enemies. 3

The Lord is slow to anger and great in power,

and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty.

His way is in whirlwind and storm,

and the clouds are the dust of his feet. 4

He rebukes the sea and makes it dry;

he dries up all the rivers;

Bashan and Carmel wither;

the bloom of Lebanon withers. 5

The mountains quake before him;

the hills melt;

the earth heaves before him,

the world and all who dwell in it.
6

Who can stand before his indignation?

Who can endure the heat of his anger?

His wrath is poured out like fire,

and the rocks are broken into pieces by him. 7

The Lord is good,

a stronghold in the day of trouble;

he knows those who take refuge in him. 8

But with an overflowing flood

he will make a complete end of the adversaries,

and will pursue his enemies into darkness. 9

What do you plot against the Lord?

He will make a complete end;

trouble will not rise up a second time. 10

For they are like entangled thorns,

like drunkards as they drink;

they are consumed like stubble fully dried. 11

From you came one

who plotted evil against the Lord,

a worthless counselor.
12

Thus says the Lord,

“Though they are at full strength and many,

they will be cut down and pass away.

Though I have afflicted you,

I will afflict you no more. 13

And now I will break his yoke from off you

and will burst your bonds apart.”
14

The Lord has given commandment about you:

“No more shall your name be perpetuated;

from the house of your gods I will cut off

the carved image and the metal image.

I will make your grave, for you are vile.”
15

Behold, upon the mountains, the feet of him

who brings good news,

who publishes peace!

Keep your feasts, O Judah;

fulfill your vows,

for never again shall the worthless pass through you;

he is utterly cut off. The Destruction of Nineveh2:1

The scatterer has come up against you.

Man the ramparts;

watch the road;

dress for battle;

collect all your strength.
2

For the Lord is restoring the majesty of Jacob

as the majesty of Israel,

for plunderers have plundered them

and ruined their branches.
3

The shield of his mighty men is red;

his soldiers are clothed in scarlet.

The chariots come with flashing metal

on the day he musters them;

the cypress spears are brandished. 4

The chariots race madly through the streets;

they rush to and fro through the squares;

they gleam like torches;

they dart like lightning. 5

He remembers his officers;

they stumble as they go,

they hasten to the wall;

the siege tower is set up. 6

The river gates are opened;

the palace melts away; 7

its mistress is stripped; she is carried off,

her slave girls lamenting,

moaning like doves

and beating their breasts. 8

Nineveh is like a pool

whose waters run away.

“Halt! Halt!” they cry,

but none turns back. 9

Plunder the silver,

plunder the gold!

There is no end of the treasure

or of the wealth of all precious things.
10

Desolate! Desolation and ruin!

Hearts melt and knees tremble;

anguish is in all loins;

all faces grow pale! 11

Where is the lions’ den,

the feeding place of the young lions,

where the lion and lioness went,

where his cubs were, with none to disturb? 12

The lion tore enough for his cubs

and strangled prey for his lionesses;

he filled his caves with prey

and his dens with torn flesh.
    13 Behold, I am against you, declares the Lord of hosts, and I will burn your chariots in smoke, and the sword shall devour your young lions. I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voice of your messengers shall no longer be heard. Woe to Nineveh3:1

Woe to the bloody city,

all full of lies and plunder—

no end to the prey! 2

The crack of the whip, and rumble of the wheel,

galloping horse and bounding chariot! 3

Horsemen charging,

flashing sword and glittering spear,

hosts of slain,

heaps of corpses,

dead bodies without end—

they stumble over the bodies! 4

And all for the countless whorings of the prostitute,

graceful and of deadly charms,

who betrays nations with her whorings,

and peoples with her charms.
5

Behold, I am against you,

declares the Lord of hosts,

and will lift up your skirts over your face;

and I will make nations look at your nakedness

and kingdoms at your shame. 6

I will throw filth at you

and treat you with contempt

and make you a spectacle. 7

And all who look at you will shrink from you and say,

“Wasted is Nineveh; who will grieve for her?”

Where shall I seek comforters for you?
8

Are you better than Thebes

that sat by the Nile,

with water around her,

her rampart a sea,

and water her wall? 9

Cush was her strength;

Egypt too, and that without limit;

Put and the Libyans were her helpers.
10

Yet she became an exile;

she went into captivity;

her infants were dashed in pieces

at the head of every street;

for her honored men lots were cast,

and all her great men were bound in chains. 11

You also will be drunken;

you will go into hiding;

you will seek a refuge from the enemy. 12

All your fortresses are like fig trees

with first-ripe figs—

if shaken they fall

into the mouth of the eater. 13

Behold, your troops

are women in your midst.

The gates of your land

are wide open to your enemies;

fire has devoured your bars.
14

Draw water for the siege;

strengthen your forts;

go into the clay;

tread the mortar;

take hold of the brick mold! 15

There will the fire devour you;

the sword will cut you off.

It will devour you like the locust.

Multiply yourselves like the locust;

multiply like the grasshopper! 16

You increased your merchants

more than the stars of the heavens.

The locust spreads its wings and flies away.
17

Your princes are like grasshoppers,

your scribes like clouds of locusts

settling on the fences

in a day of cold—

when the sun rises, they fly away;

no one knows where they are.
18

Your shepherds are asleep,

O king of Assyria;

your nobles slumber.

Your people are scattered on the mountains

with none to gather them. 19

There is no easing your hurt;

your wound is grievous.

All who hear the news about you

clap their hands over you.

For upon whom has not come

your unceasing evil?

PROVERBS 14

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14:1

The wisest of women builds her house,

but folly with her own hands tears it down. 2

Whoever walks in uprightness fears the Lord,

but he who is devious in his ways despises him. 3

By the mouth of a fool comes a rod for his back,

but the lips of the wise will preserve them. 4

Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean,

but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox. 5

A faithful witness does not lie,

but a false witness breathes out lies. 6

A scoffer seeks wisdom in vain,

but knowledge is easy for a man of understanding. 7

Leave the presence of a fool,

for there you do not meet words of knowledge. 8

The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way,

but the folly of fools is deceiving. 9

Fools mock at the guilt offering,

but the upright enjoy acceptance. 10

The heart knows its own bitterness,

and no stranger shares its joy. 11

The house of the wicked will be destroyed,

but the tent of the upright will flourish. 12

There is a way that seems right to a man,

but its end is the way to death. 13

Even in laughter the heart may ache,

and the end of joy may be grief. 14

The backslider in heart will be filled with the fruit of his ways,

and a good man will be filled with the fruit of his ways. 15

The simple believes everything,

but the prudent gives thought to his steps. 16

One who is wise is cautious and turns away from evil,

but a fool is reckless and careless. 17

A man of quick temper acts foolishly,

and a man of evil devices is hated. 18

The simple inherit folly,

but the prudent are crowned with knowledge. 19

The evil bow down before the good,

the wicked at the gates of the righteous. 20

The poor is disliked even by his neighbor,

but the rich has many friends. 21

Whoever despises his neighbor is a sinner,

but blessed is he who is generous to the poor. 22

Do they not go astray who devise evil?

Those who devise good meet steadfast love and faithfulness. 23

In all toil there is profit,

but mere talk tends only to poverty. 24

The crown of the wise is their wealth,

but the folly of fools brings folly. 25

A truthful witness saves lives,

but one who breathes out lies is deceitful. 26

In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence,

and his children will have a refuge. 27

The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life,

that one may turn away from the snares of death. 28

In a multitude of people is the glory of a king,

but without people a prince is ruined. 29

Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding,

but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly. 30

A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh,

but envy makes the bones rot. 31

Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker,

but he who is generous to the needy honors him. 32

The wicked is overthrown through his evildoing,

but the righteous finds refuge in his death. 33

Wisdom rests in the heart of a man of understanding,

but it makes itself known even in the midst of fools. 34

Righteousness exalts a nation,

but sin is a reproach to any people. 35

A servant who deals wisely has the king’s favor,

but his wrath falls on one who acts shamefully.

REVELATION 14

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The Lamb and the 144,000  14:1 Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, 3 and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. 4 It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb, 5 and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless. The Messages of the Three Angels6 Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. 7 And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”
    8 Another angel, a second, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.”
    9 And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”
    12 Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.
    13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!” The Harvest of the Earth14 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand. 15 And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.” 16 So he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped.
    17 Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 18 And another angel came out from the altar, the angel who has authority over the fire, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Put in your sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe.” 19 So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20 And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse’s bridle, for 1,600 stadia.