Deuteronomy 23; Psalms 112–113; Isaiah 50; Revelation 20

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Deuteronomy 23

Those Excluded from the Assembly

No one whose testicles are crushed or whose male organ is cut off shall enter the assembly of the Lord.

jNo one born of a forbidden union may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of his descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord.

kNo Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of them may enter the assembly of the Lord forever, lbecause they did not meet you with bread and with water on the way, when you came out of Egypt, and because they mhired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of nMesopotamia, to curse you. But the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam; instead the Lord your God turned othe curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loved you. You pshall not seek their peace or their prosperity all your days forever.

You shall not abhor an Edomite, for qhe is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because ryou were a sojourner in his land. Children born to them in the third generation may enter the assembly of the Lord.

Uncleanness in the Camp

When you are encamped against your enemies, then you shall keep yourself from every evil thing.

10 If any man among you becomes sunclean because of a nocturnal emission, then he shall go outside the camp. He shall not come inside the camp, 11 but when evening comes, he shall tbathe himself in water, and as the sun sets, he may come inside the camp.

12 You shall have a place outside the camp, and you shall go out to it. 13 And you shall have a trowel with your tools, and when you sit down outside, you shall dig a hole with it and turn back and cover up your excrement. 14 Because uthe Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and to give up your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy, so that he may not see anything indecent among you and turn away from you.

Miscellaneous Laws

15 vYou shall not give up to his master a slave1 who has escaped from his master to you. 16 He shall dwell with you, in your midst, in the place that he shall choose within one of your towns, wherever it suits him. You shall not wrong him.

17 None of the wdaughters of Israel shall be a cult prostitute, and none xof the sons of Israel shall be a cult prostitute. 18 You shall not bring the fee of a prostitute or the wages of a dog2 into the house of the Lord your God in payment for any vow, for both of these are an abomination to the Lord your God.

19 yYou shall not charge interest on loans to your brother, zinterest on money, interest on food, interest on anything that is lent for interest. 20 aYou may charge a foreigner interest, but you may not charge your brother interest, bthat the Lord your God may bless you in all that you undertake in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.

21 cIf you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay fulfilling it, for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin. 22 But if you refrain from vowing, you will not be guilty of sin. 23 You shall be careful to do what has passed your lips, for you have voluntarily vowed to the Lord your God what you have promised with your mouth.

24 If you go into your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes, as many as you wish, but you shall not put any in your bag. 25 If you go into your neighbor’s standing grain, dyou may pluck the ears with your hand, but you shall not put a sickle to your neighbor’s standing grain.


Psalms 112–113

The Righteous Will Never Be Moved

1 hPraise the Lord!

iBlessed is the man who fears the Lord,

who jgreatly delights in his commandments!

His koffspring will be mighty in the land;

lthe generation of the upright will be blessed.

mWealth and riches are in his house,

and his nrighteousness endures forever.

Light dawns in the darkness ofor the upright;

he is gracious, merciful, and prighteous.

It is well with the man who qdeals generously and lends;

who conducts his affairs with justice.

For the righteous will rnever be moved;

she will be remembered forever.

He is not tafraid of bad news;

his uheart is firm, vtrusting in the Lord.

His heart is steady;2 he will not be afraid,

until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.

He has wdistributed freely; he has given to the poor;

his righteousness endures forever;

his xhorn is exalted in honor.

10  The wicked man sees it and is angry;

he ygnashes his teeth and zmelts away;

athe desire of the wicked will perish!

Who Is like the Lord Our God?

bPraise the Lord!

cPraise, O dservants of the Lord,

praise the name of the Lord!

eBlessed be the name of the Lord

from this time forth and forevermore!

fFrom the rising of the sun to its setting,

gthe name of the Lord is hto be praised!

The Lord is ihigh above all nations,

and his jglory above the heavens!

kWho is like the Lord our God,

who is seated on high,

who llooks far down

on the heavens and the earth?

He mraises the poor from the dust

and lifts the needy from the ash heap,

to make them nsit with princes,

with the princes of his people.

He ogives the barren woman a home,

making her the joyous mother of children.

bPraise the Lord!


Isaiah 50

Israel’s Sin and the Servant’s Obedience

Thus says the Lord:

Where is gyour mother’s certificate of divorce,

with which hI sent her away?

Or iwhich of my creditors is it

to whom I have sold you?

jBehold, for your iniquities you were sold,

and for your transgressions your mother was sent away.

kWhy, when I came, was there no man;

why, when I called, was there no one to answer?

lIs my hand shortened, that it cannot redeem?

Or have I no power to deliver?

mBehold, by my rebuke nI dry up the sea,

oI make the rivers a desert;

ptheir fish stink for lack of water

and die of thirst.

qI clothe the heavens with blackness

and make sackcloth their covering.

The Lord God has given rme

the tongue of those who are taught,

that sI may know how to sustain with a word

thim who is weary.

Morning by morning he awakens;

he awakens my ear

to hear as those who are taught.

uThe Lord God has opened my ear,

vand I was not rebellious;

I turned not backward.

wI gave my back to those who strike,

and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard;

I hid not my face

from disgrace and spitting.

But the Lord God helps me;

therefore I have not been disgraced;

xtherefore I have set my face like a flint,

and I know that I shall not be put to shame.

yHe who vindicates me is near.

Who will contend with me?

Let us stand up together.

Who is my adversary?

Let him come near to me.

zBehold, the Lord God helps me;

who will declare me guilty?

Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment;

the moth will eat them up.

10  Who among you fears the Lord

and obeys athe voice of his servant?

bLet him who walks in darkness

and has no light

trust in the name of the Lord

and rely on his God.

11  Behold, all you who kindle a fire,

who equip yourselves with burning torches!

Walk by the light of your fire,

and by the torches that you have kindled!

cThis you have from my hand:

you shall lie down in torment.


Revelation 20

The Thousand Years

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, nholding in his hand the key to othe bottomless pit1 and a great chain. And he seized pthe dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and qbound him for a thousand years, and threw him into othe pit, and shut it and rsealed it over him, so that she might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.

Then I saw tthrones, and useated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw vthe souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those wwho had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. xThey came to life and yreigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. zBlessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such athe second death has no power, but they will be bpriests of God and of Christ, and they cwill reign with him for a thousand years.

The Defeat of Satan

And when the thousand years are ended, dSatan will be released from his prison and will come out eto deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, fGog and Magog, gto gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. And hthey marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded ithe camp of the saints and jthe beloved city, but kfire came down from heaven2 and consumed them, 10 and the devil lwho had deceived them was mthrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where nthe beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Judgment Before the Great White Throne

11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence oearth and sky fled away, and pno place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and qbooks were opened. Then another book was opened, which is rthe book of life. And sthe dead were judged by what was written in the books, taccording to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, uDeath and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, taccording to what they had done. 14 Then uDeath and Hades vwere thrown into the lake of fire. This is wthe second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, xhe was thrown into the lake of fire.