Day 359 reading

Wisdom·Proverbs 30:1–9

¹These are the words of Agur son of Jakeh—the burden that this man declared to Ithiel: “I am weary, O God, and worn out. ²Surely I am the most ignorant of men, and I lack the understanding of a man. ³I have not learned wisdom, and I have no knowledge of the Holy One. ⁴Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in His hands? Who has bound up the waters in His cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is the name of His Son— surely you know! ⁵Every word of God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. ⁶Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you and prove you a liar. ⁷Two things I ask of You— do not refuse me before I die: ⁸Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me. Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the bread that is my portion. ⁹Otherwise, I may have too much and deny You, saying, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, profaning the name of my God.

New Testament·Revelation 15–16

¹Then I saw another great and marvelous sign in heaven: seven angels with the seven final plagues, with which the wrath of God is completed. ²And I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, beside which stood those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name. They were holding harps from God, ³and they sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb: “Great and wonderful are Your works, O Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the nations! ⁴Who will not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before You, for Your righteous acts have been revealed.” ⁵After this I looked, and the temple—the tabernacle of the Testimony—was opened in heaven. ⁶And out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues, dressed in clean and bright linen and girded with golden sashes around their chests. ⁷Then one of the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever. ⁸And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power; and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.

16Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go, pour out on the earth the seven bowls of God’s wrath.” ²So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and loathsome, malignant sores broke out on those who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. ³And the second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it turned to blood like that of the dead, and every living thing in the sea died. ⁴And the third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and springs of water, and they turned to blood. ⁵And I heard the angel of the waters say: “Righteous are You, O Holy One, who is and was, because You have brought these judgments. ⁶For they have spilled the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink, as they deserve.” ⁷And I heard the altar reply: “Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are Your judgments.” ⁸Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was given power to scorch the people with fire. ⁹And the people were scorched by intense heat, and they cursed the name of God, who had authority over these plagues; yet they did not repent and give Him glory. ¹⁰And the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness, and men began to gnaw their tongues in anguish ¹¹and curse the God of heaven for their pains and sores; yet they did not repent of their deeds. ¹²And the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings of the East. ¹³And I saw three unclean spirits that looked like frogs coming out of the mouths of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet. ¹⁴These are demonic spirits that perform signs and go out to all the kings of the earth, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty. ¹⁵“Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who remains awake and clothed, so that he will not go naked and let his shame be exposed.” ¹⁶And they assembled the kings in the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. ¹⁷Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came from the throne in the temple, saying, “It is done!” ¹⁸And there were flashes of lightning, and rumblings, and peals of thunder, and a great earthquake the likes of which had not occurred since men were upon the earth—so mighty was the great quake. ¹⁹The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. And God remembered Babylon the great and gave her the cup of the wine of the fury of His wrath. ²⁰Then every island fled, and no mountain could be found. ²¹And great hailstones weighing almost a hundred pounds each rained down on them from above. And men cursed God for the plague of hail, because it was so horrendous.

Old Testament·Habakkuk 3; Zephaniah 1–2

¹This is a prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth: ²O LORD, I have heard the report of You; I stand in awe, O LORD, of Your deeds. Revive them in these years; make them known in these years. In Your wrath, remember mercy! ³God came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah His glory covered the heavens, and His praise filled the earth. ⁴His radiance was like the sunlight; rays flashed from His hand, where His power is hidden. ⁵Plague went before Him, and fever followed in His steps. ⁶He stood and measured the earth; He looked and startled the nations; the ancient mountains crumbled; the perpetual hills collapsed. His ways are everlasting. ⁷I saw the tents of Cushan in distress; the curtains of Midian were trembling. ⁸Were You angry at the rivers, O LORD? Was Your wrath against the streams? Did You rage against the sea when You rode on Your horses, on Your chariots of salvation? ⁹You brandished Your bow; You called for many arrows. Selah You split the earth with rivers. ¹⁰The mountains saw You and quaked; torrents of water swept by. The deep roared with its voice and lifted its hands on high. ¹¹Sun and moon stood still in their places at the flash of Your flying arrows, at the brightness of Your shining spear. ¹²You marched across the earth with fury; You threshed the nations in wrath. ¹³You went forth for the salvation of Your people, to save Your anointed. You crushed the head of the house of the wicked and stripped him from head to toe. Selah ¹⁴With his own spear You pierced his head, when his warriors stormed out to scatter us, gloating as though ready to secretly devour the weak. ¹⁵You trampled the sea with Your horses, churning the great waters. ¹⁶I heard and trembled within; my lips quivered at the sound. Decay entered my bones; I trembled where I stood. Yet I must wait patiently for the day of distress to come upon the people who invade us. ¹⁷Though the fig tree does not bud and no fruit is on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the sheep are cut off from the fold and no cattle are in the stalls, ¹⁸yet I will exult in the LORD; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation! ¹⁹GOD the Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like those of a deer; He makes me walk upon the heights! For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments.

1This is the word of the LORD that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah: ²“I will completely sweep away everything from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD. ³“I will sweep away man and beast; I will sweep away the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, and the idols with their wicked worshipers. I will cut off mankind from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD. ⁴“I will stretch out My hand against Judah and against all who dwell in Jerusalem. I will cut off from this place every remnant of Baal, the names of the idolatrous and pagan priests— ⁵those who bow on the rooftops to worship the host of heaven, those who bow down and swear by the LORD but also swear by Milcom, ⁶and those who turn back from following the LORD, neither seeking the LORD nor inquiring of Him.” ⁷Be silent in the presence of the Lord GOD, for the Day of the LORD is near. Indeed, the LORD has prepared a sacrifice; He has consecrated His guests. ⁸“On the Day of the LORD’s sacrifice I will punish the princes, the sons of the king, and all who are dressed in foreign apparel. ⁹On that day I will punish all who leap over the threshold, who fill the house of their master with violence and deceit. ¹⁰On that day,” declares the LORD, “a cry will go up from the Fish Gate, a wail from the Second District, and a loud crashing from the hills. ¹¹Wail, O dwellers of the Hollow, for all your merchants will be silenced; all who weigh out silver will be cut off. ¹²And at that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish the men settled in complacency, who say to themselves, ‘The LORD will do nothing, either good or bad.’ ¹³Their wealth will be plundered and their houses laid waste. They will build houses but not inhabit them, and plant vineyards but never drink their wine. ¹⁴The great Day of the LORD is near— near and coming quickly. Listen, the Day of the LORD! Then the cry of the mighty will be bitter. ¹⁵That day will be a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of destruction and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness, ¹⁶a day of horn blast and battle cry against the fortified cities, and against the high corner towers. ¹⁷I will bring such distress on mankind that they will walk like the blind, because they have sinned against the LORD. Their blood will be poured out like dust and their flesh like dung. ¹⁸Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them on the Day of the LORD’s wrath. The whole earth will be consumed by the fire of His jealousy.” For indeed, He will make a sudden end of all who dwell on the earth.

2Gather yourselves, gather together, O shameful nation, ²before the decree takes effect and the day passes like chaff, before the burning anger of the LORD comes upon you, before the Day of the LORD’s anger comes upon you. ³Seek the LORD, all you humble of the earth who carry out His justice. Seek righteousness; seek humility. Perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the LORD’s anger. ⁴For Gaza will be abandoned, and Ashkelon left in ruins. Ashdod will be driven out at noon, and Ekron will be uprooted. ⁵Woe to the dwellers of the seacoast, O nation of the Cherethites! The word of the LORD is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines: “I will destroy you, and no one will be left.” ⁶So the seacoast will become a land of pastures, with wells for shepherds and folds for sheep. ⁷The coast will belong to the remnant of the house of Judah; there they will find pasture. They will lie down in the evening among the houses of Ashkelon, for the LORD their God will attend to them and restore their captives. ⁸“I have heard the reproach of Moab and the insults of the Ammonites, who have taunted My people and threatened their borders. ⁹Therefore, as surely as I live,” declares the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, “surely Moab will be like Sodom and the Ammonites like Gomorrah— a place of weeds and salt pits, a perpetual wasteland. The remnant of My people will plunder them; the remainder of My nation will dispossess them.” ¹⁰This they shall have in return for their pride, for taunting and mocking the people of the LORD of Hosts. ¹¹The LORD will be terrifying to them when He starves all the gods of the earth. Then the nations of every shore will bow in worship to Him, each in its own place. ¹²“You too, O Cushites, will be slain by My sword.” ¹³And He will stretch out His hand against the north and destroy Assyria; He will make Nineveh a desolation, as dry as a desert. ¹⁴Herds will lie down in her midst, creatures of every kind. Both the desert owl and screech owl will roost atop her pillars. Their calls will sound from the window, but desolation will lie on the threshold, for He will expose the beams of cedar. ¹⁵This carefree city that dwells securely, that thinks to herself: “I am it, and there is none besides me,” what a ruin she has become, a resting place for beasts. Everyone who passes by her hisses and shakes his fist.