The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Friday December 23, 2016 (NIV)

Zechariah 4-5

Fifth Vision: Gold Lampstand

The angel who was speaking with me then returned and roused me as one awakened out of sleep. He asked me, “What do you see?”

I replied, “I see a solid gold lampstand there with a bowl on its top. It has seven lamps on it and seven channels for each of[a] the lamps on its top. There are also two olive trees beside it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.”

Then I asked the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these, my lord?”

“Don’t you know what they are?” replied the angel who was speaking with me.

I said, “No, my lord.”

So he answered me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by strength or by might, but by My Spirit,’(A) says the Lord of Hosts. ‘What are you, great mountain?(B) Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain.(C) And he will bring out the capstone accompanied by shouts of: Grace, grace to it!’”

Then the word of the Lord came to me:(D) “Zerubbabel’s hands have laid the foundation of this house,(E) and his hands will complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of Hosts has sent me to you. 10 For who scorns the day of small things?(F) These seven eyes of the Lord, which scan throughout the whole earth, will rejoice when they see the plumb line[b] in Zerubbabel’s hand.”(G)

11 I asked him, “What are the two olive trees on the right and left of the lampstand?” 12 And I questioned him further, “What are the two olive branches beside the two gold conduits, from which golden oil pours out?”

13 Then he inquired of me, “Don’t you know what these are?”

“No, my lord,” I replied.

14 “These are the two anointed ones,”[c](H) he said, “who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”(I)

Sixth Vision: Flying Scroll

I looked up again and saw a flying scroll.(J) “What do you see?” he asked me.

“I see a flying scroll,” I replied, “30 feet[d] long and 15 feet[e] wide.”(K)

Then he said to me, “This is the curse(L) that is going out over the whole land, for every thief will be removed according to what is written on one side, and everyone who swears falsely will be removed according to what is written on the other side. I will send it out,”(M)—this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts—“and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My name. It will stay inside his house and destroy it along with its timbers and stones.”(N)

Seventh Vision: Woman in the Basket

Then the angel who was speaking with me came forward and told me, “Look up and see what this is that is approaching.”

So I asked, “What is it?”

He responded, “It’s a measuring basket[f] that is approaching.” And he continued, “This is their iniquity[g] in all the land.” Then a lead cover was lifted, and there was a woman(O) sitting inside the basket.(P) “This is Wickedness,” he said. He shoved her down into the basket and pushed the lead weight over its opening. Then I looked up and saw two women approaching with the wind in their wings. Their wings were like those of a stork,(Q) and they lifted up the basket between earth and sky.

10 So I asked the angel who was speaking with me, “Where are they taking the basket?”

11 “To build a shrine for it in the land of Shinar,”(R) he told me. “When that is ready, the basket will be placed there on its pedestal.”

Footnotes:

  1. Zechariah 4:2 Or seven lips to
  2. Zechariah 4:10 Lit the tin stone
  3. Zechariah 4:14 = Joshua and Zerubbabel
  4. Zechariah 5:2 Lit 20 cubits
  5. Zechariah 5:2 Lit 10 cubits
  6. Zechariah 5:6 Lit It’s an ephah
  7. Zechariah 5:6 One Hb ms, LXX, Syr; other Hb mss read eye

Revelation 14

The Lamb and the 144,000

14 Then I looked, and there on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with Him were 144,000 who had His name and His Father’s name written on their foreheads.(A) I heard a sound[a] from heaven like the sound of cascading waters(B) and like the rumbling of loud thunder. The sound I heard was also like harpists playing on their harps.(C) They sang[b] a new song(D) before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders,(E) but no one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed[c] from the earth. These are the ones not defiled with women, for they have kept their virginity.(F) These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They were redeemed[d][e] from the human race as the firstfruits(G) for God and the Lamb. No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.(H)

The Proclamation of Three Angels

Then I saw another angel flying high overhead,(I) having the eternal gospel to announce to the inhabitants of the earth—to every nation, tribe, language, and people.(J) He spoke with a loud voice: “Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come. Worship the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.”

A second angel[f] followed, saying: “It has fallen, Babylon the Great has fallen,[g] who made all nations drink the wine of her sexual immorality,[h] which brings wrath.”(K)

And a third angel[i] followed them and spoke with a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he will also drink the wine of God’s wrath, which is mixed full strength in the cup of His anger.(L) He will be tormented with fire and sulfur(M) in the sight of the holy angels and in the sight of the Lamb, 11 and the smoke of their torment will go up forever and ever.(N) There is no rest[j] day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or anyone who receives the mark of his name. 12 This demands the perseverance[k] of the saints,(O) who keep God’s commands and their faith in Jesus.”[l]

13 Then I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write: The dead who die in the Lord from now on are blessed.”(P)

“Yes,” says the Spirit, “let them rest from their labors, for their works follow them!”

Reaping the Earth’s Harvest

14 Then I looked, and there was a white cloud, and One like the Son of Man[m](Q) was seated on the cloud, with a gold crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. 15 Another angel came out of the sanctuary, crying out in a loud voice to the One who was seated on the cloud, “Use your sickle and reap, for the time to reap has come, since the harvest of the earth is ripe.”(R) 16 So the One seated on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.

17 Then another angel who also had a sharp sickle came out of the sanctuary in heaven. 18 Yet another angel, who had authority over fire, came from the altar, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Use your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from earth’s vineyard, because its grapes have ripened.” 19 So the angel swung his sickle toward earth and gathered the grapes from earth’s vineyard, and he threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath.(S) 20 Then the press was trampled outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press up to the horses’ bridles for about 180 miles.[n](T)

Footnotes:

  1. Revelation 14:2 Or voice
  2. Revelation 14:3 Other mss add as it were
  3. Revelation 14:3 Or purchased
  4. Revelation 14:4 Other mss add by Jesus
  5. Revelation 14:4 Or purchased
  6. Revelation 14:8 Lit Another angel, a second
  7. Revelation 14:8 Other mss omit the second has fallen
  8. Revelation 14:8 Or wine of her passionate immorality
  9. Revelation 14:9 Lit Another angel, a third
  10. Revelation 14:11 Lit They have no rest
  11. Revelation 14:12 Lit Here is the perseverance
  12. Revelation 14:12 Or and faith in Jesus, or and faithfulness to Jesus
  13. Revelation 14:14 Or like a son of man
  14. Revelation 14:20 Lit 1,600 stadia

Psalm 142

Psalm 142

A Cry of Distress

A Davidic Maskil. When he was in the cave.(A) A prayer.

I cry aloud to the Lord;(B)
I plead aloud to the Lord for mercy.(C)
I pour out my complaint before Him;
I reveal my trouble to Him.(D)
Although my spirit is weak within me,
You know my way.(E)

Along this path I travel
they have hidden a trap for me.(F)
Look to the right and see:[a]
no one stands up for me;
there is no refuge for me;
no one cares about me.(G)

I cry to You, Lord;
I say, “You are my shelter,
my portion in the land of the living.”(H)
Listen to my cry,
for I am very weak.(I)
Rescue me from those who pursue me,
for they are too strong for me.(J)
Free me from prison
so that I can praise Your name.
The righteous will gather around me
because You deal generously with me.(K)

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 142:4 DSS, LXX, Syr, Vg, Tg read I look to the right and I see

Proverbs 30:21-23

21 The earth trembles under three things;
it cannot bear up under four:
22 a servant when he becomes king,(A)
a fool when he is stuffed with food,
23 an unloved woman when she marries,(B)
and a servant girl when she ousts her queen.