Obadiah
Edom falls
1 The vision of Obadiah.
The Lord God proclaims concerning Edom:
We have heard a message from the Lord—
a messenger has been sent among the nations:
“Rise up! Let us rise against her for battle!”
2 Look now, I will make you of little importance among the nations;
you will be totally despised.
3 Your proud heart has tricked you—
you who live in the cracks of the rock,
whose dwelling is high above.
You who say in your heart,
“Who will bring me down to the ground?”
4 Though you soar like the eagle,
though your nest is set among the stars,
I will bring you down from there,
says the Lord.
Edom is robbed
5 If thieves approach you,
if robbers by night—how you’ve been devastated!—
wouldn’t they steal only what they wanted?
If those who gather grapes came to you,
wouldn’t they leave some grapes?
6 How Esau has been looted,
his treasures taken away!
7 All those who were your allies
have driven you to the border.
Those who were on your side tricked you
and triumphed over you.
They are setting your own bread as a trap under you,[a]
but you don’t see it coming.
8 Won’t I on that day, says the Lord,
destroy the wise from Edom
and understanding from Mount Esau?
9 Your warriors will be shattered, Teman,
and everyone from Mount Esau will be eliminated.
Edom’s misdeeds
10 Because of the slaughter and violence done to your brother Jacob,
shame will cover you,
and you will be destroyed forever.
11 You stood nearby,
strangers carried off his wealth,
and foreigners entered his gates
and cast lots for Jerusalem;
you too were like one of them.
12 But you should have taken no pleasure over your brother
on the day of his misery;
you shouldn’t have rejoiced over the people of Judah
on the day of their devastation;
you shouldn’t have bragged
on their day of hardship.
13 You shouldn’t have entered the gate of my people
on the day of their defeat;
you shouldn’t have even looked on his suffering
on the day of his disaster;
you shouldn’t have stolen his possessions
on the day of his distress.
14 You shouldn’t have waited on the roads
to destroy his escapees;
you shouldn’t have handed over his survivors
on the day of defeat.
15 The day of the Lord is near
against all the nations.
As you have done, so it will be done to you;
your actions will make you suffer!
16 Just as you have drunk on my holy mountain,
so will all the nations around you drink;
they will drink and swallow quickly,
and they will be like they’ve never been before.
Edom’s punishers
17 But on Mount Zion there will be those who escape,
and it will be holy;
and the house of Jacob will drive out those who drove them out.
18 The house of Jacob will be a fire,
the house of Joseph a flame,
and the house of Esau straw;
they will burn them up completely,
and there will be no one left of the house of Esau,
for the Lord has spoken.
19 Those of the arid southern plain will possess Mount Esau,
and those of the western foothills, the land of the Philistines;
they will possess the land of Ephraim and the land of Samaria,
and Benjamin will possess Gilead.
20 Those who remain of the Israelites
will possess the land of the Canaanites as far as Zarephath;
and those left from Jerusalem and who are now living in Sepharad
will possess the cities of the arid southern plain.
21 The deliverers will go up to Mount Zion
to rule Mount Esau,
and the kingdom will be the Lord’s.
Footnotes:
- Obadiah 1:7 Heb uncertain
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
Revelation 4
John sees God’s heavenly throne
4 After this I looked and there was a door that had been opened in heaven. The first voice that I had heard, which sounded like a trumpet, said to me, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2 At once I was in a Spirit-inspired trance and I saw a throne in heaven, and someone was seated on the throne. 3 The one seated there looked like jasper and carnelian, and surrounding the throne was a rainbow that looked like an emerald. 4 Twenty-four thrones, with twenty-four elders seated upon them, surrounded the throne. The elders were dressed in white clothing and had gold crowns on their heads. 5 From the throne came lightning, voices, and thunder. In front of the throne were seven flaming torches, which are the seven spirits of God. 6 Something like a glass sea, like crystal, was in front of the throne.
In the center, by the throne, were four living creatures encircling the throne. These creatures were covered with eyes on the front and on the back. 7 The first living creature was like a lion. The second living creature was like an ox. The third living creature had a face like a human being. And the fourth living creature was like an eagle in flight. 8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings, and each was covered all around and on the inside with eyes. They never rest day or night, but keep on saying,
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,
who was and is and is coming.”
9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to the one seated on the throne, who lives forever and always, 10 the twenty-four elders fall before the one seated on the throne. They worship the one who lives forever and always. They throw down their crowns before the throne and say,
11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
because you created all things.
It is by your will that they existed and were created.”
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
Psalm 132
Psalm 132
A pilgrimage song.
132 Lord, remember David—
all the ways he suffered
2 and how he swore to the Lord,
how he promised the strong one of Jacob:
3 “I won’t enter my house,
won’t get into my bed.
4 I won’t let my eyes close,
won’t let my eyelids sleep,
5 until I find a place for the Lord,
a dwelling place for the strong one of Jacob.”
6 Yes, we heard about it in Ephrathah;
we found it[a] in the fields of Jaar.
7 Let’s enter God’s dwelling place;
let’s worship at the place God rests his feet!
8 Get up, Lord, go to your residence—
you and your powerful covenant chest!
9 Let your priests be dressed in righteousness;
let your faithful shout out with joy!
10 And for the sake of your servant David,
do not reject your anointed one.
11 The Lord swore to David
a true promise that God won’t take back:
“I will put one of your own children on your throne.
12 And if your children keep my covenant
and the laws that I will teach them,
then their children too will rule on your throne forever.”
13 Because the Lord chose Zion;
he wanted it for his home.
14 “This is my residence forever.
I will live here because I wanted it for myself.[b]
15 I will most certainly bless its food supply;
I will fill its needy full of food!
16 I will dress its priests in salvation,
and its faithful will shout out loud with joy!
17 It is there that I will make David’s strength thrive.[c]
I will prepare a lamp for my anointed one there.
18 I will dress his enemies in shame,
but the crown he wears will shine.”
Footnotes:
- Psalm 132:6 It may refer to the covenant chest (132:8b).
- Psalm 132:14 Heb lacks for myself.
- Psalm 132:17 Or make a horn sprout
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
Proverbs 29:24-25
24 Those who share plunder with thieves hate themselves;
even under oath, they don’t testify.
25 People are trapped by their fear of others;
those who trust the Lord are secure.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible