Ezekiel 36, 37
1 “As for you, son of man, prophesy over the mountains of Israel, and say to the mountains of Israel, ‘Hear the word of the Lord. 2 Thus says the Lord and Master: “Because the enemy said against you, ‘Good, well done! The ancient deserts have become ours as a possession;’ ” ’ 3 therefore, prophesy, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord and Master: “Because you were dishonored and hated by those all around you, so as to be a possession for the rest of the nations, and because you became a byword and were disgraced by the nations”— 4 therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord! Thus says the Lord to the mountains, the hills, the valleys, the brooks, the desert places, the desolated regions, and the abandoned cities, plundered and trampled underfoot by the nations that were left all around them— 5 therefore, thus says the Lord and Master: “Certainly in the fire of My anger, I have spoken against the rest of the nations and against all of Edom, because they gave My land to themselves as a possession with gladness, when they treated souls shamefully, so as to destroy them by plunder.’ ” 6 Therefore prophesy over the land of Israel, and say to the mountains, the hills, the valleys, and the wooded vales, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Behold, I have spoken in My jealousy and My anger, because you have borne the insults of the nations. 7 Therefore I shall raise My hand against the nations around you, and they will bear their disgrace.
8 “But My people will eat your grapes and fruit, O mountains of Israel, for they are drawing near to this time to come. 9 For behold, I am for you, and I will have regard for you, and you shall be tilled and sown. 10 I shall multiply people upon you, upon all the house of Israel to the end. The cities shall be inhabited, and the ruins shall be rebuilt. 11 I shall multiply people and cattle upon you, and they will increase and bear young. I shall make you inhabited as in your beginning, and treat you well as in your former times. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 12 Thus I will beget people upon you, My people Israel, and they shall inherit you. You shall be as a possession for them, and you will not be deprived of children anymore.” 13 Thus says the Lord and Master: “Because they say to you, ‘You devour people, O land, and thus you are bereaved of your nation’; 14 therefore, you shall no longer devour people, nor be bereaved of your nation anymore,” says the Lord and Master. 15 “No longer will the disgrace of the nations be heard among you, nor shall you bear the insults of the peoples anymore,” says the Lord and Master.’ ”
The Cleansing of Israel
16 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 17 “Son of man, the house of Israel dwelt upon their land, but they defiled it by their conduct and by their idols and uncleanness. Their conduct before me was like the uncleanness of a woman in her customary impurity. 18 Therefore I poured out My anger on them. 19 I scattered them among the nations and dispersed them as chaff into the countries. I judged them according to their conduct and their sins. 20 So when they came to the nations, wherever they went, they desecrated My holy name when they said, ‘These are the people of the Lord, and they have come out of His land.’ 21 But I spared them for the sake of My holy name, which the house of Israel desecrated among the nations wherever they went.
22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord: “I will not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for the sake of My holy name, which you desecrated among the nations wherever you went. 23 Thus I will sanctify My great name, desecrated among the nations, which you desecrated in their midst. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, when I am sanctified among you before their eyes. 24 For I will take you from among the nations, gather you from all the lands, and bring you into your land. 25 I shall sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be cleansed from all your uncleanness, and I will also cleanse you from all your idols. 26 I shall give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I shall take the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I shall put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My requirements, and you will keep My judgments and do them. 28 You will dwell in the land I gave to your fathers. You will be My people, and I shall be your God. 29 I shall save you from all your uncleanness; and I will call for the grain and multiply it, and bring no famine upon you. 30 I shall multiply the fruit of your trees and the produce of your fields, that you need never again bear the disgrace of famine among the nations. 31 Then you will remember your evil ways and your practices which were not good, and you shall be angry in your own sight for your lawlessness and your abominations. 32 Not for your sake will I do this,” says the Lord and Master. “As it shall become known to you, be ashamed and embarrassed of your ways, O house of Israel.”
33 ‘Thus says the Lord: “On the day in which I shall cleanse you from all your lawlessness, I shall also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the uninhabited regions will be rebuilt. 34 The land which was destroyed will be cultivated, because it will no longer be desolate in the sight of all who pass by. 35 Thus they will say, ‘That desolate land has become like a garden of luxury; and the wasted, desolate, and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’ 36 Then the nations yet remaining around you will know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt the ruined cities and planted what was desolate. I, the Lord, have spoken it and shall do it.”
37 ‘Thus says the Lord: “For this I shall be sought by the house of Israel, that I might establish and multiply their people like sheep. 38 As holy sheep, as the sheep of Jerusalem in her feasts, thus shall the desert cities be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”
Vision of the Dry Bones
1 Again the hand of the Lord came upon me, and brought me by the Spirit of the Lord, and set me in the midst of the plain, which was full of human bones. 2 So He led me round about them, and behold, there was a great multitude of bones on the face of the plain. They were very dry. 3 Then He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” So I answered, “O Lord, You know this.” 4 Then He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus says the Lord to these bones: “Behold, I will bring the Spirit of life upon you. 6 I will put muscles on you and bring flesh upon you. I will cover you with skin and put my Spirit into you. Then you shall live and know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”
7 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and it came to pass while I prophesied that, behold, there was a shaking, and the bones came together, each one to its joint. 8 So I looked, and behold, muscle and flesh grew upon them, and skin covered them over; but no breath was in them. 9 Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Come from the four winds and breathe upon these dead men; and let them live.” ’ ” 10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the Spirit entered into them; and they lived and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great assembly.
11 Again the Lord spoke to me, saying, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope has perished, and we are lost.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Behold, I will open your tombs, bring you up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. 13 Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I open your tombs to lead you, My people, up from their graves. 14 I will put My Spirit in you, and you will live; and I will place you in your own land. Then you will know that I am the Lord. I have spoken, and I will do it,” says the Lord.’ ”
One Nation and One King
15 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 16 “As for you, son of man, take a rod for yourself and write on it, ‘Judah and the sons of Israel devoted to him.’ Then take a second rod for yourself and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the rod of Ephraim, and all the sons of Israel added to him.’ 17 Then you shall join them to one another for yourself so as to form one rod, and they shall be in your hand.
18 “So it shall be, when the sons of your people speak to you, saying, ‘Will you not tell us what you mean by these?’— 19 then you will say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Behold, I will take the tribe of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, who are added to him, and I will give them to the tribe of Judah. They shall be one rod in the hand of Judah.’ ” 20 The rods on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes. 21 Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord and Master: “Behold, I will take the whole house of Israel from the midst of the nations where they went, and will gather them from every side, to bring them into the land of Israel. 22 I shall make them one nation in My land, even on the mountains of Israel, and there will be one Ruler over them. There will no longer be two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms anymore, 23 so as to defile themselves with their idols. For I will deliver them from all their lawlessness whereby they sinned, and will cleanse them. They will be to Me as a people, and I shall be to them as their God.
24 “My Servant David shall be the Ruler among them, and there will be one Shepherd of them all; for they will walk in My ordinances and observe My judgments, and do them. 25 Then they will dwell in their land which I gave Jacob My servant, where their fathers dwelt; and they will dwell upon it, and My servant David shall be their Ruler forever. 26 I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant, and I will establish My sanctuary in their midst forever. 27 My tabernacle shall be among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 28 Then the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them, when My sanctuary is among them forever.” ’ ”
Psalm 138:13–24
13 For You possess my heart, O Lord;
You took hold of me from my mother’s womb.
14 I will give thanks to You,
For I am fearfully and wondrously made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And my soul knows this very well.
15 My bone you made in secret was not hidden from You.
And my substance was in the lowest parts of the earth;
16 Your eyes saw me when I was unformed,
And all men shall be written in Your book;
They shall be formed day by day,
When as yet there were none among them.
17 Your friends, O God, became very honorable to me;
Their principalities became very strong;
18 I shall count them,
And they shall be multiplied more than the sand;
I awakened, and I am still with You.
19 If You should slay sinners, O God,
You would turn aside from me, O men of blood.
20 For You will say regarding their reasoning,
“They shall receive your cities in vain.”
21 Have I not hated those who hate You, O Lord?
And was I not wasting away because of Your enemies?
22 I hated them with perfect hatred;
They became my enemies.
23 Test me, O God, and know my heart;
Examine me, and know my paths,
24 And see if there is a lawless way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.
Proverbs 29:24–28
24 He who takes part with a thief hates his own soul,
And if, when an oath is set forth, those who hear it do not report it,
25 They are tripped up, because they fear and stand in awe of men;
But he who trusts in the Lord will rejoice.
26 Ungodliness causes a man to stumble,
But he who trusts in the Master shall be saved.
27 Many serve in the presence of leaders,
But righteousness comes to a man from the Lord.
28 An abomination to the righteous is an unrighteous man,
And the upright way is an abomination to the lawless.
Revelation 9
1 Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit.
2 And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit.
3 Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
4 They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.
5 And they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man.
6 In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them.
7 The shape of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle. On their heads were crowns of something like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men.
8 They had hair like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth.
9 And they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots with many horses running into battle.
10 They had tails like scorpions, and there were stings in their tails. Their power was to hurt men five months.
11 And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon.
12 One woe is past. Behold, still two more woes are coming after these things.
Sixth Trumpet: The Angels from the Euphrates
13 Then the sixth angel sounded: And I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14 saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.”
15 So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind.
16 Now the number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them.
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision: those who sat on them had breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow; and the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths came fire, smoke, and brimstone.
18 By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed—by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which came out of their mouths.
19 For their power is in their mouth and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents, having heads; and with them they do harm.
20 But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk.
21 And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.