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Dreams Mean Nothing

34The senseless have vain and false hopes,
   and dreams give wings to fools.
² As one who catches at a shadow and pursues the wind,
   so is anyone who believes in^* dreams.
³ What is seen in dreams is but a reflection,
   the likeness of a face looking at itself.
⁴ From an unclean thing what can be clean?
   And from something false what can be true?
⁵ Divinations and omens and dreams are unreal,
   and like a woman in labour, the mind has fantasies.
⁶ Unless they are sent by intervention from the Most High,
   pay no attention to them.
⁷ For dreams have deceived many,
   and those who put their hope in them have perished.
⁸ Without such deceptions the law will be fulfilled,
   and wisdom is complete in the mouth of the faithful.

¹⁸   To whom does he look? And who is his support?
¹⁹ The eyes of the Lord are on those who love him,
   a mighty shield and strong support,
a shelter from scorching wind and a shade from noonday sun,
   a guard against stumbling and a help against falling.
²⁰ He lifts up the soul and makes the eyes sparkle;
   he gives health and life and blessing.

Offering Sacrifices

²¹ If one sacrifices ill-gotten goods, the offering is blemished;^*
22   the gifts^* of the lawless are not acceptable.

13 See, I am against you, says the Lord of hosts, and I will burn your^* chariots in smoke, and the sword shall devour your young lions; I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voice of your messengers shall be heard no more.

Ruin Imminent and Inevitable

3Ah! City of bloodshed,
   utterly deceitful, full of booty—
   no end to the plunder!
² The crack of whip and rumble of wheel,
   galloping horse and bounding chariot!
³ Horsemen charging,
   flashing sword and glittering spear,
piles of dead,
   heaps of corpses,
dead bodies without end—
   they stumble over the bodies!
⁴ Because of the countless debaucheries of the prostitute,
   gracefully alluring, mistress of sorcery,
who enslaves^* nations through her debaucheries,
   and peoples through her sorcery,
⁵ I am against you,
   says the Lord of hosts,
   and will lift up your skirts over your face;
and I will let nations look on your nakedness
   and kingdoms on your shame.
⁶ I will throw filth at you
   and treat you with contempt,
   and make you a spectacle.
⁷ Then all who see you will shrink from you and say,
‘Nineveh is devastated; who will bemoan her?’
   Where shall I seek comforters for you?

13¹And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads; and on its horns were ten diadems, and on its heads were blasphemous names. ²And the beast that I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. And the dragon gave it his power and his throne and great authority. ³One of its heads seemed to have received a death-blow, but its mortal wound^* had been healed. In amazement the whole earth followed the beast. ⁴They worshipped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshipped the beast, saying, ‘Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?’

5 The beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. ⁶It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. ⁷Also, it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them.^* It was given authority over every tribe and people and language and nation, ⁸and all the inhabitants of the earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that was slaughtered.^*

9 Let anyone who has an ear listen:
¹⁰ If you are to be taken captive,
   into captivity you go;
if you kill with the sword,
   with the sword you must be killed.
Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.

The Parable of the Rich Fool

13 Someone in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.’ ¹⁴But he said to him, ‘Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?’ ¹⁵And he said to them, ‘Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.’ ¹⁶Then he told them a parable: ‘The land of a rich man produced abundantly. ¹⁷And he thought to himself, “What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?” ¹⁸Then he said, “I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” ²⁰But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” ²¹So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich towards God.’

Do Not Worry

22 He said to his disciples, ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. ²³For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. ²⁴Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! ²⁵And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?^{* 26}If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? ²⁷Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin;^* yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. ²⁸But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! ²⁹And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. ³⁰For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. ³¹Instead, strive for his^* kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.