Old/New Testament
God Is Awesome
1 The [a](A)oracle of (B)Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.
2 A (C)jealous and avenging God is the Lord;
The Lord is (D)avenging and [b]wrathful.
The Lord takes (E)vengeance on His adversaries,
And He reserves wrath for His enemies.
3 The Lord is (F)slow to anger and great in power,
And the Lord will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.
In (G)whirlwind and storm is His way,
And (H)clouds are the dust beneath His feet.
4 He (I)rebukes the sea and makes it dry;
He dries up all the rivers.
(J)Bashan and Carmel wither;
The blossoms of Lebanon wither.
5 Mountains (K)quake because of Him
And the hills (L)dissolve;
Indeed the earth is (M)upheaved by His presence,
The (N)world and all the inhabitants in it.
6 (O)Who can stand before His indignation?
Who can endure the (P)burning of His anger?
His (Q)wrath is poured out like fire
And the (R)rocks are broken up by Him.
7 The Lord is (S)good,
A stronghold in the day of trouble,
And (T)He knows those who take refuge in Him.
8 But with an (U)overflowing flood
He will make a complete end of [c]its site,
And will pursue His enemies into (V)darkness.
9 Whatever you (W)devise against the Lord,
He will make a (X)complete end of it.
Distress will not rise up twice.
10 Like tangled (Y)thorns,
And like those who are (Z)drunken with their drink,
They are (AA)consumed
As stubble completely withered.
11 From you has gone forth
One who (AB)plotted evil against the Lord,
A [d](AC)wicked counselor.
12 Thus says the Lord,
“Though they are at full strength and likewise many,
Even so, they will be (AD)cut off and pass away.
Though I have afflicted you,
I will afflict you (AE)no longer.
13 “So now, I will (AF)break his yoke bar from upon you,
And I will tear off your shackles.”
14 The Lord has issued a command concerning [e]you:
“[f]Your name will (AG)no longer be perpetuated.
I will cut off [g](AH)idol and [h]image
From the house of your gods.
I will prepare your (AI)grave,
For you are contemptible.”
15 [i]Behold, (AJ)on the mountains the feet of him who brings good news,
Who announces peace!
(AK)Celebrate your feasts, O Judah;
Pay your vows.
For (AL)never again will the [j]wicked one pass through you;
He is (AM)cut off completely.
The Overthrow of Nineveh
2 [k]The one who (AN)scatters has come up against [l]you.
Man the fortress, watch the road;
[m]Strengthen your back, [n]summon all your strength.
2 For the Lord will restore the (AO)splendor of Jacob
(AP)Like the splendor of Israel,
Even though devastators have devastated them
And (AQ)destroyed their vine branches.
3 The shields of [o]his mighty men are colored red,
The warriors are dressed in (AR)scarlet,
The chariots are enveloped in [p]flashing steel
[q]When he is prepared to march,
And the cypress (AS)spears are brandished.
4 The (AT)chariots race madly in the streets,
They rush wildly in the [r]squares,
Their appearance is like torches,
They dash to and fro like lightning flashes.
5 He remembers his (AU)nobles;
They (AV)stumble in their march,
They hurry to her wall,
And the [s]mantelet is set up.
6 The gates of the rivers are opened
And the palace is dissolved.
7 It is fixed:
She is stripped, she is carried away,
And her handmaids are (AW)moaning like the sound of doves,
(AX)Beating on their [t]breasts.
8 Though Nineveh was like a pool of water throughout her days,
Now they are fleeing;
“Stop, stop,”
But (AY)no one turns back.
9 Plunder the silver!
Plunder the (AZ)gold!
For there is no limit to the treasure—
Wealth from every kind of desirable object.
10 She is (BA)emptied! Yes, she is desolate and waste!
(BB)Hearts are melting and knees knocking!
Also anguish is in [u]the whole body
And all their (BC)faces are grown pale!
11 Where is the den of the lions
And the feeding place of the (BD)young lions,
Where the lion, lioness and lion’s cub prowled,
With nothing to disturb them?
12 The lion tore enough for his cubs,
[v]Killed enough for his lionesses,
And filled his lairs with prey
And his dens with torn flesh.
13 “Behold, (BE)I am against you,” declares the Lord of hosts. “I will (BF)burn up her chariots in smoke, a sword will devour your young lions; I will (BG)cut off your prey from the land, and no longer will the voice of your messengers be heard.”
Nineveh’s Complete Ruin
3 (BH)Woe to the bloody city, completely full of lies and pillage;
Her prey never departs.
2 The (BI)noise of the whip,
The noise of the rattling of the wheel,
Galloping horses
And [w]bounding chariots!
3 Horsemen charging,
Swords flashing, (BJ)spears gleaming,
(BK)Many slain, a mass of corpses,
And [x](BL)countless dead bodies—
They stumble over [y]the dead bodies!
4 All because of the (BM)many harlotries of the harlot,
The charming one, the (BN)mistress of sorceries,
Who (BO)sells nations by her harlotries
And families by her sorceries.
5 “Behold, (BP)I am against you,” declares the Lord of hosts;
“And I will [z](BQ)lift up your skirts over your face,
And (BR)show to the nations your nakedness
And to the kingdoms your disgrace.
6 “I will (BS)throw [aa]filth on you
And (BT)make you vile,
And set you up as a (BU)spectacle.
7 “And it will come about that all who see you
Will [ab]shrink from you and say,
‘Nineveh is devastated!
(BV)Who will grieve for her?’
Where will I seek comforters for you?”
8 Are you better than [ac](BW)No-amon,
Which was situated by the (BX)waters of the Nile,
With water surrounding her,
Whose rampart was [ad]the sea,
Whose wall consisted of [ae]the sea?
9 (BY)Ethiopia was her might,
And Egypt too, without limits.
(BZ)Put and (CA)Lubim were among [af]her helpers.
10 Yet she (CB)became an exile,
She went into captivity;
Also her (CC)small children were dashed to pieces
(CD)At the head of every street;
They (CE)cast lots for her honorable men,
And all her great men were bound with fetters.
11 You too will become (CF)drunk,
You will be (CG)hidden.
You too will search for a refuge from the enemy.
12 All your fortifications are (CH)fig trees with [ag](CI)ripe fruit—
When shaken, they fall into the eater’s mouth.
13 Behold, your people are (CJ)women in your midst!
The gates of your land are (CK)opened wide to your enemies;
Fire consumes your gate bars.
14 (CL)Draw for yourself water for the siege!
(CM)Strengthen your fortifications!
Go into the clay and tread the mortar!
Take hold of the brick mold!
15 There (CN)fire will consume you,
The sword will cut you down;
It will (CO)consume you as the locust does.
Multiply yourself like the creeping locust,
Multiply yourself like the swarming locust.
16 You have increased your (CP)traders more than the stars of heaven—
The creeping locust [ah]strips and flies away.
17 Your [ai](CQ)guardsmen are like the swarming locust.
Your (CR)marshals are like hordes of grasshoppers
Settling in the stone walls on a cold day.
The sun rises and they flee,
And the place where they are is not known.
18 Your shepherds are (CS)sleeping, O (CT)king of Assyria;
Your (CU)nobles are lying down.
Your people are (CV)scattered on the mountains
And there is no one to regather them.
19 There is (CW)no relief for your breakdown,
Your (CX)wound is incurable.
All who hear [aj]about you
Will (CY)clap their hands over you,
For on whom has not your evil passed continually?
The Lamb and the 144,000 on Mount Zion
14 Then I looked, and behold, (A)the Lamb was standing on (B)Mount Zion, and with Him (C)one hundred and forty-four thousand, having (D)His name and the (E)name of His Father written (F)on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a voice from heaven, like (G)the sound of many waters and like the (H)sound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the sound of (I)harpists playing on their harps. 3 And they *[a]sang (J)a new song before the throne and before the (K)four living creatures and the (L)elders; and (M)no one could learn the song except the (N)one hundred and forty-four thousand who had been (O)purchased from the earth. 4 (P)These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they [b]have kept themselves chaste. These are the ones who (Q)follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been (R)purchased from among men (S)as first fruits to God and to the Lamb. 5 And (T)no lie was found in their mouth; they are (U)blameless.
Vision of the Angel with the Gospel
6 And I saw another angel flying in (V)midheaven, having (W)an eternal gospel to preach to (X)those who [c]live on the earth, and to (Y)every nation and tribe and tongue and people; 7 and he said with a loud voice, “(Z)Fear God, and (AA)give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who (AB)made the heaven and the earth and sea and (AC)springs of waters.”
8 And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, “[d](AD)Fallen, fallen is (AE)Babylon the great, she who has (AF)made all the nations drink of the (AG)wine of the [e]passion of her immorality.”
Doom for Worshipers of the Beast
9 Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone (AH)worships the beast and his (AI)image, and receives a (AJ)mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he also will drink of the (AK)wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed [f]in full strength (AL)in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with (AM)fire and [g]brimstone in the presence of the (AN)holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the (AO)smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; (AP)they have no rest day and night, those who (AQ)worship the beast and his (AR)image, and [h]whoever receives the (AS)mark of his name.” 12 Here is (AT)the [i]perseverance of the [j]saints who (AU)keep the commandments of God and [k](AV)their faith in Jesus.
13 And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Write, ‘(AW)Blessed are the dead who (AX)die in the Lord from now on!’” “Yes,” (AY)says the Spirit, “so that they may (AZ)rest from their labors, for their (BA)deeds follow with them.”
The Reapers
14 Then I looked, and behold, a (BB)white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one (BC)like [l]a son of man, having a golden (BD)crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. 15 And another angel (BE)came out of the [m]temple, crying out with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “[n](BF)Put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the (BG)harvest of the earth [o]is ripe.” 16 Then He who sat on the cloud [p]swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped.
17 And another angel (BH)came out of the [q]temple which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. 18 Then another angel, (BI)the one who has power over fire, came out from (BJ)the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “[r](BK)Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters [s]from the vine of the earth, (BL)because her grapes are ripe.” 19 So the angel [t]swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into (BM)the great wine press of the wrath of God. 20 And (BN)the wine press was trodden (BO)outside the city, and (BP)blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses’ bridles, [u]for a distance of [v]two hundred miles.
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