Jonah 1
Jonah Flees from the Lord
1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,†
2 “Arise and go to Nineveh, the great city, and preach in it; for the cry of her wickedness has come up to me.”†
3 But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish, paid his fare, and boarded the ship to set sail with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.
4 But the Lord raised up a great wind upon the sea, and there came about a mighty tempest, and the ship was in danger of breaking up.
5 And the mariners were afraid and cried out, each one to his god. And they cast out the cargo of the ship into the sea, attempting to lighten the ship. But Jonah had gone below into the hold of the ship, had gone to sleep, and was snoring.†
6 The captain came to him and said, “Why are you snoring? Get up and call upon your God, that your God may keep us safe so we do not perish.”
7 And each one said to his shipmate, “Come! Let us cast lots and find out on whose account this calamity is upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.
8 Then they said to him, “Tell us, what is your occupation? Where do you come from and from what country and people are you?”
9 And he said to them, “I am a servant of the Lord, and I worship the Lord God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”†
10 Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, “What is this that you did?” For the men knew he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.
11 Then they said to him, “What should we do to you that the sea will calm itself for us?” For the sea continued to be tempestuous, and the waves rose up even higher. †
12 And Jonah said to them, “Take me up and cast me into the sea, and the sea will grow calm for you, for I know this great tempest is upon you because of me.”
13 And the men tried hard to return to the land, but were unable to do so, for the sea arose and grew even more tempestuous against them.
14 Then they cried out to the Lord and said, “Please, O Lord, do not let us perish on account of this man’s life, nor bring righteous blood upon us; for you, O Lord, have brought this about.”†
15 So they took up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging.
16 And the men feared the Lord even more, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and vowed vows.
Jonah 2
Jonah’s Song of Thanksgiving
1 Now the Lord commanded a huge sea creature to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the sea creature three days and three nights.†
2 And from the belly of the sea creature, Jonah prayed to the Lord his God,†
3 and said: “I cried out in my affliction to the Lord, my God, And He heard my voice; Out of the belly of Hades, You heard the cry of my voice.†
4 You cast me into the depths of the heart of the sea, And rivers encompassed me; All Your surging waters and Your waves passed over me.
5 And I said, ‘I have been driven away from Your sight; Shall I again look with favor toward Your holy temple?’†
6 Water is poured over me to my soul; The lowest depth encircled me; My head plunged into the clefts of the mountains.
7 I descended into the earth, The bars of which are everlasting barriers; Yet let my life ascend from corruption, O Lord, my God.
8 When my soul was failing from me, I remembered the Lord. May my prayer be brought to You, into Your holy temple.
9 Those who follow vanity and lies forsake their own mercy.
10 But with a voice of thanksgiving and praise, I will sacrifice to You. As much as I vowed, I shall offer up to You, To You, the Lord of Deliverance.Ӡ
11 Then the Lord commanded the sea creature, and it cast up Jonah onto the dry land.
Psalms 149
1 Alleluia. Sing to the Lord a new song, His praise in the assembly of His holy ones.
2 Let Israel be glad in Him who made him, And let the children of Zion greatly rejoice in their King.
3 Let them praise His name with dance; With tambourine and harp let them sing to Him;
4 For the Lord is pleased with His people, And He shall exalt the gentle with salvation.
5 The holy ones shall boast in glory, And they shall greatly rejoice on their beds;
6 The high praise of God shall be in their mouth And a two-edged sword in their hand,
7 To deal retribution to the nations, Reproving among the peoples,
8 To shackle their kings with chains And their nobles with fetters of iron,
9 To fulfill among them the written judgment: This glory have all His holy ones.
Proverbs of Solomon 31
21 She makes a double upper garment for her husband And garments of fine linen and purple for herself.
22 Her husband is respected at the gates And when he sits in council with the elders who inhabit the land.
23 She makes and sells fine linens And girdles to the Canaanites.
24 She opens her mouth carefully and lawfully And controls her tongue.
25 She clothes herself with strength and dignity And rejoices in the last days.
Revelation 21
A New Creation
1 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea.†
2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.†
3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.†
4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
5 Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”
6 And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.†
7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.
8 But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
The New Jerusalem
9 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.”†
10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,†
11 having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.
12 Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:†
13 three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west.
14 Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15 And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall.†
16 The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal.
17 Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel.
18 The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass.
19 The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald,
20 the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.
21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.
Healing of the Nations
22 But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.†
23 The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.†
24 And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.
25 Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there).
26 And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.
27 But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.