Day 357 reading

Wisdom·Proverbs 29:9–17

⁹If a wise man goes to court with a fool, there will be raving and laughing with no resolution. ¹⁰Men of bloodshed hate a blameless man, but the upright care for his life. ¹¹A fool vents all his anger, but a wise man holds it back. ¹²If a ruler listens to lies, all his officials will be wicked. ¹³The poor man and the oppressor have this in common: The LORD gives light to the eyes of both. ¹⁴A king who judges the poor with fairness— his throne will be established forever. ¹⁵A rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother. ¹⁶When the wicked thrive, rebellion increases; but the righteous will see their downfall. ¹⁷Discipline your son, and he will give you rest; he will bring delight to your soul.

New Testament·Revelation 13

¹Then I saw a beast with ten horns and seven heads rising out of the sea. There were ten royal crowns on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. ²The beast I saw was like a leopard, with the feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. ³One of the heads of the beast appeared to be mortally wounded. But the mortal wound was healed, and the whole world marveled and followed the beast. ⁴They worshiped the dragon who had given authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can wage war against it?” ⁵The beast was given a mouth to speak arrogant and blasphemous words, and authority to act for 42 months. ⁶And the beast opened its mouth to speak blasphemies against God and to slander His name and His tabernacle—those who dwell in heaven. ⁷Then the beast was permitted to wage war against the saints and to conquer them, and it was given authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation. ⁸And all who dwell on the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written from the foundation of the world in the Book of Life belonging to the Lamb who was slain. ⁹He who has an ear, let him hear: ¹⁰“If anyone is destined for captivity, into captivity he will go; if anyone is to die by the sword, by the sword he must be killed.” Here is a call for the perseverance and faith of the saints. ¹¹Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. This beast had two horns like a lamb, but spoke like a dragon. ¹²And this beast exercised all the authority of the first beast and caused the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose mortal wound had been healed. ¹³And the second beast performed great signs to cause even fire from heaven to come down to earth in the presence of the people. ¹⁴Because of the signs it was given to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived those who dwell on the earth, telling them to make an image to the beast that had been wounded by the sword and yet had lived. ¹⁵The second beast was permitted to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship it to be killed. ¹⁶And the second beast required all people small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, ¹⁷so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark—the name of the beast or the number of its name. ¹⁸Here is a call for wisdom: Let the one who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and that number is 666.

Old Testament·Micah 7; Nahum 1–2

¹Woe is me! For I am like one gathering summer fruit at the gleaning of the vineyard; there is no cluster to eat, no early fig that I crave. ²The godly man has perished from the earth; there is no one upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; they hunt one another with a net. ³Both hands are skilled at evil; the prince and the judge demand a bribe. When the powerful utters his evil desire, they all conspire together. ⁴The best of them is like a brier; the most upright is sharper than a hedge of thorns. The day for your watchmen has come, the day of your visitation. Now is the time of their confusion. ⁵Do not rely on a friend; do not trust in a companion. Seal the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your arms. ⁶For a son dishonors his father, a daughter rises against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. A man’s enemies are the members of his own household. ⁷But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me. ⁸Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will arise; though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light. ⁹Because I have sinned against Him, I must endure the rage of the LORD, until He argues my case and executes justice for me. He will bring me into the light; I will see His righteousness. ¹⁰Then my enemy will see and will be covered with shame— she who said to me, “Where is the LORD your God?” My eyes will see her; at that time she will be trampled like mud in the streets. ¹¹The day for rebuilding your walls will come— the day for extending your boundary. ¹²On that day they will come to you from Assyria and the cities of Egypt, even from Egypt to the Euphrates, from sea to sea and mountain to mountain. ¹³Then the earth will become desolate because of its inhabitants, as the fruit of their deeds. ¹⁴Shepherd with Your staff Your people, the flock of Your inheritance. They live alone in a woodland, surrounded by pastures. Let them graze in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old. ¹⁵As in the days when you came out of Egypt, I will show My wonders. ¹⁶Nations will see and be ashamed, deprived of all their might. They will put their hands over their mouths, and their ears will become deaf. ¹⁷They will lick the dust like a snake, like reptiles slithering on the ground. They will crawl from their holes in the presence of the LORD our God; they will tremble in fear of You. ¹⁸Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance— who does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in loving devotion? ¹⁹He will again have compassion on us; He will vanquish our iniquities. You will cast out all our sins into the depths of the sea. ²⁰You will show faithfulness to Jacob and loving devotion to Abraham, as You swore to our fathers from the days of old.

1This is the burden against Nineveh, the book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite: ²The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD is avenging and full of wrath. The LORD takes vengeance on His foes and reserves wrath for His enemies. ³The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; the LORD will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. His path is in the whirlwind and storm, and clouds are the dust beneath His feet. ⁴He rebukes the sea and dries it up; He makes all the rivers run dry. Bashan and Carmel wither, and the flower of Lebanon wilts. ⁵The mountains quake before Him, and the hills melt away; the earth trembles at His presence— the world and all its dwellers. ⁶Who can withstand His indignation? Who can endure His burning anger? His wrath is poured out like fire; even rocks are shattered before Him. ⁷The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of distress; He cares for those who trust in Him. ⁸But with an overwhelming flood He will make an end of Nineveh and pursue His enemies into darkness. ⁹Whatever you plot against the LORD, He will bring to an end. Affliction will not rise up a second time. ¹⁰For they will be entangled as with thorns and consumed like the drink of a drunkard— like stubble that is fully dry. ¹¹From you, O Nineveh, comes forth a plotter of evil against the LORD, a counselor of wickedness. ¹²This is what the LORD says: “Though they are allied and numerous, yet they will be cut down and pass away. Though I have afflicted you, O Judah, I will afflict you no longer. ¹³For I will now break their yoke from your neck and tear away your shackles.” ¹⁴The LORD has issued a command concerning you, O Nineveh: “There will be no descendants to carry on your name. I will cut off the carved image and cast idol from the house of your gods; I will prepare your grave, for you are contemptible.” ¹⁵Look to the mountains— the feet of one who brings good news, who proclaims peace! Celebrate your feasts, O Judah; fulfill your vows. For the wicked will never again march through you; they will be utterly cut off.

2One who scatters advances against you, O Nineveh. Guard the fortress! Watch the road! Brace yourselves! Summon all your strength! ²For the LORD will restore the splendor of Jacob like the splendor of Israel, though destroyers have laid them waste and ruined the branches of their vine. ³The shields of his mighty men are red; the valiant warriors are dressed in scarlet. The fittings of the chariots flash like fire on the day they are prepared, and the spears of cypress have been brandished. ⁴The chariots dash through the streets; they rush around the plazas, appearing like torches, darting about like lightning. ⁵He summons his nobles; they stumble as they advance. They race to its wall; the protective shield is set in place. ⁶The river gates are thrown open and the palace collapses. ⁷It is decreed that the city be exiled and carried away; her maidservants moan like doves, and beat upon their breasts. ⁸Nineveh has been like a pool of water throughout her days, but now it is draining away. “Stop! Stop!” they cry, but no one turns back. ⁹“Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold!” There is no end to the treasure, an abundance of every precious thing. ¹⁰She is emptied! Yes, she is desolate and laid waste! Hearts melt, knees knock, bodies tremble, and every face grows pale! ¹¹Where is the lions’ lair or the feeding ground of the young lions, where the lion and lioness prowled with their cubs, with nothing to frighten them away? ¹²The lion mauled enough for its cubs and strangled prey for the lioness. It filled its dens with the kill, and its lairs with mauled prey. ¹³“Behold, I am against you,” declares the LORD of Hosts. “I will send your chariots up in smoke, and the sword will devour your young lions. I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voices of your messengers will no longer be heard.”