MICAH 1-4

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Destruction in Israel and Judah  1:1 The word of the LORD which came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.

2 Hear, O peoples, all of you;

Listen, O earth and all it contains,

And let the Lord GOD be a witness against you,

The Lord from His holy temple.

3 For behold, the LORD is coming forth from His place.

He will come down and tread on the high places of the earth.

4 The mountains will melt under Him

And the valleys will be split,

Like wax before the fire,

Like water poured down a steep place.

5 All this is for the rebellion of Jacob

And for the sins of the house of Israel.

What is the rebellion of Jacob?

Is it not Samaria?

What is the high place of Judah?

Is it not Jerusalem?

6 For I will make Samaria a heap of ruins in the open country,

Planting places for a vineyard.

I will pour her stones down into the valley

And will lay bare her foundations.

7 All of her idols will be smashed,

All of her earnings will be burned with fire

And all of her images I will make desolate,

For she collected them from a harlot’s earnings,

And to the earnings of a harlot they will return.

8 Because of this I must lament and wail,

I must go barefoot and naked;

I must make a lament like the jackals

And a mourning like the ostriches.

9 For her wound is incurable,

For it has come to Judah;

It has reached the gate of my people,

Even to Jerusalem.

10 Tell it not in Gath,

Weep not at all.

At Beth-le-aphrah roll yourself in the dust.

11 Go on your way, inhabitant of Shaphir, in shameful nakedness.

The inhabitant of Zaanan does not escape.

The lamentation of Beth-ezel: “He will take from you its support.”

12 For the inhabitant of Maroth

Becomes weak waiting for good,

Because a calamity has come down from the LORD

To the gate of Jerusalem.

13 Harness the chariot to the team of horses,

O inhabitant of Lachish--

She was the beginning of sin

To the daughter of Zion--

Because in you were found

The rebellious acts of Israel.

14 Therefore you will give parting gifts

On behalf of Moresheth-gath;

The houses of Achzib will become a deception

To the kings of Israel.

15 Moreover, I will bring on you

The one who takes possession,

O inhabitant of Mareshah.

The glory of Israel will enter Adullam.

16 Make yourself bald and cut off your hair,

Because of the children of your delight;

Extend your baldness like the eagle,

For they will go from you into exile.

Woe to Oppressors2:1 Woe to those who scheme iniquity,

Who work out evil on their beds!

When morning comes, they do it,

For it is in the power of their hands.

2 They covet fields and then seize them,

And houses, and take them away.

They rob a man and his house,

A man and his inheritance.

3 Therefore thus says the LORD,

“Behold, I am planning against this family a calamity

From which you cannot remove your necks;

And you will not walk haughtily,

For it will be an evil time.

4 “On that day they will take up against you a taunt

And utter a bitter lamentation and say,

‘We are completely destroyed!

He exchanges the portion of my people;

How He removes it from me!

To the apostate He apportions our fields.’

5 “Therefore you will have no one stretching a measuring line

For you by lot in the assembly of the LORD.

6 ‘Do not speak out,’ so they speak out.

But if they do not speak out concerning these things,

Reproaches will not be turned back.

7 “Is it being said, O house of Jacob:

‘Is the Spirit of the LORD impatient?

Are these His doings?’

Do not My words do good

To the one walking uprightly?

8 “Recently My people have arisen as an enemy--

You strip the robe off the garment

From unsuspecting passers-by,

From those returned from war.

9 “The women of My people you evict,

Each one from her pleasant house.

From her children you take My splendor forever.

10 “Arise and go,

For this is no place of rest

Because of the uncleanness that brings on destruction,

A painful destruction.

11 “If a man walking after wind and falsehood

Had told lies and said,

‘I will speak out to you concerning wine and liquor,’

He would be spokesman to this people.

12 “I will surely assemble all of you, Jacob,

I will surely gather the remnant of Israel.

I will put them together like sheep in the fold;

Like a flock in the midst of its pasture

They will be noisy with men.

13 “The breaker goes up before them;

They break out, pass through the gate and go out by it.

So their king goes on before them,

And the LORD at their head.”

Rulers Denounced  3:1 And I said,

“Hear now, heads of Jacob

And rulers of the house of Israel.

Is it not for you to know justice?

2 “You who hate good and love evil,

Who tear off their skin from them

And their flesh from their bones,

3 Who eat the flesh of my people,

Strip off their skin from them,

Break their bones

And chop them up as for the pot

And as meat in a kettle.”

4 Then they will cry out to the LORD,

But He will not answer them.

Instead, He will hide His face from them at that time

Because they have practiced evil deeds.

    5 Thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who lead my people astray;

When they have something to bite with their teeth,

They cry, “Peace,”

But against him who puts nothing in their mouths

They declare holy war.

6 Therefore it will be night for you--without vision,

And darkness for you--without divination.

The sun will go down on the prophets,

And the day will become dark over them.

7 The seers will be ashamed

And the diviners will be embarrassed.

Indeed, they will all cover their mouths

Because there is no answer from God.

8 On the other hand I am filled with power--

With the Spirit of the LORD--

And with justice and courage

To make known to Jacob his rebellious act,

Even to Israel his sin.

9 Now hear this, heads of the house of Jacob

And rulers of the house of Israel,

Who abhor justice

And twist everything that is straight,

10 Who build Zion with bloodshed

And Jerusalem with violent injustice.

11 Her leaders pronounce judgment for a bribe,

Her priests instruct for a price

And her prophets divine for money.

Yet they lean on the LORD saying,

“Is not the LORD in our midst?

Calamity will not come upon us.”

12 Therefore, on account of you

Zion will be plowed as a field,

Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins,

And the mountain of the temple will become high places of a forest.

Peaceful Latter Days4:1 And it will come about in the last days

That the mountain of the house of the LORD

Will be established as the chief of the mountains.

It will be raised above the hills,

And the peoples will stream to it.

2 Many nations will come and say,

“Come and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD

And to the house of the God of Jacob,

That He may teach us about His ways

And that we may walk in His paths.”

For from Zion will go forth the law,

Even the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

3 And He will judge between many peoples

And render decisions for mighty, distant nations.

Then they will hammer their swords into plowshares

And their spears into pruning hooks;

Nation will not lift up sword against nation,

And never again will they train for war.

4 Each of them will sit under his vine

And under his fig tree,

With no one to make them afraid,

For the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken.

5 Though all the peoples walk

Each in the name of his god,

As for us, we will walk

In the name of the LORD our God forever and ever.

6 “In that day,” declares the LORD,

“I will assemble the lame

And gather the outcasts,

Even those whom I have afflicted.

7 “I will make the lame a remnant

And the outcasts a strong nation,

And the LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion

From now on and forever.

8 “As for you, tower of the flock,

Hill of the daughter of Zion,

To you it will come--

Even the former dominion will come,

The kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.

9 “Now, why do you cry out loudly?

Is there no king among you,

Or has your counselor perished,

That agony has gripped you like a woman in childbirth?

10 “Writhe and labor to give birth,

Daughter of Zion,

Like a woman in childbirth;

For now you will go out of the city,

Dwell in the field,

And go to Babylon.

There you will be rescued;

There the LORD will redeem you

From the hand of your enemies.

11 “And now many nations have been assembled against you

Who say, ‘Let her be polluted,

And let our eyes gloat over Zion.’

12 “But they do not know the thoughts of the LORD,

And they do not understand His purpose;

For He has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.

13 “Arise and thresh, daughter of Zion,

For your horn I will make iron

And your hoofs I will make bronze,

That you may pulverize many peoples,

That you may devote to the LORD their unjust gain

And their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.

PSALM 10

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A Prayer for the Overthrow of the Wicked.10:1 Why do You stand afar off, O LORD?

Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble?

2 In pride the wicked hotly pursue the afflicted;

Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised.

3 For the wicked boasts of his heart’s desire,

And the greedy man curses and spurns the LORD.

4 The wicked, in the haughtiness of his countenance, does not seek Him.

All his thoughts are, “There is no God.”

5 His ways prosper at all times;

Your judgments are on high, out of his sight;

As for all his adversaries, he snorts at them.

6 He says to himself, “I will not be moved;

Throughout all generations I will not be in adversity.”

7 His mouth is full of curses and deceit and oppression;

Under his tongue is mischief and wickedness.

8 He sits in the lurking places of the villages;

In the hiding places he kills the innocent;

His eyes stealthily watch for the unfortunate.

9 He lurks in a hiding place as a lion in his lair;

He lurks to catch the afflicted;

He catches the afflicted when he draws him into his net.

10 He crouches, he bows down,

And the unfortunate fall by his mighty ones.

11 He says to himself, “God has forgotten;

He has hidden His face; He will never see it.”

12 Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up Your hand.

Do not forget the afflicted.

13 Why has the wicked spurned God?

He has said to himself, “You will not require it.”

14 You have seen it, for You have beheld mischief and vexation to take it into Your hand.

The unfortunate commits himself to You;

You have been the helper of the orphan.

15 Break the arm of the wicked and the evildoer,

Seek out his wickedness until You find none.

16 The LORD is King forever and ever;

Nations have perished from His land.

17 O LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble;

You will strengthen their heart, You will incline Your ear

18 To vindicate the orphan and the oppressed,

So that man who is of the earth will no longer cause terror.

MATTHEW 24

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Signs of Christ’s Return  24:1 Jesus came out from the temple and was going away when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. 2 And He said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”
    3 As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
    4 And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many. 6 You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. 8 But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.
    9 “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. 10 At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. 11 Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. 12 Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. 14 This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.
Perilous Times    15 “Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), 16 then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. 17 Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. 18 Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. 19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. 21 For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. 22 Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. 23 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘There He is,’ do not believe him. 24 For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. 25 Behold, I have told you in advance. 26 So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. 27 For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28 Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.
The Glorious Return    29 “But immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory. 31 And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.
Parable of the Fig Tree    32 “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; 33 so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. 34 Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
    36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. 37 For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 40 Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left.
Be Ready for His Coming    42 “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. 43 But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. 44 For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.
    45 “Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. 47 Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; 50 the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, 51 and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.