Revelation 7-11
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The 144,000 of Israel Sealed
7 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth so that no wind could blow on earth or sea or against any tree.(A) 2 I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to damage earth and sea, 3 saying, “Do not damage the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have marked the servants of our God with a seal on their foreheads.”(B)
4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the people of Israel:(C)
5 From the tribe of Judah twelve thousand sealed,
from the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Gad twelve thousand,
6 from the tribe of Asher twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand,
7 from the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Levi twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand,
8 from the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand sealed.
The Multitude from Every Nation
9 After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands.(D) 10 They cried out in a loud voice, saying,
“Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne and to the Lamb!”(E)
11 And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 singing,
“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom
and thanksgiving and honor
and power and might
be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”(F)
13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?” 14 I said to him, “Sir, you are the one who knows.” Then he said to me, “These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.(G)
15 For this reason they are before the throne of God
and worship him day and night within his temple,
and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them.(H)
16 They will hunger no more and thirst no more;
the sun will not strike them,
nor any scorching heat,(I)
17 for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd,
and he will guide them to springs of the water of life,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”(J)
The Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer
8 When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.(K) 2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.(L)
3 Another angel with a golden censer came and stood at the altar; he was given a great quantity of incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar that is before the throne.(M) 4 And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel.(N) 5 Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.(O)
The Seven Trumpets
6 Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets made ready to blow them.[a]
7 The first angel blew his trumpet, and there came hail and fire, mixed with blood, and they were hurled to the earth, and a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.(P)
8 The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea.(Q) 9 A third of the sea became blood, a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
10 The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water.(R) 11 The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many died from the water because it was made bitter.(S)
12 The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light was darkened; a third of the day was kept from shining and likewise the night.(T)
13 Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew in midheaven, “Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!”(U)
9 And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit;(V) 2 he opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft.(W) 3 Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given authority like the authority of scorpions of the earth.(X) 4 They were told not to damage the grass of the earth or any green growth or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.(Y) 5 They were allowed to torment them for five months but not to kill them, and the agony suffered was like that caused by a scorpion when it stings someone.(Z) 6 And in those days people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will flee from them.(AA)
7 In appearance the locusts were like horses equipped for battle. On their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were like human faces,(AB) 8 their hair like women’s hair, and their teeth like lions’ teeth;(AC) 9 they had scales like iron breastplates, and the noise of their wings was like the noise of many chariots with horses rushing into battle.(AD) 10 They have tails like scorpions, with stingers, and in their tails is their power to harm people for five months. 11 They have as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon,[b] and in Greek he is called Apollyon.[c](AE)
12 The first woe has passed. There are still two woes to come.(AF)
13 Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the horns[d] of the golden altar before God,(AG) 14 saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great River Euphrates.”(AH) 15 So the four angels were released, who had been held ready for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, to kill a third of humankind. 16 The number of the troops of cavalry was two hundred million; I heard their number.(AI) 17 And this was how I saw the horses in my vision: the riders wore breastplates the color of fire and of sapphire[e] and of sulfur; the heads of the horses were like lions’ heads, and fire and smoke and sulfur came out of their mouths.(AJ) 18 By these three plagues a third of humankind was killed, by the fire and smoke and sulfur coming out of the horses’[f] mouths. 19 For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails; their tails are like serpents, with heads, and with them they inflict harm.
20 The rest of humankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands or give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk.(AK) 21 And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their prostitution or their thefts.
The Angel with the Little Scroll
10 And I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head; his face was like the sun and his legs like pillars of fire.(AL) 2 He held a little scroll open in his hand. Setting his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, 3 he gave a great shout, like a lion roaring. And when he shouted, the seven thunders sounded.(AM) 4 And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down.”(AN) 5 Then the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and the land
raised his right hand to heaven(AO)
6 and swore by him who lives forever and ever,
who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it: “There will be no more delay,(AP) 7 but in the days when the seventh angel is to blow his trumpet, the mystery of God will be fulfilled, as he announced to his servants the prophets.”(AQ)
8 Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again, saying, “Go, take the scroll that is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” 9 So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll, and he said to me, “Take it and eat; it will be bitter to your stomach but sweet as honey in your mouth.”(AR) 10 So I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it; it was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it my stomach was made bitter.(AS)
11 Then they said to me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples and nations and languages and kings.”
The Two Witnesses
11 Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Come and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there,(AT) 2 but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample over the holy city for forty-two months.(AU) 3 And I will grant my two witnesses authority to prophesy for one thousand two hundred sixty days, wearing sackcloth.”(AV)
4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.(AW) 5 And if anyone wants to harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes; anyone who wants to harm them must be killed in this manner.(AX) 6 They have authority to shut the sky, so that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have authority over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire.(AY)
7 When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the bottomless pit will wage war on them and conquer them and kill them,(AZ) 8 and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that is prophetically[g] called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.(BA) 9 For three and a half days members of the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, 10 and the inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and celebrate and exchange presents, because these two prophets tormented the inhabitants of the earth.(BB)
11 But after the three and a half days, the breath[h] of life from God entered the two witnesses,[i] and they stood on their feet, and those who saw them were terrified.(BC) 12 Then they[j] heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they went up to heaven in a cloud while their enemies watched them.(BD) 13 At that moment there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.(BE)
14 The second woe has passed. The third woe is coming very soon.(BF)
The Seventh Trumpet
15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying,
“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord
and of his Messiah,[k]
and he will reign forever and ever.”(BG)
16 Then the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God,(BH) 17 singing,
“We give you thanks, Lord God Almighty,
who are and who were,
for you have taken your great power
and begun to reign.(BI)
18 The nations raged,
but your wrath has come,
and the time for judging the dead,
for rewarding your servants, the prophets
and saints and all who fear your name,
both small and great,
and for destroying those who destroy the earth.”(BJ)
19 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple, and there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.(BK)
Footnotes
- 8.6 Other ancient authorities read made themselves ready to blow
- 9.11 That is, Destruction
- 9.11 That is, Destroyer
- 9.13 Other ancient authorities read four horns
- 9.17 Gk hyacinth
- 9.18 Gk their
- 11.8 Or allegorically; Gk spiritually
- 11.11 Or the spirit
- 11.11 Gk them
- 11.12 Other ancient authorities read I
- 11.15 Gk Christ
Zephaniah 1-3
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
1 The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi son of Gedaliah son of Amariah son of Hezekiah, in the days of King Josiah son of Amon of Judah.(A)
The Coming Judgment on Judah
2 I will utterly sweep away everything
from the face of the earth, says the Lord.(B)
3 I will sweep away humans and animals;
I will sweep away the birds of the air
and the fish of the sea.
I will make the wicked stumble.[a]
I will cut off humanity
from the face of the earth, says the Lord.(C)
4 I will stretch out my hand against Judah
and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
and I will cut off from this place every remnant of Baal
and the name of the idolatrous priests,[b](D)
5 those who bow down on the roofs
to the host of the heavens,
those who bow down and swear to the Lord
but also swear by Milcom,[c](E)
6 those who have turned back from following the Lord,
who have not sought the Lord or inquired of him.(F)
7 Be silent before the Lord God,
for the day of the Lord is at hand!
The Lord has prepared a sacrifice;
he has consecrated his guests.(G)
8 And on the day of the Lord’s sacrifice
I will punish the officials and the king’s sons
and all who dress themselves in foreign attire.(H)
9 On that day I will punish
all who leap over the threshold,
who fill their master’s house
with violence and fraud.(I)
10 On that day, says the Lord,
a cry will be heard from the Fish Gate,
a wail from the Second Quarter,
a loud crash from the hills.(J)
11 The inhabitants of the Mortar wail,
for all the traders have perished;
all who weigh out silver are cut off.
12 At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
and I will punish the people
who settle like dregs in wine,
those who say in their hearts,
“The Lord will not do good,
nor will he do harm.”(K)
13 Their wealth shall be plundered
and their houses laid waste.
Though they build houses,
they shall not inhabit them;
though they plant vineyards,
they shall not drink wine from them.(L)
The Great Day of the Lord
14 The great day of the Lord is near,
near and hastening fast;
the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter;
the warrior cries aloud there.(M)
15 That day will be a day of wrath,
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of ruin and devastation,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and thick darkness,(N)
16 a day of trumpet blast and battle cry
against the fortified cities
and against the lofty battlements.
17 I will bring such distress upon people
that they shall walk like the blind;
because they have sinned against the Lord,
their blood shall be poured out like dust
and their flesh like dung.(O)
18 Neither their silver nor their gold
will be able to save them
on the day of the Lord’s wrath;
in the fire of his passion
the whole earth shall be consumed,
for a full, a terrible end
he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.(P)
Judgment on Israel’s Enemies
2 Gather together, gather,
O shameless nation,(Q)
2 before you are driven away[d]
like the drifting chaff,[e]
before there comes upon you
the fierce anger of the Lord,
before there comes upon you
the day of the Lord’s wrath.(R)
3 Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land
who do his commands;
seek righteousness, seek humility;
perhaps you may be hidden
on the day of the Lord’s wrath.(S)
4 For Gaza shall be deserted,
and Ashkelon shall become a desolation;
Ashdod’s people shall be driven out at noon,
and Ekron shall be uprooted.(T)
5 Woe, inhabitants of the seacoast,
you nation of the Cherethites!
The word of the Lord is against you,
O Canaan, land of the Philistines,
and I will destroy you until no inhabitant is left.(U)
6 And you, O seacoast, shall be pastures,
meadows for shepherds,
and folds for flocks.(V)
7 The seacoast shall become the possession
of the remnant of the house of Judah,
on which they shall pasture,
and in the houses of Ashkelon
they shall lie down at evening.
For the Lord their God will be mindful of them
and restore their fortunes.(W)
8 I have heard the taunts of Moab
and the revilings of the Ammonites,
how they have taunted my people
and made boasts against their territory.(X)
9 Therefore, as I live, says the Lord of hosts,
the God of Israel,
Moab shall become like Sodom
and the Ammonites like Gomorrah,
a land possessed by nettles and salt pits
and a waste forever.
The remnant of my people shall plunder them,
and the survivors of my nation shall possess them.(Y)
10 This shall be their lot in return for their pride,
because they scoffed and boasted
against the people of the Lord of hosts.(Z)
11 The Lord will be terrible against them;
he will shrivel all the gods of the earth,
and to him shall bow down
each in its place,
all the coasts and islands of the nations.(AA)
12 You also, O Cushites,
shall be killed by my sword.(AB)
13 And he will stretch out his hand against the north
and destroy Assyria,
and he will make Nineveh a desolation,
a dry waste like the desert.(AC)
14 Herds shall lie down in it,
every wild animal of the earth;[f]
the desert owl[g] and the screech owl[h]
shall lodge on its capitals;
the owl[i] shall hoot at the window,
the raven[j] croak on the threshold,
for its cedar work will be laid bare.(AD)
15 Is this the exultant city
that lived secure,
that said to itself,
“I am, and there is no one else”?
What a desolation it has become,
a lair for wild animals!
Everyone who passes by it
hisses and shakes the fist.(AE)
The Wickedness of Jerusalem
3 Woe, soiled, defiled,
oppressing city!(AF)
2 It has listened to no voice;
it has accepted no correction.
It has not trusted in the Lord;
it has not drawn near to its God.(AG)
3 The officials within it
are roaring lions;
its judges are evening wolves
that leave nothing until the morning.(AH)
4 Its prophets are reckless,
faithless persons;
its priests have profaned what is sacred;
they have done violence to the law.(AI)
5 The Lord within it is righteous;
he does no wrong.
Every morning he renders his judgment,
each dawn without fail,
but the unjust knows no shame.(AJ)
6 I have cut off nations;
their battlements are in ruins;
I have laid waste their streets
so that no one walks in them;
their cities have been made desolate,
without people, without inhabitants.(AK)
7 I said, “Surely the city[k] will fear me;
it will accept correction;
it will not lose sight[l]
of all that I have brought upon it.”
But they were the more eager
to make all their deeds corrupt.(AL)
Punishment and Conversion of the Nations
8 Therefore wait for me, says the Lord,
for the day when I arise as a witness.
For my decision is to gather nations,
to assemble kingdoms,
to pour out upon them my indignation,
all the heat of my anger,
for in the fire of my passion
all the earth shall be consumed.(AM)
9 At that time I will change the speech of the peoples
to a pure speech,
that all of them may call on the name of the Lord
and serve him with one accord.(AN)
10 From beyond the rivers of Cush
my suppliants, my scattered ones,
shall bring my offering.(AO)
11 On that day you shall not be put to shame
because of all the deeds by which you have rebelled against me;
for then I will remove from your midst
your proudly exultant ones,
and you shall no longer be haughty
in my holy mountain.(AP)
12 For I will leave in the midst of you
a people humble and lowly.
They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord—(AQ)
13 the remnant of Israel;
they shall do no wrong
and utter no lies,
nor shall a deceitful tongue
be found in their mouths.
Then they will pasture and lie down,
and no one shall make them afraid.(AR)
A Song of Joy
14 Sing aloud, O daughter Zion;
shout, O Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart,
O daughter Jerusalem!(AS)
15 The Lord has taken away the judgments against you;
he has turned away your enemies.
The king of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;
you shall fear disaster no more.(AT)
16 On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:
“Do not fear, O Zion;
do not let your hands grow weak.(AU)
17 The Lord, your God, is in your midst,
a warrior who gives victory;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will renew you[m] in his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing(AV)
18 as on a day of festival.”[n]
I will remove disaster from you,[o]
so that you will not bear reproach for it.
19 I will deal with all your oppressors
at that time.
And I will save the lame
and gather the outcast,
and I will change their shame into praise
and renown in all the earth.(AW)
20 At that time I will bring you home,
at the time when I gather you;
for I will make you renowned and praised
among all the peoples of the earth,
when I restore your fortunes
before your eyes, says the Lord.(AX)
Footnotes
- 1.3 Cn: Heb and those who cause the wicked to stumble
- 1.4 Compare Gk: Heb the idolatrous priests with the priests
- 1.5 Gk mss Syr Vg: Heb their king
- 2.2 Cn: Heb before a decree is born
- 2.2 Cn: Heb like chaff a day has passed away
- 2.14 Gk: Heb nation
- 2.14 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 2.14 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 2.14 Cn: Heb a voice
- 2.14 Gk Vg: Heb desolation
- 3.7 Heb it
- 3.7 Gk Syr: Heb its dwelling will not be cut off
- 3.17 Gk Syr: Heb he will be silent
- 3.18 Gk Syr: Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 3.18 Cn: Heb I will remove from you; they were
Malachi 1-4
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
1 An oracle. The word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi.[a]
Israel Preferred to Edom
2 “I have loved you,” says the Lord. But you say, “How have you loved us?” “Is not Esau Jacob’s brother?” says the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob,(A) 3 but I have hated Esau; I have made his hill country a desolation and his heritage a desert for jackals.(B) 4 If Edom says, ‘We are shattered but we will rebuild the ruins,’ the Lord of hosts says: They may build, but I will tear down, until they are called the wicked country, the people with whom the Lord is angry forever. 5 Your own eyes shall see this, and you shall say, ‘Great is the Lord beyond the borders of Israel!’ ”(C)
Corruption of the Priesthood
6 A son honors his father and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is the honor due me? And if I am a master, where is the respect due me? says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name. You say, “How have we despised your name?”(D) 7 By offering polluted food on my altar. And you say, “How have we polluted it?”[b] By thinking that the Lord’s table may be despised.(E) 8 When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not wrong? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not wrong? Try presenting that to your governor; will he be pleased with you or show you favor? says the Lord of hosts.(F) 9 And now implore the favor of God, that he may be gracious to us. The fault is yours. Will he show favor to any of you? says the Lord of hosts.(G) 10 Oh, that someone among you would shut the temple[c] doors, so that you would not kindle fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hands.(H) 11 For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name is great among the nations, and in every place incense is offered to my name and a pure offering, for my name is great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts.(I) 12 But you profane it when you say that the Lord’s table is polluted and its food[d] may be despised. 13 “What a weariness this is,” you say, and you sniff at it,[e] says the Lord of hosts. You bring what has been taken by violence or is lame or sick, and this you bring as your offering! Shall I accept that from your hand? says the Lord.(J) 14 Cursed be the cheat who has a male in the flock and vows to give it and yet sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished, for I am a great King, says the Lord of hosts, and my name is reverenced among the nations.(K)
2 And now, O priests, this command is for you. 2 If you will not listen, if you will not lay it to heart to give glory to my name, says the Lord of hosts, then I will send the curse on you, and I will curse your blessings; indeed, I have already cursed them[f] because you do not lay it to heart.(L) 3 I will rebuke your offspring and spread dung on your faces, the dung of your offerings, and I will put you out of my presence.[g]
4 Know, then, that I have sent this command to you, that my covenant with Levi may hold, says the Lord of hosts.(M) 5 My covenant with him was a covenant of life and well-being, which I gave him; this called for reverence, and he revered me and stood in awe of my name.(N) 6 True instruction was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in integrity and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity.(O) 7 For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.(P) 8 But you have turned aside from the way; you have caused many to stumble by your instruction; you have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the Lord of hosts,(Q) 9 so I make you despised and humbled before all the people, inasmuch as you have not kept my ways but have shown partiality in your instruction.(R)
The Covenant Profaned by Judah
10 Have we not all one father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our ancestors?(S) 11 Judah has been faithless, and abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem, for Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the Lord, which he loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god.(T) 12 For the one who does this, may the Lord cut off any witness[h] or advocate from the tents of Jacob or anyone who could bring an offering to the Lord of hosts.(U)
13 And this you do as well: You cover the Lord’s altar with tears, with weeping and groaning because he no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor at your hand. 14 You ask, “Why does he not?” Because the Lord was a witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant.(V) 15 Did God[i] not make them one, flesh with spirit in it? And what does the one desire? Godly offspring. So look to yourselves, and do not let anyone be faithless to the wife of his youth.[j](W) 16 For I hate[k] divorce, says the Lord, the God of Israel, and covering one’s garment with violence, says the Lord of hosts. So take heed to yourselves and do not be faithless.
17 You have wearied the Lord with your words. Yet you say, “How have we wearied him?” By saying, “All who do evil are good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them.” Or by asking, “Where is the God of justice?”(X)
The Coming Messenger
3 See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight—indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.(Y) 2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?
For he is like a refiner’s fire and like washers’ soap;(Z) 3 he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness.[l](AA) 4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord, as in the days of old and as in former years.
5 Then I will draw near to you for judgment; I will be swift to bear witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired workers in their wages, the widow, and the orphan, against those who thrust aside the alien and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.(AB)
6 For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, have not perished.(AC) 7 Ever since the days of your ancestors you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, “How shall we return?”(AD)
Do Not Rob God
8 Will anyone rob God? Yet you are robbing me! But you say, “How are we robbing you?” In your tithes and offerings!(AE) 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me—the whole nation of you! 10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing.(AF) 11 I will rebuke the locust[m] for you, so that it will not destroy the produce of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not be barren, says the Lord of hosts. 12 Then all nations will count you happy, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.
13 You have spoken harsh words against me, says the Lord. Yet you say, “How have we spoken against you?”(AG) 14 You have said, “It is vain to serve God. What do we profit by keeping his command or by going about as mourners before the Lord of hosts?(AH) 15 Now we count the arrogant happy; evildoers not only prosper, but when they put God to the test they escape.”(AI)
The Reward of the Faithful
16 Then those who revered the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord took note and listened, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who revered the Lord and thought on his name.(AJ) 17 They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, my special possession on the day when I act, and I will spare them as parents spare their children who serve them.(AK) 18 Then once more you shall see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.(AL)
The Great Day of the Lord
4 [n]See, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble; the day that comes shall burn them up, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.(AM) 2 But for you who revere my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.(AN) 3 And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts.(AO)
4 Remember the teaching of my servant Moses, the statutes and ordinances that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel.(AP)
5 See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.(AQ) 6 He will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents, so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse.[o]
Footnotes
- 1.1 Or by my messenger
- 1.7 Gk: Heb you
- 1.10 Heb lacks temple
- 1.12 Cn: Heb its fruit, its food
- 1.13 Or at me
- 2.2 Heb it
- 2.3 Cn Compare Gk Syr: Heb and he shall bear you to it
- 2.12 Q ms Compare Gk: MT arouse
- 2.15 Heb he
- 2.15 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 2.16 Cn: Heb he hates
- 3.3 Or right offerings to the Lord
- 3.11 Heb devourer
- 4.1 3.19 in Heb
- 4.6 Or a ban of utter destruction
Proverbs 30
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Sayings of Agur
30 The words of Agur son of Jakeh. An oracle.
Thus says the man: I am weary, O God;
I am weary, O God, and am wasting away.[a](A)
2 Surely I am too stupid to be human;
I do not have human understanding.(B)
3 I have not learned wisdom,
nor have I knowledge of the holy ones.[b](C)
4 Who has ascended to heaven and come down?
Who has gathered the wind in the hollow of the hand?
Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment?
Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is the person’s name?
And what is the name of the person’s child?
Surely you know!(D)
5 Every word of God proves true;
he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.(E)
6 Do not add to his words,
lest he rebuke you, and you be found a liar.(F)
7 Two things I ask of you;
do not deny them to me before I die:
8 Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that I need,(G)
9 lest I be full and deny you
and say, “Who is the Lord?”
or I be poor and steal
and profane the name of my God.(H)
10 Do not slander a servant to a master,
lest the servant curse you, and you be held guilty.(I)
11 There are those who curse their fathers
and do not bless their mothers.(J)
12 There are those who are pure in their own eyes,
yet are not cleansed of their filthiness.(K)
13 There are those—how lofty are their eyes,
how high their eyelids lift!—(L)
14 there are those whose teeth are swords,
whose teeth are knives
to devour the poor from off the earth,
the needy from among mortals.(M)
15 The leech has two daughters;
“Give, give,” they cry.
Three things are never satisfied;
four never say, “Enough”:
16 Sheol, the barren womb,
the earth ever-thirsty for water,
and the fire that never says, “Enough.”(N)
17 The eye that mocks a father
and scorns to obey a mother
will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley
and eaten by the vultures.(O)
18 Three things are too wonderful for me;
four I do not understand:
19 the way of an eagle in the sky,
the way of a snake on a rock,
the way of a ship on the high seas,
and the way of a man with a woman.
20 This is the way of an adulteress:
she eats and wipes her mouth
and says, “I have done no wrong.”(P)
21 Under three things the earth trembles;
under four it cannot bear up:
22 a slave when he becomes king
and a fool when glutted with food,(Q)
23 a contemptible woman when she gets a husband
and a maid when she supplants her mistress.
24 Four things on earth are small,
yet they are exceedingly wise:
25 the ants are a people without strength,
yet they provide their food in the summer;(R)
26 the badgers are a people without power,
yet they make their homes in the rocks;(S)
27 the locusts have no king,
yet all of them march in rank;
28 the lizard[c] can be grasped in the hand,
yet it is found in kings’ palaces.
29 Three things are stately in their stride;
four are stately in their gait:
30 the lion, which is mightiest among wild animals
and does not turn back before any;(T)
31 the strutting rooster,[d] the he-goat,
and a king against whom none can stand.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.