December 25: Nahum 1–3; Psalm 145:1–13; Revelation 7–9

Old Testament: Nahum 1–3 Nahum 1–3 (Listen) 1 An oracle concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum of Elkosh. God’s Wrath Against Nineveh 2   The LORD is a jealous and avenging God;    the LORD is avenging and wrathful;  the LORD takes vengeance on his adversaries    and keeps wrath for his enemies.3   The LORD is slow to anger and great in power,    and the LORD will by no means clear the guilty.  His way is in whirlwind and storm,    and the clouds are the dust of his feet.4   He rebukes the sea and makes it dry;    he dries up all the rivers;  Bashan and Carmel wither;    the bloom of Lebanon withers.5   The mountains quake before him;    the hills melt;  the earth heaves before him,    the world and all who dwell in it. 6   Who can stand before his indignation?    Who can endure the heat of his anger?  His wrath is poured out like fire,    and the rocks are broken into pieces by him.7   The LORD is good,    a stronghold in the day of trouble;  he knows those who take refuge in him.8     But with an overflowing flood  he will make a complete end of the adversaries,1    and will pursue his enemies into darkness.9   What do you plot against the LORD?    He will make a complete end;    trouble will not rise up a second time.10   For they are like entangled thorns,    like drunkards as they drink;    they are consumed like stubble fully dried.11   From you came one    who plotted evil against the LORD,    a worthless counselor. 12   Thus says the LORD,  “Though they are at full strength and many,    they will be cut down and pass away.  Though I have afflicted you,    I will afflict you no more.13   And now I will break his yoke from off you    and will burst your bonds apart.” 14   The LORD has given commandment about you:    “No more shall your name be perpetuated;  from the house of your gods I will cut off    the carved image and the metal image.  I will make your grave, for you are vile.” 15   2 Behold, upon the mountains, the feet of him    who brings good news,    who publishes peace!  Keep your feasts, O Judah;    fulfill your vows,  for never again shall the worthless pass through you;    he is utterly cut off. The Destruction of Nineveh 2   The scatterer has come up against you.    Man the ramparts;    watch the road;  dress for battle;3    collect all your strength. 2   For the LORD is restoring the majesty of Jacob    as the majesty of Israel,  for plunderers have plundered them    and ruined their branches. 3   The shield of his mighty men is red;    his soldiers are clothed in scarlet.  The chariots come with flashing metal    on the day he musters them;    the cypress spears are brandished.4   The chariots race madly through the streets;    they rush to and fro through the squares;  they gleam like torches;    they dart like lightning.5   He remembers his officers;    they stumble as they go,  they hasten to the wall;    the siege tower4 is set up.6   The river gates are opened;    the palace melts away;7   its mistress5 is stripped;6 she is carried off,    her slave girls lamenting,  moaning like doves    and beating their breasts.8   Nineveh is like a pool    whose waters run away.7  “Halt! Halt!” they cry,    but none turns back.9   Plunder the silver,    plunder the gold!  There is no end of the treasure    or of the wealth of all precious things. 10   Desolate! Desolation and ruin!    Hearts melt and knees tremble;  anguish is in all loins;    all faces grow pale!11   Where is the lions’ den,    the feeding place of the young lions,  where the lion and lioness went,    where his cubs were, with none to disturb?12   The lion tore enough for his cubs    and strangled prey for his lionesses;  he filled his caves with prey    and his dens with torn flesh. 13 Behold, I am against you, declares the LORD of hosts, and I will burn your8 chariots in smoke, and the sword shall devour your young lions. I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voice of your messengers shall no longer be heard. Woe to Nineveh 3   Woe to the bloody city,    all full of lies and plunder—    no end to the prey!2   The crack of the whip, and rumble of the wheel,    galloping horse and bounding chariot!3   Horsemen charging,    flashing sword and glittering spear,  hosts of slain,    heaps of corpses,  dead bodies without end—    they stumble over the bodies!4   And all for the countless whorings of the prostitute,    graceful and of deadly charms,  who betrays nations with her whorings,    and peoples with her charms. 5   Behold, I am against you,    declares the LORD of hosts,    and will lift up your skirts over your face;  and I will make nations look at your nakedness    and kingdoms at your shame.6   I will throw filth at you    and treat you with contempt    and make you a spectacle.7   And all who look at you will shrink from you and say,  “Wasted is Nineveh; who will grieve for her?”    Where shall I seek comforters for you? 8   Are you better than Thebes9    that sat by the Nile,  with water around her,    her rampart a sea,    and water her wall?9   Cush was her strength;    Egypt too, and that without limit;    Put and the Libyans were her10 helpers. 10   Yet she became an exile;    she went into captivity;  her infants were dashed in pieces    at the head of every street;  for her honored men lots were cast,    and all her great men were bound in chains.11   You also will be drunken;    you will go into hiding;  you will seek a refuge from the enemy.12   All your fortresses are like fig trees    with first-ripe figs—  if shaken they fall    into the mouth of the eater.13   Behold, your troops    are women in your midst.  The gates of your land    are wide open to your enemies;    fire has devoured your bars. 14   Draw water for the siege;    strengthen your forts;  go into the clay;    tread the mortar;    take hold of the brick mold!15   There will the fire devour you;    the sword will cut you off.    It will devour you like the locust.  Multiply yourselves like the locust;    multiply like the grasshopper!16   You increased your merchants    more than the stars of the heavens.    The locust spreads its wings and flies away. 17   Your princes are like grasshoppers,    your scribes11 like clouds of locusts  settling on the fences    in a day of cold—  when the sun rises, they fly away;    no one knows where they are. 18   Your shepherds are asleep,    O king of Assyria;    your nobles slumber.  Your people are scattered on the mountains    with none to gather them.19   There is no easing your hurt;    your wound is grievous.  All who hear the news about you    clap their hands over you.  For upon whom has not come    your unceasing evil? Footnotes [1] 1:8 Hebrew of her place [2] 1:15 Ch 2:1 in Hebrew [3] 2:1 Hebrew gird your loins [4] 2:5 Or the mantelet [5] 2:7 The meaning of the Hebrew word rendered its mistress is uncertain [6] 2:7 Or exiled [7] 2:8 Compare Septuagint; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain [8] 2:13 Hebrew her [9] 3:8 Hebrew No-amon [10] 3:9 Hebrew your [11] 3:17 Or marshals (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 145:1–13 Psalm 145:1–13 (Listen) Great Is the Lord 1 A Song of Praise. Of David. 145   I will extol you, my God and King,    and bless your name forever and ever.2   Every day I will bless you    and praise your name forever and ever.3   Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised,    and his greatness is unsearchable. 4   One generation shall commend your works to another,    and shall declare your mighty acts.5   On the glorious splendor of your majesty,    and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.6   They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,    and I will declare your greatness.7   They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness    and shall sing aloud of your righteousness. 8   The LORD is gracious and merciful,    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.9   The LORD is good to all,    and his mercy is over all that he has made. 10   All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD,    and all your saints shall bless you!11   They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom    and tell of your power,12   to make known to the children of man your2 mighty deeds,    and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.13   Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,    and your dominion endures throughout all generations.   [The LORD is faithful in all his words    and kind in all his works.]3 Footnotes [1] 145:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, each verse beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet [2] 145:12 Hebrew his; also next line [3] 145:13 These two lines are supplied by one Hebrew manuscript, Septuagint, Syriac (compare Dead Sea Scroll) (ESV) New Testament: Revelation 7–9 Revelation 7–9 (Listen) The 144,000 of Israel Sealed 7 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, 3 saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” 4 And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel: 5   12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed,  12,000 from the tribe of Reuben,  12,000 from the tribe of Gad,6   12,000 from the tribe of Asher,  12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali,  12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,7   12,000 from the tribe of Simeon,  12,000 from the tribe of Levi,  12,000 from the tribe of Issachar,8   12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun,  12,000 from the tribe of Joseph,  12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed. A Great Multitude from Every Nation 9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” 13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15   “Therefore they are before the throne of God,    and serve him day and night in his temple;    and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.16   They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;    the sun shall not strike them,    nor any scorching heat.17   For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,    and he will guide them to springs of living water,  and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” The Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer 8 When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2 Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. 3 And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, 4 and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. 5 Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings,1 flashes of lightning, and an earthquake. The Seven Trumpets 6 Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them. 7 The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up. 8 The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. 9 A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. 10 The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. 11 The name of the star is Wormwood.2 A third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the water, because it had been made bitter. 12 The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night. 13 Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!” 9 And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit.3 2 He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft. 3 Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth. 4 They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5 They were allowed to torment them for five months, but not to kill them, and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone. 6 And in those days people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them. 7 In appearance the locusts were like horses prepared for battle: on their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were like human faces, 8 their hair like women’s hair, and their teeth like lions’ teeth; 9 they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the noise of their wings was like the noise of many chariots with horses rushing into battle. 10 They have tails and stings like scorpions, and their power to hurt people for five months is in their tails. 11 They have as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek he is called Apollyon.4 12 The first woe has passed; behold, two woes are still to come. 13 Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar before God, 14 saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” 15 So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, were released to kill a third of mankind. 16 The number of mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand; I heard their number. 17 And this is how I saw the horses in my vision and those who rode them: they wore breastplates the color of fire and of sapphire5 and of sulfur, and the heads of the horses were like lions’ heads, and fire and smoke and sulfur came out of their mouths. 18 By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed, by the fire and smoke and sulfur coming out of their mouths. 19 For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are like serpents with heads, and by means of them they wound. 20 The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, 21 nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts. Footnotes [1] 8:5 Or voices, or sounds [2] 8:11 Wormwood is the name of a plant and of the bitter-tasting extract derived from it [3] 9:1 Greek the abyss; also verses 2, 11 [4] 9:11 Abaddon means destruction; Apollyon means destroyer [5] 9:17 Greek hyacinth (ESV)