Micah 6

The LORD's Case against Israel
 ¹  Listen to what the LORD is saying:

"Stand up and state your case against me.
  Let the mountains and hills be called to witness your complaints.
 ²  And now, O mountains,
  listen to the LORD's complaint!
He has a case against his people.
  He will bring charges against Israel.

 ³  "O my people, what have I done to you?
  What have I done to make you tired of me?
  Answer me!
 ⁴  For I brought you out of Egypt
  and redeemed you from slavery.
  I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to help you.
 ⁵  Don't you remember, my people,
  how King Balak of Moab tried to have you cursed
  and how Balaam son of Beor blessed you instead?
And remember your journey from Acacia Grove [5]  to Gilgal,
  when I, the LORD, did everything I could
  to teach you about my faithfulness."

 ⁶  What can we bring to the LORD? What kind of offerings should we give him? Should we bow before God with offerings of yearling calves?  ⁷  Should we offer him thousands of rams
  and ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Should we sacrifice our firstborn children
  to pay for our sins?

 ⁸  "No, O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." Israel's Guilt and Punishment
 ⁹  Fear the LORD if you are wise!
  His voice calls to everyone in Jerusalem:
"The armies of destruction are coming;
  the LORD is sending them. [9] 
 ¹⁰  What shall I say about the homes of the wicked
  filled with treasures gained by cheating?
What about the disgusting practice
  of measuring out grain with dishonest measures? [10] 
 ¹¹  How can I tolerate your merchants
  who use dishonest scales and weights?
 ¹²  The rich among you have become wealthy
  through extortion and violence.
Your citizens are so used to lying
  that their tongues can no longer tell the truth.

 ¹³  "Therefore, I will wound you!
  I will bring you to ruin for all your sins.
 ¹⁴  You will eat but never have enough.
  Your hunger pangs and emptiness will remain.
And though you try to save your money,
  it will come to nothing in the end.
You will save a little,
  but I will give it to those who conquer you.
 ¹⁵  You will plant crops
  but not harvest them.
You will press your olives
  but not get enough oil to anoint yourselves.
You will trample the grapes
  but get no juice to make your wine.
 ¹⁶  You keep only the laws of evil King Omri;
  you follow only the example of wicked King Ahab!
Therefore, I will make an example of you,
  bringing you to complete ruin.
You will be treated with contempt,
  mocked by all who see you."

Micah 7

Misery Turned to Hope
 ¹  How miserable I am!
I feel like the fruit picker after the harvest
  who can find nothing to eat.
Not a cluster of grapes or a single early fig
  can be found to satisfy my hunger.
 ²  The godly people have all disappeared;
  not one honest person is left on the earth.
They are all murderers,
  setting traps even for their own brothers.
 ³  Both their hands are equally skilled at doing evil!
  Officials and judges alike demand bribes.
The people with influence get what they want,
  and together they scheme to twist justice.
 ⁴  Even the best of them is like a brier;
  the most honest is as dangerous as a hedge of thorns.
But your judgment day is coming swiftly now.
  Your time of punishment is here, a time of confusion.
 ⁵  Don't trust anyone—
  not your best friend or even your wife!
 ⁶  For the son despises his father.
  The daughter defies her mother.
The daughter-in-law defies her mother-in-law.
  Your enemies are right in your own household!

 ⁷  As for me, I look to the LORD for help.
  I wait confidently for God to save me,
  and my God will certainly hear me.
 ⁸  Do not gloat over me, my enemies!
  For though I fall, I will rise again.
Though I sit in darkness,
  the LORD will be my light.
 ⁹  I will be patient as the LORD punishes me,
  for I have sinned against him.
But after that, he will take up my case
  and give me justice for all I have suffered from my enemies.
The LORD will bring me into the light,
  and I will see his righteousness.
 ¹⁰  Then my enemies will see that the LORD is on my side.
  They will be ashamed that they taunted me, saying,
"So where is the LORD—
  that God of yours?"
With my own eyes I will see their downfall;
  they will be trampled like mud in the streets.

 ¹¹  In that day, Israel, your cities will be rebuilt,
  and your borders will be extended.
 ¹²  People from many lands will come and honor you—
  from Assyria all the way to the towns of Egypt,
from Egypt all the way to the Euphrates River, [12] 
  and from distant seas and mountains.
 ¹³  But the land [13]  will become empty and desolate
  because of the wickedness of those who live there.

The LORD's Compassion on Israel
 ¹⁴  O LORD, protect your people with your shepherd's staff;
  lead your flock, your special possession.
Though they live alone in a thicket
  on the heights of Mount Carmel, [14] 
let them graze in the fertile pastures of Bashan and Gilead
  as they did long ago.

 ¹⁵  "Yes," says the LORD,
  "I will do mighty miracles for you,
like those I did when I rescued you
  from slavery in Egypt."

 ¹⁶  All the nations of the world will stand amazed
  at what the LORD will do for you.
They will be embarrassed
  at their feeble power.
They will cover their mouths in silent awe,
  deaf to everything around them.
 ¹⁷  Like snakes crawling from their holes,
  they will come out to meet the LORD our God.
They will fear him greatly,
  trembling in terror at his presence.

 ¹⁸  Where is another God like you,
  who pardons the guilt of the remnant,
  overlooking the sins of his special people?
You will not stay angry with your people forever,
  because you delight in showing unfailing love.
 ¹⁹  Once again you will have compassion on us.
  You will trample our sins under your feet
  and throw them into the depths of the ocean!
 ²⁰  You will show us your faithfulness and unfailing love
  as you promised to our ancestors Abraham and Jacob long ago.

<<  6:5 Hebrew Shittim.
<<  6:9 Hebrew "Listen to the rod. / Who appointed it?"
<<  6:10 Hebrew of using the short ephah? The ephah was a unit for measuring grain.
<<  7:12 Hebrew the river.
<<  7:13 Or earth.
<<  7:14 Or surrounded by a fruitful land.

Revelation 13

The Beast out of the Sea
 ¹  Then I saw a beast rising up out of the sea. It had seven heads and ten horns, with ten crowns on its horns. And written on each head were names that blasphemed God.  ²  This beast looked like a leopard, but it had the feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion! And the dragon gave the beast his own power and throne and great authority.
   ³  I saw that one of the heads of the beast seemed wounded beyond recovery—but the fatal wound was healed! The whole world marveled at this miracle and gave allegiance to the beast.  ⁴  They worshiped the dragon for giving the beast such power, and they also worshiped the beast. "Who is as great as the beast?" they exclaimed. "Who is able to fight against him?"
   ⁵  Then the beast was allowed to speak great blasphemies against God. And he was given authority to do whatever he wanted for forty-two months.  ⁶  And he spoke terrible words of blasphemy against God, slandering his name and his dwelling—that is, those who dwell in heaven. [6]   ⁷  And the beast was allowed to wage war against God's holy people and to conquer them. And he was given authority to rule over every tribe and people and language and nation.  ⁸  And all the people who belong to this world worshiped the beast. They are the ones whose names were not written in the Book of Life before the world was made—the Book that belongs to the Lamb who was slaughtered. [8] 

 ⁹  Anyone with ears to hear
  should listen and understand.
 ¹⁰  Anyone who is destined for prison
  will be taken to prison.
Anyone destined to die by the sword
  will die by the sword.

This means that God's holy people must endure persecution patiently and remain faithful.

The Beast out of the Earth
 ¹¹  Then I saw another beast come up out of the earth. He had two horns like those of a lamb, but he spoke with the voice of a dragon.  ¹²  He exercised all the authority of the first beast. And he required all the earth and its people to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed.  ¹³  He did astounding miracles, even making fire flash down to earth from the sky while everyone was watching.  ¹⁴  And with all the miracles he was allowed to perform on behalf of the first beast, he deceived all the people who belong to this world. He ordered the people to make a great statue of the first beast, who was fatally wounded and then came back to life.  ¹⁵  He was then permitted to give life to this statue so that it could speak. Then the statue of the beast commanded that anyone refusing to worship it must die.    ¹⁶  He required everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to be given a mark on the right hand or on the forehead.  ¹⁷  And no one could buy or sell anything without that mark, which was either the name of the beast or the number representing his name.  ¹⁸  Wisdom is needed here. Let the one with understanding solve the meaning of the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. [18]  His number is 666. [18] 

<<  13:6 Some manuscripts read and his dwelling and all who dwell in heaven.
<<  13:8 Or not written in the Book of Life that belongs to the Lamb who was slaughtered before the world was made.
<<  13:18a Or of humanity. 13:18b Some manuscripts read 616.