Day 358 reading

Wisdom·Proverbs 29:18–27

¹⁸Where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the Law. ¹⁹A servant cannot be corrected by words alone; though he understands, he will not respond. ²⁰Do you see a man who speaks in haste? There is more hope for a fool than for him. ²¹A servant pampered from his youth will bring grief in the end. ²²An angry man stirs up dissension, and a hot-tempered man abounds in transgression. ²³A man’s pride will bring him low, but a humble spirit will obtain honor. ²⁴A partner to a thief hates his own soul; he receives the oath, but does not testify. ²⁵The fear of man is a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is set securely on high. ²⁶Many seek the ruler’s favor, but a man receives justice from the LORD. ²⁷An unjust man is detestable to the righteous, and one whose way is upright is detestable to the wicked.

New Testament·Revelation 14

¹Then I looked and saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him 144,000 who had His name and His Father’s name written on their foreheads. ²And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of many waters and the loud rumbling of thunder. And the sound I heard was like harpists strumming their harps. ³And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. And no one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. ⁴These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they are virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They have been redeemed from among men as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. ⁵And no lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless. ⁶Then I saw another angel flying overhead, with the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation and tribe and tongue and people. ⁷And he said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come. Worship the One who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and the springs of waters.” ⁸Then a second angel followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, who has made all the nations drink the wine of the passion of her immorality.” ⁹And a third angel followed them, calling out in a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image, and receives its mark on his forehead or on his hand, ¹⁰he too will drink the wine of God’s anger, poured undiluted into the cup of His wrath. And he will be tormented in fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. ¹¹And the smoke of their torment rises forever and ever. Day and night there is no rest for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.” ¹²Here is a call for the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. ¹³And I heard a voice from heaven telling me to write, “Blessed are the dead—those who die in the Lord from this moment on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labors, for their deeds will follow them.” ¹⁴And I looked and saw a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was One like the Son of Man, with a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. ¹⁵Then another angel came out of the temple, crying out in a loud voice to the One seated on the cloud, “Swing Your sickle and reap, because the time has come to harvest; for the crop of the earth is ripe.” ¹⁶So the One seated on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested. ¹⁷Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. ¹⁸Still another angel, with authority over the fire, came from the altar and called out in a loud voice to the angel with the sharp sickle, “Swing your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the vine of the earth, because its grapes are ripe.” ¹⁹So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and gathered the grapes of the earth, and he threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath. ²⁰And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and the blood that flowed from it rose as high as the bridles of the horses for a distance of 1,600 stadia.

Old Testament·Nahum 3; Habakkuk 1–2

¹Woe to the city of blood, full of lies, full of plunder, never without prey. ²The crack of the whip, the rumble of the wheel, galloping horse and bounding chariot! ³Charging horseman, flashing sword, shining spear; heaps of slain, mounds of corpses, dead bodies without end— they stumble over their dead— ⁴because of the many harlotries of the harlot, the seductive mistress of sorcery, who betrays nations by her prostitution and clans by her witchcraft. ⁵“Behold, I am against you,” declares the LORD of Hosts. “I will lift your skirts over your face. I will show your nakedness to the nations and your shame to the kingdoms. ⁶I will pelt you with filth and treat you with contempt; I will make a spectacle of you. ⁷Then all who see you will recoil from you and say, ‘Nineveh is devastated; who will grieve for her?’ Where can I find comforters for you?” ⁸Are you better than Thebes, stationed by the Nile with water around her, whose rampart was the sea, whose wall was the water? ⁹Cush and Egypt were her boundless strength; Put and Libya were her allies. ¹⁰Yet she became an exile; she went into captivity. Her infants were dashed to pieces at the head of every street. They cast lots for her dignitaries, and all her nobles were bound in chains. ¹¹You too will become drunk; you will go into hiding and seek refuge from the enemy. ¹²All your fortresses are fig trees with the first ripe figs; when shaken, they fall into the mouth of the eater! ¹³Look at your troops— they are like your women! The gates of your land are wide open to your enemies; fire consumes their bars. ¹⁴Draw your water for the siege; strengthen your fortresses. Work the clay and tread the mortar; repair the brick kiln! ¹⁵There the fire will devour you; the sword will cut you down and consume you like a young locust. Make yourself many like the young locust; make yourself many like the swarming locust! ¹⁶You have multiplied your merchants more than the stars of the sky. The young locust strips the land and flies away. ¹⁷Your guards are like the swarming locust, and your scribes like clouds of locusts that settle on the walls on a cold day. When the sun rises, they fly away, and no one knows where. ¹⁸O king of Assyria, your shepherds slumber; your officers sleep. Your people are scattered on the mountains with no one to gather them. ¹⁹There is no healing for your injury; your wound is severe. All who hear the news of you applaud your downfall, for who has not experienced your constant cruelty?

1This is the burden that Habakkuk the prophet received in a vision: ²How long, O LORD, must I call for help but You do not hear, or cry out to You, “Violence!” but You do not save? ³Why do You make me see iniquity? Why do You tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me. Strife is ongoing, and conflict abounds. ⁴Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted. ⁵“Look at the nations and observe— be utterly astounded! For I am doing a work in your days that you would never believe even if someone told you. ⁶For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans — that ruthless and impetuous nation which marches through the breadth of the earth to seize dwellings not their own. ⁷They are dreaded and feared; from themselves they derive justice and sovereignty. ⁸Their horses are swifter than leopards, fiercer than wolves of the night. Their horsemen charge ahead, and their cavalry comes from afar. They fly like a vulture, swooping down to devour. ⁹All of them come bent on violence; their hordes advance like the east wind; they gather prisoners like sand. ¹⁰They scoff at kings and make rulers an object of scorn. They laugh at every fortress and build up siege ramps to seize it. ¹¹Then they sweep by like the wind and pass on through. They are guilty; their own strength is their god.” ¹²Are You not from everlasting, O LORD, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. O LORD, You have appointed them to execute judgment; O Rock, You have established them for correction. ¹³Your eyes are too pure to look upon evil, and You cannot tolerate wrongdoing. So why do You tolerate the faithless? Why are You silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves? ¹⁴You have made men like the fish of the sea, like creeping things that have no ruler. ¹⁵The foe pulls all of them up with a hook; he catches them in his dragnet, and gathers them in his fishing net; so he rejoices gladly. ¹⁶Therefore he sacrifices to his dragnet and burns incense to his fishing net, for by these things his portion is sumptuous and his food is rich. ¹⁷Will he, therefore, empty his net and continue to slay nations without mercy?

2I will stand at my guard post and station myself on the ramparts. I will watch to see what He will say to me, and how I should answer when corrected. ²Then the LORD answered me: “Write down this vision and clearly inscribe it on tablets, so that a herald may run with it. ³For the vision awaits an appointed time; it testifies of the end and does not lie. Though it lingers, wait for it, since it will surely come and will not delay. ⁴Look at the proud one; his soul is not upright — but the righteous will live by faith — ⁵and wealth indeed betrays him. He is an arrogant man never at rest. He enlarges his appetite like Sheol, and like Death, he is never satisfied. He gathers all the nations to himself and collects all the peoples as his own. ⁶Will not all of these take up a taunt against him, speaking with mockery and derision: ‘Woe to him who amasses what is not his and makes himself rich with many loans! How long will this go on?’ ⁷Will not your creditors suddenly arise and those who disturb you awaken? Then you will become their prey. ⁸Because you have plundered many nations, the remnant of the people will plunder you— because of your bloodshed against man and your violence against the land, the city, and all their dwellers. ⁹Woe to him who builds his house by unjust gain, to place his nest on high and escape the hand of disaster! ¹⁰You have plotted shame for your house by cutting off many peoples and forfeiting your life. ¹¹For the stones will cry out from the wall, and the rafters will echo it from the woodwork. ¹²Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed and establishes a town by iniquity! ¹³Is it not indeed from the LORD of Hosts that the labor of the people only feeds the fire, and the nations weary themselves in vain? ¹⁴For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. ¹⁵Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors, pouring it from the wineskin until they are drunk, in order to gaze at their nakedness! ¹⁶You will be filled with shame instead of glory. You too must drink and expose your uncircumcision! The cup in the LORD’s right hand will come around to you, and utter disgrace will cover your glory. ¹⁷For your violence against Lebanon will overwhelm you, and the destruction of animals will terrify you, because of your bloodshed against men and your violence against the land, the city, and all their dwellers. ¹⁸What use is an idol, that a craftsman should carve it— or an image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak. ¹⁹Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Awake!’ or to silent stone, ‘Arise!’ Can it give guidance? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, yet there is no breath in it at all.” ²⁰But the LORD is in His holy temple; let all the earth be silent before Him.