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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Sunday December 18, 2016 (NIV)

Habakkuk 1-3

1 The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw.(A)

Habakkuk’s First Prayer

2 How long,(B) Lord, must I call for help(C)
and You do not listen
or cry out to You about violence
and You do not save?
3 Why do You force me to look at injustice?(D)
Why do You tolerate[a] wrongdoing?
Oppression and violence are right in front of me.
Strife is ongoing, and conflict escalates.
4 This is why the law is ineffective
and justice never emerges.
For the wicked restrict(E) the righteous;
therefore, justice(F) comes out perverted.

God’s First Answer

5 Look at the nations[b](G) and observe(H)—
be utterly astounded!(I)
For something is taking place in your days
that you will not believe(J)
when you hear about it.(K)
6 Look! I am raising up(L) the Chaldeans,[c]
that bitter,(M) impetuous nation
that marches across the earth’s open spaces
to seize territories not its own.
7 They are fierce(N) and terrifying;
their views of justice and sovereignty
stem from themselves.
8 Their horses are swifter(O) than leopards(P)
and more fierce[d] than wolves of the night.
Their horsemen charge ahead;
their horsemen come from distant lands.
They fly like an eagle, swooping to devour.(Q)
9 All of them come to do violence;
their faces(R) are set in determination.[e]
They gather(S) prisoners like sand.(T)
10 They mock(U) kings,
and rulers are a joke to them.
They laugh(V) at every fortress
and build siege ramps to capture(W) it.
11 Then they sweep(X) by like the wind
and pass through.
They are guilty;[f] their strength is their god.

Habakkuk’s Second Prayer

12 Are You not from eternity, Yahweh my God?
My Holy One,(Y) You[g] will not die.
Lord, You appointed them to execute judgment;
my Rock,(Z) You destined them to punish us.
13 Your eyes(AA) are too pure(AB) to look on evil,
and You cannot tolerate wrongdoing.
So why do You tolerate those who are treacherous?(AC)
Why are You silent
while one[h] who is wicked swallows up
one[i] who is more righteous than himself?
14 You have made mankind
like the fish of the sea,(AD)
like marine creatures that have no ruler.
15 The Chaldeans pull them all up with a hook,
catch them in their dragnet,(AE)
and gather them in their fishing net;
that is why they are glad and rejoice.
16 That is why they sacrifice to their dragnet
and burn incense to their fishing net,
for by these things their portion is rich
and their food plentiful.(AF)
17 Will they therefore empty their net[j]
and continually slaughter nations without mercy?

Habakkuk Waits for God’s Response

2 I will stand at my guard post
and station myself on the lookout tower.(AG)
I will watch to see what He will say to me(AH)
and what I should[k] reply about my complaint.

God’s Second Answer

2 The Lord answered me:

Write down this vision;(AI)
clearly inscribe it on tablets
so one may easily read it.[l]
3 For the vision is yet for the appointed time;
it testifies about the end and will not lie.
Though it delays, wait for it,
since it will certainly come and not be late.(AJ)
4 Look, his ego is inflated;[m]
he is without integrity.
But the righteous one will live by his faith.[n](AK)
5 Moreover, wine[o] betrays;
an arrogant man is never at rest.[p]
He enlarges his appetite like Sheol,
and like Death he is never satisfied.(AL)
He gathers all the nations to himself;
he collects all the peoples for himself.

The Five Woe Oracles

6 Won’t all of these take up a taunt against him,
with mockery and riddles about him?
They will say:

Woe to him who amasses what is not his—
how much longer?—
and loads himself with goods taken in pledge.(AM)
7 Won’t your creditors suddenly arise,
and those who disturb you wake up?
Then you will become spoil for them.(AN)
8 Since you have plundered many nations,
all the peoples who remain will plunder you—
because of human bloodshed
and violence against lands, cities,
and all who live in them.(AO)

9 Woe to him who dishonestly makes
wealth for his house[q]
to place his nest on high,
to escape from the reach of disaster!(AP)
10 You have planned shame for your house
by wiping out many peoples
and sinning against your own self.
11 For the stones will cry out(AQ) from the wall,
and the rafters will answer them
from the woodwork.

12 Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed
and founds a town with injustice!(AR)
13 Is it not from the Lord of Hosts
that the peoples labor only to fuel the fire
and countries exhaust themselves for nothing?(AS)
14 For the earth will be filled
with the knowledge of the Lord’s glory,
as the waters cover the sea.(AT)

15 Woe to him who gives his neighbors drink,
pouring out your wrath[r]
and even making them drunk,
in order to look at their nakedness!
16 You will be filled with disgrace instead of glory.
You also—drink,
and expose your uncircumcision![s]
The cup in the Lord’s right hand
will come around to you,
and utter disgrace will cover your glory.(AU)
17 For your violence against Lebanon
will overwhelm you;
the destruction of animals will terrify you[t]
because of your human bloodshed and violence
against lands, cities, and all who live in them.

18 What use is a carved idol
after its craftsman carves it?
It is only a cast image, a teacher of lies.
For the one who crafts its shape trusts in it
and makes idols that cannot speak.
19 Woe to him who says to wood: Wake up!
or to mute stone: Come alive!
Can it teach?
Look! It may be plated with gold and silver,
yet there is no breath in it at all.

20 But the Lord is in His holy temple;
let everyone on earth
be silent in His presence.(AV)

Habakkuk’s Third Prayer

3 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet. According to Shigionoth.[u](AW)

2 Lord, I have heard the report about You;
Lord, I stand in awe of Your deeds.
Revive Your work in these years;
make it known in these years.
In Your wrath remember mercy!

3 God comes from Teman,
the Holy One from Mount Paran.(AX)Selah
His splendor covers the heavens,
and the earth is full of His praise.(AY)
4 His brilliance is like light;
rays are flashing from His hand.
This is where His power is hidden.
5 Plague goes before Him,
and pestilence follows in His steps.
6 He stands and shakes[v] the earth;
He looks and startles the nations.
The age-old mountains break apart;
the ancient hills sink down.
His pathways are ancient.
7 I see the tents of Cushan[w] in distress;
the tent curtains of the land of Midian tremble.
8 Are You angry at the rivers, Lord?
Is Your wrath against the rivers?
Or is Your rage against the sea
when You ride on Your horses,
Your victorious chariot?
9 You took the sheath from Your bow;
the arrows are ready[x] to be used with an oath.[y](AZ)Selah
You split the earth with rivers.
10 The mountains see You and shudder;(BA)
a downpour of water sweeps by.
The deep roars with its voice(BB)
and lifts its waves[z] high.
11 Sun and moon stand still in their lofty residence,(BC)
at the flash of Your flying arrows,
at the brightness of Your shining spear.
12 You march across the earth with indignation;
You trample down the nations in wrath.
13 You come out to save Your people,
to save Your anointed.[aa]
You crush the leader of the house of the wicked
and strip him from foot[ab] to neck.Selah
14 You pierce his head
with his own spears;
his warriors storm out to scatter us,
gloating as if ready to secretly devour the weak.
15 You tread the sea with Your horses,
stirring up the great waters.(BD)

Habakkuk’s Confidence in God Expressed

16 I heard, and I trembled within;(BE)
my lips quivered at the sound.
Rottenness entered my bones;
I trembled where I stood.
Now I must quietly wait for the day of distress
to come against the people invading us.
17 Though the fig tree does not bud
and there is no fruit on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
18 yet I will triumph in Yahweh;
I will rejoice in the God of my salvation!(BF)
19 Yahweh my Lord is my strength;
He makes my feet like those of a deer(BG)
and enables me to walk on mountain heights!(BH)

For the choir director: on[ac] stringed instruments.

Footnotes:

  1. Habakkuk 1:3 Lit observe
  2. Habakkuk 1:5 DSS, LXX, Syr read Look, you treacherous people
  3. Habakkuk 1:6 = the Babylonians
  4. Habakkuk 1:8 Or and quicker
  5. Habakkuk 1:9 Hb obscure
  6. Habakkuk 1:11 Or wind, and transgress and incur guilt
  7. Habakkuk 1:12 Ancient Jewish tradition reads we
  8. Habakkuk 1:13 = Babylon
  9. Habakkuk 1:13 = Judah
  10. Habakkuk 1:17 DSS read sword
  11. Habakkuk 2:1 Syr reads what He will
  12. Habakkuk 2:2 Lit one who reads in it may run
  13. Habakkuk 2:4 Hb obscure
  14. Habakkuk 2:4 Or faithfulness
  15. Habakkuk 2:5 DSS read wealth
  16. Habakkuk 2:5 Or man does not endure; Hb obscure
  17. Habakkuk 2:9 Or dynasty
  18. Habakkuk 2:15 Or venom
  19. Habakkuk 2:16 DSS, LXX, Aq, Syr, Vg read and stagger
  20. Habakkuk 2:17 DSS, LXX, Aq, Syr, Tg, Vg; MT reads them
  21. Habakkuk 3:1 Perhaps a passionate song with rapid changes of rhythm, or a dirge
  22. Habakkuk 3:6 Or surveys
  23. Habakkuk 3:7 = Midian
  24. Habakkuk 3:9 Or set
  25. Habakkuk 3:9 Hb obscure
  26. Habakkuk 3:10 Lit hands
  27. Habakkuk 3:13 The Davidic king or the nation of Israel
  28. Habakkuk 3:13 Lit foundation
  29. Habakkuk 3:19 Lit on my

Cross references:

  1. 1:1 : Nm 24:4; Jb 19:26; Is 13:1
  2. 1:2 : Ps 4:2; 6:3; 13:1
  3. 1:2 : Jb 19:7; Ps 5:2; Lm 3:8
  4. 1:3 : Jb 4:8; Ps 5:5; Is 5:7
  5. 1:4 : Jdg 20:43; Ps 22:12
  6. 1:4 : Ex 23:6
  7. 1:5 : Ps 2:1
  8. 1:5 : Gn 15:5
  9. 1:5 : Gn 43:33; Ps 48:5; Ec 5:8
  10. 1:5 : Gn 15:6
  11. 1:5 : Ac 13:41
  12. 1:6 : Ru 4:5
  13. 1:6 : Jdg 18:25
  14. 1:7 : Sg 6:4, 10
  15. 1:8 : 2Sm 1:23
  16. 1:8 : Is 11:6; Jr 5:6; 13:23; Hs 13:7
  17. 1:8 : Dt 28:49
  18. 1:9 : Gn 48:11
  19. 1:9 : Dt 11:14
  20. 1:9 : Jos 11:4
  21. 1:10 : 2Kg 2:23
  22. 1:10 : 2Ch 30:10
  23. 1:10 : Nm 21:32
  24. 1:11 : Is 8:8
  25. 1:12 : Is 1:4
  26. 1:12 : Dt 32:4; Ps 18:2
  27. 1:13 : 2Ch 6:20; 16:9
  28. 1:13 : Ex 25:11; Ps 12:6; 19:9; 51:10; Pr 22:11; Ezk 36:25
  29. 1:13 : Jdg 9:23
  30. 1:14 : Ec 9:12
  31. 1:15 : Jr 16:16; Am 4:2
  32. 1:16 : Dt 8:17; Is 10:13; 37:24-25
  33. 2:1 : Is 21:6-9
  34. 2:1 : Ps 85:8
  35. 2:2 : 1Sm 3:1; Ps 89:19; Pr 29:18; Is 1:1
  36. 2:3 : Dn 10:1, 14; 11:35; Heb 10:36-37; 2Pt 3:9; Rv 22:10
  37. 2:4 : Rm 1:17; Gl 3:11
  38. 2:5 : Pr 27:20; 30:15-16; Is 5:14
  39. 2:6 : Dt 24:10-13
  40. 2:7 : 2Kg 21:14; Is 42:22, 24
  41. 2:8 : Is 33:1; Jr 25:12, 14; Rv 13:10
  42. 2:9 : Pr 11:28; Jr 22:13; 49:16; Ob 4; Rv 18:7
  43. 2:11 : Lk 19:40
  44. 2:12 : Ezk 22:2-3; Mc 3:10
  45. 2:13 : Jr 51:58
  46. 2:14 : Ps 72:19; Is 6:3; 11:9
  47. 2:15-16 : Rv 14:8-10
  48. 2:20 : Zph 1:7; Zch 2:13
  49. 3:1 : Ps 7 title
  50. 3:3 : Dt 33:2; Jdg 5:4-5
  51. 3:3 : Jb 37:22; Ps 148:13; Is 42:10
  52. 3:9 : Dt 32:40-43
  53. 3:10 : Ps 77:16
  54. 3:10 : Ex 19:18
  55. 3:11 : Jos 10:12-13
  56. 3:15 : Ps 77:19
  57. 3:16 : Dn 10:4-9; Rv 1:17
  58. 3:18 : Ps 73:25
  59. 3:19 : Ps 18:33
  60. 3:19 : 2Sm 22:34; Ps 18:33
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.

Revelation 9

The Fifth Trumpet

9 The fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to earth.(A) The key to the shaft of the abyss(B) was given to him. 2 He opened the shaft of the abyss, and smoke came up out of the shaft like smoke from a great[a] furnace so that the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke from the shaft. 3 Then locusts came out of the smoke on to the earth, and power[b] was given to them(C) like the power that scorpions have on the earth. 4 They were told not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green plant, or any tree, but only people who do not have God’s seal on their foreheads. 5 They were not permitted to kill them but were to torment them for five months; their torment is like the torment caused by a scorpion when it strikes a man. 6 In those days people will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, but death will flee from them.

7 The appearance of the locusts was like horses equipped for battle.(D) Something like gold crowns was on their heads; their faces were like men’s faces; 8 they had hair like women’s hair; their teeth were like lions’ teeth;(E) 9 they had chests like iron breastplates; the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots with many horses rushing into battle; 10 and they had tails with stingers like scorpions, so that with their tails they had the power[c] to harm people for five months. 11 They had as their king[d] the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon,[e] and in Greek he has the name Apollyon.[f] 12 The first woe has passed. There are still two more woes to come after this.

The Sixth Trumpet

13 The sixth angel blew his trumpet. From the four[g] horns of the gold altar(F) that is before God, I heard a voice 14 say to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels bound at the great river Euphrates.” 15 So the four angels who were prepared for the hour, day, month, and year were released to kill a third of the human race. 16 The number of mounted troops was 200 million;[h] I heard their number. 17 This is how I saw the horses in my vision: The horsemen had breastplates that were fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow. The heads of the horses were like lions’ heads, and from their mouths came fire, smoke, and sulfur. 18 A third of the human race was killed by these three plagues—by the fire, the smoke, and the sulfur that came from their mouths. 19 For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails, which resemble snakes, have heads, and they inflict injury with them.

20 The rest of the people, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands to stop worshiping demons(G) and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which are not able to see, hear, or walk.(H) 21 And they did not repent of their murders, their sorceries,[i] their sexual immorality, or their thefts.

Footnotes:

  1. Revelation 9:2 Other mss omit great
  2. Revelation 9:3 Or authority
  3. Revelation 9:10 Or authority
  4. Revelation 9:11 Or as king over them
  5. Revelation 9:11 Or destruction
  6. Revelation 9:11 Or destroyer
  7. Revelation 9:13 Other mss omit four
  8. Revelation 9:16 Other mss read 100 million
  9. Revelation 9:21 Or magic potions, or drugs; Gk pharmakon

Cross references:

  1. 9:1 : Rv 8:10
  2. 9:1 : Lk 8:31; Rm 10:7; Rv 9:11; 11:7; 17:8; 20:1-3
  3. 9:3 : Mt 10:1; 28:18; Rv 6:8
  4. 9:7 : Jl 2:4
  5. 9:8 : Jl 1:6
  6. 9:13 : Ex 39:38; 40:5
  7. 9:20 : 1Co 10:20
  8. 9:20 : Ps 115:4-7; 135:15-17; Dn 5:23
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.

Psalm 137

Psalm 137

Lament of the Exiles

1 By the rivers of Babylon—
there we sat down and wept
when we remembered Zion.(A)
2 There we hung up our lyres
on the poplar trees,(B)
3 for our captors there asked us for songs,
and our tormentors, for rejoicing:
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”(C)

4 How can we sing the Lord’s song
on foreign soil?(D)
5 If I forget you, Jerusalem,
may my right hand forget its skill.(E)
6 May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth
if I do not remember you,
if I do not exalt Jerusalem as my greatest joy!(F)

7 Remember, Lord, what the Edomites said
that day[a] at Jerusalem:
“Destroy it! Destroy it
down to its foundations!”(G)
8 Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction,
happy is the one who pays you back
what you have done to us.(H)
9 Happy is he who takes your little ones
and dashes them against the rocks.(I)

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 137:7 The day Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians in 586 b.c.

Cross references:

  1. 137:1 : Ezk 1:1, 3
  2. 137:2 : Jb 30:31; Ezk 26:13
  3. 137:3 : Ps 80:6
  4. 137:4 : Neh 12:46
  5. 137:5 : Is 65:11
  6. 137:6 : Jb 29:10; Ps 22:15; Ezk 3:26
  7. 137:7 : Is 34:5-6; Ezk 35:2; Ob 10-14
  8. 137:8 : Jr 50:1-46; 51:1-64
  9. 137:9 : 2Kg 8:12; Is 13:16; Nah 3:10
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.

Proverbs 30:10

10 Don’t slander a servant to his master
or he will curse you,(A) and you will become guilty.

Cross references:

  1. 30:10 : Ec 7:21
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.

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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Saturday December 17, 2016 (NIV)

Nahum 1-3

1 The oracle concerning Nineveh.(A) The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.

God’s Vengeance

2 The Lord is a jealous and avenging God;
the Lord takes vengeance
and is fierce in[a] wrath.
The Lord takes vengeance against His foes;
He is furious with His enemies.(B)
3 The Lord is slow to anger but great in power;
the Lord will never leave the guilty unpunished.(C)
His path is in the whirlwind and storm,
and clouds are the dust beneath His feet.
4 He rebukes the sea so that it dries up,
and He makes all the rivers run dry.(D)
Bashan and Carmel wither;(E)
even the flower of Lebanon withers.
5 The mountains quake before Him,
and the hills melt;
the earth trembles[b][c] at His presence—
the world and all who live in it.(F)
6 Who can withstand His indignation?
Who can endure His burning anger?(G)
His wrath is poured out like fire,
even rocks are shattered before Him.

Destruction of Nineveh

7 The Lord is good,
a stronghold in a day of distress;
He cares for those who take refuge(H) in Him.
8 But He will completely destroy Nineveh[d]
with an overwhelming flood,(I)
and He will chase His enemies into darkness.

9 Whatever you[e] plot against the Lord,
He will bring it to complete destruction;(J)
oppression will not rise up a second time.
10 For they will be consumed
like entangled thorns,(K)
like the drink of a drunkard
and like straw that is fully dry.[f]
11 One has gone out from you,[g]
who plots evil against Yahweh,
and is a wicked counselor.

Promise of Judah’s Deliverance

12 This is what the Lord says:

Though they are strong[h] and numerous,
they will still be mowed down,
and he[i] will pass away.
Though I have afflicted you,[j](L)
I will afflict you no longer.(M)
13 For I will now break off his yoke from you
and tear off your shackles.

The Assyrian King’s Demise

14 The Lord has issued an order concerning you:

There will be no offspring
to carry on your name.[k](N)
I will eliminate the carved idol and cast image
from the house of your gods;(O)
I will prepare your grave,
for you are contemptible.

15 [l]Look to the mountains—
the feet of one bringing good news(P)
and proclaiming peace!
Celebrate your festivals, Judah;
fulfill your vows.
For the wicked one will never again
march through you;
he will be entirely wiped out.

Attack against Nineveh

2 One who scatters is coming up against you.
Man the fortifications!
Watch the road!
Brace[m] yourself!
Summon all your strength!(Q)

2 For the Lord will restore the majesty of Jacob,
yes,[n] the majesty of Israel,
though ravagers have ravaged them
and ruined their vine branches.(R)

3 The shields of his[o] warriors are dyed red;
the valiant men are dressed in scarlet.(S)
The fittings of the chariot flash like fire
on the day of its battle preparations,
and the spears are brandished.
4 The chariots dash madly through the streets;
they rush around in the plazas.
They look like torches;
they dart back and forth like lightning.
5 He gives orders to his officers;
they stumble as they advance.
They race to its wall;
the protective shield is set in place.
6 The river gates are opened,
and the palace erodes away.(T)

7 Beauty[p] is stripped,[q]
she is carried away;
her ladies-in-waiting moan
like the sound of doves,(U)
and beat their breasts.
8 Nineveh has been like a pool of water
from her first days,[r]
but they are fleeing.
“Stop! Stop!” they cry,
but no one turns back.
9 “Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold!”
There is no end to the treasure,
an abundance of every precious thing.(V)
10 Desolation, decimation, devastation!
Hearts melt,(W)
knees tremble,
loins shake,
every face grows pale!(X)

11 Where is the lions’ lair,(Y)
or the feeding ground of the young lions,
where the lion and lioness prowled,
and the lion’s cub,
with nothing to frighten them away?(Z)
12 The lion mauled whatever its cubs needed
and strangled prey for its lionesses.
It filled up its dens with the kill,
and its lairs with mauled prey.(AA)
13 Beware, I am against you.(AB)
This is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts.
I will make your chariots go up in smoke[s]
and the sword will devour your young lions.
I will cut off your prey from the earth,
and the sound of your messengers
will never be heard again.

Nineveh’s Downfall

3 Woe to the city of blood,(AC)
totally deceitful,
full of plunder,
never without prey.(AD)
2 The crack of the whip
and rumble of the wheel,
galloping horse
and jolting chariot!(AE)
3 Charging horseman,
flashing sword,
shining spear;
heaps of slain,
mounds of corpses,
dead bodies without end(AF)—
they stumble over their dead.
4 Because of the continual prostitution of the prostitute,
the attractive mistress of sorcery,
who betrays nations by her prostitution
and clans by her witchcraft,(AG)
5 I am against you.(AH)
This is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts.
I will lift your skirts over your face
and display your nakedness to nations,
your shame to kingdoms.(AI)
6 I will throw filth on you
and treat you with contempt;
I will make a spectacle of you.
7 Then all who see you will recoil from you, saying,
“Nineveh is devastated;
who will show sympathy to her?”
Where can I find anyone to comfort you?

8 Are you better than Thebes[t](AJ)
that sat along the Nile
with water surrounding her,
whose rampart was the sea,
the river[u][v] her wall?
9 Cush and Egypt were her endless source of strength;
Put and Libya were among her[w] allies.
10 Yet she became an exile;
she went into captivity.
Her children were also dashed to pieces(AK)
at the head of every street.
They cast lots for her dignitaries,(AL)
and all her nobles were bound in chains.
11 You[x] also will become drunk;
you will hide yourself.[y]
You also will seek refuge from the enemy.

12 All your fortresses are fig trees
with figs that ripened first;
when shaken, they fall—
right into the mouth of the eater!

13 Look, your troops are like women among you;
the gates of your land
are wide open to your enemies.
Fire will devour the bars of your gates.

14 Draw water for the siege;
strengthen your fortresses.
Step into the clay and tread the mortar;
take hold of the brick-mold!
15 The fire will devour you there;
the sword will cut you down.
It will devour you like the young locust.(AM)
Multiply yourselves like the young locust,
multiply like the swarming locust!
16 You have made your merchants(AN)
more numerous than the stars of the sky.
The young locust strips[z] the land
and flies away.
17 Your court officials are like the swarming locust,
and your scribes like clouds of locusts,
which settle on the walls on a cold day;
when the sun rises, they take off,
and no one knows where they are.

18 King of Assyria, your shepherds slumber;
your officers sleep.
Your people are scattered across the mountains
with no one to gather them together.(AO)
19 There is no remedy for your injury;
your wound is severe.(AP)
All who hear the news about you
will clap their hands because of you,
for who has not experienced
your constant cruelty?

Footnotes:

  1. Nahum 1:2 Lit is a master of
  2. Nahum 1:5 Some emend to earth is laid waste
  3. Nahum 1:5 Lit lifts
  4. Nahum 1:8 Lit her place
  5. Nahum 1:9 = Nineveh
  6. Nahum 1:10 Hb obscure
  7. Nahum 1:11 Possibly Nineveh
  8. Nahum 1:12 Lit intact
  9. Nahum 1:12 Either the king of Assyria or his army
  10. Nahum 1:12 = Judah
  11. Nahum 1:14 Lit It will not be sown from your name any longer
  12. Nahum 1:15 Nah 2:1 in Hb
  13. Nahum 2:1 Lit Strengthen
  14. Nahum 2:2 Or like
  15. Nahum 2:3 = the army commander attacking Nineveh
  16. Nahum 2:7 Text emended; MT reads Huzzab
  17. Nahum 2:7 Hb obscure
  18. Nahum 2:8 Hb obscure
  19. Nahum 2:13 Lit will burn her chariots in smoke
  20. Nahum 3:8 Or No-amon
  21. Nahum 3:8 LXX, Syr, Vg read water
  22. Nahum 3:8 Lit sea from sea
  23. Nahum 3:9 Lit your
  24. Nahum 3:11 = Nineveh
  25. Nahum 3:11 Or will be overcome
  26. Nahum 3:16 Or sheds [its skin]

Cross references:

  1. 1:1 : Jnh 3:3-4; 4:11; Nah 2:8; Zph 2:13
  2. 1:2 : Dt 6:15; Ps 94:1; Is 63:1-6; Jr 46:10; 50:28-29; Mc 5:15; Zph 1:18
  3. 1:3 : Ex 34:6-7; Nm 14:18
  4. 1:4 : 2Sm 22:16; Ps 106:9; Is 50:2
  5. 1:4 : Is 33:9
  6. 1:5 : Ps 18:7; Jr 4:24; Am 8:8
  7. 1:6 : Ps 7:11; 69:24; 78:49
  8. 1:7 : 2Sm 22:3; Ps 17:7; 34:8
  9. 1:8 : Nah 2:6
  10. 1:9 : Ps 2:1-4
  11. 1:10 : Mal 4:1
  12. 1:12 : Is 10:5-34
  13. 1:12 : Ps 30:5; 103:9; Is 54:8
  14. 1:14 : Lv 20:3; 1Sm 24:21; Ps 89:4; Is 48:19; 66:22
  15. 1:14 : Dt 27:15; Jdg 18:14
  16. 1:15 : Is 52:7; 61:1; Rm 10:15
  17. 2:1 : Am 2:14
  18. 2:2 : Ps 80:12-15; Jr 12:10
  19. 2:3 : Ezk 23:14
  20. 2:6 : Nah 1:8
  21. 2:7 : Is 38:14; 59:11
  22. 2:9 : 2Ch 32:27; 36:10; Dn 11:8; Nah 3:3
  23. 2:10 : Dt 20:8; Jos 7:5; Is 13:7; 19:1; Ezk 21:7, 15
  24. 2:10 : Is 21:3; Jl 2:6
  25. 2:11 : Is 2:15; 5:26-29; Jr 4:7; 5:6; 50:17; 51:38; Jl 1:6; Am 3:12
  26. 2:11 : Lv 26:6; Dt 28:26; Jr 7:33
  27. 2:12 : Jb 38:39-40
  28. 2:13 : Jr 21:13; 50:31; 51:25; Nah 3:5
  29. 3:1 : Ezk 24:6, 9
  30. 3:1 : Nah 2:9
  31. 3:2 : Jdg 5:22; Jb 39:24; Jr 47:3
  32. 3:3 : Nah 2:9
  33. 3:4 : 2Kg 9:22; Pr 7:10-23; Ezk 16:15; 23:1-21; Rv 17:3-6
  34. 3:5 : Nah 2:13
  35. 3:5 : Jr 13:22, 26; Ezk 16:37
  36. 3:8 : Jr 46:25; Ezk 30:14-16
  37. 3:10 : 2Kg 8:12; Is 13:16; Hs 10:14
  38. 3:10 : Ob 11
  39. 3:15 : Jl 1:4
  40. 3:16 : Ezk 27:3, 13, 20, 23-24
  41. 3:18 : 1Kg 22:17
  42. 3:19 : Jr 10:19; 14:17; 30:12
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.

Revelation 8

The Seventh Seal

8 When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2 Then I saw the seven angels who stand in the presence of God; seven trumpets were given to them. 3 Another angel, with a gold incense burner, came and stood at the altar. He was given a large amount of incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the gold altar in front of the throne. 4 The smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up in the presence of God from the angel’s hand. 5 The angel took the incense burner, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it to the earth; there were rumblings of thunder, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake. 6 And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.

The First Trumpet

7 The first angel[a] blew his trumpet, and hail and fire, mixed with blood, were hurled to the earth. So a third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.

The Second Trumpet

8 The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain ablaze with fire was hurled into the sea.(A) So a third of the sea became blood, 9 a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

The Third Trumpet

10 The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from heaven.(B) It fell on a third of the rivers and springs of water. 11 The name of the star is Wormwood, and a third of the waters became wormwood. So, many of the people died from the waters, because they had been made bitter.

The Fourth Trumpet

12 The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third of the day was without light, and the night as well.(C)

13 I looked again and heard an eagle[b] flying high overhead, crying out in a loud voice, “Woe!(D) Woe! Woe to those who live on the earth, because of the remaining trumpet blasts that the three angels are about to sound!”

Footnotes:

  1. Revelation 8:7 Other mss include angel
  2. Revelation 8:13 Other mss read angel

Cross references:

  1. 8:8 : Jr 51:25
  2. 8:10 : Is 14:12; Rv 9:1
  3. 8:12 : Am 8:9
  4. 8:13 : Rv 9:12; 11:14; 12:12
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.

Psalm 136

Psalm 136

God’s Love Is Eternal

1 Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.(A)
His love is eternal.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love is eternal.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords.(B)
His love is eternal.
4 He alone does great wonders.(C)
His love is eternal.
5 He made the heavens skillfully.(D)
His love is eternal.
6 He spread the land on the waters.(E)
His love is eternal.
7 He made the great lights:(F)
His love is eternal.
8 the sun to rule by day,
His love is eternal.
9 the moon and stars to rule by night.(G)
His love is eternal.
10 He struck the firstborn of the Egyptians(H)
His love is eternal.
11 and brought Israel out from among them
His love is eternal.
12 with a strong hand and outstretched arm.(I)
His love is eternal.
13 He divided the Red Sea(J)
His love is eternal.
14 and led Israel through,(K)
His love is eternal.
15 but hurled Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea.(L)
His love is eternal.
16 He led His people in the wilderness.(M)
His love is eternal.
17 He struck down great kings
His love is eternal.
18 and slaughtered famous kings—
His love is eternal.
19 Sihon king of the Amorites
His love is eternal.
20 and Og king of Bashan—
His love is eternal.
21 and gave their land as an inheritance,
His love is eternal.
22 an inheritance to Israel His servant.(N)
His love is eternal.
23 He remembered us in our humiliation(O)
His love is eternal.
24 and rescued us from our foes.(P)
His love is eternal.
25 He gives food to every creature.(Q)
His love is eternal.
26 Give thanks to the God of heaven!(R)
His love is eternal.

Cross references:

  1. 136:1 : Ps 106:1; 107:1; 118:1
  2. 136:2-3 : Dt 10:17
  3. 136:4 : Jb 9:10; Ps 72:18
  4. 136:5 : Pr 3:19; Jr 10:12; 51:15
  5. 136:6 : Ps 24:2
  6. 136:7 : Ps 74:16
  7. 136:8-9 : Gn 1:16
  8. 136:10 : Ex 12:29; Ps 78:51; 135:8
  9. 136:12 : Ex 6:1; Dt 4:34
  10. 136:13 : Ex 14:21; Ps 66:6; 78:13
  11. 136:14 : Ex 14:21-22; Ps 106:9
  12. 136:15 : Ex 14:27; Ps 78:53; 106:11
  13. 136:16 : Dt 8:15; Ps 78:52
  14. 136:17-22 : Nm 21:21-35; Ps 135:10-12
  15. 136:23 : Ps 106:45
  16. 136:24 : Ps 107:2
  17. 136:25 : Ps 104:27; 145:15
  18. 136:26 : Neh 1:5
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.

Proverbs 30:7-9

7 Two things I ask of You;
don’t deny them to me before I die:
8 Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me.
Give me neither poverty nor wealth;
feed me with the food I need.(A)
9 Otherwise, I might have too much(B)
and deny You,(C) saying, “Who is the Lord?”(D)
or I might have nothing and steal,(E)
profaning[a] the name of my God.(F)

Footnotes:

  1. Proverbs 30:9 Lit grabbing

Cross references:

  1. 30:8 : Jb 23:12; Mt 6:11; Php 4:11-12
  2. 30:9 : Dt 6:10-12; 8:11-14
  3. 30:9 : Jos 24:27; Jb 31:28
  4. 30:9 : Ex 5:2
  5. 30:9 : Ex 20:5; Eph 4:28
  6. 30:9 : Lv 19:11-12
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.