ZEPHANIAH 1-3

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Day of Judgment on Judah  1:1 The word of the LORD which came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah:
2 “I will completely remove all things

From the face of the earth,” declares the LORD.

3 “I will remove man and beast;

I will remove the birds of the sky

And the fish of the sea,

And the ruins along with the wicked;

And I will cut off man from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD.

4 “So I will stretch out My hand against Judah

And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

And I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place,

And the names of the idolatrous priests along with the priests.

5 “And those who bow down on the housetops to the host of heaven,

And those who bow down and swear to the LORD and yet swear by Milcom,

6 And those who have turned back from following the LORD,

And those who have not sought the LORD or inquired of Him.”

7 Be silent before the Lord GOD!

For the day of the LORD is near,

For the LORD has prepared a sacrifice,

He has consecrated His guests.

8 “Then it will come about on the day of the LORD’S sacrifice

That I will punish the princes, the king’s sons

And all who clothe themselves with foreign garments.

9 “And I will punish on that day all who leap on the temple threshold,

Who fill the house of their lord with violence and deceit.

10 “On that day,” declares the LORD,

“There will be the sound of a cry from the Fish Gate,

A wail from the Second Quarter,

And a loud crash from the hills.

11 “Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar,

For all the people of Canaan will be silenced;

All who weigh out silver will be cut off.

12 “It will come about at that time

That I will search Jerusalem with lamps,

And I will punish the men

Who are stagnant in spirit,

Who say in their hearts,

‘The LORD will not do good or evil!’

13 “Moreover, their wealth will become plunder

And their houses desolate;

Yes, they will build houses but not inhabit them,

And plant vineyards but not drink their wine.”

14 Near is the great day of the LORD,

Near and coming very quickly;

Listen, the day of the LORD!

In it the warrior cries out bitterly.

15 A day of wrath is that day,

A day of trouble and distress,

A day of destruction and desolation,

A day of darkness and gloom,

A day of clouds and thick darkness,

16 A day of trumpet and battle cry

Against the fortified cities

And the high corner towers.

17 I will bring distress on men

So that they will walk like the blind,

Because they have sinned against the LORD;

And their blood will be poured out like dust

And their flesh like dung.

18 Neither their silver nor their gold

Will be able to deliver them

On the day of the LORD’S wrath;

And all the earth will be devoured

In the fire of His jealousy,

For He will make a complete end,

Indeed a terrifying one,

Of all the inhabitants of the earth.

Judgments on Judah’s Enemies2:1 Gather yourselves together, yes, gather,

O nation without shame,

2 Before the decree takes effect--

The day passes like the chaff--

Before the burning anger of the LORD comes upon you,

Before the day of the LORD’S anger comes upon you.

3 Seek the LORD,

All you humble of the earth

Who have carried out His ordinances;

Seek righteousness, seek humility.

Perhaps you will be hidden

In the day of the LORD’S anger.

4 For Gaza will be abandoned

And Ashkelon a desolation;

Ashdod will be driven out at noon

And Ekron will be uprooted.

5 Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast,

The nation of the Cherethites!

The word of the LORD is against you,

O Canaan, land of the Philistines;

And I will destroy you

So that there will be no inhabitant.

6 So the seacoast will be pastures,

With caves for shepherds and folds for flocks.

7 And the coast will be

For the remnant of the house of Judah,

They will pasture on it.

In the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down at evening;

For the LORD their God will care for them

And restore their fortune.

8 “I have heard the taunting of Moab

And the revilings of the sons of Ammon,

With which they have taunted My people

And become arrogant against their territory.

9 “Therefore, as I live,” declares the LORD of hosts,

The God of Israel,

“Surely Moab will be like Sodom

And the sons of Ammon like Gomorrah--

A place possessed by nettles and salt pits,

And a perpetual desolation.

The remnant of My people will plunder them

And the remainder of My nation will inherit them.”

10 This they will have in return for their pride, because they have taunted and become arrogant against the people of the LORD of hosts. 11 The LORD will be terrifying to them, for He will starve all the gods of the earth; and all the coastlands of the nations will bow down to Him, everyone from his own place.
12 “You also, O Ethiopians, will be slain by My sword.”

13 And He will stretch out His hand against the north

And destroy Assyria,

And He will make Nineveh a desolation,

Parched like the wilderness.

14 Flocks will lie down in her midst,

All beasts which range in herds;

Both the pelican and the hedgehog

Will lodge in the tops of her pillars;

Birds will sing in the window,

Desolation will be on the threshold;

For He has laid bare the cedar work.

15 This is the exultant city

Which dwells securely,

Who says in her heart,

“I am, and there is no one besides me.”

How she has become a desolation,

A resting place for beasts!

Everyone who passes by her will hiss

And wave his hand in contempt.

Woe to Jerusalem and the Nations3:1 Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled,

The tyrannical city!

2 She heeded no voice,

She accepted no instruction.

She did not trust in the LORD,

She did not draw near to her God.

3 Her princes within her are roaring lions,

Her judges are wolves at evening;

They leave nothing for the morning.

4 Her prophets are reckless, treacherous men;

Her priests have profaned the sanctuary.

They have done violence to the law.

5 The LORD is righteous within her;

He will do no injustice.

Every morning He brings His justice to light;

He does not fail.

But the unjust knows no shame.

6 “I have cut off nations;

Their corner towers are in ruins.

I have made their streets desolate,

With no one passing by;

Their cities are laid waste,

Without a man, without an inhabitant.

7 “I said, ‘Surely you will revere Me,

Accept instruction.’

So her dwelling will not be cut off

According to all that I have appointed concerning her.

But they were eager to corrupt all their deeds.

8 “Therefore wait for Me,” declares the LORD,

“For the day when I rise up as a witness.

Indeed, My decision is to gather nations,

To assemble kingdoms,

To pour out on them My indignation,

All My burning anger;

For all the earth will be devoured

By the fire of My zeal.

9 “For then I will give to the peoples purified lips,

That all of them may call on the name of the LORD,

To serve Him shoulder to shoulder.

10 “From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia

My worshipers, My dispersed ones,

Will bring My offerings.

11 “In that day you will feel no shame

Because of all your deeds

By which you have rebelled against Me;

For then I will remove from your midst

Your proud, exulting ones,

And you will never again be haughty

On My holy mountain.

A Remnant of Israel

12 “But I will leave among you

A humble and lowly people,

And they will take refuge in the name of the LORD.

13 “The remnant of Israel will do no wrong

And tell no lies,

Nor will a deceitful tongue

Be found in their mouths;

For they will feed and lie down

With no one to make them tremble.”

14 Shout for joy, O daughter of Zion!

Shout in triumph, O Israel!

Rejoice and exult with all your heart,

O daughter of Jerusalem!

15 The LORD has taken away His judgments against you,

He has cleared away your enemies.

The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst;

You will fear disaster no more.

16 In that day it will be said to Jerusalem:

“Do not be afraid, O Zion;

Do not let your hands fall limp.

17 “The LORD your God is in your midst,

A victorious warrior.

He will exult over you with joy,

He will be quiet in His love,

He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.

18 “I will gather those who grieve about the appointed feasts--

They came from you, O Zion;

The reproach of exile is a burden on them.

19 “Behold, I am going to deal at that time

With all your oppressors,

I will save the lame

And gather the outcast,

And I will turn their shame into praise and renown

In all the earth.

20 “At that time I will bring you in,

Even at the time when I gather you together;

Indeed, I will give you renown and praise

Among all the peoples of the earth,

When I restore your fortunes before your eyes,”

Says the LORD.

PROVERBS 20

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On Life and Conduct20:1 Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler,

And whoever is intoxicated by it is not wise.

2 The terror of a king is like the growling of a lion;

He who provokes him to anger forfeits his own life.

3 Keeping away from strife is an honor for a man,

But any fool will quarrel.

4 The sluggard does not plow after the autumn,

So he begs during the harvest and has nothing.

5 A plan in the heart of a man is like deep water,

But a man of understanding draws it out.

6 Many a man proclaims his own loyalty,

But who can find a trustworthy man?

7 A righteous man who walks in his integrity--

How blessed are his sons after him.

8 A king who sits on the throne of justice

Disperses all evil with his eyes.

9 Who can say, “I have cleansed my heart,

I am pure from my sin”?

10 Differing weights and differing measures,

Both of them are abominable to the LORD.

11 It is by his deeds that a lad distinguishes himself

If his conduct is pure and right.

12 The hearing ear and the seeing eye,

The LORD has made both of them.

13 Do not love sleep, or you will become poor;

Open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with food.

14 “Bad, bad,” says the buyer,

But when he goes his way, then he boasts.

15 There is gold, and an abundance of jewels;

But the lips of knowledge are a more precious thing.

16 Take his garment when he becomes surety for a stranger;

And for foreigners, hold him in pledge.

17 Bread obtained by falsehood is sweet to a man,

But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.

18 Prepare plans by consultation,

And make war by wise guidance.

19 He who goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets,

Therefore do not associate with a gossip.

20 He who curses his father or his mother,

His lamp will go out in time of darkness.

21 An inheritance gained hurriedly at the beginning

Will not be blessed in the end.

22 Do not say, “I will repay evil”;

Wait for the LORD, and He will save you.

23 Differing weights are an abomination to the LORD,

And a false scale is not good.

24 Man’s steps are ordained by the LORD,

How then can man understand his way?

25 It is a trap for a man to say rashly, “It is holy!”

And after the vows to make inquiry.

26 A wise king winnows the wicked,

And drives the threshing wheel over them.

27 The spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD,

Searching all the innermost parts of his being.

28 Loyalty and truth preserve the king,

And he upholds his throne by righteousness.

29 The glory of young men is their strength,

And the honor of old men is their gray hair.

30 Stripes that wound scour away evil,

And strokes reach the innermost parts.

REVELATION 16

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Six Bowls of Wrath  16:1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple, saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.”
    2 So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth; and it became a loathsome and malignant sore on the people who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his image.
    3 The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became blood like that of a dead man; and every living thing in the sea died.
    4 Then the third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of waters; and they became blood. 5 And I heard the angel of the waters saying, “Righteous are You, who are and who were, O Holy One, because You judged these things; 6 for they poured out the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink. They deserve it.” 7 And I heard the altar saying, “Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.”
    8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl upon the sun, and it was given to it to scorch men with fire. 9 Men were scorched with fierce heat; and they blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues, and they did not repent so as to give Him glory.
    10 Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became darkened; and they gnawed their tongues because of pain, 11 and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores; and they did not repent of their deeds.
    12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up, so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east.
Armageddon13 And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs; 14 for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. 15 (“Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.”) 16 And they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon.
Seventh Bowl of Wrath    17 Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, “It is done.” 18 And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since man came to be upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty. 19 The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath. 20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. 21 And huge hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, came down from heaven upon men; and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because its plague was extremely severe.