Day 363 reading

Wisdom·Proverbs 31:1–13

¹These are the words of King Lemuel—the burden that his mother taught him: ²What shall I say, O my son? What, O son of my womb? What, O son of my vows? ³Do not spend your strength on women or your vigor on those who ruin kings. ⁴It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to crave strong drink, ⁵lest they drink and forget what is decreed, depriving all the oppressed of justice. ⁶Give strong drink to one who is perishing, and wine to the bitter in soul. ⁷Let him drink and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more. ⁸Open your mouth for those with no voice, for the cause of all the dispossessed. ⁹Open your mouth, judge righteously, and defend the cause of the poor and needy. ¹⁰A wife of noble character, who can find? She is far more precious than rubies. ¹¹The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he lacks nothing of value. ¹²She brings him good and not harm all the days of her life. ¹³She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands.

New Testament·Revelation 20

¹Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the Abyss, holding in his hand a great chain. ²He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. ³And he threw him into the Abyss, shut it, and sealed it over him, so that he could not deceive the nations until the thousand years were complete. After that, he must be released for a brief period of time. ⁴Then I saw the thrones, and those seated on them had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image, and had not received its mark on their foreheads or hands. And they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. ⁵The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years were complete. This is the first resurrection. ⁶Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection! The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with Him for a thousand years. ⁷When the thousand years are complete, Satan will be released from his prison, ⁸and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—to assemble them for battle. Their number is like the sand of the seashore. ⁹And they marched across the broad expanse of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. But fire came down from heaven and consumed them. ¹⁰And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, into which the beast and the false prophet had already been thrown. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. ¹¹Then I saw a great white throne and the One seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from His presence, and no place was found for them. ¹²And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne. And there were open books, and one of them was the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their deeds, as recorded in the books. ¹³The sea gave up its dead, and Death and Hades gave up their dead, and each one was judged according to his deeds. ¹⁴Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire. ¹⁵And if anyone was found whose name was not written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Old Testament·Zechariah 8–10

¹Again the word of the LORD of Hosts came to me, saying: ²This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “I am jealous for Zion with great zeal; I am jealous for her with great fervor.” ³This is what the LORD says: “I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the LORD of Hosts will be called the Holy Mountain.” ⁴This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Old men and old women will again sit along the streets of Jerusalem, each with a staff in hand because of great age. ⁵And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing there.” ⁶This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “If this is impossible in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be impossible in My eyes?” declares the LORD of Hosts. ⁷This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “I will save My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west. ⁸I will bring them back to dwell in Jerusalem, where they will be My people, and I will be their faithful and righteous God.” ⁹This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Let your hands be strong, you who now hear these words spoken by the prophets who were present when the foundations were laid to rebuild the temple, the house of the LORD of Hosts. ¹⁰For before those days neither man nor beast received wages, nor was there safety from the enemy for anyone who came or went, for I had turned every man against his neighbor. ¹¹But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as I did in the past,” declares the LORD of Hosts. ¹²“For the seed will be prosperous, the vine will yield its fruit, the ground will yield its produce, and the skies will give their dew. To the remnant of this people I will give all these things as an inheritance. ¹³As you have been a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you, and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid; let your hands be strong.” ¹⁴For this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Just as I resolved to bring disaster upon you when your fathers provoked Me to anger, and I did not relent,” says the LORD of Hosts, ¹⁵“so now I have resolved to do good again to Jerusalem and Judah. Do not be afraid. ¹⁶These are the things you must do: Speak truth to one another, render true and sound judgments in your gates, ¹⁷do not plot evil in your hearts against your neighbor, and do not love to swear falsely, for I hate all these things,” declares the LORD. ¹⁸Then the word of the LORD of Hosts came to me, saying, ¹⁹“This is what the LORD of Hosts says: The fasts of the fourth, the fifth, the seventh, and the tenth months will become times of joy and gladness, cheerful feasts for the house of Judah. Therefore you are to love both truth and peace.” ²⁰This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Peoples will yet come—the residents of many cities— ²¹and the residents of one city will go to another, saying: ‘Let us go at once to plead before the LORD and to seek the LORD of Hosts. I myself am going.’ ²²And many peoples and strong nations will come to seek the LORD of Hosts in Jerusalem and to plead before the LORD.” ²³This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue will tightly grasp the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’”

9This is the burden of the word of the LORD against the land of Hadrach and Damascus its resting place— for the eyes of men and of all the tribes of Israel are upon the LORD — ²and also against Hamath, which borders it, as well as Tyre and Sidon, though they are very shrewd. ³Tyre has built herself a fortress; she has heaped up silver like dust, and gold like the dirt of the streets. ⁴Behold, the Lord will impoverish her and cast her wealth into the sea, and she will be consumed by fire. ⁵Ashkelon will see and fear; Gaza will writhe in agony, as will Ekron, for her hope will wither. There will cease to be a king in Gaza, and Ashkelon will be uninhabited. ⁶A mixed race will occupy Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines. ⁷I will remove the blood from their mouths and the abominations from between their teeth. Then they too will become a remnant for our God; they will become like a clan in Judah, and Ekron will be like the Jebusites. ⁸But I will camp around My house because of an army, because of those who march to and fro, and never again will an oppressor overrun My people, for now I keep watch with My own eyes. ⁹Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. ¹⁰And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem, and the bow of war will be broken. Then He will proclaim peace to the nations. His dominion will extend from sea to sea, and from the Euphrates to the ends of the earth. ¹¹As for you, because of the blood of My covenant, I will release your prisoners from the waterless pit. ¹²Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; even today I declare that I will restore to you double. ¹³For I will bend Judah as My bow and fit it with Ephraim. I will rouse your sons, O Zion, against the sons of Greece. I will make you like the sword of a mighty man. ¹⁴Then the LORD will appear over them, and His arrow will go forth like lightning. The Lord GOD will sound the ram’s horn and advance in the whirlwinds of the south. ¹⁵The LORD of Hosts will shield them. They will destroy and conquer with slingstones; they will drink and roar as with wine. And they will be filled like sprinkling bowls, drenched like the corners of the altar. ¹⁶On that day the LORD their God will save them as the flock of His people; for like jewels in a crown they will sparkle over His land. ¹⁷How lovely they will be, and how beautiful! Grain will make the young men flourish, and new wine, the young women.

10Ask the LORD for rain in springtime; the LORD makes the storm clouds, and He will give everyone showers of rain and crops in the field. ²For idols speak deceit and diviners see illusions; they tell false dreams and offer empty comfort. Therefore the people wander like sheep, oppressed for lack of a shepherd. ³“My anger burns against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders. For the LORD of Hosts attends to His flock, the house of Judah; He will make them like His royal steed in battle. ⁴The cornerstone will come from Judah, the tent peg from him, as well as the battle bow and every ruler together. ⁵They will be like mighty men in battle, trampling the enemy in the mire of the streets. They will fight because the LORD is with them, and they will put the horsemen to shame. ⁶I will strengthen the house of Judah and save the house of Joseph. I will restore them because I have compassion on them, and they will be as though I had not rejected them. For I am the LORD their God, and I will answer them. ⁷Ephraim will be like a mighty man, and their hearts will be glad as with wine. Their children will see it and be joyful; their hearts will rejoice in the LORD. ⁸I will whistle for them to gather, for I have redeemed them; and they will be as numerous as they once were. ⁹Though I sow them among the nations, they will remember Me in distant lands; they and their children will live and return. ¹⁰I will bring them back from Egypt and gather them from Assyria. I will bring them to Gilead and Lebanon until no more room is found for them. ¹¹They will pass through the sea of distress and strike the waves of the sea; all the depths of the Nile will dry up. The pride of Assyria will be brought down, and the scepter of Egypt will depart. ¹²I will strengthen them in the LORD, and in His name they will walk,” declares the LORD.