Zechariah 11 - 12

Woe to the Worthless Shepherd

Open your doors, O Lebanon,

That a fire may consume your cedars.

Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,

Because the mighty trees have been destroyed;

Wail, O oaks of Bashan,

For the impenetrable forest has come down.

There is a sound of the shepherds’ wail,

For their might is destroyed;

There is a sound of the young lions’ roar,

For the pride of the Jordan is destroyed.

4 Thus says Yahweh my God, “Shepherd the flock doomed to slaughter. 5 Those who buy them slaughter them and are not held guilty, and each of those who sell them says, ‘Blessed be Yahweh. Indeed, I have become rich!’ And their own shepherds do not spare them. 6 For I will no longer spare the inhabitants of the land,” declares Yahweh; “but behold, I will cause the men to fall, each into another’s hand and into the hand of his king; and they will crush the land, and I will not deliver them from their hand.” 7 So I shepherded the flock doomed to slaughter—hence the afflicted of the flock. And I took for myself two staffs: the one I called Favor, and the other I called Union; so I shepherded the flock. 8 Then I annihilated the three shepherds in one month, for my soul was impatient with them, and their soul also was weary of me. 9 Then I said, “I will not shepherd you. What is to die, let it die, and what is to be annihilated, let it be annihilated; and let those who remain consume one another’s flesh.” 10 And I took my staff Favor and cut it in pieces, to break my covenant which I had cut with all the peoples. 11 So it was broken on that day, and thus the afflicted of the flock who were watching me knew that it was the word of Yahweh. 12 And I said to them, “If it is good in your sight, give me my wages; but if not, never mind!” So they weighed out thirty shekels of silver as my wages. 13 Then Yahweh said to me, “Throw it to the potter, that valuable price at which I was valued by them.” So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of Yahweh. 14 Then I cut in pieces my second staff Union, to break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. 15 Then Yahweh said to me, “Take again for yourself the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 For behold, I am going to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for those who face annihilation, seek the young, heal the broken, or sustain the one standing, but will consume the flesh of the fat sheep and tear off their hoofs. 17

Woe to the worthless shepherd

Who forsakes the flock!

A sword will be on his arm

And on his right eye!

His arm will be totally dried up,

And his right eye will be utterly dimmed.”

Yahweh Will Save

The oracle of the word of Yahweh concerning Israel. Thus declares Yahweh who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him, 2 “Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples all around. Now the one in siege against Jerusalem will also be against Judah. 3 But it will be in that day, that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who heave it up will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it. 4 In that day,” declares Yahweh, “I will strike every horse with bewilderment and his rider with madness. But I will open my eyes to watch over the house of Judah, while I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘A strong support for us are the inhabitants of Jerusalem through Yahweh of hosts, their God.’ 6 “In that day I will make the clans of Judah like a fiery laver among pieces of wood and a fiery torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right hand and on the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem will again be inhabited in its own place—in Jerusalem. 7 Yahweh also will save the tents of Judah first so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be magnified above Judah. 8 In that day Yahweh will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who stumbles among them in that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of Yahweh before them. 9 And it will be in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

Mourning for the Pierced One

10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. 11 In that day there will be great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 And the land will mourn, each family alone; the family of the house of David alone and their wives alone; the family of the house of Nathan alone and their wives alone; 13 the family of the house of Levi alone and their wives alone; the family of the Shimeites alone and their wives alone; 14 all the families that remain, each family alone and their wives alone.

Revelation 19

Hallelujah!

After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great crowd in heaven, saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God; 2 because His judgments are true and righteous; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her sexual immorality, and He has avenged the blood of His slaves shed by her hand.” 3 And a second time they said, “Hallelujah! Her smoke rises up forever and ever.” 4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” 5 And a voice came from the throne, saying, “Give praise to our God, all you His slaves, you who fear Him, the small and the great.” 6 Then I heard something like the voice of a great crowd and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.

The Marriage Supper of the Lamb

7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” 8 And it was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. 9 Then he *said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’” And he *said to me, “These are true words of God.” 10 Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But he *said to me, “Do not do that! I am a fellow slave with you and your brothers who have the witness of Jesus. Worship God! For the witness of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

The Rider on a White Horse

11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sits on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; having a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself, 13 and being clothed with a garment dipped in blood, His name is also called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. 15 And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the wrath of the rage of God, the Almighty. 16 And He has on His garment and on His thigh a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” 17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, “Come, assemble for the great supper of God, 18 so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of strong men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great.” 19 Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war with Him who sits on the horse and with His army.

The Beast and False Prophet Are Seized

20 And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who did the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. 21 And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sits on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.