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⁵² When Abraham’s servant heard what they said, he bowed low before the Lord. ⁵³ The servant brought out gold and silver jewelry and clothing and gave them to Rebekah. To her brother and to her mother he gave the finest gifts. ⁵⁴ He and the men with him ate and drank and spent the night.

When they got up in the morning, the servant said, “See me off to my master.”

⁵⁵ Her brother and mother said, “Let the young woman stay with us not more than ten days, and after that she may go.”

⁵⁶ But he said to them, “Don’t delay me. The Lord has made my trip successful. See me off so that I can go to my master.”

⁵⁷ They said, “Summon the young woman, and let’s ask her opinion.” ⁵⁸ They called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?”

She said, “I will go.”

⁵⁹ So they sent off their sister Rebekah, her nurse, Abraham’s servant, and his men. ⁶⁰ And they blessed Rebekah, saying to her,

⁶¹ Rebekah and her young women got up, mounted the camels, and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and left.

⁶² Now Isaac had come from the region of^[a] Beer-lahai-roi and had settled in the arid southern plain. ⁶³ One evening, Isaac went out to inspect the pasture,^[b] and while staring he saw camels approaching. ⁶⁴ Rebekah stared at Isaac. She got down from the camel ⁶⁵ and said to the servant, “Who is this man walking through the pasture to meet us?”

The servant said, “He’s my master.” So she took her headscarf and covered herself. ⁶⁶ The servant told Isaac everything that had happened. ⁶⁷ Isaac brought Rebekah into his mother Sarah’s tent. He received Rebekah as his wife and loved her. So Isaac found comfort after his mother’s death.

Abraham and Keturah’s children

25 Abraham married another wife, named Keturah. ² The children she bore him were Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. ³ Jokshan became the father of Sheba and Dedan. Dedan’s sons were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. ⁴ Midian’s sons were Ephah, Epher, Enoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All of these were Keturah’s sons. ⁵ Abraham gave everything he owned to Isaac. ⁶ To the sons of Abraham’s secondary wives, Abraham gave gifts and, while he was still living, sent them away from his son Isaac to land in the east.

Abraham’s death

⁷ Abraham lived to the age of 175. ⁸ Abraham took his last breath and died after a good long life, a content old man, and he was placed with his ancestors. ⁹ His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave in Machpelah, which is in the field of Zohar’s son Ephron the Hittite, near Mamre. ¹⁰ Thus Abraham and his wife Sarah were both buried in the field Abraham had purchased from the Hittites. ¹¹ After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, and Isaac lived in Beer-lahai-roi.

Ishmael’s descendants

¹² These are the descendants of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s servant, bore for Abraham. ¹³ These are the names of Ishmael’s sons, by their names and according to their birth order: Nebaioth, Ishmael’s oldest son; Kedar; Adbeel; Mibsam; ¹⁴ Mishma; Dumah; Massa; ¹⁵ Hadad; Tema; Jetur; Naphish; and Kedemah. ¹⁶ These are Ishmael’s sons. These are their names by their villages and their settlements: twelve tribal leaders according to their tribes. ¹⁷ Ishmael lived to the age of 137. He took his last breath and died, and was placed with his ancestors. ¹⁸ He established camps^[c] from Havilah to Shur, which is near Egypt on the road to Assyria. He died^[d] among all of his brothers.

Jacob and Esau are born

¹⁹ These are the descendants of Isaac, Abraham’s son. Abraham became the father of Isaac. ²⁰ Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebekah the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean and the sister of Laban the Aramean, from Paddan-aram. ²¹ Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, since she was unable to have children. The Lord was moved by his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. ²² But the boys pushed against each other inside of her, and she said, “If this is what it’s like, why did it happen to me?”^[e]

So she went to ask the Lord. ²³ And the Lord said to her,

²⁴ When she reached the end of her pregnancy, she discovered that she had twins. ²⁵ The first came out red all over, clothed with hair, and she named him Esau. ²⁶ Immediately afterward, his brother came out gripping Esau’s heel, and she named him Jacob. Isaac was 60 years old when they were born.

Jacob acquires the oldest son’s rights

²⁷ When the young men grew up, Esau became an outdoorsman who knew how to hunt, and Jacob became a quiet man who stayed at home. ²⁸ Isaac loved Esau because he enjoyed eating game, but Rebekah loved Jacob. ²⁹ Once when Jacob was boiling stew, Esau came in from the field hungry ³⁰ and said to Jacob, “I’m starving! Let me devour some of this red stuff.” That’s why his name is Edom.^[f]

³¹ Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright^[g] today.”

³² Esau said, “Since I’m going to die anyway, what good is my birthright to me?”

³³ Jacob said, “Give me your word today.” And he did. He sold his birthright to Jacob. ³⁴ So Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew. He ate, drank, got up, and left, showing just how little he thought of his birthright.

Isaac and Rebekah visit Gerar

26 When a famine gripped the land, a different one from the first famine that occurred in Abraham’s time, Isaac set out toward Gerar and toward King Abimelech of the Philistines. ² The Lord appeared to him and said, “Don’t go down to Egypt but settle temporarily in the land that I will show you. ³ Stay in this land as an immigrant, and I will be with you and bless you because I will give all of these lands to you and your descendants. I will keep my word, which I gave to your father Abraham. ⁴ I will give you as many descendants as the stars in the sky, and I will give your descendants all of these lands. All of the nations of the earth will be blessed because of your descendants. ⁵ I will do this because Abraham obeyed me and kept my orders, my commandments, my statutes, and my instructions.”

⁶ So Isaac lived in Gerar. ⁷ When the men who lived there asked about his wife, he said, “She’s my sister,” because he was afraid to say, “my wife,” thinking, The men who live there will kill me for Rebekah because she’s very beautiful. ⁸ After Isaac had lived there for some time, the Philistines’ King Abimelech looked out his window and saw Isaac laughing together with his wife Rebekah.

⁹ So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, “She’s your wife, isn’t she? How could you say, ‘She’s my sister’?”

Isaac responded, “Because I thought that I might be killed because of her.”

¹⁰ Abimelech said, “What are you trying to do to us? Before long, one of the people would have slept with your wife; and you would have made us guilty.” ¹¹ Abimelech gave orders to all of the people, “Anyone who touches this man or his wife will be put to death!”

Isaac’s treaty with the Philistines

¹² Isaac planted grain in that land and reaped one hundred shearim^[h] that year because the Lord had blessed him. ¹³ Isaac grew richer and richer until he was extremely wealthy. ¹⁴ He had livestock, both flocks and cattle, and many servants. As a result, the Philistines envied him. ¹⁵ The Philistines closed up and filled with dirt all of the wells that his father’s servants had dug during his father Abraham’s lifetime. ¹⁶ Abimelech said to Isaac, “Move away from us because you have become too powerful among us.”

Discussions about following

¹⁸ Now when Jesus saw the crowd, he ordered his disciples to go over to the other side of the lake. ¹⁹ A legal expert came and said to him, “Teacher, I’ll follow you wherever you go.”

²⁰ Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens, and the birds in the sky have nests, but the Human One^[a] has no place to lay his head.”

²¹ Another man, one of his disciples, said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

²² But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

Calming a storm

²³ When Jesus got into a boat, his disciples followed him. ²⁴ A huge storm arose on the lake so that waves were sloshing over the boat. But Jesus was asleep. ²⁵ They came and woke him, saying, “Lord, rescue us! We’re going to drown!”

²⁶ He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you people of weak faith?” Then he got up and gave orders to the winds and the lake, and there was a great calm.

²⁷ The people were amazed and said, “What kind of person is this? Even the winds and the lake obey him!”

Jesus frees demon-possessed men

²⁸ When Jesus arrived on the other side of the lake in the country of the Gadarenes, two men who were demon-possessed came from among the tombs to meet him. They were so violent that nobody could travel on that road. ²⁹ They cried out, “What are you going to do with us, Son of God? Have you come to torture us before the time of judgment?” ³⁰ Far off in the distance a large herd of pigs was feeding. ³¹ The demons pleaded with him, “If you throw us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”

³² Then he said to the demons, “Go away,” and they came out and went into the pigs. The whole herd rushed down the cliff into the lake and drowned. ³³ Those who tended the pigs ran into the city and told everything that had happened to the demon-possessed men. ³⁴ Then the whole city came out and met Jesus. When they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.

Psalm 10^[a]

The Descendants of Adam

5 This is the written account of the descendants of Adam. When God created human beings,^[a] he made them to be like himself. ² He created them male and female, and he blessed them and called them “human.”

³ When Adam was 130 years old, he became the father of a son who was just like him—in his very image. He named his son Seth. ⁴ After the birth of Seth, Adam lived another 800 years, and he had other sons and daughters. ⁵ Adam lived 930 years, and then he died.

⁶ When Seth was 105 years old, he became the father of^[b] Enosh. ⁷ After the birth of^[c] Enosh, Seth lived another 807 years, and he had other sons and daughters. ⁸ Seth lived 912 years, and then he died.

⁹ When Enosh was 90 years old, he became the father of Kenan. ¹⁰ After the birth of Kenan, Enosh lived another 815 years, and he had other sons and daughters. ¹¹ Enosh lived 905 years, and then he died.

¹² When Kenan was 70 years old, he became the father of Mahalalel. ¹³ After the birth of Mahalalel, Kenan lived another 840 years, and he had other sons and daughters. ¹⁴ Kenan lived 910 years, and then he died.

¹⁵ When Mahalalel was 65 years old, he became the father of Jared. ¹⁶ After the birth of Jared, Mahalalel lived another 830 years, and he had other sons and daughters. ¹⁷ Mahalalel lived 895 years, and then he died.

¹⁸ When Jared was 162 years old, he became the father of Enoch. ¹⁹ After the birth of Enoch, Jared lived another 800 years, and he had other sons and daughters. ²⁰ Jared lived 962 years, and then he died.

²¹ When Enoch was 65 years old, he became the father of Methuselah. ²² After the birth of Methuselah, Enoch lived in close fellowship with God for another 300 years, and he had other sons and daughters. ²³ Enoch lived 365 years, ²⁴ walking in close fellowship with God. Then one day he disappeared, because God took him.

²⁵ When Methuselah was 187 years old, he became the father of Lamech. ²⁶ After the birth of Lamech, Methuselah lived another 782 years, and he had other sons and daughters. ²⁷ Methuselah lived 969 years, and then he died.

²⁸ When Lamech was 182 years old, he became the father of a son. ²⁹ Lamech named his son Noah, for he said, “May he bring us relief^[d] from our work and the painful labor of farming this ground that the Lord has cursed.” ³⁰ After the birth of Noah, Lamech lived another 595 years, and he had other sons and daughters. ³¹ Lamech lived 777 years, and then he died.

³² After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

A World Gone Wrong

6 Then the people began to multiply on the earth, and daughters were born to them. ² The sons of God saw the beautiful women^[e] and took any they wanted as their wives. ³ Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not put up with^[f] humans for such a long time, for they are only mortal flesh. In the future, their normal lifespan will be no more than 120 years.”

⁴ In those days, and for some time after, giant Nephilites lived on the earth, for whenever the sons of God had intercourse with women, they gave birth to children who became the heroes and famous warriors of ancient times.

⁵ The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. ⁶ So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart. ⁷ And the Lord said, “I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth. Yes, and I will destroy every living thing—all the people, the large animals, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and even the birds of the sky. I am sorry I ever made them.” ⁸ But Noah found favor with the Lord.

The Story of Noah

⁹ This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God. ¹⁰ Noah was the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

¹¹ Now God saw that the earth had become corrupt and was filled with violence. ¹² God observed all this corruption in the world, for everyone on earth was corrupt. ¹³ So God said to Noah, “I have decided to destroy all living creatures, for they have filled the earth with violence. Yes, I will wipe them all out along with the earth!

¹⁴ “Build a large boat^[g] from cypress wood^[h] and waterproof it with tar, inside and out. Then construct decks and stalls throughout its interior. ¹⁵ Make the boat 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high.^{[i] 16} Leave an 18-inch opening^[j] below the roof all the way around the boat. Put the door on the side, and build three decks inside the boat—lower, middle, and upper.

¹⁷ “Look! I am about to cover the earth with a flood that will destroy every living thing that breathes. Everything on earth will die. ¹⁸ But I will confirm my covenant with you. So enter the boat—you and your wife and your sons and their wives. ¹⁹ Bring a pair of every kind of animal—a male and a female—into the boat with you to keep them alive during the flood. ²⁰ Pairs of every kind of bird, and every kind of animal, and every kind of small animal that scurries along the ground, will come to you to be kept alive. ²¹ And be sure to take on board enough food for your family and for all the animals.”

²² So Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him.

The Flood Covers the Earth

7 When everything was ready, the Lord said to Noah, “Go into the boat with all your family, for among all the people of the earth, I can see that you alone are righteous. ² Take with you seven pairs—male and female—of each animal I have approved for eating and for sacrifice,^[k] and take one pair of each of the others. ³ Also take seven pairs of every kind of bird. There must be a male and a female in each pair to ensure that all life will survive on the earth after the flood. ⁴ Seven days from now I will make the rains pour down on the earth. And it will rain for forty days and forty nights, until I have wiped from the earth all the living things I have created.”

⁵ So Noah did everything as the Lord commanded him.

⁶ Noah was 600 years old when the flood covered the earth. ⁷ He went on board the boat to escape the flood—he and his wife and his sons and their wives. ⁸ With them were all the various kinds of animals—those approved for eating and for sacrifice and those that were not—along with all the birds and the small animals that scurry along the ground. ⁹ They entered the boat in pairs, male and female, just as God had commanded Noah. ¹⁰ After seven days, the waters of the flood came and covered the earth.

¹¹ When Noah was 600 years old, on the seventeenth day of the second month, all the underground waters erupted from the earth, and the rain fell in mighty torrents from the sky. ¹² The rain continued to fall for forty days and forty nights.

¹³ That very day Noah had gone into the boat with his wife and his sons—Shem, Ham, and Japheth—and their wives. ¹⁴ With them in the boat were pairs of every kind of animal—domestic and wild, large and small—along with birds of every kind. ¹⁵ Two by two they came into the boat, representing every living thing that breathes. ¹⁶ A male and female of each kind entered, just as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord closed the door behind them.

¹⁷ For forty days the floodwaters grew deeper, covering the ground and lifting the boat high above the earth. ¹⁸ As the waters rose higher and higher above the ground, the boat floated safely on the surface. ¹⁹ Finally, the water covered even the highest mountains on the earth, ²⁰ rising more than twenty-two feet^[l] above the highest peaks. ²¹ All the living things on earth died—birds, domestic animals, wild animals, small animals that scurry along the ground, and all the people. ²² Everything that breathed and lived on dry land died. ²³ God wiped out every living thing on the earth—people, livestock, small animals that scurry along the ground, and the birds of the sky. All were destroyed. The only people who survived were Noah and those with him in the boat. ²⁴ And the floodwaters covered the earth for 150 days.

⁷ But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to watch him baptize,^[a] he denounced them. “You brood of snakes!” he exclaimed. “Who warned you to flee the coming wrath? ⁸ Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. ⁹ Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones. ¹⁰ Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.

¹¹ “I baptize with^[b] water those who repent of their sins and turn to God. But someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not worthy even to be his slave and carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.^{[c] 12} He is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into his barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire.”

The Baptism of Jesus

¹³ Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. ¹⁴ But John tried to talk him out of it. “I am the one who needs to be baptized by you,” he said, “so why are you coming to me?”

¹⁵ But Jesus said, “It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires.^[d]” So John agreed to baptize him.

¹⁶ After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened^[e] and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. ¹⁷ And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”

The Temptation of Jesus

4 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. ² For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry.

³ During that time the devil^[f] came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.”

⁴ But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say,

⁵ Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, ⁶ and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say,

⁷ Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’^[i]”

⁸ Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. ⁹ “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.”

¹⁰ “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say,

¹¹ Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.

Psalm 3

A psalm of David, regarding the time David fled from his son Absalom.

The Man and Woman Sin

3 The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”

² “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. ³ “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”

⁴ “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. ⁵ “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”

⁶ The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. ⁷ At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.

⁸ When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man^[a] and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. ⁹ Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”

¹⁰ He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.”

¹¹ “Who told you that you were naked?” the Lord God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?”

¹² The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.”

¹³ Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?”

“The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.”

¹⁴ Then the Lord God said to the serpent,

¹⁶ Then he said to the woman,

¹⁷ And to the man he said,

Paradise Lost: God’s Judgment

²⁰ Then the man—Adam—named his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all who live.^{[d] 21} And the Lord God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife.

²² Then the Lord God said, “Look, the human beings^[e] have become like us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!” ²³ So the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made. ²⁴ After sending them out, the Lord God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden. And he placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

Cain and Abel

4 Now Adam^[f] had sexual relations with his wife, Eve, and she became pregnant. When she gave birth to Cain, she said, “With the Lord’s help, I have produced^[g] a man!” ² Later she gave birth to his brother and named him Abel.

When they grew up, Abel became a shepherd, while Cain cultivated the ground. ³ When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord. ⁴ Abel also brought a gift—the best portions of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The Lord accepted Abel and his gift, ⁵ but he did not accept Cain and his gift. This made Cain very angry, and he looked dejected.

⁶ “Why are you so angry?” the Lord asked Cain. “Why do you look so dejected? ⁷ You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.”

⁸ One day Cain suggested to his brother, “Let’s go out into the fields.”^[h] And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother, Abel, and killed him.

⁹ Afterward the Lord asked Cain, “Where is your brother? Where is Abel?”

“I don’t know,” Cain responded. “Am I my brother’s guardian?”

¹⁰ But the Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground! ¹¹ Now you are cursed and banished from the ground, which has swallowed your brother’s blood. ¹² No longer will the ground yield good crops for you, no matter how hard you work! From now on you will be a homeless wanderer on the earth.”

¹³ Cain replied to the Lord, “My punishment^[i] is too great for me to bear! ¹⁴ You have banished me from the land and from your presence; you have made me a homeless wanderer. Anyone who finds me will kill me!”

¹⁵ The Lord replied, “No, for I will give a sevenfold punishment to anyone who kills you.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain to warn anyone who might try to kill him. ¹⁶ So Cain left the Lord’s presence and settled in the land of Nod,^[j] east of Eden.

The Descendants of Cain

¹⁷ Cain had sexual relations with his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Then Cain founded a city, which he named Enoch, after his son. ¹⁸ Enoch had a son named Irad. Irad became the father of^[k] Mehujael. Mehujael became the father of Methushael. Methushael became the father of Lamech.

¹⁹ Lamech married two women. The first was named Adah, and the second was Zillah. ²⁰ Adah gave birth to Jabal, who was the first of those who raise livestock and live in tents. ²¹ His brother’s name was Jubal, the first of all who play the harp and flute. ²² Lamech’s other wife, Zillah, gave birth to a son named Tubal-cain. He became an expert in forging tools of bronze and iron. Tubal-cain had a sister named Naamah. ²³ One day Lamech said to his wives,

The Birth of Seth

²⁵ Adam had sexual relations with his wife again, and she gave birth to another son. She named him Seth,^[l] for she said, “God has granted me another son in place of Abel, whom Cain killed.” ²⁶ When Seth grew up, he had a son and named him Enosh. At that time people first began to worship the Lord by name.

The Escape to Egypt

¹³ After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child and his mother,” the angel said. “Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

¹⁴ That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother, ¹⁵ and they stayed there until Herod’s death. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “I called my Son out of Egypt.”^[a]

¹⁶ Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men’s report of the star’s first appearance. ¹⁷ Herod’s brutal action fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:

The Return to Nazareth

¹⁹ When Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. ²⁰ “Get up!” the angel said. “Take the child and his mother back to the land of Israel, because those who were trying to kill the child are dead.”

²¹ So Joseph got up and returned to the land of Israel with Jesus and his mother. ²² But when he learned that the new ruler of Judea was Herod’s son Archelaus, he was afraid to go there. Then, after being warned in a dream, he left for the region of Galilee. ²³ So the family went and lived in a town called Nazareth. This fulfilled what the prophets had said: “He will be called a Nazarene.”

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

3 In those days John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message was, ² “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.^[c]” ³ The prophet Isaiah was speaking about John when he said,

⁴ John’s clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey. ⁵ People from Jerusalem and from all of Judea and all over the Jordan Valley went out to see and hear John. ⁶ And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River.

Psalm 2

A Father’s Exhortation: Acquire Wisdom

The Account of Creation

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.^{[a] 2} The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.

³ Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ⁴ And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.”

⁶ Then God said, “Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth.” ⁷ And that is what happened. God made this space to separate the waters of the earth from the waters of the heavens. ⁸ God called the space “sky.”

⁹ Then God said, “Let the waters beneath the sky flow together into one place, so dry ground may appear.” And that is what happened. ¹⁰ God called the dry ground “land” and the waters “seas.” And God saw that it was good. ¹¹ Then God said, “Let the land sprout with vegetation—every sort of seed-bearing plant, and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. These seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came.” And that is what happened. ¹² The land produced vegetation—all sorts of seed-bearing plants, and trees with seed-bearing fruit. Their seeds produced plants and trees of the same kind. And God saw that it was good.

¹⁴ Then God said, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them be signs to mark the seasons, days, and years. ¹⁵ Let these lights in the sky shine down on the earth.” And that is what happened. ¹⁶ God made two great lights—the larger one to govern the day, and the smaller one to govern the night. He also made the stars. ¹⁷ God set these lights in the sky to light the earth, ¹⁸ to govern the day and night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.

²⁰ Then God said, “Let the waters swarm with fish and other life. Let the skies be filled with birds of every kind.” ²¹ So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that scurries and swarms in the water, and every sort of bird—each producing offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good. ²² Then God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply. Let the fish fill the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.”

²⁴ Then God said, “Let the earth produce every sort of animal, each producing offspring of the same kind—livestock, small animals that scurry along the ground, and wild animals.” And that is what happened. ²⁵ God made all sorts of wild animals, livestock, and small animals, each able to produce offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good.

2 So the creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed. ² On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested^[e] from all his work. ³ And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation.

⁴ This is the account of the creation of the heavens and the earth.

The Man and Woman in Eden

When the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, ⁵ neither wild plants nor grains were growing on the earth. For the Lord God had not yet sent rain to water the earth, and there were no people to cultivate the soil. ⁶ Instead, springs^[f] came up from the ground and watered all the land. ⁷ Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.

⁸ Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there he placed the man he had made. ⁹ The Lord God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground—trees that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden he placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

¹⁰ A river flowed from the land of Eden, watering the garden and then dividing into four branches. ¹¹ The first branch, called the Pishon, flowed around the entire land of Havilah, where gold is found. ¹² The gold of that land is exceptionally pure; aromatic resin and onyx stone are also found there. ¹³ The second branch, called the Gihon, flowed around the entire land of Cush. ¹⁴ The third branch, called the Tigris, flowed east of the land of Asshur. The fourth branch is called the Euphrates.

¹⁵ The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. ¹⁶ But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— ¹⁷ except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.”

¹⁸ Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.” ¹⁹ So the Lord God formed from the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the sky. He brought them to the man^[g] to see what he would call them, and the man chose a name for each one. ²⁰ He gave names to all the livestock, all the birds of the sky, and all the wild animals. But still there was no helper just right for him.

²¹ So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God took out one of the man’s ribs^[h] and closed up the opening. ²² Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man.

²³ “At last!” the man exclaimed.

²⁴ This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.

²⁵ Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame.

The Ancestors of Jesus the Messiah

1 This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, a descendant of David and of Abraham^[a]:

¹⁷ All those listed above include fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the Babylonian exile, and fourteen from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah.

The Birth of Jesus the Messiah

¹⁸ This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement^[h] quietly.

²⁰ As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. ²¹ And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus,^[i] for he will save his people from their sins.”

²² All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:

²⁴ When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. ²⁵ But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.

Visitors from the East

2 Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men^[k] from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, ² “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose,^[l] and we have come to worship him.”

³ King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. ⁴ He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”

⁵ “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote:

⁷ Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. ⁸ Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!”

⁹ After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! ¹¹ They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

¹² When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.

Book one (Psalms 1–41)

Psalm 1

The Purpose of Proverbs

1 These are the proverbs of Solomon, David’s son, king of Israel.

3 These are the words of the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies:

⁴ Then the Eternal One will unequivocally accept the sweet offering of Judah and Jerusalem as He did in the days of old, as in the former years when the covenant was new.

¹⁶ Then those who fear the Eternal One consulted each other about God’s charges, each one to his neighbor, and the Eternal One paid attention and heard. A book of remembrance was written before Him for those who honored the Eternal One and valued His name and the good reputation.

¹⁸ And you will return and notice the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between those serving God and those not serving Him.

22 My heavenly guide brought me to the river of pure living waters, shimmering as brilliantly as crystal. It flowed out from the throne of God and of the Lamb, ² flowing down the middle and dividing the street of the holy city. On each bank of the river stood the tree of life, firmly planted, bearing twelve kinds of fruit and producing its sweet crop every month throughout the year. And the soothing leaves that grew on the tree of life provided precious healing for the nations.

³ No one or nothing will labor under any curse any longer. And the throne of God and of the Lamb will sit prominently in the city. God’s servants will continually serve and worship Him. ⁴ They will be able to look upon His face, and His name will be written on their foreheads. ⁵ Darkness will never again fall on this city. They will not require the light of a lamp or of the sun because the Lord God will be their illumination. By His light, they will reign throughout the ages.

And the Lord, the God who inspired the prophets, has sent His heavenly messenger to show to His servants what must soon take place.

⁸ I, John, am the one who heard and witnessed these visions. And when I heard and witnessed them, I fell prostrate at the feet of the heavenly guide who showed them to me. ⁹ But he refused.

¹⁴ Blessed are those who wash their garments. In the end, they have rightful access to the tree of life and will enter the city through its gates. ¹⁵ The dogs, the sorcerers, those who commit immoral acts, the murderers, the idolaters, and all who love and practice deception must remain outside the gates for all eternity.

And let everyone who hears these words say, “Come.”

¹⁸ Beware, everyone who hears the prophetic words of this book. Know this for certain: if anyone adds to these words, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book. ¹⁹ And if anyone subtracts from the prophetic words of this book, God will remove that person’s access to the tree of life and to the holy city which are described in this book.

²⁰ The One who testifies to these realities makes this promise:

To which we say, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”

²¹ May the grace of the Lord Jesus [the Anointed One]^[a] be with all [the saints].^[b] Amen.

Psalm 150

1 The Eternal One burdened His messenger, Malachi, with these words to deliver to Israel.

So said the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies.

⁹ And now beg before the face of God and try to please Him so He might show you favor. With these offerings you present, will He lift up your face to His to show His approval?

So says the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies.

2 And now this command is for your benefit, O priests who despise the One you serve.

¹⁰ Do we not all share one father? Has not one God created us all? Why do we all act deceitfully with our brothers and sisters and soil the covenant between God and our ancestors? ¹¹ First of all, Judah has acted deceitfully, and an atrocity has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem because Judah has soiled the holy place of the Eternal One—His earthly throne which He loves—by marrying a daughter of a foreign god, by joining pagan families and worshiping pagan goddesses. ¹² May the Eternal One cut off from His community among the tents of Jacob the man who does this—the one stirring, answering,^[e] and presenting a grain offering to the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies. ¹³ And this is a second thing you do: you cover the altar of the Eternal One not with the blood of perfect sacrifices but with your own tears, weeping and groaning as if you were worshiping other gods because He does not accept the grain offering you present or receive it with delight. ¹⁴ Yet you ask, “Why won’t He accept our offerings?” It is because the Eternal One has been a witness to the way you have dealt deceitfully with the wife of your youth, although she is your companion and covenant wife, by going off with that foreign woman! ¹⁵ Has He not made you and your wife one? You belong to Him, body and spirit. And what does He seek from such a union? Godly children.^[f] So guard yourselves; be true to the wife of your youth, and stop being unfaithful.

¹⁷ Your constant blathering has exhausted the Eternal One. Yet you ask, “How have we wearied Him with our prayers?” It is because you say, “All evildoers are good in the eyes of the Eternal One, and He delights in them,” or you ask, “Where is the God of justice?”

21 I looked again and could hardly believe my eyes. Everything above me was new. Everything below me was new. Everything around me was new because the heaven and earth that had been passed away, and the sea was gone, completely. ² And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride on her wedding day, adorned for her husband and for His eyes only. ³ And I heard a great voice, coming from the throne.

⁵ And the One who sat on the throne announced to His creation,

⁹ And then one of the seven messengers in charge of the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came over to me.

¹⁰ He took me away in the Spirit and set me on top of a great, high mountain. As I waited for what I thought was a bride, he showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. ¹¹ It gleamed and shined with the glory of God; its radiance was like the most precious of jewels, like jasper, and it was as clear as crystal. ¹² It was surrounded with a wall, great and high. There were twelve gates. Assigned to each gate was a messenger, twelve in all. And on the gates were inscribed the names of the twelve tribes of Israel’s sons. ¹³ On the east wall were three gates. On the north wall were three gates. On the south wall were three gates. On the west wall were three gates. ¹⁴ And the city wall sat perfectly on twelve foundation stones, and on them were inscribed the names of the twelve emissaries^[b] of the Lamb.

¹⁵ My guide held a golden measuring rod. With it he measured the city and the gates and the walls. ¹⁶ And the city is laid out with four corners in a perfect square, the length the same as its width. He measured the city with his measuring rod, and the result was that its length and width and height are equal: 1,444 miles, a perfect cube. ¹⁷ And my guide measured the wall; it was nearly 72 yards high, in human measurements, which was the instrument the guide was using. ¹⁸ The wall was made of jasper, while the city itself was made of pure gold, yet it was as clear as glass. ¹⁹ The foundation stones of the wall of the city were decorated with every kind of jewel: the first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, ²⁰ the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. ²¹ The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate expertly crafted from a single beautiful pearl. And the city street was pure gold, yet it was as transparent as glass.

²² And in the city, I found no temple because the Lord God, the All Powerful, and the Lamb are the temple. ²³ And in the city, there is no need for the sun to light the day or moon the night because the resplendent glory of the Lord provides the city with warm, beautiful light and the Lamb illumines every corner of the new Jerusalem. ²⁴ And all peoples of all the nations will walk by its unfailing light, and the rulers of the earth will stream into the city bringing with them the symbols of their grandeur and power. ²⁵ During the day, its gates will not be closed; the darkness of night will never settle in. ²⁶ The glory and grandeur of the nations will be on display there, carried to the holy city by people from every corner of the world. ²⁷ Nothing that defiles or is defiled can enter into its glorious gates. Those who practice sacrilege or deception will never walk its streets. Only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life can enter.

Psalm 149

1 The Eternal One burdened His messenger, Malachi, with these words to deliver to Israel.

So said the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies.

⁹ And now beg before the face of God and try to please Him so He might show you favor. With these offerings you present, will He lift up your face to His to show His approval?

So says the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies.

2 And now this command is for your benefit, O priests who despise the One you serve.

¹⁰ Do we not all share one father? Has not one God created us all? Why do we all act deceitfully with our brothers and sisters and soil the covenant between God and our ancestors? ¹¹ First of all, Judah has acted deceitfully, and an atrocity has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem because Judah has soiled the holy place of the Eternal One—His earthly throne which He loves—by marrying a daughter of a foreign god, by joining pagan families and worshiping pagan goddesses. ¹² May the Eternal One cut off from His community among the tents of Jacob the man who does this—the one stirring, answering,^[e] and presenting a grain offering to the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies. ¹³ And this is a second thing you do: you cover the altar of the Eternal One not with the blood of perfect sacrifices but with your own tears, weeping and groaning as if you were worshiping other gods because He does not accept the grain offering you present or receive it with delight. ¹⁴ Yet you ask, “Why won’t He accept our offerings?” It is because the Eternal One has been a witness to the way you have dealt deceitfully with the wife of your youth, although she is your companion and covenant wife, by going off with that foreign woman! ¹⁵ Has He not made you and your wife one? You belong to Him, body and spirit. And what does He seek from such a union? Godly children.^[f] So guard yourselves; be true to the wife of your youth, and stop being unfaithful.

¹⁷ Your constant blathering has exhausted the Eternal One. Yet you ask, “How have we wearied Him with our prayers?” It is because you say, “All evildoers are good in the eyes of the Eternal One, and He delights in them,” or you ask, “Where is the God of justice?”

21 I looked again and could hardly believe my eyes. Everything above me was new. Everything below me was new. Everything around me was new because the heaven and earth that had been passed away, and the sea was gone, completely. ² And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride on her wedding day, adorned for her husband and for His eyes only. ³ And I heard a great voice, coming from the throne.

⁵ And the One who sat on the throne announced to His creation,

⁹ And then one of the seven messengers in charge of the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came over to me.

¹⁰ He took me away in the Spirit and set me on top of a great, high mountain. As I waited for what I thought was a bride, he showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. ¹¹ It gleamed and shined with the glory of God; its radiance was like the most precious of jewels, like jasper, and it was as clear as crystal. ¹² It was surrounded with a wall, great and high. There were twelve gates. Assigned to each gate was a messenger, twelve in all. And on the gates were inscribed the names of the twelve tribes of Israel’s sons. ¹³ On the east wall were three gates. On the north wall were three gates. On the south wall were three gates. On the west wall were three gates. ¹⁴ And the city wall sat perfectly on twelve foundation stones, and on them were inscribed the names of the twelve emissaries^[b] of the Lamb.

¹⁵ My guide held a golden measuring rod. With it he measured the city and the gates and the walls. ¹⁶ And the city is laid out with four corners in a perfect square, the length the same as its width. He measured the city with his measuring rod, and the result was that its length and width and height are equal: 1,444 miles, a perfect cube. ¹⁷ And my guide measured the wall; it was nearly 72 yards high, in human measurements, which was the instrument the guide was using. ¹⁸ The wall was made of jasper, while the city itself was made of pure gold, yet it was as clear as glass. ¹⁹ The foundation stones of the wall of the city were decorated with every kind of jewel: the first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, ²⁰ the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. ²¹ The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate expertly crafted from a single beautiful pearl. And the city street was pure gold, yet it was as transparent as glass.

²² And in the city, I found no temple because the Lord God, the All Powerful, and the Lamb are the temple. ²³ And in the city, there is no need for the sun to light the day or moon the night because the resplendent glory of the Lord provides the city with warm, beautiful light and the Lamb illumines every corner of the new Jerusalem. ²⁴ And all peoples of all the nations will walk by its unfailing light, and the rulers of the earth will stream into the city bringing with them the symbols of their grandeur and power. ²⁵ During the day, its gates will not be closed; the darkness of night will never settle in. ²⁶ The glory and grandeur of the nations will be on display there, carried to the holy city by people from every corner of the world. ²⁷ Nothing that defiles or is defiled can enter into its glorious gates. Those who practice sacrilege or deception will never walk its streets. Only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life can enter.

Psalm 149

14 Pay attention. The day for the Eternal is coming, a day of judgment when your enemies will plunder your goods and divide them right in front of you. ² For I am going to incite all the nations to battle against Jerusalem. The city will be surrounded and taken. The houses will be ransacked; all of your treasured possessions will be looted. Your wives and daughters will be raped. Half of the city will be forced into exile. The other half will remain in the city to pick up the pieces. ³ The Eternal One will join in the battle and fight against those enemy nations as your champion as He would on any day of any battle. ⁴ When that day comes, His feet will stand securely on the Mount of Olives, which sits east of Jerusalem. The mountain will quake under His weight and split in two, divided by a wide valley that runs east to west. Half of the mountain will retreat to the north, the other half to the south. ⁵ That valley will become your escape route because the valley of My mountains will lead as far as Azel, and you shall run as you ran from the earthquake that hit during the reign of King Uzziah of Judah. Once you are safe, the Eternal my God will come to you with all His holy ones.

⁶ On that day, there will be no light, no cold or biting frost. ⁷ There will be a single, continuous day—a unique kind of day known only to the Eternal One—when night does not eclipse the day and when light shines through the evening. ⁸ On that day, living waters will stream out of Jerusalem. Half of them will flow to the eastern Dead Sea; the other half will descend the hills and cross the plains to join the western Mediterranean Sea. These waters will flow throughout the dry summer as they do in the wet winter. ⁹ And the Eternal will be crowned as King over all the earth. On that day, the Eternal will be one and His name will be one. ¹⁰ The mountainous land around Jerusalem will be turned into plains from Geba to Rimmon, south of the city. Jerusalem itself will then sit prominently in her place between Benjamin’s gate, the location of the first gate, and the corner gate; she’ll sit between Hananel’s Tower and the royal winepresses. ¹¹ And Jerusalem will remain secure, bustling with residents, because she will never again be destined for destruction.

¹² Every nation that attempts to wage war against Jerusalem will be struck with a plague. The Eternal will infect them with a disease making their flesh decay even as they stand, their eyes decay in their sockets, and their tongues decay in their mouths. ¹³ When that horrible day arrives, the Eternal will provoke them to panic, so that in their confusion they will grab each other for safety and then turn and attack each other. ¹⁴ Even Judah will be forced to fight in Jerusalem. And the riches of all the surrounding enemy nations will be gathered together—gold, silver, and costly clothing piled deep. ¹⁵ Then the same disease that plagues the enemy forces will infect the horses, mules, camels, donkeys—whatever domesticated animals are in their battle camps.

¹⁶ In days to come, all people who took up arms against Jerusalem and survived will make a choice: they will either journey to Jerusalem every year to keep the Feast of Booths and to worship the King—the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies— ¹⁷ or the families of nations will refuse the journey to Jerusalem to adore the King, the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies. The rains will never come to those who refuse the journey. ¹⁸ Even the family of people known as Egypt, if they do not come up to and travel through the gates of Jerusalem to present themselves to God, the Eternal will afflict them with the same plague of drought He’ll use to crush those nations who won’t keep the Feast of Booths. ¹⁹ This is the punishment Egypt and the enemy nations can expect if they refuse the journey to keep the Feast of Booths.

²⁰ On that day, every aspect of the land will be ritually pure. Engraved on the bells worn by horses will be the same phrase on the high priest’s turban: “Sacred to the Eternal One.” The cooking pots used in the house of the Eternal will be as sacred as those collection bowls used at the altar. ²¹ In fact every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be treated as sacred to the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, so that anyone who offers a sacrifice may borrow them and use them to boil the meat of the sacrifice. In that day, no merchant^[a] will be found in the temple of the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies.

20 Then I saw a messenger coming from heaven. In his hand was a key to the abyss and a great chain that had been forged in heaven. ² He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for 1,000 years with the great chain. ³ The messenger cast him into the abyss and locked it and sealed him in it so that he could not go about deceiving the nations until the 1,000 years had come to completion. Afterward he must be released for a short time.

⁴ Then I saw some thrones, and those seated in judgment were given the right to judge. Standing there were the souls of those who were beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and the word of God. They had refused to worship the beast or its detestable image and had not received the mark upon their foreheads or upon their hands. They had come back to life and reigned with the Anointed One, our Liberating King, for 1,000 years. ⁵ Now as for the rest of the dead, they were not given life until the 1,000 years were completed. This is the first resurrection.

⁶ Blessed and holy are the ones who take part in the first resurrection. Over these, the second death has no power; they will serve as priests of God and His Anointed, and they will reign with Him for 1,000 years.

⁷ When the 1,000 years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison. ⁸ And he will crawl out of the abyss in order to deceive the nations located at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog^[a] as Ezekiel described them, in order to rally them together for one final battle. They are in number as the grains of sand on the shore. ⁹ They marched in unholy array over the expanse of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. As they laid siege to the city, fire rained down from heaven and incinerated them. ¹⁰ And the devil who had deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had already been thrown; and the unholy trio will be tortured day and night throughout the ages.

¹¹ The scene changed. I saw a great white throne, and One was seated upon it. The earth and heaven receded from His presence; there was no place for them. ¹² And I saw the dead, great and small, standing in front of the throne. Some books were opened. Then another book was opened; it was called the book of life. And the dead were judged according to what had been recorded in the first books; these were the records of everything they had done. ¹³ And the sea surrendered its dead. Death and Hades gave up their dead as well. And all were judged according to their works. ¹⁴ Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. ¹⁵ And everyone whose name could not be found among the names written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

Psalm 148

12 This is the message with which the Eternal burdened His prophet concerning Israel—the Eternal One, who began existence by stretching out the sky and founding the earth and forming the spirit deep in man.

13 A day is coming when a special spring will continually flow to purify the royal house of David and the citizens of Jerusalem from sin and sexual and religious impurities.

² The Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, promises to remove all idolatry from the land.

⁷ This is a message of the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies.

19 The scene changed. After this, I heard the great sound of a multitude echoing in heaven.

³ Again praise spilled from heaven.

⁴ And the twenty-four elders and four living creatures fell on their faces and worshiped God who reigns on the throne.

⁶ And I heard what seemed to be an immense crowd speaking with one voice—it was like the sound of a roaring waterfall, like the sound of clashing thunder.

¹⁰ At that, I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he refused my praise.

¹¹ I looked up and saw that heaven had opened. Suddenly, a white horse appeared. Its rider is called Faithful and True, and with righteousness He exercises judgment and wages war. ¹² His eyes burn like a flaming fire, and on His head are many crowns. His name was written before the creation of the world, and no one knew it except He Himself. ¹³ He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name He was known by is The Word of God. ¹⁴ And the armies of heaven, outfitted in fine linen, white and pure, were following behind Him on white steeds. ¹⁵ From His mouth darts a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. He will rule over them with a scepter made of iron. He will trample the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God, the All Powerful. ¹⁶ And there on His robe and on His thigh was written His name: King of kings and Lord of lords.

¹⁷ Then I looked up and saw a messenger standing in the sun; and with a loud voice, he called to all the birds that fly through midheaven.

¹⁹ I looked down, and I saw the beast I had seen earlier and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered together to wage war against the One riding the white horse and His heavenly army. ²⁰ The beast was soon captured along with the false prophet, the earth-beast I had seen earlier who performed signs to deceive those who had agreed to receive the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its detestable image. Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. ²¹ And all who remained met death at the blade of the sword that proceeded from the mouth of the One riding on the white horse. All the birds feasted fully on their flesh.

Psalm 147

31 These are the words of King Lemuel. An oracle of wisdom handed down to him by his mother:

So says the Eternal One.

⁴ The Eternal my God has this to say:

⁷ And so I became the shepherd of the sheep headed for slaughter because of the poorest sheep. I took two staffs in my hand—one I named Favor of God and the other I named Unity of the People. With those I took care of the sheep. ⁸ In the span of one month, I expelled three shepherds who cared nothing for the sheep. I had become tired of the way they have cared for my flock, and they have cared nothing for me.

¹⁰ Then I took my staff named Favor of God, and I snapped it in half, dissolving the covenant I had made with all the people. ¹¹ On that very day when the covenant was broken, the sheep traders^[b] watching me knew it was the word of the Eternal One.

They took 30 pieces of silver, the price set as my wages, the price of a slave.

And I did as He told me. I took the 30 shekels of silver—the noble price of my valuable service—and gave them to the potter in the Eternal’s temple.^{[c] 14} Afterward I broke my other staff, Unity of the People, which severed the bond between the people of Judah and Israel.

18 Next I saw another messenger descending from heaven. I knew he possessed great authority because his glory illuminated the earth.

⁴ Then I heard another voice from heaven urge,

²¹ Then a mighty messenger picked up a huge stone—it looked like a great millstone—and he cast it into the sea.

Psalm 146