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⁸⁹ The Lord exists for ever;
   your word is firmly fixed in heaven.
⁹⁰ Your faithfulness endures to all generations;
   you have established the earth, and it stands fast.
⁹¹ By your appointment they stand today,
   for all things are your servants.
⁹² If your law had not been my delight,
   I would have perished in my misery.
⁹³ I will never forget your precepts,
   for by them you have given me life.
⁹⁴ I am yours; save me,
   for I have sought your precepts.
⁹⁵ The wicked lie in wait to destroy me,
   but I consider your decrees.
⁹⁶ I have seen a limit to all perfection,
   but your commandment is exceedingly broad.

⁹⁷ Oh, how I love your law!
   It is my meditation all day long.
⁹⁸ Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies,
   for it is always with me.
⁹⁹ I have more understanding than all my teachers,
   for your decrees are my meditation.
¹⁰⁰ I understand more than the aged,
   for I keep your precepts.
¹⁰¹ I hold back my feet from every evil way,
   in order to keep your word.
¹⁰² I do not turn away from your ordinances,
   for you have taught me.
¹⁰³ How sweet are your words to my taste,
   sweeter than honey to my mouth!
¹⁰⁴ Through your precepts I get understanding;
   therefore I hate every false way.

The Two Witnesses

11Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, ‘Come and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, ²but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample over the holy city for forty-two months. ³And I will grant my two witnesses authority to prophesy for one thousand two hundred and sixty days, wearing sackcloth.’

4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. ⁵And if anyone wants to harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes; anyone who wants to harm them must be killed in this manner. ⁶They have authority to shut the sky, so that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have authority over the waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire.

7 When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, ⁸and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that is prophetically^* called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. ⁹For three and a half days members of the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb; ¹⁰and the inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and celebrate and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to the inhabitants of the earth.

11 But after the three and a half days, the breath^* of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and those who saw them were terrified. ¹²Then they^* heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, ‘Come up here!’ And they went up to heaven in a cloud while their enemies watched them. ¹³At that moment there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.

14 The second woe has passed. The third woe is coming very soon.

The Seventh Trumpet

15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying,
‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord
   and of his Messiah,^*
and he will reign for ever and ever.’

16 Then the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshipped God, ¹⁷singing,
‘We give you thanks, Lord God Almighty,
   who are and who were,
for you have taken your great power
   and begun to reign.
¹⁸ The nations raged,
   but your wrath has come,
   and the time for judging the dead,
for rewarding your servants,^* the prophets
   and saints and all who fear your name,
   both small and great,
and for destroying those who destroy the earth.’

19 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple; and there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.

¹⁰⁵ Your word is a lamp to my feet
   and a light to my path.
¹⁰⁶ I have sworn an oath and confirmed it,
   to observe your righteous ordinances.
¹⁰⁷ I am severely afflicted;
   give me life, O Lord, according to your word.
¹⁰⁸ Accept my offerings of praise, O Lord,
   and teach me your ordinances.
¹⁰⁹ I hold my life in my hand continually,
   but I do not forget your law.
¹¹⁰ The wicked have laid a snare for me,
   but I do not stray from your precepts.
¹¹¹ Your decrees are my heritage for ever;
   they are the joy of my heart.
¹¹² I incline my heart to perform your statutes
   for ever, to the end.

¹¹³ I hate the double-minded,
   but I love your law.
¹¹⁴ You are my hiding-place and my shield;
   I hope in your word.
¹¹⁵ Go away from me, you evildoers,
   that I may keep the commandments of my God.
¹¹⁶ Uphold me according to your promise, that I may live,
   and let me not be put to shame in my hope.
¹¹⁷ Hold me up, that I may be safe
   and have regard for your statutes continually.
¹¹⁸ You spurn all who go astray from your statutes;
   for their cunning is in vain.
¹¹⁹ All the wicked of the earth you count as dross;
   therefore I love your decrees.
¹²⁰ My flesh trembles for fear of you,
   and I am afraid of your judgements.

¹²¹ I have done what is just and right;
   do not leave me to my oppressors.
¹²² Guarantee your servant’s well-being;
   do not let the godless oppress me.
¹²³ My eyes fail from watching for your salvation,
   and for the fulfilment of your righteous promise.
¹²⁴ Deal with your servant according to your steadfast love,
   and teach me your statutes.
¹²⁵ I am your servant; give me understanding,
   so that I may know your decrees.
¹²⁶ It is time for the Lord to act,
   for your law has been broken.
¹²⁷ Truly I love your commandments
   more than gold, more than fine gold.
¹²⁸ Truly I direct my steps by all your precepts;^*
   I hate every false way.

The Vindication and Salvation of Zion

62For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
   and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest,
until her vindication shines out like the dawn,
   and her salvation like a burning torch.
² The nations shall see your vindication,
   and all the kings your glory;
and you shall be called by a new name
   that the mouth of the Lord will give.
³ You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
   and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
⁴ You shall no more be termed Forsaken,^*
   and your land shall no more be termed Desolate;^*
but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her,^*
   and your land Married;^*
for the Lord delights in you,
   and your land shall be married.
⁵ For as a young man marries a young woman,
   so shall your builder^* marry you,
and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
   so shall your God rejoice over you.
⁶ Upon your walls, O Jerusalem,
   I have posted sentinels;
all day and all night
   they shall never be silent.
You who remind the Lord,
   take no rest,
⁷ and give him no rest
   until he establishes Jerusalem
   and makes it renowned throughout the earth.
⁸ The Lord has sworn by his right hand
   and by his mighty arm:
I will not again give your grain
   to be food for your enemies,
and foreigners shall not drink the wine
   for which you have laboured;
⁹ but those who garner it shall eat it
   and praise the Lord,
and those who gather it shall drink it
   in my holy courts.

¹⁰ Go through, go through the gates,
   prepare the way for the people;
build up, build up the highway,
   clear it of stones,
   lift up an ensign over the peoples.
¹¹ The Lord has proclaimed
   to the end of the earth:
Say to daughter Zion,
   ‘See, your salvation comes;
his reward is with him,
   and his recompense before him.’
¹² They shall be called, ‘The Holy People,
   The Redeemed of the Lord’;
and you shall be called, ‘Sought Out,
   A City Not Forsaken.’

The Parable of the Ten Pounds

11 As they were listening to this, he went on to tell a parable, because he was near Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. ¹²So he said, ‘A nobleman went to a distant country to get royal power for himself and then return. ¹³He summoned ten of his slaves, and gave them ten pounds,^* and said to them, “Do business with these until I come back.” ¹⁴But the citizens of his country hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, “We do not want this man to rule over us.” ¹⁵When he returned, having received royal power, he ordered these slaves, to whom he had given the money, to be summoned so that he might find out what they had gained by trading. ¹⁶The first came forward and said, “Lord, your pound has made ten more pounds.” ¹⁷He said to him, “Well done, good slave! Because you have been trustworthy in a very small thing, take charge of ten cities.” ¹⁸Then the second came, saying, “Lord, your pound has made five pounds.” ¹⁹He said to him, “And you, rule over five cities.” ²⁰Then the other came, saying, “Lord, here is your pound. I wrapped it up in a piece of cloth, ²¹for I was afraid of you, because you are a harsh man; you take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.” ²²He said to him, “I will judge you by your own words, you wicked slave! You knew, did you, that I was a harsh man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? ²³Why then did you not put my money into the bank? Then when I returned, I could have collected it with interest.” ²⁴He said to the bystanders, “Take the pound from him and give it to the one who has ten pounds.” ²⁵(And they said to him, “Lord, he has ten pounds!”) ²⁶“I tell you, to all those who have, more will be given; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. ²⁷But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and slaughter them in my presence.” ’

Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem

28 After he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.