ZECHARIAH 9

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Prophecies against Neighboring Nations  9:1 The burden of the word of the LORD is against the land of Hadrach, with Damascus as its resting place (for the eyes of men, especially of all the tribes of Israel, are toward the LORD),

2 And Hamath also, which borders on it;

Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise.

3 For Tyre built herself a fortress

And piled up silver like dust,

And gold like the mire of the streets.

4 Behold, the Lord will dispossess her

And cast her wealth into the sea;

And she will be consumed with fire.

5 Ashkelon will see it and be afraid.

Gaza too will writhe in great pain;

Also Ekron, for her expectation has been confounded.

Moreover, the king will perish from Gaza,

And Ashkelon will not be inhabited.

6 And a mongrel race will dwell in Ashdod,

And I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.

7 And I will remove their blood from their mouth

And their detestable things from between their teeth.

Then they also will be a remnant for our God,

And be like a clan in Judah,

And Ekron like a Jebusite.

8 But I will camp around My house because of an army,

Because of him who passes by and returns;

And no oppressor will pass over them anymore,

For now I have seen with My eyes.

9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!

Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem!

Behold, your king is coming to you;

He is just and endowed with salvation,

Humble, and mounted on a donkey,

Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim

And the horse from Jerusalem;

And the bow of war will be cut off.

And He will speak peace to the nations;

And His dominion will be from sea to sea,

And from the River to the ends of the earth.

Deliverance of Judah and Ephraim11 As for you also, because of the blood of My covenant with you,

I have set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.

12 Return to the stronghold, O prisoners who have the hope;

This very day I am declaring that I will restore double to you.

13 For I will bend Judah as My bow,

I will fill the bow with Ephraim.

And I will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece;

And I will make you like a warrior’s sword.

14 Then the LORD will appear over them,

And His arrow will go forth like lightning;

And the Lord GOD will blow the trumpet,

And will march in the storm winds of the south.

15 The LORD of hosts will defend them.

And they will devour and trample on the sling stones;

And they will drink and be boisterous as with wine;

And they will be filled like a sacrificial basin,

Drenched like the corners of the altar.

16 And the LORD their God will save them in that day

As the flock of His people;

For they are as the stones of a crown,

Sparkling in His land.

17 For what comeliness and beauty will be theirs!

Grain will make the young men flourish, and new wine the virgins.

ZECHARIAH 10

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God Will Bless Judah and Ephraim  10:1 Ask rain from the LORD at the time of the spring rain--

The LORD who makes the storm clouds;

And He will give them showers of rain, vegetation in the field to each man.

2 For the teraphim speak iniquity,

And the diviners see lying visions

And tell false dreams;

They comfort in vain.

Therefore the people wander like sheep,

They are afflicted, because there is no shepherd.

3 “My anger is kindled against the shepherds,

And I will punish the male goats;

For the LORD of hosts has visited His flock, the house of Judah,

And will make them like His majestic horse in battle.

4 “From them will come the cornerstone,

From them the tent peg,

From them the bow of battle,

From them every ruler, all of them together.

5 “They will be as mighty men,

Treading down the enemy in the mire of the streets in battle;

And they will fight, for the LORD will be with them;

And the riders on horses will be put to shame.

6 “I will strengthen the house of Judah,

And I will save the house of Joseph,

And I will bring them back,

Because I have had compassion on them;

And they will be as though I had not rejected them,

For I am the LORD their God and I will answer them.

7 “Ephraim will be like a mighty man,

And their heart will be glad as if from wine;

Indeed, their children will see it and be glad,

Their heart will rejoice in the LORD.

8 “I will whistle for them to gather them together,

For I have redeemed them;

And they will be as numerous as they were before.

9 “When I scatter them among the peoples,

They will remember Me in far countries,

And they with their children will live and come back.

10 “I will bring them back from the land of Egypt

And gather them from Assyria;

And I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon

Until no room can be found for them.

11 “And they will pass through the sea of distress

And He will strike the waves in the sea,

So that all the depths of the Nile will dry up;

And the pride of Assyria will be brought down

And the scepter of Egypt will depart.

12 “And I will strengthen them in the LORD,

And in His name they will walk,” declares the LORD.

PROVERBS 23

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On Life and Conduct23:1 When you sit down to dine with a ruler,

Consider carefully what is before you,

2 And put a knife to your throat

If you are a man of great appetite.

3 Do not desire his delicacies,

For it is deceptive food.

4 Do not weary yourself to gain wealth,

Cease from your consideration of it.

5 When you set your eyes on it, it is gone.

For wealth certainly makes itself wings

Like an eagle that flies toward the heavens.

6 Do not eat the bread of a selfish man,

Or desire his delicacies;

7 For as he thinks within himself, so he is.

He says to you, “Eat and drink!”

But his heart is not with you.

8 You will vomit up the morsel you have eaten,

And waste your compliments.

9 Do not speak in the hearing of a fool,

For he will despise the wisdom of your words.

10 Do not move the ancient boundary

Or go into the fields of the fatherless,

11 For their Redeemer is strong;

He will plead their case against you.

12 Apply your heart to discipline

And your ears to words of knowledge.

13 Do not hold back discipline from the child,

Although you strike him with the rod, he will not die.

14 You shall strike him with the rod

And rescue his soul from Sheol.

15 My son, if your heart is wise,

My own heart also will be glad;

16 And my inmost being will rejoice

When your lips speak what is right.

17 Do not let your heart envy sinners,

But live in the fear of the LORD always.

18 Surely there is a future,

And your hope will not be cut off.

19 Listen, my son, and be wise,

And direct your heart in the way.

20 Do not be with heavy drinkers of wine,

Or with gluttonous eaters of meat;

21 For the heavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty,

And drowsiness will clothe one with rags.

22 Listen to your father who begot you,

And do not despise your mother when she is old.

23 Buy truth, and do not sell it,

Get wisdom and instruction and understanding.

24 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice,

And he who sires a wise son will be glad in him.

25 Let your father and your mother be glad,

And let her rejoice who gave birth to you.

26 Give me your heart, my son,

And let your eyes delight in my ways.

27 For a harlot is a deep pit

And an adulterous woman is a narrow well.

28 Surely she lurks as a robber,

And increases the faithless among men.

29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow?

Who has contentions? Who has complaining?

Who has wounds without cause?

Who has redness of eyes?

30 Those who linger long over wine,

Those who go to taste mixed wine.

31 Do not look on the wine when it is red,

When it sparkles in the cup,

When it goes down smoothly;

32 At the last it bites like a serpent

And stings like a viper.

33 Your eyes will see strange things

And your mind will utter perverse things.

34 And you will be like one who lies down in the middle of the sea,

Or like one who lies down on the top of a mast.

35 “They struck me, but I did not become ill;

They beat me, but I did not know it.

When shall I awake?

I will seek another drink.”

REVELATION 20

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Satan Bound  20:1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.
    4 Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.
Satan Freed, Doomed    7 When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, 8 and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore. 9 And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them. 10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Judgment at the Throne of God    11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.