Deuteronomy 25
1 “If there is a controversy between men, and they go to court, and the judges decide [the issue] between them, and they judge in favor of the innocent and condemn the guilty, 2 then it shall be that if the guilty man deserves to be beaten, the judge shall make him lie down and be beaten in his presence with a [certain] number of stripes in proportion to his offense. 3 He may have him beaten forty times, but no more. He is not to be beaten with more stripes than these and he is not to be degraded [that is, treated like an animal] in your sight.
4 “You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing [to prevent him from eating any of the grain].
5 “If brothers are living together and one of them dies without a son, the widow of the deceased shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband’s brother shall be intimate with her after taking her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. 6 It shall be that her firstborn [son] will be given the name of the dead brother, so that his name will not be blotted out of Israel. 7 But if the man does not want to marry his brother’s [widowed] wife, then she shall go up to the gate [of the city, where court is held] to the elders, and say, ‘My brother-in-law refuses to continue his brother’s name in Israel; he is not willing to perform the duty of a husband’s brother.’ 8 Then the elders of his city will summon him and speak to him. And if he stands firm and says, ‘I do not want to marry her,’ 9 then his brother’s widow shall approach him in the presence of the elders, and pull his sandal off his foot and spit in his face; and she shall answer and say, ‘So it is done to that man who does not build up his brother’s household.’ 10 In Israel his [family] name shall be, ‘The house of him whose sandal was removed.’
11 “If [two] men, a man and his countryman, are fighting and the wife of one approaches to rescue her husband from the man who is striking him, and she reaches out with her hand and grabs the aggressor’s genitals, 12 then you shall cut off her hand; you shall not show pity [for her].
13 “You shall not have in your bag inaccurate weights, a heavy and a light [so you can cheat others]. 14 You shall not have in your house inaccurate measures, a large and a small. 15 You shall have a perfect (full) and just weight, and a perfect and just measure, so that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God gives you. 16 For everyone who does such things, everyone who acts unjustly [without personal integrity] is utterly repulsive to the Lord your God.
17 “Remember what Amalek did to you along the road when you came from Egypt, 18 how he met you along the road and attacked all the stragglers at your rear when you were tired and weary; and he did not fear God. 19 Therefore when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your surrounding enemies, in the land which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance to possess, you shall wipe out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you must not forget.
Psalms 116
1 I love the Lord, because He hears [and continues to hear]
My voice and my supplications (my pleas, my cries, my specific needs).
2
Because He has inclined His ear to me,
Therefore I will call on Him as long as I live.
3
The cords and sorrows of death encompassed me,
And the terrors of Sheol came upon me;
I found distress and sorrow.
4
Then I called on the name of the Lord:
“O Lord, please save my life!”
5
Gracious is the Lord, and [consistently] righteous;
Yes, our God is compassionate.
6
The Lord protects the simple (childlike);
I was brought low [humbled and discouraged], and He saved me.
7
Return to your rest, O my soul,
For the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
8
For You have rescued my life from death,
My eyes from tears,
And my feet from stumbling and falling.
9
I will walk [in submissive wonder] before the Lord
In the land of the living.
10
I believed [and clung to my God] when I said,
“I am greatly afflicted.”
11
I said in my alarm,
“All men are liars.”
12
What will I give to the Lord [in return]
For all His benefits toward me?
[How can I repay Him for His precious blessings?]
13
I will lift up the cup of salvation
And call on the name of the Lord.
14
I will pay my vows to the Lord,
Yes, in the presence of all His people.
15
Precious [and of great consequence] in the sight of the Lord
Is the death of His godly ones [so He watches over them].
16
O Lord, truly I am Your servant;
I am Your servant, the son of Your handmaid;
You have unfastened my chains.
17
I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving,
And will call on the name of the Lord.
18
I will pay my vows to the Lord,
Yes, in the presence of all His people,
19
In the courts of the Lord’s house (temple)—
In the midst of you, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)
Isaiah 52
1 Awake, awake,
Put on your strength, O Zion;
Put on your beautiful garments,
O Jerusalem, the holy city;
For the uncircumcised and the unclean
Will no longer come into you.
2
Shake yourself from the dust, arise,
O captive Jerusalem;
Rid yourself of the chains around your neck,
O captive Daughter of Zion.
3 For the Lord says this, “You were sold for nothing and you will be redeemed, but not with money.” 4 For the Lord God says this, “My people went down at the first into Egypt to live there; and [many years later Sennacherib] the Assyrian oppressed them without cause. 5 But now, what do I have here,” declares the Lord, “seeing that My people have been taken away without reason? Those who rule over them howl [with taunting and mockery of salvation],” declares the Lord, “and My name is continually blasphemed all day long. 6 Therefore My people shall know My Name and what it means. Therefore in that day I am the One who is speaking, ‘Here I am.’”
7
How beautiful and delightful on the mountains
Are the feet of him who brings good news,
Who announces peace,
Who brings good news of good [things],
Who announces salvation,
Who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”
8
Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices,
Together they shout for joy;
For they will see face to face
The return of the Lord to Zion.
9
Break forth, shout joyfully together,
You ruins of Jerusalem;
For the Lord has comforted His people,
He has redeemed Jerusalem.
10
The Lord has bared His holy arm (His infinite power)
Before the eyes of all the nations [revealing Himself as the One by Whom Israel is redeemed from captivity],
That all the ends of the earth may see
The salvation of our God.
11
Depart, depart, go out from there (the lands of exile),
Touch no unclean thing;
Go out of the midst of her (Babylon), purify yourselves,
You who carry the articles of the Lord [on your journey from there].
12
For you will not go out in a hurry [as when you left Egypt],
Nor will you go in flight [fleeing, as you did from the Egyptians];
For the Lord will go before you,
And the God of Israel will be your rear guard.
13
Indeed, My Servant (the Messiah) will act wisely and prosper;
He will be raised and lifted up and greatly exalted.
14
Just as many were astonished and appalled at you, My people,
So His appearance was marred more than any man
And His form [marred] more than the sons of men.
15
So He will sprinkle many nations [with His blood, providing salvation],
Kings will shut their mouths because of Him;
For what they had not been told they will see,
And what they had not heard they will understand.
Revelations 22
1 Then the angel showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb (Christ), 2 in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 There will no longer exist anything that is cursed [because sin and illness and death are gone]; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve and worship Him [with great awe and joy and loving devotion]; 4 they will [be privileged to] see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. 5 And there will no longer be night; they have no need for lamplight or sunlight, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign [as kings] forever and ever.
6 Then he said to me, “These words are faithful and true.” And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent His angel [as a representative] to show His bond-servants the things that must soon take place.
7 “And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed (happy, prosperous, to be admired) is the one who heeds and takes to heart and remembers the words of the prophecy [that is, the predictions, consolations, and warnings] contained in this book (scroll).”
8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. 9 But he said to me, “Do not do that. I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets and with those who heed and remember [the truths contained in] the words of this book. Worship God.”
10 And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time [of their fulfillment] is near. 11 Let the one who does wrong, still do wrong; and the one who is filthy (vile, impure), still be filthy; and the one who is righteous (just, upright), still be righteous; and the one who is holy, still be holy.”
12 “Behold, I (Jesus) am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to each one according to the merit of his deeds (earthly works, faithfulness). 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End [the Eternal One].”
14 Blessed (happy, prosperous, to be admired) are those who wash their robes [in the blood of Christ by believing and trusting in Him—the righteous who do His commandments], so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. 15 Outside are the dogs [the godless, the impure, those of low moral character] and the sorcerers [with their intoxicating drugs, and magic arts], and the immoral persons [the perverted, the molesters, and the adulterers], and the murderers, and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying (deception, cheating).
16 “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you and to give you assurance of these things for the churches. I am the Root (the Source, the Life) and the Offspring of David, the radiant and bright Morning Star.”
17 The [Holy] Spirit and the bride (the church, believers) say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take and drink the water of life without cost.
18 I testify and warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book [its predictions, consolations, and admonitions]: if anyone adds [anything] to them, God will add to him the plagues (afflictions, calamities) which are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from or distorts the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away [from that one] his share from the tree of life and from the holy city (new Jerusalem), which are written in this book.
20 He who testifies and affirms these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
21 The grace of the Lord Jesus (the Christ, the Messiah) be with all [the saints—all believers, those set apart for God]. Amen.
