Through the Bible – Day 353

Bible text(s)

Obadiah 1

Edom's pride and punishment

₁The LORD God gave Obadiah

a message about Edom,

and this is what we heard:

“I, the LORD, have sent

a messenger

with orders for the nations

to attack Edom.”

₂The LORD said to Edom:

I will make you the weakest

and most despised nation.

₃You live in a mountain fortress,

because your pride

makes you feel safe from attack,

but you are mistaken.

₄I will still bring you down,

even if you fly higher

than an eagle

or nest among the stars.

I, the LORD, have spoken!

₅If thieves break in at night,

they steal

only what they want.

And people who harvest grapes

always leave some unpicked.

But, Edom, you are doomed!

₆Everything you treasure most

will be taken from you.

₇Your allies can't be trusted.

They will force you out

of your own country.

Your best friends

will trick and trap you,

even before you know it.

₈Edom, when this happens,

I, the LORD, will destroy

all your marvellous wisdom.

₉Warriors from the city of Teman

will be terrified,

and you descendants of Esau

will be wiped out.

Edom's cruelty

The LORD condemns Edom's cruelty

₁₀You were cruel to your relatives,

the descendants of Jacob.

Now you will be destroyed,

disgraced for ever.

₁₁You stood there and watched

as foreigners entered Jerusalem

and took what they wanted.

In fact, you were no better

than those foreigners.

₁₂Why did you celebrate

when such a dreadful disaster

struck your relatives?

Why were you so pleased

when everyone in Judah

was suffering?

₁₃They are my people,

and you were cruel to them.

You went through their towns,

sneering and stealing

whatever was left.

₁₄In their time of torment,

you ambushed refugees

and handed them over

to their attackers.

Victory for Israel

The LORD will judge the nations

₁₅The day is coming

when I, the LORD,

will judge the nations.

And, Edom, you will pay in full

for what you have done.

₁₆I forced the people of Judah

to drink the wine of my anger

on my sacred mountain.

Soon the neighbouring nations

must drink their fill—

then vanish without a trace.

Victory for Israel

₁₇The LORD's people who escape

will go to Mount Zion,

and it will be holy.

Then Jacob's descendants

will capture the land of those

who took their land.

₁₈Israel will be a fire,

and Edom will be straw

going up in flames.

The LORD has spoken!

₁₉The people of Israel

who live in the Southern Desert

will take the land of Edom.

Those who live in the hills

will capture Philistia,

Ephraim, and Samaria.

And the tribe of Benjamin

will conquer Gilead.

₂₀Those who return from captivity

will control Phoenicia

as far as Zarephath.

Captives from Jerusalem

who were taken to Sepharad

will capture the towns

of the Southern Desert.

₂₁Those the LORD has saved

will live on Mount Zion

and rule over Edom.

Then the kingdom will belong

to the LORD.

Obadiah 1:1-21CEVOpen in Bible reader

Revelation 10

The angel and the little scroll

₁I saw another powerful angel come down from heaven. This one was covered with a cloud, and a rainbow was over his head. His face was like the sun, his legs were like columns of fire, ₂and with his hand he held a little scroll that had been unrolled. He stood there with his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land. ₃Then he shouted with a voice that sounded like a growling lion. Thunder roared seven times.

₄After the thunder stopped, I was about to write what it had said. But a voice from heaven shouted, “Keep it secret! Don't write these things.”

₅The angel I had seen standing on the sea and the land then held his right hand up towards heaven. ₆He made a promise in the name of God who lives for ever and who created heaven, earth, the sea, and every living creature. The angel said, “You won't have to wait any longer. ₇God told his secret plans to his servants the prophets, and it will all happen by the time the seventh angel sounds his trumpet.”

₈Once again the voice from heaven spoke to me. It said, “Go and take the open scroll from the hand of the angel standing on the sea and the land.”

₉When I went over to ask the angel for the little scroll, the angel said, “Take the scroll and eat it! Your stomach will turn sour, but the taste in your mouth will be as sweet as honey.” ₁₀I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it. The taste was as sweet as honey, but my stomach turned sour.

₁₁Then some voices said, “Keep on telling what will happen to the people of many nations, races, and languages, and also to kings.”

Revelation 10:1-11CEVOpen in Bible reader