One Year Bible.

Judgment on Jerusalem and Judah

¹For behold, the Lord GOD of Hosts

is about to remove

from Jerusalem and Judah

both supply and support:

the whole supply of food and water,

²the mighty man and the warrior,

the judge and the prophet,

the soothsayer and the elder,

³the commander of fifty and the dignitary,

the counselor, the cunning magician, and the clever enchanter.

⁴“I will make mere lads their leaders,

and children will rule over them.”

⁵The people will oppress one another,

man against man, neighbor against neighbor;

the young will rise up against the old,

and the base against the honorable.

⁶A man will seize his brother

within his father’s house:

“You have a cloak— you be our leader!

Take charge of this heap of rubble.”

⁷On that day he will cry aloud:

“I am not a healer.

I have no food or clothing in my house.

Do not make me leader of the people!”

⁸For Jerusalem has stumbled

and Judah has fallen

because they spoke and acted against the LORD,

defying His glorious presence.

⁹The expression on their faces testifies against them,

and like Sodom they flaunt their sin;

they do not conceal it.

Woe to them,

for they have brought disaster upon themselves.

¹⁰Tell the righteous it will be well with them,

for they will enjoy the fruit of their labor.

¹¹Woe to the wicked; disaster is upon them!

For they will be repaid with what their hands have done.

¹²Youths oppress My people,

and women rule over them.

O My people, your guides mislead you;

they turn you from your paths.

¹³The LORD arises to contend;

He stands to judge the people.

¹⁴The LORD brings this charge

against the elders and leaders of His people:

“You have devoured the vineyard;

the plunder of the poor is in your houses.

¹⁵Why do you crush My people

and grind the faces of the poor?”

declares the Lord GOD of Hosts.

A Warning to the Daughters of Zion

¹⁶The LORD also says:

“Because the daughters of Zion are haughty —

walking with heads held high

and wanton eyes,

prancing and skipping as they go,

jingling the bracelets on their ankles —

¹⁷the Lord will bring sores

on the heads of the daughters of Zion,

and the LORD will make their foreheads bare.”

¹⁸In that day the Lord will take away their finery:

their anklets and headbands and crescents;

¹⁹their pendants, bracelets, and veils;

²⁰their headdresses, ankle chains, and sashes;

their perfume bottles and charms;

²¹their signet rings and nose rings;

²²their festive robes, capes, cloaks, and purses;

²³and their mirrors, linen garments, tiaras, and shawls.

²⁴Instead of fragrance

there will be a stench;

instead of a belt, a rope;

instead of styled hair, baldness;

instead of fine clothing, sackcloth;

instead of beauty, shame.

²⁵Your men will fall by the sword,

and your warriors in battle.

²⁶And the gates of Zion will lament and mourn;

destitute, she will sit on the ground.

Heirs of Grace

¹Remind the believers to submit to rulers and authorities, to be obedient and ready for every good work, ²to malign no one, and to be peaceable and gentle, showing full consideration to everyone.

³For at one time we too were foolish, disobedient, misled, and enslaved to all sorts of desires and pleasures — living in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.

⁴But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, ⁵He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. ⁶This is the Spirit He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷so that, having been justified by His grace, we would become heirs with the hope of eternal life. ⁸This saying is trustworthy. And I want you to emphasize these things, so that those who have believed God will take care to devote themselves to good deeds. These things are excellent and profitable for the people.

Avoid Divisions

⁹But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, arguments, and quarrels about the law, because these things are pointless and worthless.

¹⁰Reject a divisive man after a first and second admonition, ¹¹knowing that such a man is corrupt and sinful; he is self-condemned.

Final Remarks and Greetings

¹²As soon as I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, make every effort to come to me at Nicopolis, because I have decided to winter there. ¹³Do your best to equip Zenas the lawyer and Apollos, so that they will have everything they need. ¹⁴And our people must also learn to devote themselves to good works in order to meet the pressing needs of others, so that they will not be unfruitful.

¹⁵All who are with me send you greetings.

Greet those who love us in the faith.

Grace be with all of you.

The Woman on the Beast

¹Then one of the seven angels with the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters. ²The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and those who dwell on the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her immorality.”

³And the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, where I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. ⁴The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls. She held in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. ⁵And on her forehead a mysterious name was written:

BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

The Mystery Explained

⁶I could see that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and witnesses for Jesus. And I was utterly amazed at the sight of her.

⁷“Why are you so amazed?” said the angel. “I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and ten horns.

⁸The beast that you saw — it was, and now is no more, but is about to come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. And those who dwell on the earth whose names were not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world will marvel when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet will be.

⁹This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. ¹⁰There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. But when he does come, he must remain for only a little while.

¹¹The beast that was, and now is not, is an eighth king, who belongs to the other seven and is going into destruction. ¹²The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but will receive one hour of authority as kings along with the beast. ¹³These kings have one purpose: to yield their power and authority to the beast.

The Victory of the Lamb

¹⁴They will make war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will triumph over them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and He will be accompanied by His called and chosen and faithful ones.”

¹⁵Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute was seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. ¹⁶And the ten horns and the beast that you saw will hate the prostitute. They will leave her desolate and naked, and they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. ¹⁷For God has put it into their hearts to carry out His purpose by uniting to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. ¹⁸And the woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”