Deuteronomy 17, Psalm 104, Isaiah 44, Revelation 14

Deuteronomy 17,

1 Do not sacrifice to the LORD your God an ox or a sheep that has any defect or flaw in it, for that would be detestable to him.
 
2 If a man or woman living among you in one of the towns the LORD gives you is found doing evil in the eyes of the LORD your God in violation of his covenant,
 
3 and contrary to my command has worshiped other gods, bowing down to them or to the sun or the moon or the stars of the sky,
 
4 and this has been brought to your attention, then you must investigate it thoroughly. If it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done in Israel,
 
5 take the man or woman who has done this evil deed to your city gate and stone that person to death.
 
6 On the testimony of two or three witnesses a man shall be put to death, but no one shall be put to death on the testimony of only one witness.
 
7 The hands of the witnesses must be the first in putting him to death, and then the hands of all the people. You must purge the evil from among you.
 
8 If cases come before your courts that are too difficult for you to judge-whether bloodshed, lawsuits or assaults-take them to the place the LORD your God will choose.
 
9 Go to the priests, who are Levites, and to the judge who is in office at that time. Inquire of them and they will give you the verdict.
 
10 You must act according to the decisions they give you at the place the LORD will choose. Be careful to do everything they direct you to do.
 
11 Act according to the law they teach you and the decisions they give you. Do not turn aside from what they tell you, to the right or to the left.
 
12 The man who shows contempt for the judge or for the priest who stands ministering there to the LORD your God must be put to death. You must purge the evil from Israel.
 
13 All the people will hear and be afraid, and will not be contemptuous again.
 
14 When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, "Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,"
 
15 be sure to appoint over you the king the LORD your God chooses. He must be from among your own brothers. Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not a brother Israelite.
 
16 The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the LORD has told you, "You are not to go back that way again."
 
17 He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.
 
18 When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests, who are Levites.
 
19 It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees
 
20 and not consider himself better than his brothers and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel.

Psalm 104,

1 Praise the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty.
 
2 He wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent
 
3 and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters. He makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of the wind.
 
4 He makes winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants.
 
5 He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved.
 
6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.
 
7 But at your rebuke the waters fled, at the sound of your thunder they took to flight;
 
8 they flowed over the mountains, they went down into the valleys, to the place you assigned for them.
 
9 You set a boundary they cannot cross; never again will they cover the earth.
 
10 He makes springs pour water into the ravines; it flows between the mountains.
 
11 They give water to all the beasts of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
 
12 The birds of the air nest by the waters; they sing among the branches.
 
13 He waters the mountains from his upper chambers; the earth is satisfied by the fruit of his work.
 
14 He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate-bringing forth food from the earth:
 
15 wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread that sustains his heart.
 
16 The trees of the LORD are well watered, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
 
17 There the birds make their nests; the stork has its home in the pine trees.
 
18 The high mountains belong to the wild goats; the crags are a refuge for the coneys.
 
19 The moon marks off the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down.
 
20 You bring darkness, it becomes night, and all the beasts of the forest prowl.
 
21 The lions roar for their prey and seek their food from God.
 
22 The sun rises, and they steal away; they return and lie down in their dens.
 
23 Then man goes out to his work, to his labor until evening.
 
24 How many are your works, O LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.
 
25 There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number-living things both large and small.
 
26 There the ships go to and fro, and the leviathan, which you formed to frolic there.
 
27 These all look to you to give them their food at the proper time.
 
28 When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things.
 
29 When you hide your face, they are terrified; when you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust.
 
30 When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth.
 
31 May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD rejoice in his works-
 
32 he who looks at the earth, and it trembles, who touches the mountains, and they smoke.
 
33 I will sing to the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
 
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the LORD.
 
35 But may sinners vanish from the earth and the wicked be no more. Praise the LORD, O my soul. Praise the LORD.

Isaiah 44,

1 "But now listen, O Jacob, my servant, Israel, whom I have chosen.
 
2 This is what the LORD says-he who made you, who formed you in the womb, and who will help you: Do not be afraid, O Jacob, my servant, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
 
3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.
 
4 They will spring up like grass in a meadow, like poplar trees by flowing streams.
 
5 One will say, 'I belong to the LORD'; another will call himself by the name of Jacob; still another will write on his hand, 'The LORD's,' and will take the name Israel.
 
6 "This is what the LORD says-Israel's King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God.
 
7 Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and lay out before me what has happened since I established my ancient people, and what is yet to come-yes, let him foretell what will come.
 
8 Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one."
 
9 All who make idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Those who would speak up for them are blind; they are ignorant, to their own shame.
 
10 Who shapes a god and casts an idol, which can profit him nothing?
 
11 He and his kind will be put to shame; craftsmen are nothing but men. Let them all come together and take their stand; they will be brought down to terror and infamy.
 
12 The blacksmith takes a tool and works with it in the coals; he shapes an idol with hammers, he forges it with the might of his arm. He gets hungry and loses his strength; he drinks no water and grows faint.
 
13 The carpenter measures with a line and makes an outline with a marker; he roughs it out with chisels and marks it with compasses. He shapes it in the form of man, of man in all his glory, that it may dwell in a shrine.
 
14 He cut down cedars, or perhaps took a cypress or oak. He let it grow among the trees of the forest, or planted a pine, and the rain made it grow.
 
15 It is man's fuel for burning; some of it he takes and warms himself, he kindles a fire and bakes bread. But he also fashions a god and worships it; he makes an idol and bows down to it.
 
16 Half of the wood he burns in the fire; over it he prepares his meal, he roasts his meat and eats his fill. He also warms himself and says, "Ah! I am warm; I see the fire."
 
17 From the rest he makes a god, his idol; he bows down to it and worships. He prays to it and says, "Save me; you are my god."
 
18 They know nothing, they understand nothing; their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see, and their minds closed so they cannot understand.
 
19 No one stops to think, no one has the knowledge or understanding to say, "Half of it I used for fuel; I even baked bread over its coals, I roasted meat and I ate. Shall I make a detestable thing from what is left? Shall I bow down to a block of wood?"
 
20 He feeds on ashes, a deluded heart misleads him; he cannot save himself, or say, "Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?"
 
21 "Remember these things, O Jacob, for you are my servant, O Israel. I have made you, you are my servant; O Israel, I will not forget you.
 
22 I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you."
 
23 Sing for joy, O heavens, for the LORD has done this; shout aloud, O earth beneath. Burst into song, you mountains, you forests and all your trees, for the LORD has redeemed Jacob, he displays his glory in Israel.
 
24 "This is what the LORD says-your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the LORD, who has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself,
 
25 who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who overthrows the learning of the wise and turns it into nonsense,
 
26 who carries out the words of his servants and fulfills the predictions of his messengers, who says of Jerusalem, 'It shall be inhabited,' of the towns of Judah, 'They shall be built,' and of their ruins, 'I will restore them,'
 
27 who says to the watery deep, 'Be dry, and I will dry up your streams,'
 
28 who says of Cyrus, 'He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please; he will say of Jerusalem, "Let it be rebuilt," and of the temple, "Let its foundations be laid." '

Revelation 14

1 Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads.
 
2 And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps.
 
3 And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.
 
4 These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they kept themselves pure. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among men and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb.
 
5 No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.
 
6 Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth-to every nation, tribe, language and people.
 
7 He said in a loud voice, "Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water."
 
8 A second angel followed and said, "Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great, which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries."
 
9 A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: "If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand,
 
10 he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.
 
11 And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name."
 
12 This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God's commandments and remain faithful to Jesus.
 
13 Then I heard a voice from heaven say, "Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Yes," says the Spirit, "they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them."
 
14 I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one "like a son of man" with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.
 
15 Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, "Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe."
 
16 So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.
 
17 Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle.
 
18 Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, "Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth's vine, because its grapes are ripe."
 
19 The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God's wrath.
 
20 They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses' bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia.