Zechariah 2-3
The Third Vision: A Man With a Measuring Line
2 Then I looked up, and I saw a man standing there with a measuring line in his hand.[a] 2 I asked him, “Where are you going?”
He answered me, “To measure Jerusalem, to determine its width and its length.”
3 At that moment, when the angel who was speaking with me was about to leave, another angel came to meet him and 4 said, “Run and tell this young man that Jerusalem will be inhabited as a city without walls because of the large number of people and livestock in it. 5 For I myself will be a wall of fire around it, declares the Lord, and I will be the glory within it.”
6 Attention! This is urgent! Flee from the land of the north, declares the Lord, for I have scattered you as the four winds of the heavens, declares the Lord.
7 Attention, Zion! Escape, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon. 8 For this is what the Lord of Armies says. For the sake of his glory he sent me to the nations that plundered you, because whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye.[b][c] 9 Yes, I myself will swing my hand over them, and they will become plunder for their own slaves. Then you will know that the Lord of Armies has sent me.
10 Sing loudly and rejoice, daughter of Zion. Yes, look! I am coming, and I will dwell among you, declares the Lord. 11 Many nations will be joined to the Lord on that day, and they will become my people. I will dwell among you, and you will know that the Lord of Armies has sent me to you. 12 Then the Lord will take possession of Judah as his special portion of the holy soil, and he will again choose Jerusalem. 13 Keep silent before the Lord, all flesh, because he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.
The Fourth Vision: Joshua and Satan Stand Before the Angel of the Lord
3 Then he showed me Joshua, the high priest, standing before the Angel of the Lord, and Satan was standing at his right hand to accuse him.
2 The Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Isn’t this man a burning stick plucked from a fire?”
3 Now Joshua was clothed in filthy clothing and was standing in front of the Angel. 4 Then the Angel of the Lord spoke to those who were standing in front of him: “Remove his filthy clothing.”
Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have taken your guilt away from you, so that I may clothe you in a special robe.”
5 I said,[d] “Let them place a clean turban on his head.” So they placed a clean turban on his head and got him dressed, while the Angel of the Lord was standing by.
6 Then the Angel of the Lord spoke solemnly to Joshua:
7 This is what the Lord of Armies says. If you will walk in my ways and carry out my ministry, then you will also govern my house and watch over my courts, and I will give you access among those who are standing here.
8 Now listen, High Priest Joshua, you and your associates who sit in front of you—because these men are a sign. Look! I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. 9 Look carefully at the stone that I placed in front of Joshua! On one stone with seven facets[e] I will engrave an inscription, declares the Lord of Armies, and I will remove the guilt of this land in a single day.
10 On that day, declares the Lord of Armies, each one of you will invite his neighbor to join him under his vine and under his fig tree.
Footnotes:
- Zechariah 2:1 English verses 2:1-13 are verses 2:5-17 in Hebrew.
- Zechariah 2:8 The term apple of the eye is an old English idiom for the pupil of the eye. Literally, the Hebrew reads daughter or gate of the eye.
- Zechariah 2:8 His eye is the reading in the main body of the Hebrew text. This reading could be understood as a statement of an angel referring to God’s eye or as the Angel of the Lord referring to the eye of God the Father. An alternate Hebrew reading is my eye. This would likely refer to the Angel of the Lord speaking of himself. A secondary issue in regard to the variant is whether some scribes had an aversion to speaking of touching God’s eye.
- Zechariah 3:5 This seems to be an interjection by the prophet Zechariah.
- Zechariah 3:9 Literally eyes
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.
Revelation 13
The Beast From the Sea
13 I saw a beast rising out of the sea. He had ten horns with ten crowns on his horns, and seven heads with blasphemous names[a] on his heads. 2 The beast that I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth was like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power, his throne, and great authority. 3 One of his heads seemed to have been fatally wounded,[b] but his fatal wound was healed.
And the whole world that followed the beast was amazed. 4 They worshipped the dragon because he gave authority to the beast. They worshipped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can go to war against him?” 5 The beast was also given a mouth that spoke arrogant and blasphemous things. He was given authority to do these things for forty-two months.
6 The beast opened his mouth to speak blasphemies against God: to blaspheme his name, his dwelling, and[c] those who dwell in heaven. 7 He was also given permission to wage war against the saints and to overcome them, as well as authority over every tribe and people and language and nation. 8 All those who make their home on the earth will worship the beast—those whose names have[d] not been written from the beginning of the world in the Book of Life, which belongs to the Lamb that was slain.[e]
9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear:
10 If anyone is to be imprisoned,[f] he is going to be imprisoned.
If anyone is to be killed[g] with a sword, he is going to be killed with a sword.
Here patient endurance and confidence are needed by the saints.
The Beast From the Earth
11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth. He had two horns like the Lamb, and he spoke like the dragon. 12 He exercises all the authority of the first beast on his behalf. He causes the earth and those who make their home on it to worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. 13 He performs great miracles, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in the sight of people. 14 He also deceives those who make their home on the earth because of the miracles that he was permitted to perform on behalf of the beast, telling those who make their home on the earth to make an image for the beast who had been wounded by the sword but lived.
15 This beast was also given the ability to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast spoke and caused whoever did not worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16 He also makes all people, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, 17 in order that no one may buy or sell unless he has the mark—the name of the beast or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom: Let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, because it is the number of a man. His number is 666.
Footnotes:
- Revelation 13:1 Some witnesses to the text read a blasphemous name.
- Revelation 13:3 Literally slaughtered to death
- Revelation 13:6 Or namely or that is.
- Revelation 13:8 Some witnesses to the text read the one whose name has.
- Revelation 13:8 Or written in the Book of Life, which belongs to the Lamb that was slain from the beginning of the world.
- Revelation 13:10 A few witnesses to the text read The person who leads someone into prison.
- Revelation 13:10 A few witnesses to the text read If anyone kills.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.
Psalm 141
Psalm 141
Guard My Lips and Heart
Heading
A psalm by David.
Accept My Prayer
1 Lord, I call to you. Hurry to me.
Turn your ear toward my voice when I call to you.
2 May my prayer linger before you like incense,
the lifting up of my hands like an evening offering.
Guard My Heart and Mouth
3 Set a guard over my mouth, Lord.
Keep watch over the door of my lips.
4 Do not let my heart turn toward anything evil,
to take part in wicked deeds with men who do evil.
Let me not taste their delicacies.
Correct Me
5 Let a righteous man strike me—it is mercy.
Let him rebuke me—it is lotion[a] on my head.
My head will not refuse it.
Reject the Wicked
But my prayer is still against their evil deeds.
6 Their rulers will be thrown down by the sides of the cliff,
and they will hear that my words were pleasant.
7 They will say,[b] “As one splits and breaks up the earth,
so our bones have been scattered at the mouth of the grave.”
Closing Plea
8 But my eyes look to you, Lord God.[c]
In you I take refuge. Do not take away my life.
9 Keep me from the snares they have set for me,
from the traps of the evildoers.
10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass by safely.
Footnotes:
- Psalm 141:5 Literally oil
- Psalm 141:7 The words they will say are added to clarify who is speaking.
- Psalm 141:8 Yahweh Adonai, which the Jews read as if it was God the Lord
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.
Proverbs 30:18-20
18 Three things are too wonderful for me,
and four I cannot understand:
19 the way of an eagle in the sky,
the way of a snake on a rock,
the way of a ship on the high seas,
and the way of a man with a virgin.
20 This is the way of a woman who commits adultery:
She eats and wipes her mouth,
and she says, “I haven’t done anything wrong.”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.