Ezekiel 47, 48
1 Then he brought me back to the outer door of the house, and there was water, flowing from under the open air of the chamber toward the east; and the water was flowing from under the right side court, from the south to the altar. 2 Then he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces east; and there was water coming down, running out on the right side, 3 in the direction in which a man went forth opposite. There was a measure in his hands, and he measured a thousand cubits with the measure; and he passed through the water. It was the water of remission. 4 Again he measured a thousand, and he passed through the water, and the water was up to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and the water came up to the waist. 5 Again he measured a thousand, and it could not be crossed; for it broke into a rushing torrent which man cannot pass through.
6 He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?” Then he led me to the bank of the river. 7 As I returned, behold, along the bank of the river there were very many trees on this side and the other. 8 Then he said to me, “This is the water that flows into Galilee, which is to the east. Then it goes down upon Arabia and reaches as far as the sea to the outlet of the water; and it will heal the waters. 9 So it shall be that every living thing that moves, wherever the river goes, will live. There will be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters go there; for they will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river goes. 10 Fishermen will stand by it from En Gedi to En Eglaim, and they will be places for spreading their nets. Their fish will be of the same kinds as the fish of the Great Sea, exceedingly many. 11 But in its outlets and turns and overflows, they will not be healed, for they will be given over to salt. 12 Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food. Their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.”
Boundaries of the Land
13 Thus says the Lord God: “These are the borders by which you shall divide the land as an inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel. It is a setting forth of allotments. 14 You shall inherit it equally with one another; for I raised My hand in an oath to give it to your fathers, and this land shall fall to you as your inheritance. 15 This shall be the border of the land on the north: from the Great Sea which goes down and the entrance which divides Emath Seddatha, 16 Berothah, Sebraim, Eliam (which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath), and the court of Saunan; these are above the borders of Auranitis. 17 These are the boundaries from the Sea, from the court of Enan, the borders of Damascus and those to the north. 18 On the east side you shall mark out the border from between Auran and Damascus, and between Gilead and the land of Israel, along the Jordan, which divides over along the eastern side of the sea which is to the east of Phoenicia. This is the east side. 19 The southern and southwestern coasts are from Teman and Phoenicia to the waters of Meribah by Kadesh to the Great Sea. This part is the south and southwest. 20 The west side shall be the Great Sea, from the southern boundary until one comes to a point opposite Hamath. This is the west side.
21 “Thus you shall divide this land among yourselves according to the tribes of Israel. 22 It shall be that you will divide it by lot as an inheritance for yourselves, and for the resident aliens who dwell among you, and who bear sons in the midst of you. They shall be to you as native-born among the sons of Israel, and they shall eat with you in the inheritance among the tribes of Israel. 23 It shall be that in whatever tribe the resident alien dwells, there you shall give him his inheritance,” says the Lord God.
Dividing the Land for the Tribes
1 “Now these are the names of the tribes: From the northern border of the descent which divides at the entrance of Hamath, the court of Enan, the border of Damascus northward, in the direction of Hamath, of the court, from its east to its west side, there shall be one section for Dan; 2 by the border of Dan, from the east side to the west, one section for Asher; 3 by the border of Asher, from the east side to the west, one section for Naphtali; 4 by the border of Naphtali, from the east side to the west, one section for Manasseh; 5 by the border of Manasseh, from the east side to the west, one section for Ephraim; 6 by the border of Ephraim, from the east side to the west, one section for Reuben; 7 by the border of Reuben, from the east side to the west, one section for Judah; 8 by the border of Judah, from the east side to the west, shall be the district which you shall set apart, twenty-five thousand cubits in width, and in length the same as one of the other portions, from the east side to the west, with the sanctuary in the center.
A District for the Lord
9 “The firstfruits, the district that you shall set apart for the Lord, shall be twenty-five thousand cubits in length and twenty-five thousand in width. 10 To these—to the priests—the holy district shall belong: on the north twenty-five thousand cubits in length, on the west ten thousand in width, on the east ten thousand in width, and on the south twenty-five thousand in length. The holy mountain shall be in the center. 11 It shall be for the priests of the sons of Zadok, who are sanctified, who keep My charge, who did not go astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites went astray. 12 The firstfruit shall be given to them from the firstfruits of the land, even a most holy portion from the borders of the Levites.
13 “Next to the territory of the priests, the Levites shall have an area twenty-five thousand cubits in length and ten thousand in width. Its entire length shall be twenty-five thousand and its width ten thousand. 14 They shall not sell or exchange any of it; neither shall they take away or remove the first produce of the land, for it is holy to the Lord.
15 “But the five thousand cubits in width that remain, along the edge of the twenty-five thousand, shall be for general use by the city, for habitation and common land; and the city shall be in the center. 16 These shall be its measurements: the north side, four thousand five hundred cubits; the south side, four thousand five hundred; the east side, four thousand five hundred; and the west side, four thousand five hundred. 17 There shall be common land for the city: to the north two hundred and fifty cubits, to the south two hundred and fifty, to the east two hundred and fifty, and to the west two hundred and fifty. 18 The rest of the length, alongside the district of the holy section, shall be ten thousand cubits to the east and ten thousand to the west. It shall be the firstfruits of the holy section, and its produce shall be food for the workers of the city. 19 The workers of the city, from all the tribes of Israel, shall cultivate it. 20 The entire firstfruits district shall be twenty-five thousand cubits by twenty-five thousand cubits, foursquare. You shall set apart the holy district from the property of the city.
21 “The rest shall belong to the prince, on one side and on the other of the holy district and of the city’s property, next to the twenty-five thousand cubits of the holy district as far as the eastern border, and westward next to the twenty-five thousand as far as the western border, adjacent to the tribal portions. It shall be the firstfruits of the holy district, and the sanctuary of the temple shall be in the midst of it. 22 Moreover, apart from the possession of the Levites and the possession of the city which are in the midst of what belongs to the leaders, the area between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin shall belong to the leaders.
23 “As for the rest of the tribes, from the east side to the west, Benjamin shall have one section; 24 by the border of Benjamin, from the east side to the west, Simeon shall have one section; 25 by the border of Simeon, from the east side to the west, Issachar shall have one section; 26 by the border of Issachar, from the east side to the west, Zebulun shall have one section; 27 by the border of Zebulun, from the east side to the west, Gad shall have one section; 28 by the borders of Gad, from the eastern parts to the southwestern parts, the borders shall be from Teman to the waters of Meribah by Kadesh, along the brook to the Great Sea. 29 This is the land you shall divide by lot as an inheritance among the tribes of Israel, and these are their divisions,” says the Lord God.
Exit Gates of the City
30 “These are the exits of the city. On the north side, measuring four thousand five hundred cubits 31 (the gates of the city shall be named after the tribes of Israel), the three gates northward: one gate for Reuben, one gate for Judah, and one gate for Levi; 32 on the east side, four thousand five hundred cubits, three gates: one gate for Joseph, one gate for Benjamin, and one gate for Dan; 33 on the south side, measuring four thousand five hundred cubits, three gates: one gate for Simeon, one gate for Issachar, and one gate for Zebulun; 34 on the west side, four thousand five hundred cubits with their three gates: one gate for Gad, one gate for Asher, and one gate for Naphtali. 35 The circumference shall be eighteen thousand cubits; and the name of the city from the day on which it takes place shall be its name.”
Psalm 143
1 By David; against Goliath.
Blessed is the Lord my God,
Who trains my hands for battle,
My fingers for war;
2 He is my mercy and my refuge,
My helper and my deliverer,
My protector in whom I hope,
Who subjects my people under me.
3 O Lord, what is man, that You are made known to him,
Or the son of man, that You consider him?
4 Man is become like vanity,
His days like a passing shadow.
5 O Lord, bow down Your heavens and descend;
Touch the mountains, and they shall smoke;
6 Flash lightning, and You shall scatter them;
Shoot Your arrows, and You shall trouble them.
7 Send forth Your hand from on high;
Deliver me and save me from great waters,
From the hand of the sons of foreigners,
8 Whose mouth speaks empty things,
And their right hand is the right hand of wrongdoing.
9 O God, I shall sing a new song to You;
I shall play to You on a harp of ten strings,
10 To Him who gives salvation to kings,
Who redeems David His servant from the evil sword.
11 Deliver me and save me from the hand of the sons of foreigners,
Whose mouth speaks empty things,
And their right hand is a right hand of wrongdoing,
12 Whose sons are like new plants
Matured in their youth,
Their daughters beautified,
Adorned like a temple;
13 Their storehouses are full,
Bursting forth with abundance on all sides;
Their sheep give many births,
Multiplying in their streets;
14 Their oxen are fat;
There is no gap in their fence or passage,
Nor outcry in their streets.
15 They call the people blessed, whose lot this is;
But rather, blessed is the people
Whose God is the Lord.
Proverbs 30:22–25
22 Such is the way of an adulterous woman,
Who, when she commits adultery, washes herself and says she did nothing wrong.
23 The earth is shaken by three things,
And is unable to bear a fourth:
24 If a servant reigns,
Or a man without discernment is satiated with food,
25 Or if a maidservant casts out her own mistress,
Or a hateful woman marries a good man.
Revelation 14
1 Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads.
2 And I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder. And I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps.
3 They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, and the elders; and no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth.
4 These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.
5 And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God.
The Proclamations of Three Angels
6 Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people—
7 saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.”
8 And another angel followed, saying, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.”
9 Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand,
10 “he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.
11 “And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”
12 Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
13 Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.”
Reaping the Earth’s Harvest
14 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle.
15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.”
16 So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.
Reaping the Grapes of Wrath
17 Then another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
18 And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire, and he cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe.”
19 So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
20 And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses’ bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs.