Daily Bible Reading from BibleStudyTools.com

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Today's Bible Reading

October 3

Revelation 4; Nehemiah 5:1-7:4; Psalm 99 CJB

Revelation 4

1 After these things, I looked; and there before me was a door standing open in heaven; and the voice like a trumpet which I had heard speaking with me before said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after these things."

2 Instantly I was in the Spirit, and there before me in heaven stood a throne, and on the throne Someone was sitting.

3 The One sitting there gleamed like diamonds and rubies, and a rainbow shining like emerald encircled the throne.

4 Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and on the thrones sat twenty-four elders dressed in white clothing and wearing gold crowns on their heads.

5 From the throne came forth lightnings, voices and thunderings; and before the throne were seven flaming torches, which are the sevenfold Spirit of God.

6 In front of the throne was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living beings covered with eyes in front and behind.

7 The first living being was like a lion, the second living being was like an ox, the third living being had a face that looked human, and the fourth living being was like a flying eagle.

8 Each of the four living beings had six wings and was covered with eyes inside and out; and day and night they never stop saying, "Holy, holy, holy is ADONAI, God of heaven's armies the One who was, who is and who is coming!"

9 And whenever the living beings give glory, honor and thanks to the One sitting on the throne, to the One who lives forever and ever,

10 the twenty-four elders fall down before the One sitting on the throne, who lives forever and ever, and worship him. They throw their crowns in front of the throne and say,

11 "You are worthy, ADONAI Eloheinu, to have glory, honor and power, because you created all things yes, because of your will they were created and came into being!"

Nehemiah 5

1 Then there arose a great outcry from the common people and their wives against their brothers the [wealthier] Judeans.

2 Some of them said, "Counting our sons and daughters, there are a lot of us! Allow us to get grain for them, so that we can eat and stay alive."

3 There were also some who said, "We are mortgaging our fields, vineyards and homes in order to buy grain, because of the famine."

4 Yet others said, "We have borrowed money for the king's taxes against our fields and vineyards.

5 Now our flesh is no different from the flesh of our kinsmen, and our children are the same as their children; yet we are bringing our sons and daughters into bondage as slaves. Some of our daughters have gone into slavery already, and it's beyond our power to do anything about it, because other men have our fields and vineyards."

6 When I heard their outcry and the reasons for it, I became very angry.

7 I thought the matter over and then took issue with the nobles and rulers. I charged them, "You are lending against pledges, everyone to his brother"; and I summoned a great assembly to deal with them.

8 I said to them, "We, to the limit of our ability, have redeemed our brothers the Judeans who sold themselves to the pagans. Now you are selling your own brothers, and we will have to buy them back!"They stayed silent; they couldn't think of anything to say.

9 I also said, "What you are doing is not good! You should be living in fear of our God, so that our pagan enemies won't have grounds for deriding us.

10 Moreover, my brothers and my servants, I too have loaned them money and grain. Please, let's stop making it so burdensome to go into debt.

11 Please! Today! Give them back their fields, vineyards, olive groves and homes; also the hundred pieces of silver and the grain, wine and olive oil you demand from them as interest."

12 They answered, "We will give it back. We will require nothing from them. Yes, we will do it, just as you say."Then I called the cohanim and took an oath from them that they would do as they had promised.

13 Shaking out the fold in my garment, I said, "May God thus shake every man from his house and from his work who fails to live up to this promise - may he be shaken out like this and made empty." The whole assembly said, "Amen!" and praised ADONAI; and the people did as they had promised.

14 Besides that, from the time I was appointed their governor in the land of Y'hudah, from the twentieth year until the thirty-second year of Artach'shashta the king - that is, for twelve years - neither I nor my colleagues drew on the governor's living allowance.

15 The earlier governors, before me, had burdened the people, taxing them more than one-and-a-half pounds of silver shekels for food and wine; and even their servants lorded it over the people. But I didn't, because I feared God.

16 Moreover, I put all my energy into working on this wall. We didn't buy any land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work.

17 There were 150 leaders and other Judeans who ate at my table, besides those who came to us from the surrounding nations.

18 Every day one ox, six choice sheep, and fowl were prepared for me, and every ten days a supply of all kinds of wine. Yet in spite of all this, I never claimed the governor's allowance, because the people were already bearing the heavy burden of their labor.

19 My God, remember favorably everything I have done for this people!

Nehemiah 6

1 When it was reported to Sanvalat, Toviyah, Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall and that not a single gap was left in it - although up to that time I hadn't yet set up the doors in the gateways -

2 Sanvalat and Geshem sent me a message which said, "Come, let's meet together in one of the villages of the Ono Valley." But they were planning to do me harm;

3 so I sent them messengers with this message: "I'm too busy with important work to come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it to come down to you?"

4 They kept sending this sort of message to me - four times - and I answered them the same way.

5 The fifth time, with the same purpose, Sanvalat sent his servant to me with an open letter in his hand,

6 in which was written: "It is reported among the nations, and Geshem says it too, that you and the Judeans are planning a revolt, that this is why you are rebuilding the wall, and that you intend to be their king," and similar words;

7 "moreover, that you have also appointed prophets to proclaim about you in Yerushalayim, 'There is a king in Y'hudah!'A report along these lines is now going to be made to the king. Come now, therefore, and let's discuss this."

8 I sent him this answer; "Nothing like what you are saying is being done. You're making it all up in your head."

9 They were all just trying to scare us, thinking, "This will sap their strength and keep them from working." But now, [God,] increase my strength!

10 One day, when I went to the house of Sh'ma'yah the son of D'layah, the son of M'heitav'el, where he was confined, he said, "Let's meet together in the house of God, inside the temple, and let's shut the doors of the temple. For they are going to come and try to assassinate you; yes, they will come at night to kill you."

11 I replied, "Should a man like me run away? Can a man like me go into the temple to save his life? I refuse to go in."

12 Then I realized that God had not sent him, that he was making this prophecy against me, and that Toviyah and Sanvalat had bribed him to say it.

13 He had been hired to frighten me into following his suggestion and thus sin, so that they would have material for their unfavorable report about me and could taunt me with it.

14 My God, remember Toviyah and Sanvalat according to their deeds, also the prophet No'adyah and the other prophets trying to intimidate me.

15 So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days.

16 When all our enemies heard about it and the surrounding nations became afraid, our enemies' self-esteem fell severely; because they realized that this work had been accomplished by our God.

17 During this same period of time, the nobles of Y'hudah sent many letters to Toviyah, and Toviyah kept sending them replies.

18 For there were many in Y'hudah who had sworn allegiance to him, because he was the son-in-law of Sh'khanyah the son of Arach, and his son Y'hochanan had taken as his wife the daughter of Meshulam the son of Berekhyah.

19 They would even praise his good deeds in my presence, and they passed on my words to him. And Toviyah kept sending letters to intimidate me.

Nehemiah 7:1-4

1 After the wall had been rebuilt, and I had set up its doors, and the gatekeepers, singers and L'vi'im had been appointed,

2 I put my kinsman Hanani in charge of Yerushalayim, along with Hananyah the commander of the citadel. For he was a faithful man, and he feared God more than most.

3 I said to them, "The gates of Yerushalayim are not to be opened until the sun is hot; and while the gatekeepers are still on duty, have them shut the doors; and you, put up the bars. Appoint watchmen from among those living in Yerushalayim; assign each one his time to guard, and have each one serving near his own house."

4 The city was large and spacious, but there were few people in it, and the houses had not been rebuilt.

Psalm 99

1 ADONAI is king; let the peoples tremble. He sits enthroned on the k'ruvim; let the earth shake!

2 ADONAI is great in Tziyon; he is high above all the peoples.

3 Let them praise your great and fearsome name (he is holy):

4 "Mighty king who loves justice, you established fairness, justice and righteousness in Ya'akov."

5 Exalt ADONAI our God! Prostrate yourselves at his footstool (he is holy).

6 Moshe and Aharon among his cohanim and Sh'mu'el among those who call on his name called on ADONAI, and he answered them.

7 He spoke to them in the column of cloud; they kept his instructions and the law that he gave them.

8 ADONAI our God, you answered them. To them you were a forgiving God, although you took vengeance on their wrongdoings.

9 Exalt ADONAI our God, bow down toward his holy mountain, for ADONAI our God is holy!

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Today's Bible Reading

October 4

Revelation 5; Nehemiah 7:5-8:12; Psalm 100 CJB

Revelation 5

1 Next I saw in the right hand of the One sitting on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals;

2 and I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?"

3 But no one in heaven, on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or look inside it.

4 I cried and cried, because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or look inside it.

5 One of the elders said to me, "Don't cry. Look, the Lion of the tribe of Y'hudah, the Root of David, has won the right to open the scroll and its seven seals."

6 Then I saw standing there with the throne and the four living beings, in the circle of the elders, a Lamb that appeared to have been slaughtered. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the sevenfold Spirit of God sent out into all the earth.

7 He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of the One sitting on the throne.

8 When he took the scroll, the four living beings and the twenty-four elders fell down in front of the Lamb. Each one held a harp and gold bowls filled with pieces of incense, which are the prayers of God's people;

9 and they sang a new song, "You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals; because you were slaughtered; at the cost of blood you ransomed for God persons from every tribe, language, people and nation.

10 You made them into a kingdom for God to rule, cohanim to serve him; and they will rule over the earth."

11 Then I looked, and I heard the sound of a vast number of angels - thousands and thousands, millions and millions! They were all around the throne, the living beings and the elders;

12 and they shouted out, "Worthy is the slaughtered Lamb to receive power, riches, wisdom, strength, honor, glory and praise!"

13 And I heard every creature in heaven, on earth, under the earth and on the sea - yes, everything in them - saying, "To the One sitting on the throne and to the Lamb belong praise, honor, glory and power forever and ever!"

14 The four living beings said, "Amen!" and the elders fell down and worshipped.

Nehemiah 7:5-73

5 My God put it in my heart to assemble the nobles, the leaders and the people, so that they could be registered according to their genealogies. I located the record of the genealogies of those who had come up at the beginning and found written in it:

6 "Here is a list of the people of the province who had been exiled, carried off to Bavel by N'vukhadnetzar king of Bavel, but who later returned from exile and went up to Yerushalayim and Y'hudah, each to his own city;

7 they went with Z'rubavel, Yeshua, Nechemyah, 'Azaryah, Ra'amyah, Nachmani, Mordekhai, Bilshan, Misperet, Bigvai, N'chum and Ba'anah. "The number of men from the people of Isra'el:

8 descendants of Par'osh 2,172

9 descendants of Sh'fatyah 372

10 descendants of Arach 652

11 descendants of Pachat-Mo'av, from the descendants of Yeshua and Yo'av 2,818

12 descendants of 'Eilam 1,254

13 descendants of Zatu 845

14 descendants of Zakkai 760

15 descendants of Binui 648

16 descendants of B'vai 628

17 descendants of 'Azgad 2,322

18 descendants of Adonikam 667

19 descendants of Bigvai 2,067

20 descendants of 'Adin 655

21 descendants of Ater, of Y'chizkiyah 98

22 descendants of Hashum 328

23 descendants of Betzai 324

24 descendants of Harif 112

25 descendants of Giv'on 95

26 people of Beit-Lechem and N'tofah 188

27 people of 'Anatot 128

28 people of Beit-'Azmavet 42

29 people of Kiryat-Ye'arim, K'firah and Be'erot 743

30 people of Ramah and Geva 621

31 people of Mikhmas 122

32 people of Beit-El and 'Ai 123

33 people from the other N'vo 52

34 people from the other 'Eilam 1,254

35 descendants of Harim 320

36 descendants of Yericho 345

37 descendants of Lod, Hadid and Ono 721

38 descendants of S'na'ah 3,930

39 "The cohanim: descendants of Y'da'yah, of the house of Yeshua 973

40 descendants of Immer 1,052

41 descendants of Pash'chur 1,247

42 descendants of Harim 1,017

43 "The L'vi'im: descendants of Yeshua, of Kadmi'el, of the descendants of Hodvah 74

44 "The singers: descendants of Asaf 148

45 "The gatekeepers: descendants of Shalum, descendants of Ater, descendants of Talmon, descendants of 'Akuv, descendants of Hatita, and descendants of Shovai 138

46 "The temple servants: descendants of Tzicha, descendants of Hasufa, descendants of Taba'ot,

47 descendants of Keros, descendants of Si'a, descendants of Padon,

48 descendants of L'vanah, descendants of Hagava, descendants of Salmai,

49 descendants of Hanan, descendants of Giddel, descendants of Gachar,

50 descendants of Re'ayah, descendants of Retzin, descendants of N'koda,

51 descendants of Gazam, descendants of 'Uza, descendants of Paseach,

52 descendants of Besai, descendants of Me'unim, descendants of N'fish'sim,

53 descendants of Bakbuk, descendants of Hakufa, descendants of Harhur, 1138

54 descendants of Batzlit, descendants of M'chida, descendants of Harsha,

55 descendants of Barkos, descendants of Sisra, descendants of Temach,

56 descendants of N'tziach, and descendants of Hatifa.

57 "The descendants of Shlomo's servants: descendants of Sotai, descendants of Soferet, descendants of P'rida,

58 descendants of Ya'lah, descendants of Darkon, descendants of Giddel,

59 descendants of Sh'fatyah, descendants of Hatil, descendants of Pokheret-Hatzvayim, and descendants of Amon.

60 "All the temple servants and the descendants of Shlomo's servants numbered 392

61 "The following went up from Tel-Melach, Tel-Harsha, K'ruv, Adon and Immer; but they could not state which fathers' clan they and their children belonged to, [so it was not clear] whether they were from Isra'el:

62 descendants of D'layah, descendants of Toviyah, and descendants of N'koda 642

63 and of the cohanim: descendants of Havayah, descendants of Hakotz, and descendants of Barzillai, who took a wife from the daughters of Barzillai the Gil'adi and was named after them.

64 "These tried to locate their geneaolgical records, but they weren't found. Therefore they were considered defiled and were not allowed to serve as cohanim.

65 The Tirshata told them not to eat any of the especially holy food until a cohen appeared who could consult the urim and tumim.

66 "The entire assembly numbered 42,360,

67 not including their male and female slaves, of whom there were 7,337. They also had 245 male and female singers.

68 Their horses numbered 736; their mules, 245;

69 their camels, 435; and their donkeys, 6,720.

70 "Some from among the heads of fathers' clans made contributions for the work. The Tirshata contributed to the treasury a thousand gold darkmonim [twentyone pounds], fifty basins and 530 tunics for the cohanim.

71 Some of the heads of fathers' clans gave into the treasury for the work 20,000 gold darkmonim [420 pounds] and 2,200 silver manim [one-and-a-third tons].

72 The rest of the people gave 20,000 gold darkmonim, 2,000 silver manim [about one-and-a-quarter tons] and sixty-seven tunics for the cohanim.

73 "So the cohanim, the L'vi'im, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the temple servants and all Isra'el lived in their towns."

Nehemiah 8:1-12

1 When the seventh month arrived, after the people of Isra'el had resettled in their towns, all the people gathered with one accord in the open space in front of the Water Gate and asked 'Ezra the Torah-teacher to bring the scroll of the Torah of Moshe, which ADONAI had commanded Isra'el.

2 'Ezra the cohen brought the Torah before the assembly, which consisted of men, women and all children old enough to understand. It was the first day of the seventh month.

3 Facing the open space in front of the Water Gate, he read from it to the men, the women and the children who could understand from early morning until noon; and all the people listened attentively to the scroll of the Torah.

4 'Ezra the Torah-teacher stood on a wood platform which they had made for the purpose; beside him on his right stood Mattityah, Shema, 'Anayah, Uriyah, Hilkiyah and Ma'aseiyah; while on his left were P'dayah, Misha'el, Malkiyah, Hashum, Hashbadanah, Z'kharyah and Meshulam.

5 'Ezra opened the scroll where all the people could see him, because he was higher than all the people; when he opened it, all the people rose to their feet.

6 'Ezra blessed ADONAI, the great God; and all the people answered, "Amen! Amen!" as they lifted up their hands, bowed their heads and fell prostrate before ADONAI with their faces to the ground.

7 The L'vi'im Yeshua, Bani, Sherevyah, Yamin, 'Akuv, Shabtai, Hodiyah, Ma'aseiyah, K'lita, 'Azaryah, Yozavad, Hanan and P'layah explained the Torah to the people, while the people remained in their places.

8 They read clearly from the scroll, in the Torah of God, translated it, and enabled them to understand the sense of what was being read.

9 Nechemyah the Tirshata, 'Ezra the cohen and Torah-teacher and the L'vi'im who taught the people said to all the people, "Today is consecrated to ADONAI your God; don't be mournful, don't weep." For all the people had been weeping when they heard the words of the Torah.

10 Then he said to them, "Go, eat rich food, drink sweet drinks, and send portions to those who can't provide for themselves; for today is consecrated to our Lord. Don't be sad, because the joy of ADONAI is your strength."

11 In this way the L'vi'im quieted the people, as they said, "Be quiet, for today is holy; don't be sad."

12 Then the people went off to eat, drink, send portions and celebrate; because they had understood the words that had been proclaimed to them.

Psalm 100

1 A psalm of thanksgiving: Shout for joy to ADONAI, all the earth!

2 Serve ADONAI with gladness. Enter his presence with joyful songs.

3 Be aware that ADONAI is God; it is he who made us; and we are his, his people, the flock in his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, enter his courtyards with praise; give thanks to him, and bless his name.

5 For ADONAI is good, his grace continues forever, and his faithfulness lasts through all generations.

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Today's Bible Reading

October 5

Revelation 6; Nehemiah 8:13-9; Psalm 101 CJB

Revelation 6

1 Next I watched as the Lamb broke the first of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living beings say in a thundering voice, "Go!"

2 I looked, and there in front of me was a white horse; its rider had a bow and was given a crown; and he rode off as a conqueror to conquer.

3 When he broke the second seal, I heard the second living being say, "Go!"

4 Another horse went out, a red one; and its rider was given the power to take peace away from the earth and make people slaughter each other. He was given a great sword.

5 When he broke the third seal, I heard the third living being say, "Go!" I looked, and there in front of me was a black horse, and its rider held in his hand a pair of scales.

6 Then I heard what sounded like a voice from among the four living beings say, "Two pounds of wheat for a day's wages! Six pounds of barley for the same price! But don't damage the oil or the wine!"

7 When he broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living being say, "Go!"

8 I looked, and there in front of me was a pallid, sickly-looking horse. Its rider's name was Death, and Sh'ol followed behind him. They were given authority to kill one-quarter of the world by war, by famine, by plagues and with the wild animals of the earth.

9 When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been put to death for proclaiming the Word of God, that is, for bearing witness.

10 They cried out in a loud voice, "Sovereign Ruler, HaKadosh, the True One, how long will it be before you judge the people living on earth and avenge our blood?"

11 Each of them was given a white robe; and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow-servants should be reached, of their brothers who would be killed, just as they had been.

12 Then I watched as he broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake, the sun turned black as sackcloth worn in mourning, and the full moon became blood-red.

13 The stars fell from heaven to earth just as a fig tree drops its figs when shaken by a strong wind.

14 The sky receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved from its place.

15 Then the earth's kings, the rulers, the generals, the rich and the mighty - indeed, everyone, slave and free - hid himself in caves and among the rocks in the mountains,

16 and said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us, and hide usk from the face of the One sitting on the throne and from the fury of the Lamb!

17 For the Great Day of their fury has come, and who can stand?"

Nehemiah 8:13-18

13 On the second day, the heads of fathers' clans of all the people assembled with the cohanim and L'vi'im before 'Ezra the Torah-teacher to study the words of the Torah.

14 They found written in the Torah that ADONAI had ordered through Moshe that the people of Isra'el were to live in sukkot during the feast of the seventh month;

15 and that they were to announce and pass the word in all their cities and in Yerushalayim, "Go out to the mountains, and collect branches of olives, wild olives, myrtles, palms, and other leafy trees to make sukkot, as prescribed."

16 So the people went out, brought them and made sukkot for themselves, each one on the roof of his house, also in their courtyards, in the courtyards of the house of God, in the open space by the Water Gate and in the open space by the Efrayim Gate.

17 The entire community of those who had returned from the exile made sukkot and lived in the sukkot, for the people of Isra'el had not done this since the days of Yeshua the son of Nun. So there was very great joy.

18 Also they read every day, from the first day until the last day, in the scroll of the Torah of God. They kept the feast for seven days; then on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly, according to the rule.

Nehemiah 9

1 On the twenty-fourth day of this month the people of Isra'el, wearing sackcloth and with dirt on them, assembled for a fast.

2 Those descended from Isra'el separated themselves from all foreigners; then they stood up and confessed their own sins and the iniquities of their ancestors.

3 Standing where they were, they read in the scroll of the Torah of ADONAI their God for one-quarter of the day. For another quarter they confessed and prostrated themselves before ADONAI their God.

4 On the platform of the L'vi'im stood Yeshua, Bani, Kadmi'el, Sh'vanyah, Buni, Sherevyah, Bani and K'nani; they cried out loudly to ADONAI their God.

5 Then the L'vi'im Yeshua, Kadmi'el, Bani, Hashavn'yah, Sherevyah, Hodiyah, Sh'vanyah and P'tachyah said, "Stand up, and bless ADONAI your God from everlasting to everlasting; let them say: "'Blessed be your glorious name, exalted above all blessing and praise!

6 "'You are ADONAI, you alone. You made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their array, the earth and all the things that are in it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve them all. The army of heaven worships you.

7 "'You are ADONAI, the God who chose Avram, brought him out of Ur-Kasdim and gave him the name of Avraham.

8 Finding that he was faithful to you, you made a covenant with him to give the land of the Kena'ani, the Hitti, Emori and P'rizi, the Y'vusi and the Girgashi, to give it to his descendants; and you have done what you promised, because you are just.

9 "'You saw the distress of our ancestors in Egypt and heard their cry by the Sea of Suf.

10 You performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh, against all his servants and the people of the land; for you knew how arrogantly they treated them; and you won yourself a name which is yours to this day.

11 You divided the sea ahead of them, so that they could pass through the sea on dry land; then you hurled their pursuers into the depths, like a stone into turbulent waters.

12 "'In a column of cloud you led them by day, and by night in a column of fire, so that they would have light ahead of them on the way that they were to go.

13 "'You descended on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven. You gave them right rulings and true teachings, good laws and mitzvot.

14 You revealed to them your holy Shabbat and gave them mitzvot, laws and the Torah through Moshe your servant.

15 "'For their hunger you gave them bread from heaven; for their thirst you brought forth for them water from the rock. You ordered them to enter and possess the land you had sworn with your hand to give them.

16 "'But they and our ancestors were arrogant; they stiffened their necks and ignored your mitzvot;

17 they refused to listen and paid no attention to the wonders you had done among them. No, they stiffened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a leader to return them to their slavery. But because you are a God of forgiveness, merciful, full of compassion, slow to grow angry and full of grace, you did not abandon them.

18 Even when they cast themselves a metal calf, saying of it, "This is your god that brought you up from Egypt,"and committing other gross provocations;

19 still, you, in your great compassion, did not abandon them in the desert. The column of cloud did not leave them by day; it kept leading them along the way. By night the column of fire kept showing them light and the path to take.

20 You also gave your good Spirit to teach them, did not withhold man from their mouths and provided them water to quench their thirst. 1142

21 Yes, forty years you sustained them in the desert; they lacked nothing -their clothes did not wear out; their feet did not swell up.

22 "'You gave them kingdoms and peoples; you even gave them extra land, so that they took possession of the land of Sichon, also the land of the king of Heshbon and the land of 'Og king of Bashan.

23 You made their children as numerous as the countless stars in the sky. "'Then you brought them into the land about which you had said to their fathers that they should go in and take possession of it.

24 So the children went in and possessed the land, as you subdued ahead of them the Kena'ani living in the land, and handed them over to them, along with their kings and the peoples of the land, for them to do with as they wished.

25 They took fortified cities and fertile land, possessed houses full of all kinds of good things, dug-out cisterns, vineyards, olive groves, fruit trees in plenty; so they ate their fill and grew robust, luxuriating in your great goodness.

26 "'Yet they disobeyed and rebelled against you, throwing your Torah behind their backs. They killed your prophets for warning them that they should return to you and committed other gross provocations.

27 So you handed them over to the power of their adversaries, who oppressed them. Yet in the time of their trouble, when they cried out to you, you heard from heaven, and in keeping with your great compassion, you gave them saviors to save them from the power of their adversaries.

28 But as soon as they had gotten some relief, they went back to do evil before you. So you left them in the power of their enemies, who came down hard on them. Yet when they returned and cried out to you, you heard from heaven many times and saved them, according to your compassion.

29 You warned them, in order to bring them back to your Torah; yet they were arrogant. They paid no attention to your mitzvot, but sinned against your rulings, which, if a person does them, he will have life through them. However, they stubbornly turned their shoulders, stiffened their necks and refused to hear.

30 Many years you extended them mercy and warned them by your Spirit through your prophets; yet they would not listen. Therefore you handed them over to the peoples of the lands.

31 Even so, in your great compassion, you didn't completely destroy them; nor did you abandon them, for you are a compassionate and merciful God.

32 "'Now therefore, our God, great, mighty, fearsome God, who keeps both covenant and grace: let not all this suffering seem little to you that has come on us, our kings, our leaders, our cohanim, our prophets, our ancestors, and on all your people, from the times of the kings of Ashur until this very day.

33 There is no question that you are just in all that has come upon us; for you have treated us fairly. It is we who have acted wickedly.

34 Our kings, our leaders, our cohanim and ancestors did not keep your Torah, pay attention to your mitzvot or heed the warnings you gave them.

35 Even when they ruled their own kingdom, even when you prospered them greatly, in the great, rich land you gave them, they did not serve you; nor did they turn from their wicked deeds.

36 "'So here we are today, slaves. Yes, in the land you gave our ancestors, so that they could eat what it produces and enjoy its good 1144 here we are in it, slaves!

37 Its rich yield now goes to the kings you have set over us because of our sins; they have power over our bodies, they can do what they please to our livestock, and we are in great distress!

38 "'In view of all this, we are making a binding covenant, putting it in writing and having it sealed by our leaders, our L'vi'im and our cohanim.'"

Psalm 101

1 A psalm of David: I am singing of grace and justice; I am singing to you, ADONAI.

2 I will follow the path of integrity; when will you come to me? I will run my life with a sincere heart inside my own house.

3 I will not allow before my eyes any shameful thing. I hate those who act crookedly; what they do does not attract me.

4 Deviousness will depart from me; I will not tolerate evil.

5 If someone slanders another in secret, I will cut him off. Haughty eyes and proud hearts I cannot abide.

6 I look to the faithful of the land, so that they can be my companions; those who live lives of integrity can be servants of mine.

7 No deceitful person can live in my house; no liar can be my advisor.

8 Every morning I will destroy all the wicked of the land, cutting off all evildoers from the city of ADONAI.

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Today's Bible Reading

October 6

Revelation 7; Nehemiah 10; Psalm 102 CJB

Revelation 7

1 After this, I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, so that no wind would blow on the land, on the sea or on any tree.

2 I saw another angel coming up from the east with a seal from the living God, and he shouted to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea,

3 "Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads!"

4 I heard how many were sealed - 144,000 from every tribe of the people of Isra'el:

5 From the tribe of Y'hudah 12,000 were sealed from the tribe of Re'uven 12,000 from the tribe of Gad, 12,000

6 from the tribe of Asher 12,000 from the tribe of Naftali 12,000 from the tribe of M'nasheh 12,000

7 from the tribe of Shim'on 12,000 from the tribe of Levi 12,000 from the tribe of Yissakhar 12,000

8 from the tribe of Z'vulun 12,000 from the tribe of Yosef 12,000 from the tribe of Binyamin 12,000

9 After this, I looked; and there before me was a huge crowd, too large for anyone to count, from every nation, tribe, people and language. They were standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palm branches in their hands;

10 and they shouted, "Victory to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"

11 All the angels stood around the throne, the elders and the four living beings; they fell face down before the throne and worshipped God, saying,

12 "Amen! "Praise and glory, wisdom and thanks, honor and power and strength belong to our God forever and ever! "Amen!"

13 One of the elders asked me, "These people dressed in white robes - who are they, and where are they from?"

14 "Sir," I answered, "you know." Then he told me, "These are the people who have come out of the Great Persecution. They have washed their robes and made them white with the blood of the Lamb.

15 That is why they are before God's throne. "Day and night they serve him in his Temple; and the One who sits on the throne will put his Sh'khinah upon them.

16 "They will never again be hungry, they will never again be thirsty, the sun will not beat down on them, nor will any burning heat.

17 "For the Lamb at the center of the throne will shepherd them, will lead them to springs of living water, and God will wipe every tear from their eyes."

Nehemiah 10

1 On the sealed document were the names of: Nechemyah the Tirshata the son of Hakhalyah, Tzedekyah,

2 S'rayah,'Azaryah, Yirmeyah,

3 Pash'chur, Amaryah, Malkiyah,

4 Hatush, Sh'vanyah, Malukh,

5 Harim, M'remot, 'Ovadyah,

6 Dani'el, Ginton, Barukh,

7 Meshulam, Aviyah, Miyamin,

8 Ma'azyah, Bilgai and Sh'ma'yah. These were the cohanim.

9 The L'vi'im were: Yeshua the son of Azanyah, Binui a descendant of Henadad, Kadmi'el,

10 and their kinsmen Sh'vanyah, Hodiyah, K'lita, P'layah, Hanan,

11 Mikha, Rechov, Hashavyah,

12 Zakur, Sherevyah, Sh'vanyah,

13 Hodiyah, Bani and B'ninu.

14 The leaders of the people: Par'osh, Pachat-Mo'av, 'Eilam, Zatu, Bani,

15 Buni, 'Azgad, B'vai,

16 Adoniyah, Bigvai, 'Adin,

17 Ater, Hizkiyah, 'Azur,

18 Hodiyah, Hashum, Betzai,

19 Harif, 'Anatot, Neivai,

20 Magpi'ash, Meshulam, Hezir,

21 Mesheizav'el, Tzadok, Yadua,

22 P'latyah, Hanan, 'Anayah,

23 Hoshea, Hananyah, Hashuv,

24 HaLochesh, Pilcha, Shovek,

25 Rechum, Hashavnah, Ma'aseiyah,

26 Achiyah, Hanan, 'Anan,

27 Malukh, Harim and Ba'anah.

28 The rest of the people, the cohanim, the L'vi'im, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants and all who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the Torah of God, along with their wives, sons and daughters, everyone capable of knowing and understanding,

29 joined their kinsmen and their leaders in swearing an oath, accompanied by a curse [in case of noncompliance], as follows: "We will live by God's Torah, given by Moshe the servant of God, and will perform and obey all the mitzvot, rulings and laws of ADONAI our Lord.

30 "We will not give our daughters as wives to the peoples of the land or take their daughters as wives for our sons.

31 "If the peoples of the lands bring merchandise or food to sell on Shabbat, we will not buy from them on Shabbat or on a holy day. "We will forego [planting and harvesting our fields] during the seventh year and collecting debts then.

32 "We will impose on ourselves a yearly tax of one-third of a shekel [one-seventh of an ounce of silver] for the service of the house of our

33 for the showbread, for the regular grain offering, for the regular burnt offering, for [the offerings] on Shabbat, on Rosh-Hodesh, at the designated times and at other holy times, for the sin offerings to make atonement for Isra'el, and for all the work connected with the house of our God.

34 "We, the cohanim, the L'vi'im and the people, will cast lots in connection with the wood offering, so that it will be brought to the house of our God according to our fathers' clans, at specified times, year by year, and then be burned on the altar of ADONAI our God, as prescribed in the Torah.

35 "Every year we will bring the firstfruits of our land and the firstfruits of all fruit from every kind of tree to the house of ADONAI.

36 "We will also bring the firstborn of our sons and of our livestock, as prescribed in the Torah, and the firstborn of our herds and flocks, to the house of our God, to the cohanim ministering in the house of our God.

37 "We will bring the first of our dough, our contributions, the fruit of every kind of tree, wine and olive oil to the cohanim in the storerooms of the house of our God, along with the tenths from our land for the L'vi'im; since they, the L'vi'im, take the tenths in all the cities where we farm.

38 The cohen the descendant of Aharon is to be with the L'vi'im when the L'vi'im take tenths. The L'vi'im will bring the tenth of the tenth to the house of our God, to the storerooms for supplies.

39 For the people of Isra'el and the descendants of Levi are to bring the contribution of grain, wine and olive oil to the rooms where the equipment for the sanctuary, the ministering cohanim, the gatekeepers and the singers are. We will not abandon the house of our God."

Psalm 102

1 Prayer of a sufferer overcome by weakness and pouring out his complaint before ADONAI: ADONAI, hear my prayer! Let my cry for help reach you!

2 Don't hide your face from me when I am in such distress! Turn your ear toward me; when I call, be quick to reply!

3 For my days are vanishing like smoke, my bones are burning like a furnace.

4 I am stricken and withered like grass; I forget to eat my food.

5 Because of my loud groaning, I am just skin and bones.

6 I am like a great owl in the desert, I've become like an owl in the ruins.

7 I lie awake and become like a bird alone on the roof.

8 My enemies taunt me all day long; mad with rage, they make my name a curse.

9 For I have been eating ashes like bread and mingling tears with my drink

10 because of your furious anger, since you picked me up just to toss me aside.

11 My days decline like an evening shadow; I am drying up like grass.

12 But you, ADONAI, are enthroned forever; your renown will endure through all generations.

13 You will arise and take pity on Tziyon, for the time has come to have mercy on her; the time determined has come.

14 For your servants love her very stones; they take pity even on her dust.

15 The nations will fear the name of ADONAI and all the kings on earth your glory,

16 when ADONAI has rebuilt Tziyon, and shows himself in his glory,

17 when he has heeded the plea of the poor and not despised their prayer.

18 May this be put on record for a future generation; may a people yet to be created praise ADONAI.

19 For he has looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven ADONAI surveys the earth

20 to listen to the sighing of the prisoner, to set free those who are sentenced to death,

21 to proclaim the name of ADONAI in Tziyon and his praise in Yerushalayim

22 when peoples and kingdoms have been gathered together to serve ADONAI.

23 He has broken my strength in midcourse, he has cut short my days.

24 I plead, "God, your years last through all generations; so don't take me away when my life is half over!

25 In the beginning, you laid the foundations of the earth; heaven is the work of your hands.

26 They will vanish, but you will remain; like clothing, they will all grow old; yes, you will change them like clothing, and they will pass away.

27 But you remain the same, and your years will never end.

28 The children of your servants will live securely and their descendants be established in your presence."

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Today's Bible Reading

October 7

Revelation 8; Nehemiah 11; Psalm 103 CJB

Revelation 8

1 When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for what seemed like half an hour.

2 Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and they were given seven shofars.

3 Another angel came and stood at the altar with a gold incense-bowl, and he was given a large quantity of incense to add to the prayers of all God's people

4 on the gold altar in front of the throne. The smoke of the incense went up with the prayers of God's people from the hand of the angel before God.

5 Then the angel took the incense-bowl, filled it with fire from the altar and threw it down onto the earth; and there followed peals of thunder, voices, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.

6 Now the seven angels with the seven shofars prepared to sound them.

7 The first one sounded his shofar; and there came hail and fire mingled with blood, and it was thrown down upon the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.

8 The second angel sounded his shofar, and what looked like an enormous blazing mountain was hurled into the sea. A third of the sea turned to blood,

9 a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

10 The third angel sounded his shofar; and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky onto a third of the rivers and onto the springs of water.

11 The name of the star was "Bitterness," and a third of the water became bitter, and many people died from the water that had been turned bitter.

12 The fourth angel sounded his shofar; and a third of the sun was struck, also a third of the moon and a third of the stars; so that a third of them were darkened, the day had a third less light, and the night likewise.

13 Then I looked, and I heard a lone eagle give a loud cry, as it flew in mid-heaven, "Woe! Woe! Woe to the people living on earth, because of the remaining blasts from the three angels who have yet to sound their shofars!"

Nehemiah 11

1 The leaders of the people took up residence in Yerushalayim; while the rest of the people cast lots to bring one-tenth of them to live in Yerushalayim the holy city, with the other nine-tenths in the other cities.

2 The people blessed all those who volunteered to live in Yerushalayim.

3 In the cities of Y'hudah, everyone lived on his own property - the people of Isra'el, the cohanim, the L'vi'im, the temple servants and the descendants of Shlomo's servants. But the leaders of the province lived in Yerushalayim.

4 Some of those living in Yerushalayim were from people of Y'hudah, and others were from people of Binyamin. Those from the people of Y'hudah were: 'Atayah the son of 'Uziyah, the son of Z'kharyah, the son of Amaryah, the son of Sh'fatyah, the son of Mahalal'el, from the descendants of Peretz;

5 and Ma'aseiyah the son of Barukh, the son of Kol-Hozeh, the son of Hazayah, the son of 'Adayah, the son of Yoyariv, the son of Z'kharyah, who belonged to the family of Shelah.

6 The total number of descendants of Peretz living in Yerushalayim was 468 courageous men.

7 These are the people of Binyamin: Salu the son of Meshulam, the son of Yo'ed, the son of P'dayah, the son of Kolayah, the son of Ma'aseiyah, the son of Iti'el, the son of Yesha'yah.

8 After him: Gabai, Salai; 928 in all.

9 Yo'el the son of Zikhri was their overseer, and Y'hudah the son of Hasnu'ah was second in charge of the city.

10 From the cohanim: Y'da'yah the son of Yoyariv, Yakhin,

11 S'rayah the son of Hilkiyah, the son of Meshulam, the son of Tzadok, the son of M'rayot, the son of Achituv, the supervisor of the house of God,

12 and their kinsmen who did the work for the house; in all 822; and 'Adayah the son of Yerocham, the son of P'lalyah, the son of Amtzi, the son of Z'kharyah, the son of Pash'chur, the son of Malkiyah;

13 with his kinsmen, heads of fathers' clans, 242; and 'Amash'sai the son of 'Azar'el, the son of Achzai, the son of Meshillemot, the son of Immer;

14 with his kinsmen, courageous men, 128; their overseer was Zavdi'el the son of HaG'dolim.

15 From the L'vi'im: Sh'ma'yah the son of Hashuv, the son of 'Azrikam, the son of Hashavyah, the son of Buni,

16 and Shabtai and Yozavad, from the leaders of the L'vi'im, who were in charge of external affairs for the house of God;

17 and Matanyah the son of Mikha, the son of Zavdi, the son of Asaf, the leader who began the thanksgiving prayer; and Bakbukyah, the second among his kinsmen; and 'Avda the son of Shamua, the son of Galal, the son of Y'dutun.

18 All the L'vi'im in the holy city numbered 284.

19 The gatekeepers: 'Akuv, Talmon and their kinsmen, who kept watch at the gates, numbered 172.

20 The rest of Isra'el, [the rest of] the cohanim and [the rest of] the L'vi'im were in all the cities of Y'hudah, each on his own property.

21 The temple servants lived in the 'Ofel; Tzicha and Gishpa were in charge of the temple servants.

22 The overseer of the L'vi'im in Yerushalayim was 'Uzi the son of Bani, the son of Hashavyah, the son of Matanyah, the son of Mikha, from the descendants of Asaf the singers; [he was] in charge of the work of the house of God.

23 For they were subject to the king's orders; and there was a fixed schedule for the singers, assigning them their daily duties.

24 P'tachyah the son of Mesheizav'el, from the descendants of Zerach the son of Y'hudah, was the king's deputy in all affairs concerning the people.

25 As for the villages and their surrounding fields: some of the people of Y'hudah lived in Kiryat-Arba and its villages, in Divon and its villages, in Y'kabze'el and its villages,

26 in Yeshua, in Moladah, in Beit-Pelet,

27 in Hatzar-Shu'al and its villages, in Be'er-Sheva and its villages,

28 in Ziklag, in M'khonah and its villages,

29 in 'Ein-Rimmon, in Tzor'ah, in Yarmut,

30 Zanoach, Adulam and their villages, in Lakhish and its surrounding fields, and in 'Azekah and its villages. Thus they occupied the territory from Be'er-Sheva as far as the Hinnom Valley.

31 The people of Binyamin lived from Geva onward, in Mikhmas and 'Ayah, in Beit-El and its villages,

32 and in 'Anatot, Nov, 'Ananyah,

33 Hatzor, Ramah, Gittayim,

34 Hadid, Tzvo'im, N'valat,

35 Lud, Ono and Gei-Harashim.

36 Of the L'vi'im, some divisions from Y'hudah settled in Binyamin.

Psalm 103

1 By David: Bless ADONAI, my soul! Everything in me, bless his holy name!

2 Bless ADONAI, my soul, and forget none of his benefits!

3 He forgives all your offenses, he heals all your diseases,

4 he redeems your life from the pit, he surrounds you with grace and compassion,

5 he contents you with good as long as you live, so that your youth is renewed like an eagle's.

6 ADONAI brings vindication and justice to all who are oppressed.

7 He made his ways known to Moshe, his mighty deeds to the people of Isra'el.

8 ADONAI is merciful and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in grace.

9 He will not always accuse, he will not keep his anger forever.

10 He has not treated us as our sins deserve or paid us back for our offenses,

11 because his mercy toward those who fear him is as far above earth as heaven.

12 He has removed our sins from us as far as the east is from the west.

13 Just as a father has compassion on his children, ADONAI has compassion on those who fear him.

14 For he understands how we are made, he remembers that we are dust.

15 Yes, a human being's days are like grass, he sprouts like a flower in the countryside -

16 but when the wind sweeps over, it's gone; and its place knows it no more.

17 But the mercy of ADONAI on those who fear him is from eternity past to eternity future, and his righteousness extends to his children's children,

18 provided they keep his covenant and remember to follow his precepts.

19 ADONAI has established his throne in heaven; his kingly power rules everything.

20 Bless ADONAI, you angels of his, you mighty warriors who obey his word, who carry out his orders!

21 Bless ADONAI, all his troops, who serve him and do what he wants!

22 Bless ADONAI, all his works, in every place where he rules! Bless ADONAI, my soul!

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Today's Bible Reading

October 8

Revelation 9; Nehemiah 12; Psalm 104:1-23 CJB

Revelation 9

1 The fifth angel sounded his shofar; and I saw a star that had fallen out of heaven onto the earth, and he was given the key to the shaft leading down to the Abyss.

2 He opened the shaft of the Abyss, and there went up smoke from the shaft like the smoke of a huge furnace; the sun was darkened, and the sky too, by the smoke from the shaft.

3 Then out of the smoke onto the earth came locusts, and they were given power like the power scorpions have on earth.

4 They were instructed not to harm the grass on the earth, any green plant or any tree, but only the people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

5 The locusts were not allowed to kill them, only to inflict pain on them for five months; and the pain they caused was like the pain of a scorpion sting.

6 In those days people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.

7 Now these locusts looked like horses outfitted for battle. On their heads were what looked like crowns of gold, and their faces were like human faces.

8 They had hair like women's hair, and their teeth were like those of lions.

9 Their chests were like iron breastplates, and the sound their wings made was like the roar of many horses and chariots rushing into battle.

10 They had tails like those of scorpions, with stings; and in their tails was their power to hurt people for five months.

11 They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is "Abaddon" and in our language, "Destroyer."

12 The first woe has passed, but there are still two woes to come.

13 The sixth angel sounded his shofar, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the gold altar before God,

14 saying to the sixth angel, the one with the shofar, "Release the four angels that are bound at the great river Euphrates!"

15 And they were released. These four angels had been kept ready for this moment, for this day and month and year, to kill a third of mankind;

16 and the number of cavalry soldiers was two hundred million! - I heard the number.

17 Here is how the horses looked in the vision: the riders had breastplates that were fire-red, iris-blue and sulfur-yellow; the horses' heads were like lions' heads; and from their mouths issued fire, smoke and sulfur.

18 It was these three plagues that killed a third of mankind - the fire, smoke and sulfur issuing from the horses' mouths.

19 For the power of the horses was in their mouths - and also in their tails, for their tails were like snakes with heads, and with them they could cause injury.

20 The rest of mankind, those who were not killed by these plagues, even then did not turn from what they had made with their own hands - they did not stop worshipping demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk.

21 Nor did they turn from their murdering, their involvement with the occult and with drugs, their sexual immorality or their stealing.

Nehemiah 12

1 These are the cohanim and L'vi'im who went up with Z'rubavel the son of Sh'alti'el, and Yeshua: S'rayah, Yirmeyah, 'Ezra,

2 Amaryah, Malukh, Hatush,

3 Sh'khanyah, Rechum, M'remot,

4 'Iddo, Gintoi, Achiyah,

5 Miyamin, Ma'adiyah, Bilgah,

6 Sh'ma'yah, Yoyariv, Y'da'yah,

7 Salu, 'Amok, Hilkiyah and Y'da'yah. These were the leaders of the cohanim and their kinsmen during the time of Yeshua.

8 The L'vi'im: Yeshua, Binui, Kadmi'el, Sherevyah, Y'hudah and Mattanyah, who was in charge of the songs of thanksgiving, he and his kinsmen,

9 with Bakbukyah and 'Uni, their kinsmen, singing antiphonally with them in the service.

10 Yeshua was the father of Yoyakim, Yoyakim was the father of Elyashiv, Elyashiv was the father of Yoyada,

11 Yoyada was the father of Yonatan, and Yonatan was the father of Yadua.

12 In the days of Yoyakim these were the cohanim who were heads of fathers'clans: of S'rayah, M'rayah; of Yirmeyah, Hananyah;

13 of 'Ezra, Meshulam; of Amaryah, Y'hochanan;

14 of M'likhu, Yonatan; of Sh'vanyah, Yosef;

15 of Harim, 'Adna; of M'rayot, Helkai;

16 of 'Iddo, Z'kharyah; of Ginton, Meshulam;

17 of Achiyah, Zikhri; of Minyamin, of Mo'adyah, Piltai;

18 of Bilgai, Shamua; of Sh'ma'yah, Y'honatan;

19 of Yoyariv, Matnai; of Y'da'yah, 'Uzi;

20 of Salai, Kallai; of 'Amok, 'Ever;

21 of Hilkiyah, Hashavyah; and of Y'da'yah, N'tan'el.

22 As for the L'vi'im, the heads of fathers' clans in the days of Elyashiv, Yoyada, Yochanan and Yadua were recorded; also the cohanim, up to the reign of Daryavesh the Persian.

23 The descendants of Levi who were heads of fathers' clans were recorded in the annals until the days of Yochanan the [grand]son of Elyashiv.

24 The chiefs of the L'vi'im were Hashavyah, Sherevyah and Yeshua the son of Kadmi'el, with their kinsmen in an antiphonal choir, to praise and give thanks, in accordance with the order of David the man of God, choir opposite choir.

25 Mattanyah, Bakbukyah, 'Ovadyah, Meshulam, Talmon and 'Akuv were the gatekeepers who guarded the supplies kept at the gates.

26 This was in the days of Yoyakim the son of Yeshua, the son of Yotzadak, and in the days of Nechemyah the governor and of 'Ezra the cohen and Torah-teacher.

27 At the dedication of the wall of Yerushalayim, they sought out the L'vi'im from wherever they had settled to bring them to Yerushalayim and celebrate the dedication with hymns of thanksgiving and with songs accompanied by cymbals, lutes and lyres.

28 The trained singers assembled together from the area around Yerushalayim, the villages of the N'tofati,

29 Beit-Gilgal and the region of Geva and 'Azmavet; for the singers had built villages for themselves all around Yerushalayim.

30 The cohanim and L'vi'im first purified themselves; then they purified the people, the gates and the wall;

31 and after that I brought the leaders of Y'hudah up onto the wall and appointed two large choirs to give thanks and to walk in procession. One went to the right on the wall toward the Dung Gate.

32 After them went Hosha'yah and half of the leaders of Y'hudah,

33 together with 'Azaryah, 'Ezra, Meshulam,

34 Y'hudah, Binyamin, Sh'ma'yah and Yirmeyah.

35 With them were some of the sons of the cohanim carrying trumpets, namely, Z'kharyah the son of Yonatan the son of Sh'ma'yah, the son of Mattanyah, the son of Mikhayah, the son of Zakur, the son of Asaf,

36 and his kinsmen, Sh'ma'yah, 'Azar'el, Milalai, Gilalai, Ma'ai, N'tan'el, Y'hudah and Hanani, who had the musical instruments of David the man of God. 'Ezra the Torah-teacher led them.

37 At the Fountain Gate they went straight ahead up the steps to the City of David, where the wall goes up, passed above the house of David, and went on to the Water Gate on the east.

38 The other thanksgiving choir, consisting of half the people, walked on the wall to meet them, with myself following. They went above the Tower of the Furnaces to the Broad Wall,

39 above the Efrayim Gate, by the gate to the Old City, to the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hanan'el and the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Sheep Gate, and halted at the Prison Gate.

40 Thus stood the two choirs of those giving thanks in the house of God, with myself and half of the leaders with me.

41 The cohanim there included Elyakim, Ma'aseiyah, Minyamin, Mikhayah, Elyo'einai, Z'kharyah and Hananyah carrying trumpets;

42 also Ma'aseiyah, Sh'ma'yah, El'azar, 'Uzi, Y'hochanan, Malkiyah, 'Eilam and 'Ezer. The singers sang loudly, directed by Yizrachyah.

43 With joy they offered great sacrifices that day, for God had made them celebrate with great joy. The women and children too rejoiced, so that the celebrating in Yerushalayim could be heard far off.

44 At that time, men were appointed to be in charge of the storerooms for supplies, contributions, firstfruits and tenths, and to gather into them, from the fields belonging to the cities, the portions prescribed by the Torah for the cohanim and L'vi'im. For Y'hudah rejoiced over the cohanim and L'vi'im who took their position

45 carrying out the duties of their God and the duties of purification, as also did the singers and gatekeepers, in accordance with the order of David and of Shlomo his son.

46 For back in the days of David and Asaf, there had been leaders for those singing the songs of praise and thanksgiving to God.

47 So in the days of Z'rubavel and in the days of Nechemyah, all Isra'el gave portions to the singers and gatekeepers as required daily. They set aside a portion for the L'vi'im, who, in turn set aside a portion for the descendants of Aharon.

Psalm 104

1 Bless ADONAI, my soul! ADONAI, my God, you are very great; you are clothed with glory and majesty,

2 wrapped in light as with a robe. You spread out the heavens like a curtain,

3 you laid the beams of your palace on the water. You make the clouds your chariot, you ride on the wings of the wind.

4 You make winds your messengers, fiery flames your servants.

5 You fixed the earth on its foundations, never to be moved.

6 You covered it with the deep like a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.

7 At your rebuke they fled; at the sound of your thunder they rushed away,

8 flowing over hills, pouring into valleys, down to the place you had fixed for them.

9 You determined a boundary they could not cross; they were never to cover the earth again.

10 You make springs gush forth in the vadis; they flow between the hills,

11 supplying water to all the wild animals; the wild donkeys quench their thirst.

12 On their banks the birds of the air build their nests; among the branches they sing.

13 You water the mountains from your palace; the earth is satisfied with how you provide

14 You grow grass for the cattle; and for people you grow the plants they need to bring forth bread from the earth,

15 wine that gladdens the human heart, oil to make faces glow, and food to sustain their strength.

16 ADONAI's trees are satisfied -the cedars of the L'vanon, which he has planted.

17 In them sparrows build their nests, while storks live in the fir trees.

18 For the wild goats there are the high mountains, while the coneys find refuge in the rocks.

19 You made the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun knows when to set.

20 You bring darkness, and it is night, the time when all forest animals prowl.

21 The young lions roar after their prey and seek their food from God.

22 The sun rises, they slink away and lie down to rest in their dens;

23 while people go out to their work, laboring on till evening.

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Today's Bible Reading

October 9

Revelation 10; Nehemiah 13; Psalm 104:24-35 CJB

Revelation 10

1 Next I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was dressed in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head; his face was like the sun, his legs like columns of fire;

2 and he had a little scroll lying open in his hand. He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land,

3 and shouted in a voice as loud as the roar of a lion; and when he shouted, seven thunderclaps sounded with voices that spoke.

4 When the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, "Seal up the things the seven thunders said, do not write them down!"

5 Then the angel I saw standing on the sea and on the land lifted his right hand toward heaven

6 and swore by the One who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it: "There will be no more delay;

7 on the contrary, in the days of the sound from the seventh angel when he sounds his shofar, the hidden plan of God will be brought to completion, the Good News as he proclaimed it to his servants the prophets."

8 Next the voice which I had heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, "Go, take the scroll lying open in the hand of the angel standing on the sea and on the land!"

9 So I went over to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll; and he said to me, "Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey."

10 I took the little scroll from the angel's hand and ate it; and in my mouth it was sweet as honey; but after I had swallowed it, my stomach turned bitter.

11 Then I was told, "You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings."

Nehemiah 13

1 It was also at that time, when they were reading in the scroll of Moshe, that it was found written that no 'Amoni or Mo'avi may ever enter the assembly of God,

2 because they did not supply the people of Isra'el with food and water, but hired Bil'am against them to put a curse on them - although our God turned the curse into a blessing.

3 On hearing the Torah, they separated from Isra'el everyone of mixed ancestry.

4 Also, prior to this, Elyashiv the cohen, who had been put in charge of the storage rooms in the house of our God, and who was related by marriage to Toviyah,

5 had prepared for him a large room where formerly they had stored the grain offerings, frankincense, equipment and the tenths of grain, wine and olive oil ordered to be given to the L'vi'im, singers and gatekeepers, and the contributions for the cohanim.

6 During all this time I wasn't present in Yerushalayim; because in the thirty-second year of Artach'shashta king of Bavel, I went to see the king; then, after some time had passed, I asked permission from the king

7 and returned to Yerushalayim, where I found out about the terrible thing Elyashiv had done for Toviyah by preparing a room for him in the courtyards of the house of our God.

8 I was so furious that I threw all Toviyah's household goods out of the room.

9 Then, at my order, they cleansed the rooms; and I brought back the equipment of the house of God, the grain offerings and frankincense.

10 I also learned that the portions for the L'vi'im had not been given to them, so that the L'vi'im and singers who were supposed to be doing the work had deserted, each one to his own farm.

11 I disputed with the leaders, demanding, "Why is the house of God abandoned?" I gathered the L'vi'im together and restored them to their stations;

12 and then all Y'hudah brought the tenth of grain, wine and olive oil to the storerooms.

13 To supervise the storerooms I appointed Shelemyah the cohen, Tzadok the Torah-teacher and, from the L'vi'im, P'dayah; assisting them was Hanan the son of Zakur, the son of Mattanyah; for these were considered reliable. Their duty was to make the distribution to their kinsmen.

14 My God, remember me for this; don't wipe out my good deeds which I have done for the house of my God and for his service!

15 During this time I saw in Y'hudah some people who were treading winepresses on Shabbat, also bringing in heaps of grain and loading donkeys with it, likewise wine, grapes, figs and all kinds of loads; and they were bringing them into Yerushalayim on the day of Shabbat. On the day when they were planning to sell the food, I warned them not to.

16 There were also living there people from Tzor who brought in fish and all kinds of goods, and sold them on Shabbat to the people in Y'hudah and even in Yerushalayim.

17 I disputed with the nobles of Y'hudah, demanding of them, "What is this terrible thing you are doing, profaning the day of Shabbat?

18 Didn't your ancestors do this, and didn't our God bring all this disaster on us and on this city? Yet you are bringing still more fury against Isra'el by profaning Shabbat!"

19 So when the gates of Yerushalayim began to grow dark before Shabbat, I ordered that the doors be shut; and I ordered that they not be reopened until after Shabbat. I put some of my servants in charge of the gates, to see to it that no loads be brought in on Shabbat.

20 The merchants and sellers of all kinds of goods spent the night outside Yerushalayim once or twice,

21 until I warned them, "Why are you spending the night by the wall? Do it again, and I'll use force against you!" From then on they stopped coming on Shabbat.

22 Then I ordered the L'vi'im to purify themselves and come and guard the gates, in order to keep the day of Shabbat holy. My God, remember this too for me, and have mercy on me in keeping with the greatness of your grace!

23 Also during this time I saw the Judeans who had married women from Ashdod, 'Amon and Mo'av;

24 and their children, who spoke half in the language of Ashdod and couldn't speak in the language the Judeans spoke but only in the language of each people.

25 I disputed with them and cursed them, and I beat some of them up and pulled out their hair. Then I made them swear by God, "You will not give your daughters as wives for their sons or take their daughters as wives for your sons or for yourselves.

26 Wasn't it by doing these things that Shlomo king of Isra'el sinned? There was no king like him among many nations, and his God loved him, and God made him king over all Isra'el; nevertheless the foreign women caused even him to sin.

27 Are we to give in to you and let you continue in this very great evil, breaking faith with our God by marrying foreign women?"

28 One of the sons of Yoyada the son of Elyashiv, the cohen hagadol, had become son-in-law to Sanvalat the Horoni; so I drove him out of my presence.

29 My God, remember them; because they have defiled the office of cohen and the covenant of the cohanim and L'vi'im.

30 Thus I cleansed them of everything foreign, and I had the cohanim and L'vi'im resume their duties, each one in his appointed task.

31 I also made provision for the delivery of wood at stated times, and for the firstfruits. My God, remember me favorably.

Psalm 104:24-35

24 What variety there is in your works, ADONAI! How many [of them there are]! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creations.

25 Look at the sea, so great, so wide! It teems with countless creatures, living beings, both large and small.

26 The ships are there, sailing to and fro; Livyatan, which you formed to play there.

27 All of them look to you to give them their food when they need it.

28 When you give it to them, they gather it; when you open your hand, they are well satisfied.

29 If you hide your face, they vanish; if you hold back their breath, they perish and return to their dust.

30 If you send out your breath, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth.

31 May the glory of ADONAI last forever! May ADONAI rejoice in his works!

32 When he looks at the earth, it trembles; when he touches the mountains, they pour out smoke.

33 I will sing to ADONAI as long as I live, sing praise to my God all my life.

34 May my musings be pleasing to him; I will rejoice in ADONAI.

35 May sinners vanish from the earth and the wicked be no more! Bless ADONAI, my soul! Halleluyah!

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Today's Bible Reading

October 10

Revelation 11; Esther 1; Psalm 105:1-25 CJB

Revelation 11

1 I was given a measuring rod like a stick and told, "Get up, and measure the Temple of God and the altar, and count how many people are worshipping there!

2 But the court outside the Temple, leave that out; don't measure it; because it has been given to the Goyim, and they will trample over the holy city for forty-two months.

3 "Also I will give power to my two witnesses; and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, dressed in sackcloth."

4 These are the two olive trees and the two menorahs standing before the Lord of the earth.

5 If anyone tries to do them harm, fire comes out of their mouth and consumes their enemies - yes, if anyone tries to harm them, that is how he must die.

6 They have the authority to shut up the sky, so that no rain falls during the period of their prophesying; also they have the authority to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.

7 When they finish their witnessing, the beast coming up out of the Abyss will fight against them, overcome them and kill them;

8 and their dead bodies will lie in the main street of the great city whose name, to reflect its spiritual condition, is "S'dom" and "Egypt" - the city where their Lord was executed on a stake.

9 Some from the nations, tribes, languages and peoples see their bodies for three-and-a-half days and do not permit the corpses to be placed in a tomb.

10 The people living in the Land rejoice over them, they celebrate and send each other gifts, because these two prophets tormented them so.

11 But after the three-and-a-half days a breath of life from God entered them, they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them.

12 Then the two heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here!" And they went up into heaven in a cloud, while their enemies watched them.

13 In that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were awestruck and gave glory to the God of heaven.

14 The second woe has passed; see, the third woe is coming quickly

15 The seventh angel sounded his shofar; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord and his Messiah, and he will rule forever and ever!"

16 The twenty-four elders sitting on their thrones in God's presence fell on their faces and worshipped God,

17 saying, "We thank you, ADONAI, God of heaven's armies, the One who is and was, that you have taken your power and have begun to rule.

18 s "The Goyim raged. But now your rage has come, the time for the dead to be judged, the time for rewarding your servants the prophets and your holy people, those who stand in awe of your name, both small and great. It is also the time for destroying those who destroy the earth."

19 Then the Temple of God in heaven was opened, and the Ark of the Covenant was seen in his Temple; and there were flashes of lightning, voices, peals of thunder, an earthquake and violent hail.

Esther 1

1 These events took place in the time of Achashverosh, the Achashverosh who ruled over 127 provinces from India to Ethiopia.

2 It was in those days, when King Achashverosh sat on his royal throne in Shushan the capital,

3 in the third year of his reign, that he gave a banquet for all his officials and courtiers. The army of Persia and Media, the nobles and the provincial officials were in attendance.

4 He displayed the dazzling wealth of his kingdom and his great splendor for a long time, 180 days.

5 At the end of that time, the king gave a seven-day banquet in the courtyard of the royal palace garden for all the people, both great and small, there in Shushan the capital.

6 There were white cotton curtains and blue hangings fastened to silver rods, with cords of fine linen and purple; the columns were marble; the couches [for reclining at table] were of gold and silver on a mosaic flooring of malachite, marble, mother-of-pearl and onyx.

7 Drinks were served in gold goblets, with each goblet different from the others. There was royal wine in abundance, as befits royal bounty.

8 The drinking was not according to any fixed rule, for the king had ordered the stewards to serve each man what he wanted.

9 Also Vashti the queen gave a banquet for the women in the royal house belonging to King Achashverosh.

10 On the seventh day, when the king was in high spirits from the wine, he ordered Mehuman, Bizta, Harvona, Bigta, Avagta, Zetar and Karkas, the seven officers who attended him,

11 to bring Queen Vashti before the king with the royal crown, in order to show the people and the officials her beauty, for she was indeed a good-looking woman.

12 But Queen Vashti refused to come at the order of the king, which he had sent through his officers. This enraged the king - his anger blazed inside him.

13 As was the king's custom, he consulted sages well-versed in matters of law and justice.

14 With him were Karshna, Shetar, Admata, Tarshish, Meres, Marsna and Memukhan, the seven vice-regents of Persia and Media, who were part of the king's inner circle and were the most important officials in the kingdom.

15 [The king asked the sages,] "According to the law, what should we do to Queen Vashti, since she didn't obey the order of King Achashverosh conveyed by the officers?"

16 Memukhan presented the king and vice-regents this answer: "Vashti the queen has wronged not only the king, but also all the officials and all the peoples in all the provinces of King Achashverosh;

17 because this act of the queen's will become known to all the women, who will then start showing disrespect toward their own husbands; they will say, 'King Achashverosh ordered Vashti the queen to be brought before him, but she wouldn't come.'

18 Moreover, the noble ladies of Persia and Media who hear of the queen's conduct will mention it to all the king's officials, which will bring about no end of disrespect and discord.

19 If it pleases his majesty, let him issue a royal decree - and let it be written as one of the laws of the Persians and Medes, which are irrevocable - that Vashti is never again to be admitted into the presence of King Achashverosh, and that the king give her royal position to someone better than she.

20 When the edict made by the king is proclaimed throughout the length and breadth of the kingdom, then all wives will honor their husbands, whether great or small."

21 This advice pleased the king and the officials, so the king did what Memukhan had suggested -

22 he sent letters to all the royal provinces, to each province in its own script and to each people in their own language, that every man should be master in his own house and speak the language of his own people.

Psalm 105:1-25

1 Give thanks to ADONAI! Call on his name! Make his deeds known among the peoples.

2 Sing to him, sing praises to him, talk about all his wonders.

3 Glory in his holy name; let those seeking ADONAI have joyful hearts.

4 Seek ADONAI and his strength; always seek his presence.

5 Remember the wonders he has done, his signs and his spoken rulings.

6 You descendants of Avraham his servant, you offspring of Ya'akov, his chosen ones,

7 he is ADONAI our God! His rulings are everywhere on earth.

8 He remembers his covenant forever, the word he commanded to a thousand generations,

9 the covenant he made with Avraham, the oath he swore to Yitz'chak,

10 and established as a law for Ya'akov, for Isra'el as an everlasting covenant:

11 "To you I will give the land of Kena'an as your allotted heritage."

12 When they were but few in number, and not only few, but aliens there too,

13 wandering from nation to nation, from this kingdom to that people,

14 he allowed no one to oppress them. Yes, for their sakes he rebuked even kings:

15 "Don't touch my anointed ones or do my prophets harm!"

16 He called down famine on the land, broke off all their food supply,

17 but sent a man ahead of them -Yosef, who was sold as a slave.

18 They shackled his feet with chains, and they bound him in irons;

19 until the time when his word proved true, God's utterance kept testing him.

20 The king sent and had him released, the ruler of peoples set him free;

21 he made him lord of his household, in charge of all he owned,

22 correcting his officers as he saw fit and teaching his counselors wisdom.

23 Then Isra'el too came into Egypt, Ya'akov lived as an alien in the land of Ham.

24 There God made his people very fruitful, made them too numerous for their foes,

25 whose hearts he turned to hate his people, and treat his servants unfairly.

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Today's Bible Reading

October 11

Revelation 12; Esther 2; Psalm 105:26-45 CJB

Revelation 12

1 Now a great sign was seen in heaven - a woman clothed with the sun, under her feet the moon, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.

2 She was pregnant and about to give birth, and she screamed in the agony of labor.

3 Another sign was seen in heaven there was a great red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven royal crowns.

4 Its tail swept a third of the stars out of heaven and threw them down to the earth. It stood in front of the woman about to give birth, so that it might devour the child the moment it was born.

5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, the one who will rule all the nations with a staff of iron. But her child was snatched up to God and his throne;

6 and she fled into the desert, where she has a place prepared by God so that she can be taken care of for 1,260 days.

7 Next there was a battle in heaven - Mikha'el and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back.

8 But it was not strong enough to win, so that there was no longer any place for them in heaven.

9 The great dragon was thrown out, that ancient serpent, also known as the Devil and Satan [the Adversary], the deceiver of the whole world. He was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him.

10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, "Now have come God's victory, power and kingship, and the authority of his Messiah; because the Accuser of our brothers, who accuses them day and night before God, has been thrown out!

11 "They defeated him because of the Lamb's blood and because of the message of their witness. Even when facing death they did not cling to life.

12 "Therefore, rejoice, heaven and you who live there! But woe to you, land and sea, for the Adversary has come down to you, and he is very angry, because he knows that his time is short!"

13 When the dragon saw that he had been hurled down to the earth, he went in pursuit of the woman who had given birth to the male child.

14 But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle, so that she could fly to her place in the desert, where she is taken care of for a season and two seasons and half a season, away from the serpent's presence.

15 The serpent spewed water like a river out of its mouth after the woman, in order to sweep her away in the flood;

16 but the land came to her rescue - it opened its mouth and swallowed up the river which the dragon had spewed out of its mouth.

17 The dragon was infuriated over the woman and went off to fight the rest of her children, those who obey God's commands and bear witness to Yeshua.

18 Then the dragon stood on the seashore;

Esther 2

1 A while later, when King Achashverosh's anger had subsided, he remembered Vashti, what she had done and what had been decreed against her.

2 The king's servants attending him said, "A search should be made for young, good-looking virgins.

3 The king should appoint officials in all the provinces of the kingdom to gather all the young, good-looking virgins to the house for the harem, in Shushan the capital. They should be put under the care of Hegai the king's officer in charge of the women, and he should give them the cosmetics they require.

4 Then, the girl who seems best to the king should become queen instead of Vashti."This proposal pleased the king, so he acted accordingly.

5 There was in Shushan the capital a man who was a Jew, whose name was Mordekhai the son of Ya'ir, the son of Shim'i, the son of Kish, a Binyamini.

6 He had been exiled from Yerushalayim with the captives exiled with Y'khanyah king of Y'hudah, whom N'vukhadnetzar king of Bavel had carried off.

7 He had raised Hadassah, that is, Ester, his uncle's daughter; because she had neither father nor mother. The girl was shapely and good-looking; after her father's and mother's death, Mordekhai had adopted her as his own daughter.

8 When the king's order and decree were proclaimed, and many girls assembled in Shushan the capital under the care of Hegai, Ester too was taken into the king's house and put under the care of Hegai, who was in charge of the women.

9 The girl pleased him and won his favor, so that he lost no time in giving her her cosmetics, her portions [of special food] and seven girls from the king's palace to attend her; he also promoted her and the girls attending her to the best place in the harem's quarters.

10 Ester did not disclose her people or family ties, because Mordekhai had instructed her not to tell anyone.

11 Every day Mordekhai would walk around in front of the courtyard of the harem's house in order to know how Ester was doing and what was happening to her.

12 Each girl had her turn to appear before King Achashverosh after she had undergone the full twelve-month preparation period prescribed for the women, consisting of a six-month treatment with oil of myrrh and six months with perfumes and other cosmetics for women.

13 Then, when the girl went to see the king, whatever she wanted would be given to her as she went from the harem's house to the king's palace.

14 She would go in the evening, and on the following day she would return to another part of the harem's house and be under the care of Sha'ashgaz the king's officer in charge of the concubines. She would not go to the king again unless he was especially pleased with her and had her summoned by name.

15 When the turn came for Ester the daughter of Avichayil, whom Mordekhai had adopted as his own daughter, to appear before the king, she didn't ask for anything other than what Hegai the king's officer in charge of the harem advised. Yet Ester was admired by all who saw her.

16 She was brought to King Achashverosh in his royal palace in the tenth month, Tevet, during the seventh year of his reign.

17 The king liked Ester more than any of his wives; none of the other virgins obtained such favor and approval from him. So he put the royal crown on her head and made her queen in place of Vashti.

18 The king then gave a great banquet in Ester's honor for all his officers and servants, decreed a holiday for the provinces and distributed gifts worthy of royal bounty.

19 When the girls would gather on other occasions, Mordekhai would sit at the King's Gate.

20 Ester had not yet revealed her family ties or her people, as Mordekhai had ordered her; for Ester continued obeying what Mordekhai told her to do, as she had when he was raising her.

21 On one of those occasions, when Mordekhai was sitting at the King's Gate, two of the king's officers, Bigtan and Teresh, from the group in charge of the private entryways, became angry and conspired to assassinate King Achashverosh.

22 But Mordekhai learned about it and told Ester the queen. Ester reported it to the king, crediting Mordekhai.

23 The matter was investigated, found to be true, and both were hanged on a stake. All this was recorded in the daily journal that was kept with the king.

Psalm 105:26-45

26 He sent his servant Moshe and Aharon, whom he had chosen.

27 They worked his signs among them, his wonders in the land of Ham.

28 He sent darkness, and the land grew dark; they did not defy his word.

29 He turned their water into blood and caused their fish to die.

30 Their land swarmed with frogs, even in the royal chambers.

31 He spoke, and there came swarms of insects and lice throughout their land.

32 He gave them hail instead of rain, with fiery [lightning] throughout their land.

33 He struck their vines and fig trees, shattering trees all over their country.

34 He spoke, and locusts came, also grasshoppers without number;

35 they ate up everything green in their land, devoured the fruit of their ground. 896

36 He struck down all the firstborn in their land, the firstfruits of all their strength.

37 Then he led his people out, laden with silver and gold; among his tribes not one stumbled.

38 Egypt was happy to have them leave, because fear of [Isra'el] had seized them.

39 He spread out a cloud to screen them off and fire to give them light at night.

40 When they asked, he brought them quails and satisfied them with food from heaven.

41 He split a rock, and water gushed out, flowing as a river over the dry ground,

42 for he remembered his holy promise to his servant Avraham.

43 He led out his people with joy, his chosen ones with singing.

44 Then he gave them the lands of the nations, and they possessed what peoples had toiled to produce,

45 in order to obey his laws and follow his teachings. Halleluyah!

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Today's Bible Reading

October 12

Revelation 13; Esther 3-4; Psalm 106:1-23 CJB

Revelation 13

1 and I saw a beast come up out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads. On its horns were ten royal crowns and on its heads blasphemous names.

2 The beast which I saw was like a leopard, but with feet like those of a bear and a mouth like the mouth of a lion. To it the dragon gave its power, its throne and great authority.

3 One of the heads of the beast appeared to have received a fatal wound, but its fatal wound was healed, and the whole earth followed after the beast in amazement.

4 They worshipped the dragon, because he had given his authority to the beast; and they worshipped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast? Who can fight against it?"

5 It was given a mouth speaking arrogant blasphemies; and it was given authority to act for forty-two months.

6 So it opened its mouth in blasphemies against God to insult his name and his Sh'khinah, and those living in heaven;

7 it was allowed to make war on God's holy people and to defeat them; and it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation.

8 Everyone living on earth will worship it except those whose names are written in the Book of Life belonging to the Lamb slaughtered before the world was founded.

9 Those who have ears, let them hear!

10 "If anyone is meant for captivity, into captivity he goes! If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he is to be killed!" This is when God's holy people must persevere and trust!

11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth. It had two horns like those of a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon.

12 It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence; and it makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, the one whose fatal wound had been healed.

13 It performs great miracles, even causing fire to come down from heaven onto the earth as people watch.

14 It deceives the people living on earth by the miracles it is allowed to perform in the presence of the beast, and it tells them to make an image honoring the beast that was struck by the sword but came alive again.

15 It was allowed to put breath into the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast could even speak; and it was allowed to cause anyone who would not worship the image of the beast to be put to death.

16 Also it forces everyone - great and small, rich and poor, free and slave - to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead

17 preventing anyone from buying or selling unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name.

18 This is where wisdom is needed; those who understand should count the number of the beast, for it is the number of a person, and its number is 666.

Esther 3

1 Some time later King Achashverosh began to single out Haman the son of Hamdata the Agagi for advancement; eventually he gave him precedence over all his fellow officers.

2 All the king's servants at the King's Gate would kneel and bow down before Haman, because the king had so ordered. But Mordekhai would neither kneel nor bow down to him.

3 The king's servants at the King's Gate asked Mordekhai, "Why don't you obey the king's order?"

4 But after they had confronted him a number of times without his paying attention to them, they told Haman, in order to find out whether Mordekhai's explanation that he was a Jew would suffice to justify his behavior.

5 Haman was furious when he saw that Mordekhai was not kneeling and bowing down to him.

6 However, on learning what people Mordekhai belonged to, it seemed to him a waste to lay hands on Mordekhai alone. Rather, he decided to destroy all of Mordekhai's people, the Jews, throughout the whole of Achashverosh's kingdom.

7 In the first month, the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of Achashverosh, they began throwing pur (that is, they cast lots) before Haman every day and every month until the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar.

8 Then Haman said to Achashverosh, "There is a particular people scattered and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom. Their laws are different from those of every other people; moreover, they don't observe the king's laws. It doesn't befit the king to tolerate them.

9 If it please the king, have a decree written for their destruction; and I will hand over 330 tons of silver to the officials in charge of the king's affairs to deposit in the royal treasury."

10 The king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman the son of Hamdata the Agagi, the enemy of the Jews.

11 The king said to Haman, "The money is given to you, and the people too, to do with as seems good to you."

12 The king's secretaries were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month. They wrote down all Haman's orders to the king's army commanders and governors in all the provinces and to the officials of every people, to each province in its own script and to each people in their own language; everything was written in the name of King Achashverosh and sealed with the king's signet ring.

13 Letters were sent by courier to all the royal provinces "to destroy, kill and exterminate all Jews, from young to old, including small children and women, on a specific day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, and to seize their goods as plunder."

14 A copy of the document to be issued as a decree in every province was to be publicly proclaimed to all the peoples, so that they would be ready for that day.

15 At the king's order the runners went out quickly, and the decree was issued in Shushan the capital. Then the king and Haman sat down for a drink together, but the city of Shushan was thrown into confusion.

Esther 4

1 When Mordekhai learned everything that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes and went out through the city, lamenting and crying bitterly.

2 He stopped before entering the King's Gate, since no one was allowed to go inside the King's Gate wearing sackcloth.

3 In every province reached by the king's order and decree, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing, as many lay down on sackcloth and ashes.

4 When the girls and officials attending Ester came and informed her of this, the queen became deeply distressed. She sent clothes for Mordekhai to wear instead of his sackcloth, but he wouldn't accept them.

5 So Ester summoned Hatakh, one of the king's officials attending her, and instructed him to go to Mordekhai and find out what this was all about and why.

6 Hatakh went out to Mordekhai in the open space in front of the King's Gate,

7 and Mordekhai told him everything that had happened to him and exactly how much silver Haman had promised to put in the royal treasury for the destruction of the Jews.

8 He also gave him a copy of the decree for their destruction issued in Shushan; so that he could show it to Ester, explain it to her, and then instruct her to approach the king, intercede with him and implore his favor on behalf of her people.

9 Hatakh returned and told Ester what Mordekhai had said.

10 Then Ester spoke to Hatakh and gave him this message for Mordekhai:

11 "All the king's officials, as well as the people in the royal provinces, know that if anyone, man or woman, approaches the king in the inner courtyard without being summoned, there is just one law - he must be put to death - unless the king holds out the gold scepter for him to remain alive; and I haven't been summoned to the king for the past thirty days."

12 Upon being told what Ester had said, Mordekhai

13 asked them to give Ester this answer: "Don't suppose that merely because you happen to be in the royal palace you will escape any more than the other Jews.

14 For if you fail to speak up now, relief and deliverance will come to the Jews from a different direction; but you and your father's family will perish. Who knows whether you didn't come into your royal position precisely for such a time as this."

15 Ester had them return this answer to Mordekhai:

16 "Go, assemble all the Jews to be found in Shushan, and have them fast for me, neither eating nor drinking for three days, night and day; also I and the girls attending me will fast the same way. Then I will go in to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish."

17 Then Mordekhai went his way and did everything Ester had ordered him to do.

Psalm 106:1-23

1 Halleluyah! Give thanks to ADONAI; for he is good, for his grace continues forever.

2 Who can express ADONAI's mighty doings or proclaim in full his praise?

3 How happy are those who act justly, who always do what is right!

4 Remember me, ADONAI, when you show favor to your people, keep me in mind when you save them;

5 so I can see how well things are going with those whom you have chosen, so that I can rejoice in your nation's joy, and glory in your heritage.

6 Together with our ancestors, we have sinned, done wrong, acted wickedly.

7 Our ancestors in Egypt failed to grasp the meaning of your wonders. They didn't keep in mind your great deeds of grace but rebelled at the sea, at the Sea of Suf.

8 Yet he saved them for his own name's sake, to make known his mighty power.

9 He rebuked the Sea of Suf, and it dried up; he led them through its depths as through a desert.

10 He saved them from hostile hands, redeemed them from the power of the foe.

11 The water closed over their adversaries; not one of them was left.

12 Then they believed his words, and they sang his praise.

13 But soon they forgot his deeds and wouldn't wait for his counsel.

14 In the desert they gave way to insatiable greed; in the wastelands they put God to the test.

15 He gave them what they wanted but sent meagerness into their souls.

16 In the camp they were jealous of Moshe and Aharon, ADONAI's holy one.

17 The earth opened up and swallowed Datan and closed over Aviram's allies.

18 A fire blazed out against that group, the flames consumed the wicked.

19 In Horev they fashioned a calf, they worshipped a cast metal image.

20 Thus they exchanged their Glory for the image of an ox that eats grass!

21 They forgot God, who had saved them, who had done great things in Egypt,

22 wonders in the land of Ham, fearsome deeds by the Sea of Suf.

23 Therefore he said that he would destroy them, [and he would have,] had not Moshe his chosen one stood before him in the breach to turn back his destroying fury.

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Today's Bible Reading

October 13

Revelation 14; Esther 5:1-6:13; Psalm 106:24-48 CJB

Revelation 14

1 Then I looked, and there was the Lamb standing on Mount Tziyon; and with him were 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads.

2 I heard a sound from heaven like the sound of rushing waters and like the sound of pealing thunder; the sound I heard was also like that of harpists playing on their harps.

3 They were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living beings and the elders, and no one could learn the song except the 144,000 who have been ransomed from the world.

4 These are the ones who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins; they follow the Lamb wherever he goes; they have been ransomed from among humanity as firstfruits for God and the Lamb;

5 on their lips no lie was found - they are without defect.

6 Next I saw another angel flying in mid-heaven with everlasting Good News to proclaim to those living on the earth - to every nation, tribe, language and people.

7 In a loud voice he said, "Fear God, give him glory, for the hour has come when he will pass judgment! Worship the One who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water!"

8 Another angel, a second one, followed, saying, "She has fallen! She has fallen! Bavel the Great! She made all the nations drink the wine of God's fury caused by her whoring!"

9 Another angel, a third one, followed them and said in a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives the mark on his forehead or on his hand,

10 he will indeed drink the wine of God's fury poured undiluted into the cup of his rage. He will be tormented by fire and sulfur before the holy angels and before the Lamb,

11 and the smoke from their tormenting goes up forever and ever. They have no rest, day or night, those who worship the beast and its image and those who receive the mark of its name."

12 This is when perseverance is needed on the part of God's people, those who observe his commands and exercise Yeshua's faithfulness.

13 Next I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Write: 'How blessed are the dead who die united with the Lord, from now on!' 'Yes,' says the Spirit, 'now they may rest from their efforts, for the things they have accomplished follow along with them.'"

14 Then I looked, and there before me was a white cloud. Sitting on the cloud was someone like a Son of Manx with a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.

15 Another angel came out of the Temple and shouted to the one sitting on the cloud, "Start using your sickle to reap, because the time to reap has come - the earth's harvest is ripe!"

16 The one sitting on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.

17 Another angel came out of the Temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle.

18 Then out from the altar went yet another angel, who was in charge of the fire; and he called in a loud voice to the one with the sharp sickle, "Use your sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth's vine, because they are ripe!"

19 The angel swung his sickle down onto the earth, gathered the earth's grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God's fury.

20 The winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress as high as the horses' bridles for two hundred miles!

Esther 5

1 On the third day, Ester put on her royal robes and stood in the inner courtyard of the king's palace, opposite the king's hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the king's hall, across from the entrance to the hall.

2 When the king saw Ester the queen standing in the courtyard, she won his favor; so the king extended the gold scepter in his hand toward Ester. Ester approached and touched the tip of the scepter.

3 "What is it you want, Queen Ester?" the king asked her. "Whatever your request, up to half the kingdom, it will be given to you."

4 "If it is all right with the king,"answered Ester, "let the king and Haman come today to the banquet I have prepared for him."

5 The king said, "Bring Haman quickly, so that what Ester has asked for can be done."

6 So the king and Haman came to the banquet Ester had prepared.

7 At the banquet of wine the king again said to Ester, "Whatever your request, you will be granted it; whatever you want, up to half the kingdom, it will be done."

8 Then Ester answered, "My request, what I want, is this: if I have won the king's favor, if it pleases the king to grant my request and do what I want, let the king and Haman come to the banquet which I will prepare for them; and tomorrow I will do as the king has said."

9 That day Haman went out happy and in good spirits. But when Haman saw Mordekhai at the King's Gate, that he neither rose nor moved for him, Haman was infuriated with Mordekhai.

10 Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home, where he summoned and brought his friends and Zeresh his wife.

11 Haman boasted to them about his vast wealth, his many sons, and everything connected with how the king had promoted him and given him precedence over the other officials and servants of the king.

12 "Indeed," Haman added, "Ester the queen let nobody into the banquet with the king that she had prepared except myself; and tomorrow, too, I am invited by her, together with the king.

13 Yet none of this does me any good at all, as long as I keep seeing Mordekhai the Jew remaining seated at the King's Gate."

14 At this Zeresh his wife and all his friends said to him, "Have a gallows seventy-five feet high constructed, and in the morning speak to the king about having Mordekhai hanged on it. Then go in, and enjoy yourself with the king at the banquet." Haman liked the idea, so he had a gallows made.

Esther 6

1 That night, the king couldn't sleep; so he ordered the records of the daily journal brought, and they were read to the king.

2 It was found written that Mordekhai had told about Bigtana and Teresh, two of the king's officers from the group in charge of the private entryways, who had conspired to assassinate King Achashverosh.

3 The king asked, "What honor or distinction was conferred on Mordekhai for this?" The king's servants answered,"Nothing was done for him."

4 The king then asked,"Who's that in the courtyard?" For Haman had come into the outer courtyard of the king's palace to speak to the king about hanging Mordekhai on the gallows he had prepared for him.

5 The king's servants told him, "It's Haman standing there in the courtyard."The king said, "Have him come in."

6 So Haman came in. The king said to him, "What should be done for a man that the king wants to honor?" Haman thought to himself, "Whom would the king want to honor more than me?"

7 So Haman answered the king, "For a man the king wants to honor,

8 have royal robes brought which the king himself wears and the horse the king himself rides, with a royal crown on its head.

9 The robes and the horse should be handed over to one of the king's most respected officials, and they should put the robes on the man the king wants to honor and lead him on horseback through the streets of the city, proclaiming ahead of him, 'This is what is done for a man whom the king wants to honor.'"

10 The king said to Haman, "Hurry, and take the robes and the horse, as you said, and do this for Mordekhai the Jew, who sits at the King's Gate. Don't leave out anything you mentioned."

11 So Haman took the robes and the horse, dressed Mordekhai and led him riding through the streets of the city, as he proclaimed ahead of him, "This is what is done for a man whom the king wants to honor."

12 Then Mordekhai returned to the King's Gate; but Haman rushed home with his head covered in mourning.

13 After Haman had told Zeresh his wife and all his friends everything that had happened to him, his advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him, "If Mordekhai, before whom you have begun to fall, is a Jew, you will not get the better of him; on the contrary, your downfall before him is certain."

Psalm 106:24-48

24 Next, they rejected the beautiful land, they didn't trust his promise;

25 and they complained in their tents, they didn't obey ADONAI.

26 Therefore, raising his hand, he swore to them that he would strike them down in the desert

27 and strike down their descendants among the nations, dispersing them in foreign lands.

28 Now they joined themselves to Ba'al-P'or and ate meat sacrificed to dead things.

29 Thus they provoked him to anger with their deeds, so that a plague broke out among them.

30 Then Pinchas stood up and executed judgment; so the plague was checked.

31 That was credited to him as righteousness, through all generations forever.

32 They angered him at the M'rivah Spring, and Moshe suffered on their account;

33 for when they embittered his spirit, [Moshe] spoke up without thinking.

34 They failed to destroy the peoples, as ADONAI had ordered them to do,

35 but mingled with the nations and learned to follow their ways.

36 They went on to serve their idols, which became a snare for them.

37 They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons.

38 Yes, they shed innocent blood, the blood of their own sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to Kena'an's false gods, polluting the land with blood.

39 Thus they were defiled by their deeds; they prostituted themselves by their actions,

40 For this ADONAI's fury blazed up against his people, and he detested his heritage.

41 He handed them over to the power of the nations, and those who hated them ruled over them.

42 Their enemies oppressed them and kept them in subjection to their power.

43 Many times [God] rescued them, but they kept making plans to rebel. Thus they were brought low by their own wrongdoing.

44 Still he took pity on their distress whenever he heard their cry.

45 For their sakes he kept in mind his covenant and in his limitless grace relented,

46 causing them to be treated with compassion by all who had taken them captive.

47 Save us, ADONAI our God! Gather us from among the nations, so that we can thank your holy name and glory in praising you.

48 Blessed be ADONAI, the God of Isra'el, from eternity past to eternity future. Now let all the people say, "Amen! Halleluyah!"

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Today's Bible Reading

October 14

Revelation 15; Esther 6:14-8:17; Psalm 107:1-22 CJB

Revelation 15

1 Then I saw another sign in heaven, a great and wonderful one - seven angels with the seven plagues that are the final ones; because with them, God's fury is finished.

2 I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire. Those defeating the beast, its image and the number of its name were standing by the sea of glass, holding harps which God had given them.

3 They were singing the song of Moshe, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb: "Great and wonderful are the things you have done, ADONAI, God of heaven's armies! Just and true are your ways, king of the nations!

4 ADONAI, who will not fear and glorify your name? because you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous deeds have been revealed."

5 After this I looked, and the sanctuary (that is, the Tent of Witness in heaven) was opened,

6 and out of the sanctuary came the seven angels with the seven plagues. They were dressed in clean bright linen and had gold belts around their chests.

7 One of the four living beings gave to the seven angels seven gold bowls filled with the fury of God, who lives forever and ever.

8 Then the sanctuary was filled with smoke from God's Sh'khinah, that is, from his power; and no one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels had accomplished their purpose.

Esther 6:14

14 While they were still talking with him, the king's officials came, hurrying to bring Haman to the banquet Ester had prepared.

Esther 7

1 So the king and Haman went to Queen Ester's banquet;

2 and the king again said to Ester at the wine banquet, "Whatever your request, Queen Ester, you will be granted it; whatever you want, up to half the kingdom, it will be done."

3 Ester the queen answered, "If I have won your favor, king, and if it pleases the king, then what I ask be given me is my own life and the lives of my people.

4 For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, killed, exterminated. If we had only been sold as men- and women-slaves, I would have remained quiet; since then [our] trouble would not have been worth the damage it would have caused the king [to alter the situation]."

5 King Achashverosh asked Ester the queen, "Who is he? Where is the man who dared to do such a thing?"

6 Ester said, "A ruthless enemy - it's this wicked Haman!" Haman stood aghast, terrified before the king and queen.

7 In a rage, the king got up from the wine banquet and went out to the palace garden. But Haman remained, pleading with Ester the queen to spare his life; for he could see that the king had decided to do him in.

8 Haman had just fallen on the couch where Ester was, when the king returned from the palace garden to the wine banquet. He shouted, "Is he even going to rape the queen here in the palace, before my very eyes?" The moment these words left the king's mouth, they covered Haman's face.

9 Harvonah, one of the king's attendants, said, "Look! The gallows seventy-five feet high that Haman made for Mordekhai, who spoke only good for the king, is standing at Haman's house."The king said, "Hang him on it."

10 So they hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordekhai. Then the king's anger subsided.

Esther 8

1 That same day King Achashverosh gave the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews, to Ester the queen. Also Mordekhai appeared before the king, for Ester had revealed his relationship to her.

2 The king removed his signet ring, which he had taken back from Haman, and gave it to Mordekhai. Then Ester put Mordekhai in charge of Haman's house.

3 Again Ester spoke to the king; she fell at his feet and begged him with tears to put an end to the mischief Haman the Agagi had caused by the scheme he had worked out against the Jews.

4 The king extended the gold scepter toward Ester. So Ester got up and stood in front of the king.

5 She said, "If it pleases the king, if I have won his favor, if the matter seem right to the king and if I have his approval, then let an order be written rescinding the letters devised by Haman the son of Hamdata the Agagi, which he wrote to destroy the Jews in all the royal provinces.

6 For how can I bear to see the disaster that will overcome my people? How can I endure seeing the extermination of my kinsmen?"

7 King Achashverosh said to Ester the queen and Mordekhai the Jew, "Listen! I gave Ester the house of Haman, and they hanged him on the gallows, because he threatened the lives of the Jews.

8 You should issue a decree in the king's name for whatever you want concerning the Jews, and seal it with the king's signet ring; because a decree written in the king's name and sealed with the king's ring can't be rescinded by anyone."

9 The king's secretaries were summoned at that time, on the twenty-third day of the third month, the month of Sivan; and a decree was written according to everything Mordekhai ordered concerning the Jews, to the army commanders, governors and officials of the provinces from India to Ethiopia, 127 provinces, to each province in its script and to each people in their language, also to the Jews in their script and language.

10 They wrote in the name of King Achashverosh and sealed it with the king's signet ring; they sent the letters by couriers on horseback riding fast horses used in the king's service and bred from the royal stock.

11 The letters said that the king had granted the Jews in every city the right "to assemble and defend their lives by destroying, killing and exterminating any forces of any people or province that would attack them, their little ones or their women or would try to seize their goods as plunder

12 on the designated day in any of the provinces of King Achashverosh, namely, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar."

13 A copy of the edict was to be issued as a decree in every province and proclaimed to all the peoples, and the Jews were to be ready on that day to take vengeance against their enemies.

14 Couriers riding fast horses used in the king's service left quickly, pressed by the king's order; and the decree was issued in Shushan the capital.

15 Meanwhile, Mordekhai left the king's presence arrayed in royal blue and white, wearing a large gold crown and a robe of fine linen and purple; and the city of Shushan shouted for joy.

16 For the Jews, all was light, gladness, joy and honor.

17 In every province and city where the king's order and decree arrived, the Jews had gladness and joy, a feast and a holiday. Many from the peoples of the land became Jews, because fear of the Jews had overcome them.

Psalm 107:1-22

1 Give thanks to ADONAI; for he is good, for his grace continues forever.

2 Let those redeemed by ADONAI say it, those he redeemed from the power of the foe.

3 He gathered them from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the sea.

4 They wandered in the desert, on paths through the wastes, without finding any inhabited city.

5 They were hungry and thirsty, their life was ebbing away.

6 In their trouble they cried to ADONAI, and he rescued them from their distress.

7 He led them by a direct path to a city where they could live.

8 Let them give thanks to ADONAI for his grace, for his wonders bestowed on humanity!

9 For he has satisfied the hungry, filled the starving with good.

10 Some lived in darkness, in death-dark gloom, bound in misery and iron chains,

11 because they defied God's word, scorned the counsel of the Most High.

12 So he humbled their hearts by hard labor; when they stumbled, no one came to their aid.

13 In their trouble they cried to ADONAI, and he rescued them from their distress.

14 He led them from darkness, from death-dark gloom, shattering their chains.

15 Let them give thanks to ADONAI for his grace, for his wonders bestowed on humanity!

16 For he shattered bronze doors and cut through iron bars.

17 There were foolish people who suffered affliction because of their crimes and sins;

18 they couldn't stand to eat anything; they were near the gates of death.

19 In their trouble they cried to ADONAI, and he rescued them from their distress;

20 he sent his word and healed them, he delivered them from destruction.

21 Let them give thanks to ADONAI for his grace, for his wonders bestowed on humanity!

22 Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and proclaim his great deeds with songs of joy.

[phkrause]

Today's Bible Reading

October 15

Revelation 16; Esther 9-10; Psalm 107:23-43 CJB

Revelation 16

1 I heard a loud voice from the sanctuary say to the seven angels, "Go, and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of God's fury!"

2 So the first one went and poured his bowl onto the earth, and disgusting and painful sores appeared on all the people who had the mark of the beast and worshipped its image.

3 The second one poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a dead person, and every living thing in the sea died.

4 The third one poured out his bowl into the rivers and springs of water, and they turned to blood.

5 Then I heard the angel of the waters say, "O HaKadosh, the One who is and was, you are just in these judgments of yours.

6 They poured out the blood of your people and your prophets, so you have made them drink blood. They deserve it!"

7 Then I heard the altar say, "Yes, ADONAI, God of heaven's armies, your judgments are true and just!"

8 The fourth one poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was permitted to burn people with fire.

9 People were burned by the intense heat; yet they cursed the name of God, who had the authority over these plagues, instead of turning from their sins to give him glory.

10 The fifth one poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom grew dark. People gnawed on their tongues from the pain,

11 yet they cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and sores, and did not turn from their sinful deeds.

12 The sixth one poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water dried up, in order to prepare the way for the kings from the east.

13 And I saw three unclean spirits that looked like frogs; they came from the mouth of the dragon, from the mouth of the beast and from the mouth of the false prophet.

14 They are miracle-working demonic spirits which go out to the kings of the whole inhabited world to assemble them for the War of the Great Day of ADONAI-Tzva'ot.

15 ("Look! I am coming like a thief! How blessed are those who stay alert and keep their clothes clean, so that they won't be walking naked and be publicly put to shame!")

16 And they gathered the kings to the place which in Hebrew is called Har Megiddo.

17 The seventh one poured out his bowl on the air, and a loud voice came out of the Temple from the throne, saying, "It is done!"

18 There were flashes of lightning, voices and peals of thunder; and there was a massive earthquake, such as has never occurred since mankind has been on earth, so violent was the earthquake.

19 The great city was split into three parts, the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Bavel the Great and made her drink the wine from the cup of his raging fury.

20 Every island fled, and no mountains were to be found.

21 And huge seventy-pound hailstones fell on people from the sky. But the people cursed God for the plague of hail, that it was such a terrible plague.

Esther 9

1 The time approached for the king's order and decree to be carried out, the day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to overpower them. But, as it turned out, the opposite took place - the Jews overpowered those who hated them. Thus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar,

2 the Jews assembled in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Achashverosh to attack anyone who tried to do them harm; and no one was able to withstand them; because all the peoples were afraid of them.

3 All the officials of the provinces, the army commanders, the governors and those occupied with the king's affairs helped the Jews; because they were afraid of Mordekhai.

4 For Mordekhai had become a powerful person in the king's palace, and his fame had spread through all the provinces; Mordekhai continued to grow increasingly powerful.

5 The Jews put all their enemies to the sword; there was great slaughter and destruction, as they did whatever they wanted to those who hated them;

6 in Shushan the capital, the Jews slaughtered 500 men.

7 They put to death the ten sons of Haman the son of Hamdata, the enemy of the Jews - Parshandata, Dalfon, Aspata, Porata, Adalya, Aridata, Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai and Vaizata. But they did not touch the spoil.

8

9

10

11 The same day, after the king had been told the number of those killed in Shushan the capital,

12 he said to Ester the queen, "If the Jews have slaughtered 500 men in Shushan the capital and the ten sons of Haman, what have they done in the rest of the royal provinces! Now, whatever your request, you will be granted it; whatever more you want, it will be done."

13 Ester replied, "If it pleases the king, let the Jews in Shushan act again tomorrow in accordance with today's decree; also have Haman's ten sons hanged on the gallows."

14 The king ordered these things done - a decree was issued in Shushan, and they hanged Haman's ten sons.

15 So the Jews in Shushan assembled also on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar and killed 300 men in Shushan, but they did not touch the spoil.

16 The other Jews, those in the royal provinces, had assembled, defended their lives and won rest from their enemies, killing 75,000 of those who hated them, but without touching the spoil,

17 on the thirteenth day of the month Adar. So on the fourteenth day of Adar they rested and made it a holiday for celebrating and rejoicing.

18 However, the Jews of Shushan assembled on both the thirteenth and fourteenth days of Adar, so it was on the fifteenth that they rested and made it a holiday for celebrating and rejoicing.

19 This is why the Jews of the villages, those who live in unwalled towns, make the fourteenth day of the month of Adar a day for celebrating and rejoicing, a holiday and a time for sending each other portions [of food].

20 Mordekhai recorded these events and sent letters to all the Jews in all the provinces of King Achashverosh, both near and far,

21 instructing them to observe the fourteenth day of the month of Adar and the fifteenth day, every year,

22 [to commemorate] the days on which the Jews obtained rest from their enemies and the month which for them was turned from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday; they were to make them days of celebrating and rejoicing, sending portions [of food] to each other and giving gifts to the poor.

23 So the Jews took it upon themselves to continue what they had already begun to do, and as Mordekhai had written to them;

24 because Haman the son of Hamdata the Agagi, the enemy of the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had thrown pur (that is, "cast lots") to crush and destroy them;

25 but when Ester came before the king, he ordered by letters that [Haman's] wicked scheme, which he had plotted against the Jews, should recoil on his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.

26 This is why these days have been called Purim, after the word pur. Thus, because of everything written in this letter, and what they had seen concerning this matter, and what had come upon them,

27 the Jews resolved and took upon themselves, their descendants and all who might join them that without fail they would observe these two days in accordance with what was written in [this letter] and at the appointed time, every year;

28 and that these days would be remembered and observed throughout every generation, every family, every province and every city; and that these days of Purim would never cease among the Jews or their memory be lost by their descendants.

29 Then Ester the queen, the daughter of Avichayil, and Mordekhai the Jew, gave full written authority to confirm a second letter about Purim.

30 He sent copies of it to all the Jews, to the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Achashverosh, ensuring their peace and security

31 and requiring the observance of these days of Purim at their designated times, as Mordekhai the Jew and Ester the queen had enjoined them, and as they had established for themselves and their descendants concerning the matters of fasting and lamenting.

32 At Ester's order these matters of Purim were confirmed and put in writing in the book.

Esther 10

1 King Achashverosh laid tribute on the land, the coasts and the islands.

2 All the acts of his power and might, along with a full account of the high honor to which the king advanced Mordekhai, are written in the Annals of the Kings of Media and Persia.

3 For Mordekhai the Jew was second only to King Achashverosh; he was a great man among the Jews, popular with all his many countrymen. He sought the good of his people and interceded for the welfare of all their descendants.

Psalm 107:23-43

23 Those who go down to the sea in ships, plying their trade on the great ocean,

24 saw the works of ADONAI, his wonders in the deep.

25 For at his word the storm-wind arose, lifting up towering waves.

26 The sailors were raised up to the sky, then plunged into the depths. At the danger, their courage failed them,

27 they reeled and staggered like drunk men, and all their skill was swallowed up.

28 In their trouble they cried to ADONAI, and he rescued them from their distress.

29 He silenced the storm and stilled its waves,

30 and they rejoiced as the sea grew calm. Then he brought them safely to their desired port.

31 Let them give thanks to ADONAI for his grace, for his wonders bestowed on humanity!

32 Let them extol him in the assembly of the people and praise him in the leaders' council.

33 He turns rivers into desert, flowing springs into thirsty ground,

34 productive land into salt flats, because the people living there are so wicked.

35 But he also turns desert into pools of water, dry land into flowing springs;

36 there he gives the hungry a home, and they build a city to live in;

37 there they sow fields and plant vineyards, which yield an abundant harvest.

38 He blesses them, their numbers grow, and he doesn't let their livestock decrease.

39 When their numbers fall, and they grow weak, because of oppression, disaster and sorrow,

40 he pours contempt on princes and leaves them to wander in trackless wastes.

41 But the needy he raises up from their distress and increases their families like sheep.

42 When the upright see this, they rejoice; while the wicked are reduced to silence.

43 Let whoever is wise observe these things and consider ADONAI's loving deeds.

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Today's Bible Reading

October 16

Revelation 17; Isaiah 1-2; Psalm 108 CJB

Revelation 17

1 Then came one of the angels with the seven bowls; and he said to me, "Come, I will show you the judgment of the great whore who is sitting by many waters.

2 The kings of the earth went whoring with her, and the people living on earth have become drunk from the wine of her whoring."

3 He carried me off in the Spirit to a desert, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast filled with blasphemous names and having seven heads and ten horns.

4 The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet and glittered with gold, precious stones and pearls. In her hand was a gold cup filled with the obscene and filthy things produced by her whoring.

5 On her forehead was written a name with a hidden meaning, BAVEL THE GREAT MOTHER OF WHORES AND OF THE EARTH'S OBSCENITIES

6 I saw the woman drunk from the blood of God's people, that is, from the blood of the people who testify about Yeshua. On seeing her, I was altogether astounded.

7 Then the angel said to me, "Why are you astounded? I will tell you the hidden meaning of the woman and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that was carrying her.

8 The beast you saw once was, now is not, and will come up from the Abyss; but it is on its way to destruction. The people living on earth whose names have not been written in the Book of Life since the founding of the world will be astounded to see the beast that once was, now is not, but is to appear.

9 This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven hills on which the woman is sitting; also they are seven kings -

10 five have fallen, one is living now and the other is yet to come; and when he does come, he must remain only a little while.

11 The beast which once was and now is not is an eighth king; it comes from the seven and is on its way to destruction.

12 The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet begun to rule, but they receive power as kings for one hour, along with the beast.

13 They have one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast.

14 They will go to war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will defeat them, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are called, chosen and faithful will overcome along with him."

15 Then he said to me, "The waters that you saw, where the whore is sitting, are peoples, crowds, nations and languages.

16 As for the ten horns that you saw and the beast, they will hate the whore, bring her to ruin, leave her naked, eat her flesh and consume her with fire.

17 For God put it in their hearts to do what will fulfill his purpose, that is, to be of one mind and give their kingdom to the beast until God's words have accomplished their intent.

18 And the woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth."

Isaiah 1

1 This is the vision of Yesha'yahu the son of Amotz, which he saw concerning Y'hudah and Yerushalayim during the days of 'Uziyahu, Yotam, Achaz and Y'chizkiyahu, kings of Y'hudah:

2 "Hear, heaven! Listen, earth! For ADONAI is speaking. "I raised and brought up children, but they rebelled against me.

3 An ox knows its owner and a donkey its master's stall, but Isra'el does not know, my people do not reflect.

4 "Oh, sinful nation, a people weighed down by iniquity, descendants of evildoers, immoral children! They have abandoned ADONAI, spurned the Holy One of Isra'el, turned their backs on him!

5 "Where should I strike you next, as you persist in rebelling? The whole head is sick, the whole heart diseased.

6 From the sole of the foot to the head there is nothing healthy, only wounds, bruises and festering sores that haven't been dressed or bandaged or softened up with oil.

7 "Your land is desolate, your cities are burned to the ground; foreigners devour your land in your presence; it's as desolate as if overwhelmed by floods.

8 The daughter of Tziyon is left like a shack in a vineyard, like a shed in a cucumber field, like a city under siege."

9 If ADONAI-Tzva'ot had not left us a tiny, tiny remnant, we would have become like S'dom, we would have resembled 'Amora.

10 Hear what ADONAI says, you rulers of S'dom! Listen to God's Torah, you people of 'Amora!

11 "Why are all those sacrifices offered to me?" asks ADONAI. "I'm fed up with burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fattened animals! I get no pleasure from the blood of bulls, lambs and goats!

12 Yes, you come to appear in my presence; but who asked you to do this, to trample through my courtyards?

13 Stop bringing worthless grain offerings! They are like disgusting incense to me! Rosh-Hodesh, Shabbat, calling convocations - I can't stand evil together with your assemblies!

14 Everything in me hates your Rosh-Hodesh and your festivals; they are a burden to me - I'm tired of putting up with them!

15 "When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; no matter how much you pray, I won't be listening; because your hands are covered with blood.

16 "Wash yourselves clean! Get your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing evil,

17 learn to do good! Seek justice, relieve the oppressed, defend orphans, plead for the widow.

18 "Come now," says ADONAI, "let's talk this over together. Even if your sins are like scarlet, they will be white as snow; even if they are red as crimson, they will be like wool.

19 If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good of the land;

20 but if you refuse and rebel, you will be eaten by the sword"; for the mouth of ADONAI has spoken.

21 How the faithful city has become a whore! Once she was filled with justice, righteousness lodged in her; but now murderers!

22 Your silver is no longer pure, your wine is watered down.

23 Your leaders are rebels, friends of thieves. They all love bribes and run after gifts. They give no justice to orphans, the widow's complaint doesn't catch their attention.

24 "Therefore," says the Lord, ADONAI-Tzva'ot, the Mighty One of Isra'el, "I will free myself of my adversaries, I will take vengeance on my enemies.

25 But I will also turn my hand against you! I will cleanse your impurities as with lye and remove all your alloyed base metal.

26 I will restore your judges as at first and your advisers as at the beginning. After that, you will be called the City of Righteousness, Faithful City.

27 Tziyon will be redeemed by justice; and those in her who repent, by righteousness.

28 "Rebels and sinners together will be broken and those who abandon ADONAI be consumed.

29 You will be ashamed of the sacred oaks you desired, you will blush at the gardens you chose;

30 for you will be like an oak whose leaf fades, like a garden without any water.

31 The strong will be like tinder and [the idol's] maker like a spark; both will burn together, and no one will put them out."

Isaiah 2

1 This is the word that Yesha'yahu the son of Amotz saw concerning Y'hudah and Yerushalayim:

2 In the acharit-hayamim the mountain of ADONAI's house will be established as the most important mountain. It will be regarded more highly than the other hills, and all the Goyim will stream there.

3 Many peoples will go and say, "Come, let's go up to the mountain of ADONAI, to the house of the God of Ya'akov! He will teach us about his ways, and we will walk in his paths." For out of Tziyon will go forth Torah, the word of ADONAI from Yerushalayim.

4 He will judge between the nations and arbitrate for many peoples. Then they will hammer their swords into plow-blades and their spears into pruning-knives; nations will not raise swords at each other, and they will no longer learn war.

5 Descendants of Ya'akov, come! Let's live in the light of ADONAI!

6 For you have abandoned your people the house of Ya'akov. Now they are filled from the east, full of sorcerers, like the P'lishtim; even the children of foreigners are enough for them!

7 Their land is full of silver and gold; They have no end of treasures. Their land is full of horses; They have no end of chariots.

8 Their land is full of idols; everyone worships the work of his hands, what his own fingers have made.

9 A person bows down, a man lowers himself - don't forgive them!

10 Come into the rock, hide in the dust to escape the terror of ADONAI and the glory of his majesty.

11 The proud looks of man will be humiliated; the arrogance of men will be bowed down; and when that day comes, ADONAI alone will be exalted.

12 Yes, ADONAI-Tzva'ot has a day in store for all who are proud and lofty, for all who are lifted high to be humiliated;

13 for all cedars of the L'vanon that are high and lifted up, for all the oaks of the Bashan;

14 for all the high mountains, for all the hills that are lifted up;

15 for every high tower, for every fortified wall;

16 for every "Tarshish" ship, for every luxurious vessel.

17 The pride of man will be bowed down, the arrogance of men will be humiliated, and when that day comes, ADONAI alone will be exalted.

18 The idols will be completely abolished.

19 People will enter cracks in the rocks and holes in the ground to escape the terror of ADONAI and his glorious majesty, when he sets out to convulse the earth.

20 On that day a man will take hold of his idols of silver and idols of gold, which they made for themselves to worship, and fling them away to the moles and bats!

21 Then they will enter the cracks in the rocks and the crevices in the cliffs to escape the terror of ADONAI and his glorious majesty, when he sets out to convulse the earth.

22 Stop relying on man, in whose nostrils is a mere breath - after all, he doesn't count for much, does he?

Psalm 108

1 A song. A psalm of David: My heart is steadfast, God. I will sing and make music with my glory.

2 Awake, lute and lyre! I will awaken the dawn.

3 I will thank you, ADONAI, among the peoples; I will make music to you among the nations.

4 For your grace is great, above heaven, and your truth, all the way to the skies.

5 Be exalted, God, above heaven! May your glory be over all the earth,

6 in order that those you love can be rescued; so save with your right hand, and answer me!

7 God in his holiness spoke, and I took joy [in his promise]: "I will divide Sh'khem and determine the shares in the Sukkot Valley.

8 Gil'ad is mine and M'nasheh mine, Efrayim my helmet, Y'hudah my scepter.

9 Mo'av is my washpot; on Edom I throw my shoe; Over P'leshet I shout in triumph."

10 Who will bring me into the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom?

11 God, have you rejected us? You don't go out with our armies, God.

12 Help us against our enemy, for human help is worthless.

13 With God's help we will fight valiantly, for he will trample our enemies.

[phkrause]

Today's Bible Reading

October 17

Revelation 18; Isaiah 3-4; Psalm 109:1-19 CJB

Revelation 18

1 After these things, I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, the earth was lit up by his splendor.

2 He cried out in a strong voice, "She has fallen! She has fallen! Bavel the Great! She has become a home for demons, a prison for every unclean spirit, a prison for every unclean, hated bird.

3 "For all the nations have drunk of the wine of God's fury caused by her whoring - yes, the kings of the earth went whoring with her, and from her unrestrained love of luxury the world's businessmen have grown rich."

4 Then I heard another voice out of heaven say: "My people, come out of her! so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not be infected by her plagues,

5 for her sins are a sticky mass piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes.

6 "Render to her as she rendered to others! Pay her back double for what she has done! Use the cup in which she has brewed to brew her a double-sized drink!

7 "Give her as much torment and sorrow as the glory and luxury she gave herself! For in her heart she says, 'I sit a queen - I am not a widow, I will never see sorrow.'

8 "Therefore, her plagues will come in a single day - death, sorrow and famine; and she will be burned with fire, because ADONAI, God, her Judge, is mighty"

9 The kings of the earth who went whoring with her and shared her luxury will sob and wail over her when they see the smoke as she burns.

10 Standing at a distance, for fear of her torment, they will say, "Oh no! The great city! Bavel, the mighty city! In a single hour your judgment has come!"

11 The world's businessmen weep and mourn over her, because no one is buying their merchandise any more -

12 stocks of gold and silver, gems and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet, all rare woods, all ivory goods, all kinds of things made of scented wood, brass, iron and marble;

13 cinnamon, cardamom, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, flour, grain, cattle, sheep, horses, chariots - and bodies - and people's souls.

14 The fruits you lusted for with all your heart have gone! All the luxury and flashiness have been destroyed, never to return!

15 The sellers of these things, who got rich from her, will stand at a distance, for fear of her torment, weeping and mourning,

16 and saying, "Oh no! The great city used to wear fine linen, purple and scarlet! She glittered with gold, precious stones and pearls!

17 Such great wealth - in a single hour, ruined!" All the ship masters, passengers, sailors and everyone making his living from the sea stood at a distance

18 and cried out when they saw the smoke as she burned, "What city was like the great city?"

19 And they threw dust on their heads as they wept and mourned, saying, "Oh no! The great city! The abundance of her wealth made all the ship owners rich! In a single hour she is ruined!"

20 Rejoice over her, heaven! Rejoice, people of God, emissaries and prophets! For in judging her, God has vindicated you.

21 Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a great millstone, and hurled it into the sea, saying, "With violence like this will the great city Bavel be hurled down, never to be found again!

22 "The sound of harpists and musicians, flute-players and trumpeters will never again be heard in you. No worker of any trade will ever again be found in you, the sound of a mill will never again be heard in you,

23 the light of a lamp will never again shine in you, the voice of bridegroom and bride will never again be heard in you. "For your businessmen were the most powerful on earth, all the nations were deceived by your magic spell.

24 "In her was found the blood of prophets and of God's people, indeed, of all who have ever been slaughtered on earth!"

Isaiah 3

1 For see! The Lord, ADONAI-Tzva'ot, will remove from Yerushalayim and Y'hudah every kind of support all reserves of food and water;

2 heroes and warriors, judges and prophets, diviners and leaders,

3 captains of fifty, men of rank and advisers, skillful magicians and expert enchanters.

4 I will put children in authority; capriciousness will govern them.

5 People will oppress each other - everyone his friend, everyone his neighbor. The young will be insolent toward their elders, the insignificant arrogant toward the respected.

6 A man will take hold of his brother in his father's house and say, "You have a coat, so rule us! Take charge of this ruin!"

7 But on that day, he will protest, "I don't have a remedy, I lack food and clothing for my own house; don't put me in charge of people!"

8 For Yerushalayim is ruined, and Y'hudah has fallen; because their words and deeds defy ADONAI, in open provocation of his glory.

9 Their very look witnesses against them! They parade their sin, like S'dom; they don't even try to hide it - all the worse for them! - they bring evil on themselves.

10 Say that it will go well with the righteous, that they will enjoy the fruit of their actions;

11 but woe to the wicked, it will go badly with him; for what he has done will be done to him.

12 My people - children oppress them, and women are ruling over them. My people! Your guides lead you astray and obliterate the paths you should follow.

13 ADONAI rises to accuse, he stands to judge the peoples.

14 ADONAI presents the indictment against the leaders and officers of his people: "It is you who devour the vineyard; in your houses is plunder taken from the poor.

15 What do you mean by crushing my people and grinding down the faces of the poor?" says Adonai ELOHIM-Tzva'ot.

16 Moreover ADONAI says: "Because Tziyon's women are so proud, walking with their heads in the air and throwing seductive glances, moving with mincing steps and jingling their anklets

17 Adonai will strike the crown of the heads of Tziyon's women with sores, and ADONAI will expose their private parts."

18 On that day Adonai will take away their finery - their anklets, medallions and crescents,

19 their pendants, bracelets and veils;

20 their headbands, armlets, sashes, perfume bottles, amulets,

21 rings and nose-jewels;

22 their fine dresses, wraps, shawls, handbags,

23 gauze scarves, linen underclothes, turbans and capes.

24 Then, there will be instead of perfume, a stench; instead of a belt, a rope; instead of well-set hair, a shaved scalp; instead of a rich robe, a sackcloth skirt; and a slave-brand instead of beauty.

25 Your men will fall by the sword and your warriors in battle.

26 Her gates will lament and mourn; ravaged, she will sit on the ground.

Isaiah 4

1 On that day, seven women will grab hold of one man and say, "We will supply our own food and wear our own clothes. Just let us bear your name; take away our disgrace."

2 On that day, ADONAI's plant will be beautiful and glorious; and the fruit of the land will be the pride and splendor of Isra'el's survivors.

3 Those left in Tziyon and remaining in Yerushalayim will be called holy, and everyone in Yerushalayim written down for life.

4 When Adonai washes away the filth of the women of Tziyon and cleanses Yerushalayim from the blood shed in it with a blast of searing judgment,

5 ADONAI will create over the whole site of Mount Tziyon and over those who assemble there a smoking cloud by day and a shining, flaming fire by night; for the Glory will be over everything like a hupah.

6 A sukkah will give shade by day from the heat; it will also provide refuge and cover from storm and rain.

Psalm 109:1-19

1 For the leader. A psalm of David: God, whom I praise, don't remain silent!

2 For wicked and deceitful men have opened their mouths against me, spoken against me with lying tongues,

3 surrounded me with hateful words, and attacked me without cause.

4 In return for my love they became my accusers, even though I prayed for them.

5 They repay me evil for good and hatred for my love.

6 [They say,] "Appoint a wicked man over him, may an accuser stand at his right.

7 When he is tried, let him be found guilty, may even his plea be counted a sin.

8 May his days be few, may someone else take his position.

9 May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow.

10 May his children be wandering beggars, foraging for food from their ruined homes.

11 May creditors seize all he owns and strangers make off with his earnings.

12 May no one treat him kindly, and may no one take pity on his orphaned children.

13 May his posterity be cut off; may his name be erased within a generation.

14 May the wrongs of his ancestors be remembered by ADONAI, and may the sin of his mother not be erased;

15 may they always be before ADONAI, so he can cut off all memory of them from the earth.

16 For he did not remember to show kindness but hounded the downtrodden, the poor and the brokenhearted to death.

17 He loved cursing; may it recoil on him! He didn't like blessing; may it stay far from him!

18 He clothed himself with cursing as routinely as with his coat; May it enter inside him as easily as water, as easily as oil into his bones.

19 May it cling to him like the coat he wears, like the belt he wraps around himself."

[phkrause]

Today's Bible Reading

October 18

Revelation 19; Isaiah 5-6; Psalm 109:20-31 CJB

Revelation 19

1 After these things, I heard what sounded like the roar of a huge crowd in heaven, shouting, "Halleluyah! The victory, the glory, the power of our God!

2 For his judgments are true and just. He has judged the great whore who corrupted the earth with her whoring. He has taken vengeance on her who has the blood of his servants on her hands."

3 And a second time they said, "Halleluyah! Her smoke goes up forever and ever!"

4 The twenty-four elders and the four living beings fell down and worshipped God, sitting on the throne, and said, "Amen! Halleluyah!"

5 A voice went out from the throne, saying, "Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great!"

6 Then I heard what sounded like the roar of a huge crowd, like the sound of rushing waters, like loud peals of thunder, saying, "Halleluyah! ADONAI, God of heaven's armies, has begun his reign!

7 "Let us rejoice and be glad! Let us give him the glory! For the time has come for the wedding of the Lamb, and his Bride has prepared herself -

8 fine linen, bright and clean has been given her to wear." ("Fine linen" means the righteous deeds of God's people.)

9 The angel said to me, "Write: 'How blessed are those who have been invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb!'" Then he added, "These are God's very words."

10 I fell at his feet to worship him; but he said, "Don't do that! I'm only a fellow-servant with you and your brothers who have the testimony of Yeshua. Worship God! For the testimony of Yeshua is the Spirit of prophecy."

11 Next I saw heaven opened, and there before me was a white horse. Sitting on it was the one called Faithful and True, and it is in righteousness that he passes judgment and goes to battle.

12 His eyes were like a fiery flame, and on his head were many royal crowns. And he had a name written which no one knew but himself.

13 He was wearing a robe that had been soaked in blood, and the name by which he is called is, "THE WORD OF GOD."

14 The armies of heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses.

15 And out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down nations - "He will rule them with a staff of iron."c It is he who treads the winepress from which flows the wine of the furious rage of ADONAI, God of heaven's armies.

16 And on his robe and on his thigh he has a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out in a loud voice to all the birds that fly about in mid-heaven, "Come, gather together for the great feast God is giving,

18 to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of generals, the flesh of important men, the flesh of horses and their riders and the flesh of all kinds of people, free and slave, small and great!"

19 I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to do battle with the rider of the horse and his army.

20 But the beast was taken captive, and with it the false prophet who, in its presence, had done the miracles which he had used to deceive those who had received the mark of the beast and those who had worshipped his image. The beast and the false prophet were both thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.

21 The rest were killed with the sword that goes out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.

Isaiah 5

1 I want to sing a song for someone I love, a song about my loved one and his vineyard. My loved one had a vineyard on a very fertile hill.

2 He dug up its stones and cleared them away, planted it with the choicest vines, built a watchtower in the middle of it, and carved out in its rock a winepress. He expected it to produce good grapes, but it produced only sour, wild grapes.

3 Now, citizens of Yerushalayim and people of Y'hudah, judge between me and my vineyard.

4 What more could I have done for my vineyard that I haven't already done in it? So why, when I expected good grapes, did it produce sour, wild grapes?

5 Now come, I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will remove its hedge, and [its grapes] will be eaten up; I will break through its fence, and [its vines] will be trampled down.

6 I will let it go to waste: it will be neither pruned nor hoed, but overgrown with briars and thorns. I will also order the clouds not to let rain fall on it.

7 Now the vineyard of ADONAI-Tzva'ot is the house of Isra'el, and the men of Y'hudah are the plant he delighted in. So he expected justice, but look - bloodshed! - and righteousness, but listen - cries of distress!

8 Woe to those who add house to house and join field to field, until there's no room for anyone else, and you live in splendor alone on your land.

9 ADONAI-Tzva'ot said in my ears, "Many houses will be brought to ruin, large, magnificent ones left empty;

10 for a ten-acre vineyard will produce only five gallons of wine, and seed from five bushels of grain will yield but half a bushel."

11 Woe to those who get up early to pursue intoxicating liquor; who stay up late at night, until wine inflames them.

12 They have lutes and lyres, drums and flutes, and wine at their parties; but they pay no attention to how ADONAI works and never look at what his hands have made.

13 For such lack of knowledge my people go into exile; this is also why their respected men starve and their masses are parched from thirst.

14 Therefore Sh'ol has enlarged itself and opened its limitless jaws - and down go their nobles and masses, along with their noise and revels.

15 The masses are lowered, the nobles are humbled - proud looks will be brought down.

16 But ADONAI-Tzva'ot is exalted through justice, God the Holy One is consecrated through righteousness.

17 Then lambs will be able to feed as if they were in their own pasture, and those wandering through will eat from the ruined fields of the overfed.

18 Woe to those who begin by pulling at transgression with a thread, but end by dragging sin along as if with a cart rope.

19 They say, "We want God to speed up his work, to hurry it along, so we can see it! We want the Holy One of Isra'el's plan to come true right now, so we can be sure of it!"

20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who change darkness into light and light into darkness, who change bitter into sweet and sweet into bitter!

21 Woe to those seeing themselves as wise, esteeming themselves as clever.

22 Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine, men whose power goes to mixing strong drinks,

23 who acquit the guilty for bribes but deny justice to the righteous!

24 Therefore, as fire licks up the stubble, and the chaff is consumed in the flame; so their root will rot, and their flowers scatter like dust; because they have rejected the Torah of ADONAI-Tzva'ot, they have despised the word of the Holy One of Isra'el.

25 This is why ADONAI's anger blazed up against his people, why he stretched out his hand against them and struck them [so hard that] the hills shook, and corpses lay like trash in the streets. Even after all this, his anger remains, his upraised hand still threatens.

26 He will give a signal to faraway nations, he will whistle for them to come from the ends of the earth; and here they come, so fast!

27 none of them tired or stumbling, none of them sleeping or drowsy, none with a loose belt, none with a broken sandal-strap.

28 Their arrows are sharp, all their bows are strung, their horses' hoofs are like flint, and their [chariot] wheels like a whirlwind.

29 They will roar like lions - yes, roaring like young lions, they growl and seize the prey and carry it off, with no one to rescue.

30 On that day they will growl at them, like the sea when it growls - and when one looks toward land, one sees darkness closing in; the light is dissipated in the obscuring overcast.

Isaiah 6

1 In the year of King 'Uziyahu's death I saw Adonai sitting on a high, lofty throne! The hem of his robe filled the temple.

2 S'rafim stood over him, each with six wings - two for covering his face, two for covering his feet and two for flying.

3 They were crying out to each other, "More holy than the holiest holiness is ADONAI-Tzva'ot! The whole earth is filled with his glory!"

4 The doorposts shook at the sound of their shouting, and the house was filled with smoke.

5 Then I said, "Woe to me! I [too] am doomed! because I, a man with unclean lips, living among a people with unclean lips, have seen with my own eyes the King, ADONAI-Tzva'ot!"

6 One of the s'rafim flew to me with a glowing coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar.

7 He touched my mouth with it and said, "Here! This has touched your lips. Your iniquity is gone, your sin is atoned for."

8 Then I heard the voice of Adonai saying, "Whom should I send? Who will go for us?" I answered, "I'm here, send me!"

9 He said, "Go and tell this people: 'Yes, you hear, but you don't understand. You certainly see, but you don't get the point!'

10 "Make the heart of this people [sluggish with] fat, stop up their ears, and shut their eyes. Otherwise, seeing with their eyes, and hearing with their ears, then understanding with their hearts, they might repent and be healed!"

11 I asked, "Adonai, how long?" and he answered, "Until cities become uninhabited ruins, houses without human presence, the land utterly wasted;

12 until ADONAI drives the people far away, and the land is one vast desolation.

13 If even a tenth [of the people] remain, it will again be devoured. "But like a pistachio tree or an oak, whose trunk remains alive after its leaves fall off, the holy seed will be its trunk."

Psalm 109:20-31

20 This is what my adversaries want ADONAI to do, those who speak evil against me.

21 But you, God, ADONAI, treat me as your name demands; rescue me, because your grace is good.

22 For I am poor and needy, and my heart within me is wounded.

23 Like a lengthening evening shadow, I am gone; I am shaken off like a locust.

24 My knees are weak from lack of food, my flesh wastes away for lack of nourishment.

25 I have become the object of their taunts; when they see me, they shake their heads.

26 Help me, ADONAI, my God! Save me, in keeping with your grace;

27 so that they will know that this comes from your hand, that you, ADONAI, have done it.

28 Let them go on cursing; but you, bless! When they attack, let them be put to shame; but let your servant rejoice.

29 Let my adversaries be clothed with confusion, let them wear their own shame like a robe.

30 I will eagerly thank ADONAI with my mouth, I will praise him right there in the crowd,

31 because he stands alongside a needy person to defend him from unjust accusers.

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Today's Bible Reading

October 19

Revelation 20; Isaiah 7-8; Psalm 110 CJB

Revelation 20

1 Next I saw an angel coming down from heaven, who had the key to the Abyss and a great chain in his hand.

2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the Devil and Satan [the Adversary], and chained him up for a thousand years.

3 He threw him into the Abyss, locked it and sealed it over him; so that he could not deceive the nations any more until the thousand years were over. After that, he has to be set free for a little while.

4 Then I saw thrones, and those seated on them received authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for testifying about Yeshua and proclaiming the Word of God, also those who had not worshipped the beast or its image and had not received the mark on their foreheads and on their hands. They came to life and ruled with the Messiah for a thousand years.

5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were over.) This is the first resurrection.

6 Blessed and holy is anyone who has a part in the first resurrection; over him the second death has no power. On the contrary, they will be cohanim of God and of the Messiah, and they will rule with him for the thousand years.

7 When the thousand years are over, the Adversary will be set free from his prison

8 and will go out to deceive the nations in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for the battle. Their number is countless as the sand on the seashore;

9 and they came up over the breadth of the Land and surrounded the camp of God's people and the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and consumed them.

10 The Adversary who had deceived them was hurled into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet were; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

11 Next I saw a great white throne and the One sitting on it. Earth and heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them.

12 And I saw the dead, both great and small, standing in front of the throne. Books were opened; and another book was opened, the Book of Life; and the dead were judged from what was written in the books, according to what they had done.

13 The sea gave up the dead in it; and Death and Sh'ol gave up the dead in them; and they were judged, each according to what he had done.

14 Then Death and Sh'ol were hurled into the lake of fire. This is the second death-the lake of fire.

15 Anyone whose name was not found written in the Book of Life was hurled into the lake of fire.

Isaiah 7

1 During the days of Achaz the son of Yotam, the son of 'Uziyahu, king of Y'hudah, Retzin the king of Aram and Pekach the son of Remalyah, king of Isra'el, advanced on Yerushalayim to attack it but were unable to conquer it.

2 It was told to the house of David that Aram and Efrayim had become allies. Achaz's heart began to tremble, as did the hearts of his people, like forest trees shaken by the wind.

3 Then ADONAI said to Yesha'yahu, "Go out now to meet Achaz, you and your son Sh'ar Yashuv, at the end of the aqueduct from the Upper Pool, on the road to the Launderers' Field;

4 and say to him, 'Take care to stay calm and unafraid; don't be demoralized by these two smoldering stumps of firewood, by the blazing anger of Retzin and Aram or the son of Remalyah;

5 or because Aram, Efrayim and the son of Remalyah have been plotting against you, thinking,

6 "We will invade Y'hudah, tear it apart, divide it among ourselves and appoint the son of Tav'el as king there."

7 "'This is what Adonai ELOHIM says: "It won't occur, it won't happen.

8 For the head of Aram is Dammesek, and the head of Dammesek Retzin. In sixty-five years Efrayim will be broken and will cease to be a people.

9 The head of Efrayim is Shomron, and the head of Shomron is the son of Remalyah. Without firm faith, you will not be firmly established."'"

10 ADONAI spoke again to Achaz; he said,

11 "Ask ADONAI your God to give you a sign. Ask it anywhere, from the depths of Sh'ol to the heights above."

12 But Achaz answered, "I won't ask, I won't test ADONAI."

13 Then [the prophet] said, "Listen here, house of David! Is trying people's patience such a small thing for you that you must try the patience of my God as well?

14 Therefore Adonai himself will give you people a sign: the young woman will become pregnant, bear a son and name him 'Immanu El [God is with us].

15 By the time he knows enough to refuse evil and choose good, he will [have to] eat curdled milk and [wild] honey.

16 Yes, before the child knows enough to refuse evil and choose good, the land whose two kings you dread will be left abandoned.

17 ADONAI will bring the king of Ashur on you, your people and your father's house. These will be days worse than any you've known since Efrayim broke loose from Y'hudah." Or: "the virgin." See Introduction, Section XIV, footnote 69.

18 Yes, when that day comes, ADONAI will whistle for the fly in the farthest streams of the Nile in Egypt and for the bee in the land of Ashur.

19 They will come and settle, all of them, in steep vadis and holes in the rocks and on all thorn bushes and brambles.

20 When that day comes, Adonai will shave - with a razor hired beyond the [Euphrates] River, that is, with the king of Ashur - the head and the hair between the legs, and get rid of the beard as well.

21 When that day comes, a man will raise a young cow and two sheep.

22 Will they produce in abundance? No, he will [have to] eat curdled milk. Indeed, everyone left in the land will eat curdled milk and [wild] honey.

23 When that day comes, wherever there once were a thousand grapevines, worth a thousand pieces of silver, there will be only briars and thorns.

24 One will go there [to hunt] with bow and arrow, because all the land will be briars and thorns.

25 You won't visit hills once worked with a hoe, for fear of the briars and thorns; it will be good only for pasturing cattle and being trampled down by sheep.

Isaiah 8

1 ADONAI said to me, "Take a large tablet, and write on it in easily readable letters; 'Maher shalal, hash baz [the spoil hurries, the prey speeds along].'"

2 I had it witnessed for me by reliable witnesses - Uriyah the cohen and Z'kharyahu the son of Y'verekhyahu.

3 Then I had sexual relations with my wife; she became pregnant and gave birth to a son; and ADONAI said to me, "Name him Maher Shalal Hash Baz;

4 because before the child knows how to cry, 'Abba!' and 'Eema!', the riches of Dammesek and the spoil of Shomron will be carried off and given to the king of Ashur."

5 ADONAI went on speaking and said more to me:

6 "Since this people has rejected the gently flowing waters from Shilo'ach and takes joy in Retzin and the son of Remalyah;

7 now Adonai will bring upon them the mighty floodwaters of the [Euphrates] River - that is, the king of Ashur and his power. It will rise above all its channels and overflow all its banks.

8 It will sweep through Y'hudah, flooding everything and passing on. It will reach even up to the neck, and its outspread wings will fill the whole expanse of the land." God is with us! [Hebrew: 'immanu El]

9 You may make an uproar, peoples; but you will be shattered. Listen, all of you from distant lands: arm yourselves, but you will be shattered; yes, arm yourselves, but you will be shattered;

10 devise a plan, but it will come to nothing; say anything you like, but it won't happen; because God is with us [Hebrew: 'immanu El].

11 For this is what ADONAI said to me, speaking with a strong hand, warning me not to live the way this people does:

12 "Don't regard as alliance what this people calls alliance, and don't fear what they fear or be awestruck by it;

13 but ADONAI-Tzva'ot - consecrate him! Let him be the object of your fear and awe!

14 He is there to be a sanctuary. But for both the houses of Isra'el he will be a stone to stumble over, a rock obstructing their way; a trap and a snare for the inhabitants of Yerushalayim.

15 Many of them will stumble and fall, be broken and trapped and captured.

16 Wrap up this document, and confine its teaching to those I have instructed."

17 I will wait for ADONAI, who is hiding his face from the house of Ya'akov; yes, I will look for him.

18 Meanwhile, I and the children whom ADONAI has given me will become for Isra'el signs and wonders from ADONAI-Tzva'ot living on Mount Tziyon. YESHA'YAHU (ISAIAH) 819

19 So when they tell you to consult those squeaking, squawking mediums and fortune-tellers; [you are to answer], "Shouldn't a people seek their God? Must the living ask the dead

20 for teaching and instruction?" For they will indeed give you this unenlightened suggestion.

21 Distressed and hungry they will pass through the land; and because of their hunger they will grow angry and curse by their king and by their God. But whether they look up [to God]

22 or [down] at the earth, they will see only trouble and darkness, anguished gloom and pervasive darkness.

Psalm 110

1 A psalm of David: ADONAI says to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool."

2 ADONAI will send your powerful scepter out from Tziyon, so that you will rule over your enemies around you.

3 On the day your forces mobilize, your people willingly offer themselves in holy splendors from the womb of the dawn; the dew of your youth is yours.

4 ADONAI has sworn it, and he will never retract -"You are a cohen forever, to be compared with Malki-Tzedek."

5 Adonai at your right hand will shatter kings on the day of his anger.

6 He will pass judgment among the nations, filling it with dead bodies; he will shatter heads throughout an extensive territory.

7 He will drink from a stream as he goes on his way; therefore he will hold his head high.

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Today's Bible Reading

October 20

Revelation 21-22; Isaiah 9-10; Psalm 111 CJB

Revelation 21

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had passed away, and the sea was no longer there.

2 Also I saw the holy city, New Yerushalayim, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

3 I heard a loud voice from the throne say, "See! God's Sh'khinah is with mankind, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and he himself, God-with-them, will be their God.

4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will no longer be any death; and there will no longer be any mourning, crying or pain; because the old order has passed away."

5 Then the One sitting on the throne said, "Look! I am making everything new!" Also he said, "Write, 'These words are true and trustworthy!'"

6 And he said to me, "It is done! I am the 'A' and the 'Z,' the Beginning and the End. To anyone who is thirsty I myself will give water free of charge from the Fountain of Life.

7 He who wins the victory will receive these things, and I will be his God, and he will be my son.

8 But as for the cowardly, the untrustworthy, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those involved with the occult and with drugs, idol-worshippers, and all liars - their destiny is the lake burning with fire and sulfur, the second death."

9 One of the seven angels having the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues approached me and said, "Come! I will show you the Bride, the Wife of the Lamb."

10 He carried me off in the Spirit to the top of a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city, Yerushalayim, coming down out of heaven from God.

11 It had the Sh'khinah of God, so that its brilliance was like that of a priceless jewel, like a crystal-clear diamond.

12 It had a great, high wall with twelve gates; at the gates were twelve angels; and inscribed on the gates were the names of the twelve tribes of Isra'el.

13 There were three gates to the east, three gates to the north, three gates to the south and three gates to the west.

14 The wall of the city was built on twelve foundation-stones, and on these were the twelve names of the twelve emissaries of the Lamb.

15 The angel speaking with me had a gold measuring-rod with which to measure the city, its gates and its wall.

16 The city is laid out in a square, its length equal to its width. With his rod he measured the city at 1,500 miles, with length, width and height the same.

17 He measured its wall at 216 feet by human standards of measurement, which the angel was using.

18 The wall was made of diamond and the city of pure gold resembling pure glass.

19 The foundations of the city wall were decorated with all kinds of precious stones-the first foundation stone was diamond, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald,

20 the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh turquoise and the twelfth amethyst.

21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls, with each gate made of a single pearl. The city's main street was pure gold, transparent as glass.

22 I saw no Temple in the city, for ADONAI, God of heaven's armies, is its Temple, as is the Lamb.

23 The city has no need for the sun or the moon to shine on it, because God's Sh'khinah gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.

24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it.

25 Its gates will never close, they stay open all day because night will not exist there,

26 and the honor and splendor of the nations will be brought into it.

27 Nothing impure may enter it, nor anyone who does shameful things or lies; the only ones who may enter are those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.

Revelation 22

1 Next the angel showed me the river of the water of life, sparkling like crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.

2 Between the main street and the river was the Tree of Life producing twelve kinds of fruit, a different kind every month; and the leaves of the tree were for healing the nations -

3 no longer will there be any curses. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will worship him;

4 they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.

5 Night will no longer exist, so they will need neither the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because ADONAI, God, will shine upon them. And they will reign as kings forever and ever.

6 Then he said to me, "These words are true and trustworthy: ADONAI, God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must happen soon."

7 "Look! I am coming very soon. Blessed is the person who obeys the words of the prophecy written in this book!"

8 Then I, Yochanan, the one hearing and seeing these things, when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel showing them to me.

9 But he said to me, "Don't do that! I am only a fellow-servant with you and your brothers, the prophets and the people who obey the words in this book. Worship God!"

10 Then he said to me, "Don't seal up the words of the prophecy in this book,g because the time of their fulfillment is near.

11 "Whoever keeps acting wickedly, let him go on acting wickedly; whoever is filthy, let him go on being made filthy. "Also, whoever is righteous, let him go on doing what is righteous; and whoever is holy, let him go on being made holy."

12 "Pay attention!" [says Yeshua,] "I am coming soon, and my rewards are with me to give to each person according to what he has done.

13 I am the 'A' and the 'Z,' the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End."

14 How blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they have the right to eat from the Tree of Life and go through the gates into the city!

15 Outside are the homosexuals, those involved with the occult and with drugs, the sexually immoral, murderers, idol-worshippers, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

16 "I, Yeshua, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the Messianic communities. I am the Root and Offspring of David, the bright Morning Star.

17 The Spirit and the Bride say, 'Come!' Let anyone who hears say, 'Come!' And let anyone who is thirsty come - let anyone who wishes, take the water of life free of charge."

18 I warn everyone hearing the words of the prophecy in this book that if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues written in this book.

19 And if anyone takes anything away from the words in the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the Tree of Life and the holy city, as described in this book.

20 "The one who is testifying to these things says, 'Yes, I am coming soon!'" Amen! Come, Lord Yeshua!

21 May the grace of the Lord Yeshua be with all!

Isaiah 9

1 But there will be no more gloom for those who are now in anguish. In the past the land of Z'vulun and the land of Naftali were regarded lightly; but in the future he will honor the way to the lake, beyond the Yarden, Galil-of-the-Goyim.

2 The people living in darkness have seen a great light; upon those living in the land that lies in the shadow of death, light has dawned.

3 You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice in your presence as if rejoicing at harvest time, the way men rejoice when dividing up the spoil.

4 For the yoke that weighed them down, the bar across their shoulders, and their driver's goad you have broken as on the day of Midyan['s defeat].

5 For all the boots of soldiers marching and every cloak rolled in blood is destined for burning, fuel for the fire.

6 For a child is born to us, a son is given to us; dominion will rest on his shoulders, and he will be given the name Pele-Yo'etz El Gibbor Avi-'Ad Sar-Shalom [Wonder of a Counselor, Mighty God, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace],

7 in order to extend the dominion and perpetuate the peace of the throne and kingdom of David, to secure it and sustain it through justice and righteousness henceforth and forever. The zeal of ADONAI-Tzva'ot will accomplish this.

8 Adonai sent a word to Ya'akov, and it has fallen on Isra'el.

9 All the people know it, Efrayim and the inhabitants of Shomron. But they say in pride, in the arrogance of their hearts,

10 "The bricks have fallen, but we will rebuild with cut stone; the sycamore-fig trees have been chopped down, but we will replace them with cedars."

11 So ADONAI has raised up Retzin's foes against him and spurred on his enemies -

12 Aram from the east, P'lishtim from the west; and they devour Isra'el with an open mouth. Even after all this, his anger remains, his upraised hand still threatens.

13 Yet the people do not turn to the one striking them, they don't seek ADONAI-Tzva'ot.

14 Therefore ADONAI will cut off Isra'el's head and tail, [tall] palm frond and [lowly] reed in a single day.

15 The old and the honored are the head, while prophets teaching lies are the tail.

16 For those leading this people lead them astray, and those led by them are destroyed.

17 Therefore Adonai takes no joy in their young men and has no compassion on their orphans and widows; for everyone is ungodly and does evil, every mouth speaks foolishly. Even after all this, his anger remains, his upraised hand still threatens.

18 For wickedness burns like fire, it devours briars and thorns; it sets the forest underbrush ablaze, with clouds of smoke whirling upward.

19 The anger of ADONAI-Tzva'ot is burning up the land; the people, too, are fuel for the fire - no one spares even his brother.

20 The one on the right grabs but stays hungry, the one on the left eats but is unfilled. Everyone devours his own arm's flesh

21 M'nasheh devours Efrayim; and Efrayim, M'nasheh; while together they oppose Y'hudah. Even after all this, his anger remains, his upraised hand still threatens.

Isaiah 10

1 Woe to those who enact unjust decrees and draft oppressive legislation

2 to deprive the impoverished of justice and rob my people's poor of their rights, looting widows and preying on orphans!

3 What will you do on the day of punishment, when calamity comes from afar? To whom will you flee for help? Where will you leave your wealth,

4 so as not to squat among the prisoners or fall among the slain? Even after all this, his anger remains, his upraised hand still threatens.

5 "Oh Ashur, the rod expressing my anger! The club in their hands is my fury!

6 I am sending him against a hypocritical nation, ordering him to march against a people who enrage me, to take the spoil and the plunder and trample them down like mud in the street.

7 That is not what Ashur intends, that is not what they think; rather, they mean to destroy, to cut down nation after nation.

8 For [their king] says, 'Aren't all my commanders kings?

9 Hasn't Kalno [suffered] like Kark'mish, Hamat like Arpad, Shomron like Dammesek?

10 Just as my hand reached the kingdoms of non-gods, with more images than in Yerushalayim and Shomron;

11 so won't I do to Yerushalayim and her non-gods what I did to Shomron and her idols?'"

12 Therefore when Adonai has done everything he intends to do to Mount Tziyon and Yerushalayim, "I will punish the king of Ashur for the boasting that comes from his proud heart and from reveling in his arrogant looks.

13 For he says, "'With my own strong arm I have done this, and with my wisdom, because I'm so clever! I erased the boundaries between peoples, I plundered their stores for the future; as a mighty man, I subjugated the inhabitants.

14 My hand found the riches of the peoples like a nest; and as one gathers abandoned eggs, I gathered the whole earth! Not one wing fluttered, not one beak opened or let out a chirp!'"

15 Should the axe glorify itself over the one who chops with it? Should the saw magnify itself over the one who moves it? It's as if a stick could wave the hand that raises it up, or as if a wooden staff could lift [a person, who is] not made of wood.

16 Therefore the Lord, ADONAI-Tzva'ot, will send leanness to his well-fed ones; and in place of his glory, a fire will be kindled that will burn and burn.

17 The light of Isra'el will become a fire and his Holy One a flame, burning and devouring his thorns and briars in a single day.

18 The glory of his forest and of his fertile land he will consume body and soul, like an invalid wasting away.

19 So few forest trees will remain that a child could list them.

20 On that day the remnant of Isra'el, those of the house of Ya'akov who escaped, will no longer rely on the man who struck them down, but will truly rely on ADONAI, the Holy One of Isra'el.

21 A remnant will return, the remnant of Ya'akov, to the mighty God.

22 For, although your people, Isra'el, are like the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will return. Destruction is decreed, overflowing with justice.

23 Adonai ELOHIM-Tzva'ot will bring about this decreed destruction throughout all the land.

24 Therefore Adonai ELOHIM-Tzva'ot says: "My people living in Tziyon, don't be afraid of Ashur, even when he strikes you with a stick and raises his staff against you, the way it was in Egypt.

25 For in but a little while, my fury will end; and my anger will have destroyed them."

26 ADONAI-Tzva'ot will wield a whip against them, as he did when striking Midyan at the Rock of 'Orev; as his staff was over the sea, he will raise it, the way it was in Egypt.

27 On that day his burden will fall from your shoulders and his yoke from your neck; the yoke will be destroyed by your prosperity.

28 He has come to 'Ayat and passed through Migron. He has stored his equipment at Mikhmas.

29 They have crossed the pass, then lodged at Geva. Ramah is shaking, Giv'at-Sha'ul has fled.

30 Cry, shriek, Bat-Gallim! Listen, Layish! Poor 'Anatot!

31 Madmenah is in flight, The people of Gevim take cover.

32 This very day he will stop at Nov; and he will shake his fist at the mountain of the daughter of Tziyon, at the hill of Yerushalayim.

33 See how Adonai ELOHIM-Tzva'ot lops off the branches with terrible violence! The ones standing highest are chopped down, the lofty are laid low.

34 He will hack down the forest underbrush with an axe, and the L'vanon in its splendor falls.

Psalm 111

1 Halleluyah! I will wholeheartedly give thanks to ADONAI in the council of the upright and in the assembly.

2 The deeds of ADONAI are great, greatly desired by all who enjoy them.

3 His work is full of majesty and splendor, and his righteousness continues forever.

4 He has gained renown for his wonders. ADONAI is merciful and compassionate.

5 He gives food to those who fear him. He remembers his covenant forever.

6 He shows his people how powerfully he works by giving them the nations as their heritage.

7 The works of his hands are truth and justice; all his precepts can be trusted.

8 They have been established forever and ever, to be carried out truly and honestly.

9 He sent redemption to his people and decreed that his covenant should last forever. His name is holy and fearsome

10 the first and foremost point of wisdom is the fear of ADONAI; all those living by it gain good common sense. His praise stands forever.

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Today's Bible Reading

October 21

1 Thessalonians 1; Isaiah 11-13; Psalm 112 CJB

1 Thessalonians 1

1 From: Sha'ul, Sila and Timothy To: The Messianic Community of the Thessalonians, united with God the Father and the Lord Yeshua the Messiah: Grace to you and shalom.

2 We always thank God for all of you, regularly mentioning you in our prayers,

3 calling to mind before God our Father what our Lord Yeshua the Messiah has brought about in you - how your trust produces action, your love hard work, and your hope perseverance.

4 We know, brothers, that God has loved and chosen you;

5 that the Good News we brought did not become for you a matter only of words, but also one of power, the Ruach HaKodesh and total conviction - just as you know how we lived for your sakes when we were with you.

6 You, indeed, became imitators of us and of the Lord; so that even though you were going through severe troubles, you received the Word with joy from the Ruach HaKodesh.

7 Thus you became a pattern for all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia;

8 for the Lord's message sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but everywhere your trust toward God became known. The result is that we don't need to say anything;

9 since they themselves keep telling us about the welcome we received from you and how you turned to God from idols, to serve the true God, the one who is alive,

10 and to wait for his Son Yeshua, whom he raised from the dead, to appear from heaven and rescue us from the impending fury of God's judgment.

Isaiah 11

1 But a branch will emerge from the trunk of Yishai, a shoot will grow from his roots.

2 The Spirit of ADONAI will rest on him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and power, the Spirit of knowledge and fearing ADONAI

3 he will be inspired by fearing ADONAI. He will not judge by what his eyes see or decide by what his ears hear,

4 but he will judge the impoverished justly; he will decide fairly for the humble of the land. He will strike the land with a rod from his mouth and slay the wicked with a breath from his lips.

5 Justice will be the belt around his waist, faithfulness the sash around his hips.

6 The wolf will live with the lamb; the leopard lie down with the kid; calf, young lion and fattened lamb together, with a little child to lead them.

7 Cow and bear will feed together, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.

8 An infant will play on a cobra's hole, a toddler put his hand in a viper's nest.

9 They will not hurt or destroy anywhere on my holy mountain, for the earth will be as full of the knowledge of ADONAI as water covering the sea.

10 On that day the root of Yishai, which stands as a banner for the peoples - the Goyim will seek him out, and the place where he rests will be glorious.

11 On that day Adonai will raise his hand again, a second time, to reclaim the remnant of his people who remain from Ashur, Egypt, Patros, Ethiopia, 'Eilam, Shin'ar, Hamat and the islands in the sea.

12 He will hoist a banner for the Goyim, assemble the dispersed of Isra'el, and gather the scattered of Y'hudah from the four corners of the earth.

13 Efrayim's jealousy will cease - those who harass Y'hudah will be cut off, Efrayim will stop envying Y'hudah, and Y'hudah will stop provoking Efrayim.

14 They will swoop down on the flank of the P'lishtim to the west. Together they will pillage the people to the east - they will put out their hand over Edom and Mo'av, and the people of 'Amon will obey them.

15 ADONAI will dry up the gulf of the Egyptian Sea. He will shake his hand over the [Euphrates] River to bring a scorching wind, dividing it into seven streams and enabling people to cross dryshod.

16 There will be a highway for the remnant of his people who are still left from Ashur, just as there was for Isra'el when he came out from the land of Egypt.

Isaiah 12

1 On that day you will say: "I thank you, ADONAI, because, although you were angry at me, your anger is now turned away; and you are comforting me.

2 "See! God is my salvation. I am confident and unafraid; for Yah ADONAI is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation!"

3 Then you will joyfully draw water from the springs of salvation.

4 On that day you will say, "Give thanks to ADONAI! Call on his name! Make his deeds known among the peoples, declare how exalted is his name.

5 Sing to ADONAI, for he has triumphed - this is being made known throughout the earth.

6 Shout and sing for joy, you who live in Tziyon; for the Holy One of Isra'el is with you in his greatness!"

Isaiah 13

1 This is a prophecy about Bavel, which Yesha'yahu the son of Amotz saw:

2 Hoist a banner on a high mountain, shout to [the invaders]; beckon them to enter the Nobles' Gate.

3 "I have ordered my holy ones, summoned my heroes, eager and bold, to execute my anger."

4 Listen! A tumult on the mountains - it sounds like a vast multitude! Listen! The uproar of the kingdoms of the nations gathering together! ADONAI-Tzva'ot is mustering an army for war.

5 They come from a distant land, from beyond the horizon. It's ADONAI, with the weapons of his rage, to lay waste to all the earth.

6 Howl! for the Day of ADONAI is at hand, destruction coming from Shaddai.

7 This is why every arm will hang limp and everyone's courage melt away.

8 They will be gripped by panic, seized with pain and agony, writhing like a woman in labor, looking aghast at each other, faces aflame.

9 Here comes the Day of ADONAI, full of cruelty, rage and hot fury, to desolate the earth and destroy the sinners in it.

10 For the stars, the constellations in the sky, will no longer give their light; the sun will be dark when it rises; and the moon will no longer shine.

11 "I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity. I will end the arrogance of the proud and humble the insolence of tyrants.

12 I will make humans rarer than gold, scarcer than Ofir's pure gold.

13 This is why I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken from its place at the wrath of ADONAI-Tzva'ot on the day of his fierce anger.

14 Then, like a hunted gazelle, like sheep with no one to gather them, everyone will head back to his own people; everyone will flee to his own land.

15 Anyone found will be pierced through; anyone caught will fall by the sword,

16 their babies dashed to pieces before their eyes, their houses looted, their wives raped.

17 I will stir up against them the Medes, who cannot be tempted by silver or bought off with gold.

18 Their bows will tear young men to pieces, they will have no pity on the fruit of the womb, their eye will not spare children."

19 Thus Bavel, that jewel of kingdoms, the pride and glory of the Kasdim, will be like S'dom and 'Amora when overthrown by God.

20 It will never again be inhabited, never lived in through all generations. Arabs will not pitch tents there nor shepherds bring their flocks.

21 But wildcats will lie there, their houses will be full of owls, ostriches will live there, and wild goats will dance there.

22 Jackals will howl in their palaces and wild dogs in their temples of delight. Its time is close at hand, its days will not last long.

Psalm 112

1 Halleluyah! How happy is anyone who fears ADONAI, who greatly delights in his mitzvot.

2 His descendants will be powerful on earth, a blessed generation of upright people.

3 Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness stands forever.

4 To the upright he shines like a light in the dark, merciful, compassionate and righteous.

5 Things go well with the person who is merciful and lends, who conducts his affairs with fairness;

6 for he will never be moved. The righteous will be remembered forever.

7 He will not be frightened by bad news; he remains steady, trusting in ADONAI.

8 His heart is set firm, he will not be afraid, till finally he looks in triumph at his enemies.

9 He distributes freely, he gives to the poor; his righteousness stands forever. His power will be increased honorably.

10 The wicked will be angry when they see this; they will gnash their teeth and waste away, the desires of the wicked will come to nothing.

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Today's Bible Reading

October 22

1 Thessalonians 2:1-16; Isaiah 14-16; Psalm 113 CJB

1 Thessalonians 2:1-16

1 You yourselves know, brothers, that our visit to you was not fruitless.

2 On the contrary, although we had already suffered and been outraged in Philippi, as you know, we had the courage, united with our God, to tell you the Good News even under great pressure.

3 For the appeal we make does not flow from error or from impure motives, neither do we try to trick people.

4 Instead, since God has tested us and found us fit to be entrusted with Good News, this is how we speak: not to win favor with people but with God, who tests our hearts.

5 For, as you know, never did we employ flattering talk, nor did we put on a false front to mask greed - God is witness.

6 Nor did we seek human praise - either from you or from others.

7 As emissaries of the Messiah, we could have made our weight felt; but instead, we were gentle when we were with you, like a mother feeding and caring for her children.

8 We were so devoted to you that we were glad to share with you not only God's Good News but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us.

9 For you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship, how we worked night and day not to put a burden on any of you while we were proclaiming God's Good News to you.

10 You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless our behavior was in the sight of you believers;

11 for you know that we treated each one of you the way a father treats his children -

12 we encouraged you and comforted you and appealed to you to lead lives worthy of God, who calls you into his Kingdom and glory.

13 Another reason we regularly thank God is that when you heard the Word of God from us, you received it not merely as a human word, but as it truly is, God's Word, which is at work in you believers.

14 For, brothers, you came to be imitators of God's congregations in Y'hudah that are united with the Messiah Yeshua - you suffered the same things from your countrymen as they did from the Judeans who

15 both killed the Lord Yeshua and the prophets, and chased us out too. They are displeasing God and opposing all mankind

16 by trying to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles, so that they may be delivered. Their object seems to be always to make their sins as bad as possible! But God's fury will catch up with them in the end.

Isaiah 14

1 For ADONAI will have compassion on Ya'akov - he will once again choose Isra'el and resettle them in their own land, where foreigners will join them, attaching themselves to the house of Ya'akov.

2 Peoples will take and escort them to their homeland, and the house of Isra'el will possess them in the land of ADONAI as male and female slaves. They will take their captors captive and rule over their oppressors.

3 Then, when ADONAI gives you rest from your suffering and trouble and from the hard service imposed on you,

4 you will take up this taunt-song against the king of Bavel: "At last the oppressor is stilled, his arrogance is ended!

5 ADONAI has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers,

6 which furiously struck down peoples with unceasing blows, angrily beating down nations with relentless persecution.

7 The whole earth is at rest and quiet. They break into song.

8 The cypresses rejoice over you, with the cedars of the L'vanon - 'Now that you are laid low, no one comes to cut us down.'

9 "Sh'ol below is stirred up to meet you when you come. It awakens for you the ghosts of the dead who were leaders on earth; it makes all the kings of the nations arise from their thrones.

10 They all greet you with these words: 'Now you are as weak as we are, you have become like us!

11 Your pride has been brought down to Sh'ol with the music of your lyres, under you a mattress of maggots, over you a blanket of worms.'

12 "How did you come to fall from the heavens, morning star, son of the dawn? How did you come to be cut to the ground, conqueror of nations?

13 You thought to yourself, 'I will scale the heavens, I will raise my throne above God's stars. I will sit on the Mount of Assembly far away in the north.

14 I will rise past the tops of the clouds, I will make myself like the Most High.'

15 "Instead you are brought down to Sh'ol, to the uttermost depths of the pit.

16 Those who see you will stare at you, reflecting on what has become of you: 'Is this the man who shook the earth, who made kingdoms tremble,

17 who made the world a desert, who destroyed its cities, who would not set his prisoners free?'

18 "All other kings of the nations, all of them, lie in glory, each in his tomb.

19 But you are discarded, unburied, like a loathed branch, clothed like the slain who were pierced by the sword, then fall to the stones inside a pit, like a corpse to be trampled underfoot.

20 You will not be joined with those kings in the grave, because you destroyed your own land, you have brought death to your own people. The descendants of evildoers will be utterly forgotten.

21 Get ready to slaughter his sons for the iniquity of their fathers; so they won't arise, take over the earth and cover the world with their cities."

22 "I will arise against them," says ADONAI-Tzva'ot. "I will cut off from Bavel name and remnant, offshoot and offspring," says ADONAI.

23 "I will make it a haunt for hedgehogs, it will become a swampy waste, I will sweep it with the broom of destruction," says ADONAI-Tzva'ot.

24 ADONAI-Tzva'ot has sworn, "Just as I thought it, it will occur; just as I planned it, so it will be.

25 I will break Ashur in my land, I will trample him down on my mountains. Then his yoke will fall off them, his burden be removed from their shoulders."

26 This is the program planned for all the earth, this is the hand stretched out over all the nations.

27 ADONAI-Tzva'ot has made his decision. Who is there that can stop him? He has stretched out his hand. Who can turn it back?

28 In the year that King Achaz died, this prophecy came:

29 Do not rejoice, P'leshet, any of you, that the rod which struck you is broken; for out of the snake's root will come a viper, and his offspring will be a flying fiery serpent.

30 While the firstborn of the poor graze and the needy lie down in safety, I will kill off your root with famine and slaughter the rest of you.

31 Howl, gate! Cry, city! Melt away, P'leshet, all of you! For a smoke is coming from the north, with not a straggler in its ranks.

32 And what is one to answer the messengers of the nation? That ADONAI founded Tziyon, and there the poor of his people will find refuge.

Isaiah 15

1 This is a prophecy about Mo'av: The night 'Ar is sacked, Mo'av is ruined. The night Kir is sacked, Mo'av is ruined.

2 He went up to the temple, to Dibon and to the high places, to weep. On N'vo and Meidva Mo'av is howling, every head shaved bald, every beard cut off.

3 In the streets they wear sackcloth; on their roofs and in their squares, everyone howls and weeps profusely.

4 Heshbon and El'aleh cry out, they are heard as far as Yachatz. Mo'av's best troops cry aloud, as their courage faints away.

5 My heart cries out for Mo'av! Its fugitives flee to Tzo'ar, a calf three years old. They ascend the slope of Luchit, weeping as they go; on their way to Horonayim, they utter heartrending cries.

6 The waters of Nimrim are desolate, the grass is dried up, the new growth fails, nothing green is left.

7 Therefore they carry away their wealth, everything they have put aside, across the Vadi of the Willows.

8 For the cry has circulated throughout Mo'av's territory - its howling has reached Eglayim, its howling has reached Be'er-Elim.

9 For the waters of Dimon are full of blood, yet I have worse in store for Dimon - a lion for those who escape from Mo'av and for those who remain in its land.

Isaiah 16

1 Send lambs for the ruler of the land from the crags toward the desert to the mountain of the daughter of Tziyon.

2 The daughters of Mo'av at the fords of the Arnon are like fluttering birds pushed from the nest.

3 "Give [us] counsel! Decide [to help]! Make your shadow [over us] like night in the middle of noonday. Hide [our] outcasts! Don't betray [our] fugitives!

4 Let our outcasts live with you! Protect Mo'av from the attacks of robbers!" For when the extorting ends, the spoiling ceases, and those trampling on the land are destroyed,

5 a throne will be set up by grace, and on it, in the tent of David, will sit an honest judge, seeking justice and pursuing righteousness.

6 We have heard about Mo'av's pride, how very proud they are; about their haughty arrogance, their insolence and bravado.

7 Therefore Mo'av will wail for Mo'av - they will all wail! You will sigh, stricken by grief, for the raisin-cakes of Kir-Hareset.

8 For the grainfields of Heshbon are withering, also the vineyards of Sibmah, whose red grapes overpowered rulers of nations - once they reached as far as Ya'zer and trailed out into the desert; their spreading branches even crossed the sea.

9 Therefore I will weep for Sibmah's vine as I weep for Ya'zer; I will water you with my tears, Heshbon and El'aleh; because the shouts of battle are falling on your summer fruits and harvest;

10 gladness and joy are removed from the fruitful fields. No revelry in the vineyards, no happy shouting, no one treading grapes in the wine presses - I have silenced the vintage-cheers.

11 This is why my heart throbs like a lyre for Mo'av, and everything in me for Kir-Heres.

12 Even when Mo'av is seen growing weary of worshipping on the high places and entering their sanctuaries to pray, they will have accomplished nothing.

13 This is the word ADONAI spoke against Mo'av in the past.

14 But now ADONAI has said, "Within three years [and not a day more], as if a hired worker were keeping track of the time, the glory of Mo'av will be brought into contempt, despite its large population; and the surviving remnant will be few and feeble."

Psalm 113

1 Halleluyah! Servants of ADONAI, give praise! Give praise to the name of ADONAI!

2 Blessed be the name of ADONAI from this moment on and forever!

3 From sunrise until sunset ADONAI's name is to be praised.

4 ADONAI is high above all nations, his glory above the heavens.

5 Who is like ADONAI our God, seated in the heights,

6 humbling himself to look on heaven and on earth.

7 He raises the poor from the dust, lifts the needy from the rubbish heap,

8 in order to give him a place among princes, among the princes of his people.

9 He causes the childless woman to live at home happily as a mother of children. Halleluyah!

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Today's Bible Reading

October 23

1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:13; Isaiah 17-19; Psalm 114 CJB

1 Thessalonians 2:17-20

17 And as for us, brothers, when we were deprived of your company for a short time - in person, but not in thought - we missed you and tried hard to come and see you.

18 We wanted so much to come to you - I, Sha'ul, tried more than once - but the Adversary stopped us.

19 For when our Lord Yeshua returns, what will be our hope, our joy, our crown to boast about? Won't it be you?

20 Yes, you are our glory and our joy!

1 Thessalonians 3

1 So when we could no longer stand it, we agreed to be left in Athens alone

2 and sent Timothy, our brother and God's fellow worker for the Good News of the Messiah, to make you solid and encourage you in your trust;

3 so that none of you would let these persecutions unsettle him. For you yourselves know that these are bound to come to us;

4 even when we were with you, we kept telling you in advance that we were about to be persecuted; and indeed it has happened, as you know.

5 That is the reason why, after I could stand it no longer, I sent to find out about your trust. I was afraid that somehow the Tempter had tempted you, and our hard work had been wasted.

6 But now Timothy has come to us from you, bringing good news about your trust and love, and telling us that you remember us well and are always longing to see us, just as we long to see you.

7 Because of this, brothers, in spite of all our trouble and distress, we were comforted over you - because of your trust;

8 so that now we are alive; since you continue to stand fast, united with the Lord.

9 Indeed, how can we thank God enough for you or express to our God all the joy we feel because of you?

10 Night and day we pray as hard as we can that we will be able to see you face to face and supply whatever shortcomings there may be in your trust.

11 May God our Father and our Lord Yeshua direct our way to you.

12 And as for you, may the Lord make you increase and overflow in love toward each other, indeed, toward everyone, just as we do toward you;

13 so that he may give you the inner strength to be blameless, by reason of your holiness, when you stand before God our Father at the coming of our Lord Yeshua with all his angels.

Isaiah 17

1 This is a prophecy about Dammesek: "Dammesek will soon stop being a city; it will become a heap of ruins.

2 The cities of 'Aro'er will be abandoned, given over to flocks lying down undisturbed.

3 Efrayim will have no defenses, Dammesek will cease to rule, and Aram's survivors will share the fate of Isra'el's finest sons," says ADONAI-Tzva'ot.

4 "When that day comes, Ya'akov's glory will wane, and his full body grow thin,

5 as when the harvester collects the standing grain, reaping the ears of grain with his arm; yes, as when they glean the grain in the Refa'im Valley.

6 Yet gleanings will be left, as when beating an olive tree - two or three olives at the very top, four or five on its fruitful branches," says ADONAI, the God of Isra'el.

7 On that day, a person will heed his Maker and turn his eyes toward the Holy One of Isra'el.

8 He will pay no heed to the altars made with his own hands, he will not turn toward what his fingers made, the sacred poles and standing-stones for sun-worship.

9 When that day comes, his strong cities, which others abandoned when Isra'el advanced, will be like abandoned woods and forests; they will be laid waste.

10 For you have forgotten the God who saved you, failed to remember the Rock of your strength; so you plant pagan-style gardens and set out vine-cuttings for a foreign god.

11 Though you make them grow on the day you plant them, and in the morning your seedlings flower; the crop will vanish the day disease comes, a day of incurable pain.

12 Oh, the terror-stricken uproar of many peoples, roaring like the roar of the seas, and the rushing about of nations, rushing and surging like wild, wild waters!

13 Yes, the nations will roar like the mighty ocean, but he will rebuke them, and far will they flee, driven like chaff by a mountain wind, like whirling dust in advance of the storm.

14 As evening falls, you can see terror; before sunrise, they have ceased to be. This is the lot of those who plunder us, the fate of those who prey on us.

Isaiah 18

1 Woe to the land of whirring wings beyond the rivers of Ethiopia;

2 they send ambassadors by sea, across the water in papyrus-reed boats! Go, swift messengers, to a nation tall and bronzed, to a people feared far and near, to a strong and conquering nation whose land is divided by rivers!

3 All you inhabitants of the world, you who live on the earth: when a banner is hoisted on the mountains, look! When the shofar is blown, listen!

4 For ADONAI has said this to me: "I will look on from my place and do nothing, like heat shimmering in the sun, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest."

5 For before the harvest, when the flowering is over, and the bud becomes a ripening grape, he will cut off the branches with pruning-knives, lop off the twigs and take them away.

6 They will all be left to the vultures in the mountains and to the wild animals in the fields; the vultures will feed on them in summer, and the wild animals of the fields in winter.

7 At that time tribute will be brought to ADONAI-Tzva'ot from a nation tall and bronzed, from a people feared far and near, from a strong and conquering nation whose land is divided by rivers, to the place where the name of ADONAI-Tzva'ot lives, Mount Tziyon.

Isaiah 19

1 This is a prophecy about Egypt: Look! ADONAI is riding a swift cloud, on his way to Egypt. Before him Egypt's idols tremble, Egypt's courage melts within them.

2 "I will incite Egypt against Egypt, brother will fight against brother, friend against friend, city against city, kingdom against kingdom.

3 The courage of Egypt will ebb away within it, I will reduce its counsel to confusion. They will consult idols and mediums, ghosts and spirits.

4 I will hand over the Egyptians to a cruel master. A harsh king will rule them," says the Lord, ADONAI-Tzva'ot.

5 The water will ebb from the sea, the river will be drained dry.

6 The rivers will become foul, the canals of Egypt's Nile will dwindle and dry up, the reeds and rushes will wither.

7 The river-plants on the banks of the Nile and everything sown near the Nile will dry up, blow away and be no more.

8 Fishermen too will lament, all who cast hooks in the Nile will mourn, those who spread nets on the water lose heart.

9 The linen-workers will be in despair, along with the weavers of white cotton;

10 the spinners will be crushed, the hired workers dejected.

11 The princes of Tzo'an are utter fools, Pharaoh's wisest counselors give stupid advice. How can you say to Pharaoh, "I'm a sage, descended from kings of old."

12 Where are they, then, those sages of yours? Let them tell you, so all can know what ADONAI-Tzva'ot has planned against Egypt!

13 The princes of Tzo'an have been fooled, the princes of Nof have been duped, Egypt's clan chiefs have led her astray.

14 ADONAI has mixed up their minds with a spirit that distorts judgment, so they make Egypt stagger in whatever she does, like a drunk staggering in his vomit.

15 Nobody in Egypt will find work to do - neither head nor tail, neither [tall] palm frond nor [lowly] reed.

16 On that day Egypt will be like women trembling with fear, because ADONAI-Tzva'ot is shaking his fist at them.

17 Just mentioning the land of Y'hudah to the Egyptians will throw them into panic; they will be afraid because of what ADONAI-Tzva'ot has planned for them.

18 On that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Kena'an and swear loyalty to ADONAI-Tzva'ot; one of them will be called the City of Destruction.

19 On that day there will be an altar to ADONAI in the middle of the land of Egypt, as well as a standing-stone for ADONAI at its border.

20 It will be a sign and witness to ADONAI-Tzva'ot in the land of Egypt; so that when they cry out to ADONAI for help because of the oppressors, he will send them a savior to defend and rescue them.

21 ADONAI will make himself known to Egypt; on that day, the Egyptians will know ADONAI. They will worship him with sacrifices and offerings, they will make vows to ADONAI and keep them.

22 Yet ADONAI will strike Egypt, both striking and healing, so they will return to ADONAI. He will listen to their prayers, and he will heal them.

23 On that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Ashur. Ashur will come to Egypt and Egypt to Ashur, and Egypt will worship with Ashur.

24 On that day Isra'el will be a third partner with Egypt and Ashur, a blessing here on earth;

25 for ADONAI-Tzva'ot has blessed him: "Blessed be Egypt my people, Ashur the work of my hands and Isra'el my heritage." Hebrew 'ir haheres, parodying 'ir hacheres, "City of the Sun," i.e., Heliopolis

Psalm 114

1 When Isra'el came out of Egypt, the house of Ya'akov from a people of foreign speech,

2 Y'hudah became [God's] sanctuary, Isra'el his domain.

3 The sea saw this and fled; the Yarden turned back;

4 the mountains skipped like rams, the hills like young sheep.

5 Why is it, sea, that you flee? Why, Yarden, do you turn back?

6 Why, mountains, do you skip like rams; and you hills like young sheep?

7 Tremble, earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Ya'akov,

8 who turned the rock into a pool of water, flint into flowing spring.

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Today's Bible Reading

October 24

1 Thessalonians 4; Isaiah 20-22; Psalm 115 CJB

1 Thessalonians 4

1 Therefore, brothers, just as you learned from us how you had to live in order to please God, and just as you are living this way now, we ask you - indeed, united with the Lord Yeshua, we urge you - to keep doing so more and more.

2 For you know what instructions we gave you on the authority of the Lord Yeshua.

3 What God wants is that you be holy, that you keep away from sexual immorality,

4 that each of you know how to manage his sexual impulses in a holy and honorable manner,

5 without giving in to lustful desires, like the pagans who don't know God.

6 No one should wrong his brother in this matter or take advantage of him, because the Lord punishes all who do such things - as we have explained to you before at length.

7 For God did not call us to live an unclean life but a holy one.

8 Therefore, whoever rejects this teaching is rejecting not a man but God, indeed, the One who gives you the Ruach HaKodesh, which is his.

9 Concerning love for the brothers we do not need to write you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other;

10 and you do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do it even more.

11 Also, make it your ambition to live quietly, to mind your own business and to earn your living by your own efforts - just as we told you.

12 Then your daily life will gain the respect of outsiders, and you will not be dependent on anyone.

13 Now, brothers, we want you to know the truth about those who have died; otherwise, you might become sad the way other people

14 do who have nothing to hope for. For since we believe that Yeshua died and rose again, we also believe that in the same way God, through Yeshua, will take with him those who have died.

15 When we say this, we base it on the Lord's own word: we who remain alive when the Lord comes will certainly not take precedence over those who have died.

16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a rousing cry, with a call from one of the ruling angels, and with God's shofar; those who died united with the Messiah will be the first to rise;

17 then we who are left still alive will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and thus we will always be with the Lord.

18 So encourage each other with these words.

Isaiah 20

1 In the year that Sargon the king of Ashur sent his commander-in-chief to attack Ashdod, he captured it.

2 It was at that time that ADONAI, speaking through Yesha'yahu the son of Amotz, said, "Go and unwind the sackcloth from around your waist, and take your sandals off your feet." So he did it, going about unclothed and barefoot.

3 In time, ADONAI said, "Just as my servant Yesha'yahu has gone about unclothed and barefoot for three years as a sign and portent against Egypt and Ethiopia,

4 so will the king of Ashur lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Ethiopia, young and old, unclothed and barefoot, with their buttocks exposed, to the shame of Egypt.

5 They will be dismayed and ashamed because of Ethiopia their hope and Egypt their pride.

6 On that day, the people living along this coast will say, 'Look what happened to the people to whom we fled for help, hoping they would rescue us from the king of Ashur! How will we escape now?'"

Isaiah 21

1 A prophecy about the coastal desert: Like whirlwinds sweeping over the Negev, it comes from the desert, from a fearsome land.

2 A dire vision has been shown to me: the betrayer betrays, and the spoiler spoils. 'Eilam, advance! Madai, lay siege! I will end all groaning.

3 This is why my insides are racked with pain; I am seized by pangs, like a woman in labor; wrenched by what I hear, aghast at what I see.

4 My mind reels, shuddering assails me. The twilight I longed for terrifies me.

5 They set the table, light the lamps, eat and drink - "Get going, princes! Oil the shields!"

6 For this is what Adonai said to me: "Go, post a watchman to report what he sees!

7 If he sees the cavalry, horsemen in pairs, riders on donkeys, riders on camels, he must be on alert, on full alert!"

8 He calls out like a lion: "My lord, I stand on the watchtower all day long, I stay at my post all night."

9 Then, as they appeared - the cavalry, horsemen in pairs - he spoke these words: "She has fallen! She has fallen - Bavel! All the carved images of her gods lie shattered on the ground."

10 My people, who have been threshed, grain trodden down on my threshing-floor: I am telling you what I have heard from ADONAI-Tzva'ot, the God of Isra'el.

11 A prophecy about Dumah: Someone is calling to me from Se'ir: "Watchman, how much longer is it night? Watchman, how much longer is it night?"

12 The watchman answers: "Morning is coming, but also the night. If you want to ask, ask! Come back again!"

13 A prophecy about Arabia: You caravans of D'danim will camp in the desert growth of Arabia.

14 Bring water to the thirsty, you who live in Teima, greet the fugitives with food;

15 because they are fleeing the sword, the drawn sword, the bent bow and the press of battle.

16 For this is what Adonai has told me: "Within a year [and not a day more], as if a hired worker were keeping track of the time, the glory of Kedar will come to an end.

17 Few of Kedar's valiant archers will be left. " ADONAI the God of Isra'el has spoken.

Isaiah 22

1 A prophecy about the Valley of Vision: Tell me what is wrong with you, that you have all gone up on the roofs.

2 You city full of noise, confusion and boisterous excitement, your slain did not fall to the sword, nor did they die in battle.

3 All your leaders fled together and were captured without the use of a bow; all from you who were found were captured, even though they had fled far away.

4 This is why I said, "Don't look at me, leave me alone to weep bitterly, don't try to comfort me over the destruction of my people."

5 For it is a day of panic, trampling and confusion from Adonai ELOHIM-Tzva'ot in the Valley of Vision. With walls crashing down, they cry for help to the mountains.

6 'Eilam picks up the quivers, with cavalry and horsemen, and Kir uncovers the shields.

7 In time, your choicest valleys are overrun by chariots, and the cavalry take their posts by the gate;

8 thus is Y'hudah's protection removed. That day you looked for the armor in the House of the Forest.

9 You saw how many breaches there were in the City of David, you collected water from the lower pool,

10 you surveyed the houses in Yerushalayim, tearing some down to fortify the wall.

11 You also built a reservoir between the two walls for the water from the Old Pool; but you didn't look to Him who made these things; you had no respect for Him who fashioned them long ago.

12 That day Adonai ELOHIM-Tzva'ot called on you to weep and mourn, to shave your heads and wear sackcloth;

13 but instead, one sees joy and celebrating, killing of oxen, slaughtering of sheep, eating of meat, drinking of wine "Let's eat and drink now, because tomorrow we'll be dead!"

14 Then ADONAI-Tzva'ot revealed himself in my ears: "You will not atone for this iniquity until you die." This is what Adonai ELOHIM-Tzva'ot says.

15 Thus says Adonai ELOHIM-Tzva'ot: "Go and find that steward, Shevna, administrator of the palace, and ask him:

16 'What do you own here, and who gave you the right to cut yourself a tomb here? Why do you get such an eminent tomb? Why are you carving a resting-place for yourself in the rock?'"

17 Look, strong man! ADONAI is about to throw you out! He will grab you,

18 roll you up, and toss you around like a ball in the open country. There you will die, with your fancy chariots, you disgrace to your master's palace!

19 "I will remove you from your office, I will snatch you from your post.

20 When that day comes, I will summon my servant Elyakim the son of Hilkiyahu.

21 I will dress him in your robe, gird him with your sash of office, and invest him with your authority. He will be a father to the people living in Yerushalayim and to the house of Y'hudah.

22 I will place the key of David's house on his shoulder; no one will shut what he opens; no one will open what he shuts.

23 "I will fasten him firmly in place like a peg, so that he will become a seat of honor for his clan.

24 They will hang on him all the weight of his clan, descendants and offspring, as well as all the vessels of small capacity, from pitchers to cups.

25 When that day comes, the peg fastened firmly in place will give way; it will be cut down and fall, and the weight that was on it will be cut off." For ADONAI has said it.

Psalm 115

1 Not to us, ADONAI, not to us, but to your name give glory, because of your grace and truth.

2 Why should the nations ask, "Where is their God?"

3 Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.

4 Their idols are mere silver and gold, made by human hands.

5 They have mouths, but they can't speak; they have eyes, but they can't see;

6 they have ears, but they can't hear; they have noses, but they can't smell;

7 they have hands, but they can't feel; they have feet, but they can't walk; with their throats they can't make a sound.

8 The people who make them will become like them, along with everyone who trusts in them.

9 Isra'el, trust in ADONAI! He is their help and shield.

10 House of Aharon, trust in ADONAI! He is their help and shield.

11 You who fear ADONAI, trust in ADONAI! He is their help and shield.

12 ADONAI has kept us in mind, and he will bless. He will bless the house of Isra'el; he will bless the house of Aharon;

13 he will bless those who fear ADONAI, great and small alike.

14 May ADONAI increase your numbers, both yours and those of your children.

15 May you be blessed by ADONAI, the maker of heaven and earth.

16 Heaven belongs to ADONAI, but the earth he has given to humankind.

17 The dead can't praise ADONAI, not those who sink down into silence.

18 But we will bless ADONAI from now on and forever. Halleluyah!

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Today's Bible Reading

October 25

1 Thessalonians 5; Isaiah 23-24; Psalm 116 CJB

1 Thessalonians 5

1 But you have no need to have anything written to you, brothers, about the times and dates when this will happen;

2 because you yourselves well know that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

3 When people are saying, "Everything is so peaceful and secure," then destruction will suddenly come upon them, the way labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there is no way they will escape.

4 But you, brothers, are not in the dark, so that the Day should take you by surprise like a thief;

5 for you are all people who belong to the light, who belong to the day. We don't belong to the night or to darkness,

6 so let's not be asleep, like the rest are; on the contrary, let us stay alert and sober.

7 People who sleep, sleep at night; and people who get drunk, get drunk at night.

8 But since we belong to the day, let us stay sober, putting on trust and love as a breastplate and the hope of being delivered as a helmet. a

9 For God has not intended that we should experience his fury, but that we should gain deliverance through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah,

10 who died on our behalf so that whether we are alive or dead, we may live along with him.

11 Therefore, encourage each other, and build each other up - just as you are doing.

12 We ask you, brothers, to respect those who are working hard among you, those who are guiding you in the Lord and confronting you in order to help you change.

13 Treat them with the highest regard and love because of the work they are doing. Live at peace among yourselves;

14 but we urge you, brothers, to confront those who are lazy, your aim being to help them change, to encourage the timid, to assist the weak, and to be patient with everyone.

15 See that no one repays evil for evil; on the contrary, always try to do good to each other, indeed, to everyone.

16 Always be joyful.

17 Pray regularly.

18 In everything give thanks, for this is what God wants from you who are united with the Messiah Yeshua.

19 Don't quench the Spirit,

20 don't despise inspired messages.

21 But do test everything - hold onto what is good,

22 but keep away from every form of evil.

23 May the God of shalom make you completely holy - may your entire spirit, soul and body be kept blameless for the coming of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah.

24 The one calling you is faithful, and he will do it.

25 Brothers, keep praying for us.

26 Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.

27 I charge you in the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.

28 The grace of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah be with you.

Isaiah 23

1 A prophecy about Tzor: Howl, you "Tarshish" ships, because the harbor is destroyed! On returning from Kittim, they discover they cannot enter it.

2 Silence, you who live on the coast, you who have been enriched by the merchants of Tzidon crossing the sea.

3 By the great water the grain of Shichor, the harvest of the Nile, brought you profits. She was marketplace for the nations.

4 Shame, Tzidon, for the sea speaks; the fortress of the sea says, "I no longer have labor pains or bear children, yet I have raised neither boys nor girls.

5 When the report reaches Egypt, they will be in anguish at the fate of Tzor.

6 Cross over to Tarshish! Howl, you who live on the coast!

7 Is this your boisterous city, whose feet long ago in antiquity carried her off to found distant colonies?

8 Who planned this against Tzor, the city that once bestowed crowns, whose merchants are princes, whose traders are honored throughout the earth?

9 ADONAI-Tzva'ot planned it to break the pride of all the arrogant, to humiliate all those who are honored everywhere on earth.

10 People of Tarshish! Nothing restricts you now. You can flow freely over your land just like the Nile River.

11 He has stretched out his hand against the sea, he has shaken kingdoms; ADONAI has ordered that Kena'an's fortresses be destroyed.

12 He has said, "Exult no more, oppressed virgin daughter of Tzidon. Arise, cross to Kittim; even there you will find no rest."

13 Look at the land of the Kasdim! This was the people who did not exist when Ashur destined it for desert creatures. They erected their siege towers and tore down her palaces, so that it has been made a ruin.

14 Howl, you "Tarshish" ships, because your fortress is destroyed

15 When that day comes, Tzor will be forgotten for seventy years, the lifetime of a king. After seventy years, its fate will be the same as that of the prostitute in this song:

16 "Take a lyre, walk the city, you poor, forgotten whore! Play sweetly, sing all your songs, so that they will remember you!"

17 After seventy years are over ADONAI will remember Tzor. She will receive her wages again and prostitute herself to all the world's kingdoms on the face of the earth.

18 But her merchandise and profits will be dedicated to ADONAI; they will not be stored up or hoarded, because her profits will be for those living in ADONAI's presence, so that they can eat their fill and wear fine clothing.

Isaiah 24

1 Look! ADONAI is stripping and destroying the land, turning it upside down and scattering its inhabitants

2 cohen and commoner, slave and master, maid and mistress, buyer and seller, lender and borrower, creditor and debtor.

3 The land will be completely stripped, completely plundered, for ADONAI has spoken this word.

4 The land fades and withers, the world wilts and withers, the exalted of the land languish.

5 The land lies defiled under its inhabitants; because they have transgressed the teachings, changed the law and broken the everlasting covenant.

6 Therefore a curse is devouring the land, and its inhabitants are punished for their guilt. It is why those living there waste away, and the people left are few.

7 The new wine fails, the vines wilt, all the revelers sigh,

8 the happy sound of tambourines ceases, the shouts of merrymakers are stilled, the joy of the lyre ends.

9 They no longer sing as they drink their wine, strong liquor tastes bitter to those drinking it.

10 The city of chaos is shattered, every house closed up; no one can enter.

11 In the streets they are crying over the wine; all joy has faded, cheer has left the land.

12 In the city, only desolation, its gates are battered beyond repair.

13 Around the earth, among the peoples, it will be as when beating an olive tree, as when gleaning the grapes at the end of the harvest.

14 They lift their voices, singing for joy, shouting from the west to honor ADONAI.

15 So in the east, honor ADONAI ; in the coastlands, honor the name of ADONAI, the God of Isra'el.

16 From the farthest part of the earth we have heard them sing, "Glory to the Righteous One!" But, I say, I'm wasting away, I am wasting away! Woe to me! Traitors betray! Oh, how the traitors betray and betray!

17 Terror, pit and trap are upon you, you who are living on earth.

18 He who flees at the sound of terror will fall into the pit. He who climbs up out of the pit will be caught in the trap. For the windows above have been opened, and the earth's foundations shake.

19 The earth cracks and breaks open, the earth crumbles to pieces, the earth trembles and totters.

20 The earth staggers to and fro like a drunk, sways back and forth like a watchman's shelter; its transgression weighs heavy upon it; it will fall and not rise again.

21 When that day comes, ADONAI will punish the armies of the high heaven on high, and the kings of the earth here on earth.

22 They will be assembled like prisoners in a dungeon and shut up in prison to be punished many years.

23 Then the moon will be confused and the sun ashamed, for ADONAI-Tzva'ot will rule on Mount Tziyon and in Yerushalayim, with his glory manifest to the rulers of his people.

Psalm 116

1 I love that ADONAI heard my voice when I prayed;

2 because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.

3 The cords of death were all around me, Sh'ol's constrictions held me fast; I was finding only distress and anguish.

4 But I called on the name of ADONAI: "Please, ADONAI! Save me!"

5 ADONAI is merciful and righteous; yes, our God is compassionate.

6 ADONAI preserves the thoughtless; when I was brought low, he saved me.

7 My soul, return to your rest! For ADONAI has been generous toward you.

8 Yes, you have rescued me from death, my eyes from tears and my feet from falling.

9 I will go on walking in the presence of ADONAI in the lands of the living.

10 I will keep on trusting even when I say, "I am utterly miserable,"

11 even when, in my panic, I declare, "Everything human is deceptive."

12 How can I repay ADONAI for all his generous dealings with me?

13 I will raise the cup of salvation and call on the name of ADONAI.

14 I will pay my vows to ADONAI in the presence of all his people.

15 From ADONAI's point of view, the death of those faithful to him is costly.

16 Oh, ADONAI! I am your slave; I am your slave, the son of your slave-girl; you have removed my fetters.

17 I will offer a sacrifice of thanks to you and will call on the name of ADONAI.

18 I will pay my vows to ADONAI in the presence of all his people,

19 in the courtyards of ADONAI's house, there in your very heart, Yerushalayim. Halleluyah!

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Today's Bible Reading

October 26

2 Thessalonians 1; Isaiah 25-26; Psalm 117 CJB

2 Thessalonians 1

1 From: Sha'ul, Sila and Timothy To: The Messianic Community of the Thessalonians, united with God our Father and the Lord Yeshua the Messiah:

2 Grace to you and shalom from God the Father and the Lord Yeshua the Messiah.

3 We have to keep thanking God for you always, brothers, as is appropriate; because your trust continues to grow greater, and the love you each have for one another continues to increase.

4 Therefore, we boast about you in the congregations of God because of your perseverance and trust in all the persecutions and troubles you are going through.

5 This is clear evidence that God's judgment is just; and as a result, you will be counted worthy of the Kingdom of God for which you are suffering.

6 For it is justice for God to pay back trouble to those who are troubling you,

7 and to give rest along with us to you who are being troubled, when the Lord Yeshua is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels

8 in a fiery flame. Then he will punish those who don't know God,a that is, those who don't listen to the Good News of our Lord Yeshua and obey it.

9 They will suffer the just penalty of eternal

10 Ondestruction, far away from the face of the Lord and the glory of his might. that Day, when he comes to be glorified by his holy people and admired by all who have trusted, you will be among them, because you trusted our witness to you.

11 With this in view, we always pray for you that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill by his power every good purpose of yours and every action stemming from your trust.

12 In this way, the name of our Lord Yeshua will be glorified in you, and you in him, in accordance with the grace of our God and the Lord Yeshua the Messiah.

Isaiah 25

1 ADONAI, you are my God. I exalt you, I praise your name. For you have accomplished marvels, [fulfilled] ancient plans faithfully and truly.

2 For you have made a city a heap of stones, turned a fortified city into rubble, made the foreigners' fortress a city that will never be rebuilt.

3 Therefore mighty peoples glorify you, the city of ruthless nations fears you.

4 For you have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in distress, shelter from the storm, shade from the heat for the blast from the ruthless was like a storm that could destroy a wall.

5 Like desert heat, you subdue the foreigners' uproar; like heat subdued by a cloud's shadow, the song of the ruthless dies away.

6 On this mountain ADONAI-Tzva'ot will make for all peoples a feast of rich food and superb wines, delicious, rich food and superb, elegant wines.

7 On this mountain he will destroy the veil which covers the face of all peoples, the veil enshrouding all the nations.

8 He will swallow up death forever. Adonai ELOHIM will wipe away the tears from every face, and he will remove from all the earth the disgrace his people suffer. For ADONAI has spoken.

9 On that day they will say, "See! This is our God! We waited for him to save us. This is ADONAI ; we put our hope in him. We are full of joy, so glad he saved us!"

10 For on this mountain the hand of ADONAI will rest. But Mo'av will be trampled down where they are, like straw trampled into a pile of manure.

11 They will spread out their hands in Mo'av, like a swimmer using his hands to tread water; but their pride will be humbled and sunk, no matter how clever the strokes of their hands.

12 Your high, fortified walls he will level, strike to the ground, lay in the dust.

Isaiah 26

1 On that day this song will be sung in the land of Y'hudah: "We have a strong city! He has built walls and ramparts for our safety.

2 Open the gates! Let the righteous nation enter, a nation that keeps faith!

3 "A person whose desire rests on you you preserve in perfect peace, because he trusts in you.

4 Trust in ADONAI forever, because in Yah ADONAI, is a Rock of Ages."

5 For he has humbled those in high places, levelling the lofty city, levelling it to the ground, laying it in the dust.

6 It is trampled underfoot by the feet of the poor, by the footsteps of the needy.

7 The way of the righteous is level; Righteous One, you smooth the path for the righteous.

8 Following the way of your judgments, we put our hope in you. The desire of all our soul is to remember you and your name.

9 My soul desires you at night, my spirit in me seeks you at dawn; for when your judgments are here on earth, the people in the world learn what righteousness is.

10 Even if pity is shown to the wicked, he still doesn't learn what righteousness is. In a land of uprightness he will still act wrongly and fail to see the majesty of ADONAI.

11 ADONAI, you raised your hand, but they still didn't see. Yet with shame they will see your zeal for the people. Yes, fire will destroy your enemies.

12 ADONAI, you will grant us peace; because all we have done, you have done for us.

13 ADONAI our God, other lords besides you have ruled us, but only you do we invoke by name.

14 The dead will not live again, the ghosts will not rise again; for you punished and destroyed them, wiped out all memory of them.

15 You enlarged the nation, ADONAI, you enlarged the nation; and thus you glorified yourself; you extended all the frontiers of the country.

16 ADONAI, when they were troubled, they sought you. When you chastened them, they poured out a silent prayer.

17 As a pregnant woman about to give birth cries out and writhes in her labor pains, so we have been at your presence, ADONAI

18 we have been pregnant and been in pain. But we, as it were, have given birth to wind; we have not brought salvation to the land, and those inhabiting the world have not come to life.

19 Your dead will live, my corpses will rise; awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust; for your dew is like the morning dew, and the earth will bring the ghosts to life.

20 Come, my people, enter your rooms, and shut your doors behind you. Hide yourselves for a little while until the wrath is past.

21 For see! ADONAI emerges from his place to punish those on earth for their sin. Then the earth will reveal the blood shed on it and no longer conceal its slain.

Psalm 117:1-29

1 Praise ADONAI, all you nations! Worship him, all you peoples!

2 For his grace has overcome us, and ADONAI's truth continues forever. Halleluyah!

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Today's Bible Reading

October 27

2 Thessalonians 2; Isaiah 27-28; Psalm 118 CJB

2 Thessalonians 2

1 But in connection with the coming of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah and our gathering together to meet him, we ask you, brothers,

2 not to be easily shaken in your thinking or anxious because of a spirit or a spoken message or a letter supposedly from us claiming that the Day of the Lord has already come.

3 Don't let anyone deceive you in any way. For the Day will not come until after the Apostasy has come and the man who separates himself from Torah has been revealed, the one destined for doom.

4 He will oppose himself to everything that people call a god or make an object of worship; he will put himself above them all, so that he will sit in the Temple of God and proclaim that he himself is God.

5 Don't you remember that when I was still with you, I used to tell you these things?

6 And now you know what is restraining, so that he may be revealed in his own time.

7 For already this separating from Torah is at work secretly, but it will be secretly only until he who is restraining is out of the way.

8 Then the one who embodies separation from Torah will be revealed, the one whom the Lord Yeshua will slay with the breath of his mouthd and destroy by the glory of his coming.

9 When this man who avoids Torah comes, the Adversary will give him the power to work all kinds of false miracles, signs and wonders.

10 He will enable him to deceive, in all kinds of wicked ways, those who are headed for destruction because they would not receive the love of the truth that could have saved them.

11 This is why God is causing them to go astray, so that they will believe the Lie.

12 The result will be that all who have not believed the truth, but have taken their pleasure in wickedness, will be condemned.

13 But we have to keep thanking God for you always, brothers whom the Lord loves, because God chose you as firstfruits for deliverance by giving you the holiness that has its origin in the Spirit and the faithfulness that has its origin in the truth.

14 He called you to this through our Good News, so that you could have the glory of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah.

15 Therefore, brothers, stand firm; and hold to the traditions you were taught by us, whether we spoke them or wrote them in a letter.

16 And may our Lord Yeshua the Messiah himself and God our Father, who has loved us and by his grace given us eternal comfort and a good hope,

17 comfort your hearts and strengthen you in every good word and deed.

Isaiah 27

1 On that day ADONAI, with his great, strong, relentless sword, will punish Livyatan the fleeing serpent, the twisting serpent Livyatan; he will slay the sea monster.

2 On that day, a pleasant vineyard - sing about it!

3 "I, ADONAI, guard it. Moment to moment I water it. So that no harm will come to it, I guard it night and day.

4 I have no anger in me. If it gives me briars and thorns, then, as in war, I will trample it down and burn it up at once;

5 unless it takes hold of my strength, in order to make peace with me, yes, to make peace with me."

6 The time is coming when Ya'akov will take root; Isra'el will bud and flower, and fill the whole world with a harvest.

7 [ADONAI] will not strike Isra'el, as he did others who struck Isra'el; he will not kill them, as he did the others.

8 Your controversy with her is fully resolved by sending her [into exile]. He removes her with a rough gust of wind on a day when it's blowing from the east.

9 So the iniquity of Ya'akov is atoned for by this, and removing his sin produces this result: he chops up all the altar stones like chalk - sacred poles and sun-pillars stand no more.

10 For the fortified city is alone, abandoned and deserted, like the desert. Calves graze and lie down there, stripping its branches bare.

11 When its harvest dries up, it is broken off; women come and set it on fire. For this is a people without understanding. Therefore he who made them will not pity them, he who formed them will show them no mercy.

12 On that day ADONAI will beat out the grain between the Euphrates River and the Vadi of Egypt; and you will be gathered, one by one, people of Isra'el!

13 On that day a great shofar will sound. Those lost in the land of Ashur will come, also those scattered through the land of Egypt; and they will worship ADONAI on the holy mountain in Yerushalayim.

Isaiah 28

1 Woe to the haughty crown of Efrayim's drunks, to the fading flower of its proud splendor, located at the head of the rich valley belonging to people overcome by wine!

2 Adonai has someone strong and powerful. He comes like a hailstorm, a destructive tempest, like a flood of water, rushing, overwhelming; with his hand he hurls them to the ground.

3 The haughty crown of Efrayim's drunks is trampled underfoot;

4 and the fading flower of its proud splendor, located at the head of the rich valley, is like the first ripe fig of summer whoever sees it picks and eats it.

5 On that day, ADONAI-Tzva'ot will be a glorious crown, a brilliant diadem for the remnant of his people.

6 He will also be a spirit of justice for whoever sits as a judge, and a source of strength for those repelling enemy attacks at the gate.

7 But there are others reeling from wine, staggering about because of strong liquor; cohen and prophet reel from strong liquor, they are confused by wine. Led astray by strong liquor, they err in their visions and stumble when judging.

8 All tables are covered with vomit and feces, not a single place is clean.

9 Can no one be taught anything? Can no one understand the message? Must one teach barely weaned toddlers, babies just taken from the breast,

10 so that [one has to use nursery rhymes]? Tzav la-tzav, tzav la-tzav, kav la-kav, kav la-kav z'eir sham, z'eir sham [Precept by precept, precept by precept, line by line, line by line, a little here, a little there].

11 So with stammering lips, in a foreign accent, [ADONAI] will speak to this people.

12 He once told this people, "It's time to rest, the exhausted can rest, now you can relax" - but they wouldn't listen.

13 So now the word of ADONAI for them comes "precept by precept, precept by precept, line by line, line by line, a little here, a little there," so that when they walk, they stumble backward, and are broken, trapped and captured!

14 So listen to the word of ADONAI, you scoffers, composing taunts for this people in Yerushalayim:

15 Because you said, "We made a covenant with death, we made a contract with Sh'ol. When the raging flood passes through, it will not touch us. For we have made lies our refuge and hid ourselves in falsehoods"

16 therefore here is what Adonai ELOHIM says: "Look, I am laying in Tziyon a tested stone, a costly cornerstone, a firm foundation-stone; he who trusts will not rush here and there.

17 I will make justice the plumbline and righteousness the plumb-bob; hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, water will overflow the hiding place,

18 your covenant with death will be annulled, and your contract with Sh'ol will not stand. When the raging flood passes through, you will be trampled down by it.

19 As often as it passes through, it will take you, for it will pass through every morning, day after day, night after night; understanding the message will be sheer terror."

20 For, [as the saying goes,] "The bed is too short for a person to stretch, and the blanket too narrow [to protect him from cold] even if he crams himself in."

21 For ADONAI will arise, as at Mount P'ratzim, and storm with rage, as in the Giv'on Valley; so he can do his deed, his strange deed, and perform his task, his alien task.

22 Therefore, now, stop your scoffing, or your bonds will be further tightened; for I have heard from Adonai ELOHIM-Tzva'ot that destruction is decreed for the whole land.

23 Listen and hear my voice; pay attention, and hear what I say:

24 Does a farmer sowing keep plowing forever? Does he never stop breaking up and harrowing his land?

25 No - when he finishes levelling it, he scatters his dill-seed, sows his cumin, puts wheat in rows, barley where it belongs, and plants buckwheat around the edges;

26 because his God has taught him this, has given him instruction.

27 Dill must not be threshed with a sledge or cartwheels driven over cumin; rather, dill one beats with a stick and cumin with a flail.

28 When crushing grain for bread, one doesn't thresh it forever; one drives the horse and cart wheels over it but doesn't crush it to powder.

29 This too comes from ADONAI-Tzva'ot - his counsel is wonderful, his wisdom great.

Psalm 118

1 Give thanks to ADONAI; for he is good, for his grace continues forever.

2 Now let Isra'el say, "His grace continues forever."

3 Now let the house of Aharon say, "His grace continues forever."

4 Now let those who fear ADONAI say, "His grace continues forever."

5 From my being hemmed in I called on Yah; he answered and gave me more room.

6 With ADONAI on my side, I fear nothing -what can human beings do to me?

7 With ADONAI on my side as my help, I will look with triumph at those who hate me.

8 It is better to take refuge in ADONAI than to trust in human beings;

9 better to take refuge in ADONAI than to put one's trust in princes.

10 The nations all surrounded me; in the name of ADONAI I cut them down.

11 They surrounded me on every side in the name of ADONAI I cut them down.

12 They surrounded me like bees but were extinguished [as quickly] as a fire in thorns; in the name of ADONAI I cut them down.

13 You pushed me hard to make me fall, but ADONAI helped me.

14 Yah is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.

15 The sound of rejoicing and victory is heard in the tents of the righteous: "ADONAI's right hand struck powerfully!

16 ADONAI's right hand is raised in triumph! ADONAI's right hand struck powerfully!"

17 I will not die; no, I will live and proclaim the great deeds of Yah!

18 Yah disciplined me severely, but did not hand me over to death.

19 Open the gates of righteousness for me; I will enter them and thank Yah.

20 This is the gate of ADONAI; the righteous can enter it.

21 I am thanking you because you answered me; you became my salvation.

22 The very rock that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone!

23 This has come from ADONAI, and in our eyes it is amazing.

24 This is the day ADONAI has made, a day for us to rejoice and be glad.

25 Please, ADONAI! Save us! Please, ADONAI! Rescue us!

26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of ADONAI. We bless you from the house of ADONAI.

27 ADONAI is God, and he gives us light. Join in the pilgrim festival with branches all the way to the horns of the altar.

28 You are my God, and I thank you. You are my God; I exalt you.

29 Give thanks to ADONAI; for he is good, for his grace continues forever.