1
How lonely lies Jerusalem, once so full of people! Once honored by the world, she is now like a widow; The noblest of cities has fallen into slavery.
2
All night long she cries; tears run down her cheeks. Of all her former friends, not one is left to comfort her. Her allies have betrayed her and are all against her now.
3
Judah's people are helpless slaves, forced away from home. They live in other lands, with no place to call their own--- Surrounded by enemies, with no way to escape.
4
No one comes to the Temple now to worship on the holy days. The young women who sang there suffer, and the priests can only groan. The city gates stand empty, and Zion is in agony.
5
Her enemies succeeded; they hold her in their power. The LORD has made her suffer for all her many sins; Her children have been captured and taken away.
6
The splendor of Jerusalem is a thing of the past. Her leaders are like deer that are weak from hunger, Whose strength is almost gone as they flee from the hunters.
7
A lonely ruin now, Jerusalem recalls her ancient splendor. When she fell to the enemy, there was no one to help her; Her conquerors laughed at her downfall.
8
Her honor is gone; she is naked and held in contempt. She groans and hides her face in shame. Jerusalem made herself filthy with terrible sin.
9
Her uncleanness was easily seen, but she showed no concern for her fate. Her downfall was terrible; no one can comfort her. Her enemies have won, and she cries to the LORD for mercy.
10
The enemies robbed her of all her treasures. She saw them enter the Temple itself, Where the LORD had forbidden Gentiles to go.
11
Her people groan as they look for something to eat; They exchange their treasures for food to keep themselves alive. "Look at me, LORD," the city cries; "see me in my misery."
12
"Look at me!" she cries to everyone who passes by. "No one has ever had pain like mine, Pain that the LORD brought on me in the time of his anger.
13
"He sent fire from above, a fire that burned inside me. He set a trap for me and brought me to the ground. Then he abandoned me and left me in constant pain.
14
"He took note of all my sins and tied them all together; He hung them around my neck, and I grew weak beneath the weight. The Lord gave me to my foes, and I was helpless against them.
15
"The Lord laughed at all my strongest soldiers; He sent an army to destroy my young men. He crushed my people like grapes in a wine press.
16
"That is why my eyes are overflowing with tears. No one can comfort me; no one can give me courage. The enemy has conquered me; my people have nothing left.
17
"I stretch out my hands, but no one will help me. The LORD has called enemies against me from every side; They treat me like some filthy thing.
18
"But the LORD is just, for I have disobeyed him. Listen to me, people everywhere; look at me in my pain. My young men and women have been taken away captive.
19
"I called to my allies, but they refused to help me. The priests and the leaders died in the city streets, Looking for food to keep themselves alive.
20
"Look, O LORD, at my agony, at the anguish of my soul! My heart is broken in sorrow for my sins. There is murder in the streets; even indoors there is death.
21
"Listen to my groans; there is no one to comfort me. My enemies are glad that you brought disaster on me. Bring the day you promised; make my enemies suffer as I do.
22
"Condemn them for all their wickedness; Punish them as you punished me for my sins. I groan in misery, and I am sick at heart."
1
The Lord in his anger has covered Zion with darkness. Its heavenly splendor he has turned into ruins. On the day of his anger he abandoned even his Temple.
2
The Lord destroyed without mercy every village in Judah And tore down the forts that defended the land. He brought disgrace on the kingdom and its rulers.
3
In his fury he shattered the strength of Israel; He refused to help us when the enemy came. He raged against us like fire, destroying everything.
4
He aimed his arrows at us like an enemy; He killed all those who were our joy and delight. Here in Jerusalem we felt his burning anger.
5
Like an enemy, the Lord has destroyed Israel; He has left her forts and palaces in ruins. He has brought on the people of Judah unending sorrow.
6
He smashed to pieces the Temple where we worshiped him; He has put an end to holy days and Sabbaths. King and priest alike have felt the force of his anger.
7
The Lord rejected his altar and deserted his holy Temple; He allowed the enemy to tear down its walls. They shouted in victory where once we had worshiped in joy.
8
The LORD was determined that the walls of Zion should fall; He measured them off to make sure of total destruction. The towers and walls now lie in ruins together.
9
The gates lie buried in rubble, their bars smashed to pieces. The king and the noblemen now are in exile. The Law is no longer taught, and the prophets have no visions from the LORD.
10
Jerusalem's old men sit on the ground in silence, With dust on their heads and sackcloth on their bodies. Young women bow their heads to the ground.
11
My eyes are worn out with weeping; my soul is in anguish. I am exhausted with grief at the destruction of my people. Children and babies are fainting in the streets of the city.
12
Hungry and thirsty, they cry to their mothers; They fall in the streets as though they were wounded, And slowly die in their mothers' arms.
13
O Jerusalem, beloved Jerusalem, what can I say? How can I comfort you? No one has ever suffered like this. Your disaster is boundless as the ocean; there is no possible hope.
14
Your prophets had nothing to tell you but lies; Their preaching deceived you by never exposing your sin. They made you think you did not need to repent.
15
People passing by the city look at you in scorn. They shake their heads and laugh at Jerusalem's ruins: "Is this that lovely city? Is this the pride of the world?"
16
All your enemies mock you and glare at you with hate. They curl their lips and sneer, "We have destroyed it! This is the day we have waited for!"
17
The LORD has finally done what he threatened to do: He has destroyed us without mercy, as he warned us long ago. He gave our enemies victory, gave them joy at our downfall.
18
O Jerusalem, let your very walls cry out to the Lord! Let your tears flow like rivers night and day; Wear yourself out with weeping and grief !
19
All through the night get up again and again to cry out to the Lord; Pour out your heart and beg him for mercy on your children--- Children starving to death on every street corner!
20
Look, O LORD! Why are you punishing us like this? Women are eating the bodies of the children they loved! Priests and prophets are being killed in the Temple itself !
21
Young and old alike lie dead in the streets, Young men and women, killed by enemy swords. You slaughtered them without mercy on the day of your anger.
22
You invited my enemies to hold a carnival of terror all around me, And no one could escape on that day of your anger. They murdered my children, whom I had raised and loved.
1
This is the prophecy of Obadiah---what the Sovereign LORD said about the nation of Edom. The LORD has sent his messenger to the nations, and we have heard his message: "Get ready! Let us go to war against Edom!"
2
The LORD says to Edom, "I will make you weak; everyone will despise you.
3
Your pride has deceived you. Your capital is a fortress of solid rock; your home is high in the mountains, and so you say to yourself, 'Who can ever pull me down?'
4
Even though you make your home as high as an eagle's nest, so that it seems to be among the stars, yet I will pull you down.
5
"When thieves come at night, they take only what they want. When people gather grapes, they always leave a few. But your enemies have wiped you out completely.
6
Descendants of Esau, your treasures have been looted.
7
Your allies have deceived you; they have driven you from your country. People who were at peace with you have now conquered you. Those friends who ate with you have laid a trap for you; they say of you, 'Where is all that cleverness he had?'
8
"On the day I punish Edom, I will destroy their clever men and wipe out all their wisdom.
9
The fighting men of Teman will be terrified, and every soldier in Edom will be killed.
10
"Because you robbed and killed your relatives, the descendants of Jacob, you will be destroyed and dishonored forever.
11
You stood aside on that day when enemies broke down their gates. You were as bad as those strangers who carried off Jerusalem's wealth and divided it among themselves.
12
You should not have gloated over the misfortune of your relatives in Judah. You should not have been glad on the day of their ruin. You should not have laughed at them in their distress.
13
You should not have entered the city of my people to gloat over their suffering and to seize their riches on the day of their disaster.
14
You should not have stood at the crossroads to catch those trying to escape. You should not have handed them over to the enemy on the day of their distress.
15
"The day is near when I, the LORD, will judge all nations. Edom, what you have done will be done to you. You will get back what you have given.
16
My people have drunk a bitter cup of punishment on my sacred hill. But all the surrounding nations will drink a still more bitter cup of punishment; they will drink it all and vanish away.
17
"But on Mount Zion some will escape, and it will be a sacred place. The people of Jacob will possess the land that is theirs by right.
18
The people of Jacob and of Joseph will be like fire; they will destroy the people of Esau as fire burns stubble. No descendant of Esau will survive. I, the LORD, have spoken.
19
"People from southern Judah will occupy Edom; those from the western foothills will capture Philistia. Israelites will possess the territory of Ephraim and Samaria; the people of Benjamin will take Gilead.
20
The army of exiles from northern Israel will return and conquer Phoenicia as far north as Zarephath. The exiles from Jerusalem who are in Sardis will capture the towns of southern Judah.
21
The victorious men of Jerusalem will attack Edom and rule over it. And the LORD himself will be king."
1
Then I looked, and there was the Lamb standing on Mount Zion; with him were 144,000 people who have his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads.
2
And I heard a voice from heaven that sounded like a roaring waterfall, like a loud peal of thunder. It sounded like the music made by musicians playing their harps.
3
The 144,000 people stood before the throne, the four living creatures, and the elders; they were singing a new song, which only they could learn. Of the whole human race they are the only ones who have been redeemed.
4
They are the men who have kept themselves pure by not having sexual relations with women; they are virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been redeemed from the rest of the human race and are the first ones to be offered to God and to the Lamb.
5
They have never been known to tell lies; they are faultless.
6
Then I saw another angel flying high in the air, with an eternal message of Good News to announce to the peoples of the earth, to every race, tribe, language, and nation.
7
He said in a loud voice, "Honor God and praise his greatness! For the time has come for him to judge all people. Worship him who made heaven, earth, sea, and the springs of water!"
8
A second angel followed the first one, saying, "She has fallen! Great Babylon has fallen! She made all peoples drink her wine---the strong wine of her immoral lust!"
9
A third angel followed the first two, saying in a loud voice, "Those who worship the beast and its image and receive the mark on their forehead or on their hand
10
will themselves drink God's wine, the wine of his fury, which he has poured at full strength into the cup of his anger! All who do this will be tormented in fire and sulfur before the holy angels and the Lamb.
11
The smoke of the fire that torments them goes up forever and ever. There is no relief day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, for anyone who has the mark of its name."
12
This calls for endurance on the part of God's people, those who obey God's commandments and are faithful to Jesus.
13
Then I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Write this: Happy are those who from now on die in the service of the Lord!" "Yes indeed!" answers the Spirit. "They will enjoy rest from their hard work, because the results of their service go with them."
14
Then I looked, and there was a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was what looked like a human being, with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.
15
Then another angel came out from the temple and cried out in a loud voice to the one who was sitting on the cloud, "Use your sickle and reap the harvest, because the time has come; the earth is ripe for the harvest!"
16
Then the one who sat on the cloud swung his sickle on the earth, and the earth's harvest was reaped.
17
Then I saw another angel come out of the temple in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle.
18
Then another angel, who is in charge of the fire, came from the altar. He shouted in a loud voice to the angel who had the sharp sickle, "Use your sickle, and cut the grapes from the vineyard of the earth, because the grapes are ripe!"
19
So the angel swung his sickle on the earth, cut the grapes from the vine, and threw them into the wine press of God's furious anger.
20
The grapes were squeezed out in the wine press outside the city, and blood came out of the wine press in a flood two hundred miles long and about five feet deep.
