Reuben and Gad Settle in Gilead
1 hNow the people of Reuben and the people of Gad had a very great number of livestock. And they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, and behold, the place was a place for livestock. 2 So the people of Gad and the people of Reuben came and said to Moses and to Eleazar the priest and to the chiefs of the congregation, 3 “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon, 4 the land ithat the Lord struck down before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock.” 5 And they said, “If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants for a possession. Do not take us across the Jordan.”
6 But Moses said to the people of Gad and to the people of Reuben, “Shall your brothers go to the war while you sit here? 7 Why will you discourage the heart of the people of Israel from going over into the land that the Lord has given them? 8 Your fathers did this, jwhen I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land. 9 For kwhen they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the people of Israel from going into the land that the Lord had given them. 10 lAnd the Lord’s anger was kindled on that day, and he swore, saying, 11 ‘Surely none of the men who came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, because they have not wholly followed me, 12 none except Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the Lord.’ 13 And the Lord’s anger was kindled against Israel, and mhe made them wander in the wilderness forty years, nuntil all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the Lord was gone. 14 And behold, you have risen in your fathers’ place, a brood of sinful men, to increase still more the fierce anger of the Lord against Israel! 15 For if you turn away from following him, he will again abandon them in the wilderness, and you will destroy all this people.”
16 Then they came near to him and said, “We will build sheepfolds here for our livestock, and cities for our little ones, 17 but owe will take up arms, ready to go before the people of Israel, until we have brought them to their place. And our little ones shall live in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land. 18 We will not preturn to our homes until each of the people of Israel has gained his inheritance. 19 For we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan and beyond, because qour inheritance has come to us on this side of the Jordan to the east.” 20 So Moses said to them, “If you will do this, if you will take up arms to go before the Lord for the war, 21 and every armed man of you will pass over the Jordan before the Lord, until he has driven out his enemies from before him 22 and the land is subdued before the Lord; then after that you shall return and be free of obligation to the Lord and to Israel, and this land shall be your rpossession before the Lord. 23 But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out. 24 Build cities for your little ones and folds for your sheep, and do what you have promised.” 25 And the people of Gad and the people of Reuben said to Moses, “Your servants will do as my lord commands. 26 Our slittle ones, our wives, our livestock, and all our cattle shall remain there in the cities of Gilead, 27 but your servants will pass over, every man who is armed for war, before the Lord to battle, as my lord orders.”
28 So Moses gave command concerning them to Eleazar the priest and to Joshua the son of Nun and to the heads of the fathers’ houses of the tribes of the people of Israel. 29 And Moses said to them, “If the people of Gad and the people of Reuben, every man who is armed to battle before the Lord, will pass with you over the Jordan and the land shall be subdued before you, then you shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession. 30 However, if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.” 31 And the people of Gad and the people of Reuben answered, “What the Lord has said to your servants, we will do. 32 We will pass over armed before the Lord into the land of Canaan, and the possession of our inheritance shall remain with us beyond the Jordan.”
33 tAnd Moses gave to them, to the people of Gad and to the people of Reuben and to the half-tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of uSihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of vOg king of Bashan, the land and its cities with their territories, the cities of the land throughout the country. 34 And the people of Gad built Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, 35 Atroth-shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, 36 Beth-nimrah and Beth-haran, fortified cities, and folds for sheep. 37 And the people of Reuben built Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, 38 Nebo, and Baal-meon (their names were changed), and Sibmah. And they gave other names to the cities that they built. 39 And the sons of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead and captured it, and dispossessed the Amorites who were in it. 40 And Moses wgave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh, and he settled in it. 41 And Jair the son of Manasseh went and captured their villages, and called them Havvoth-jair.1 42 And Nobah went and captured Kenath and its villages, and called it Nobah, after his own name.
1 rBetter is a dry morsel with quiet
than a house full of feasting1 with strife.
2 A servant who deals wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully
and will share the inheritance as one of the brothers.
3 sThe crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
and the Lord tests hearts.
4 An evildoer listens to wicked lips,
and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue.
5 tWhoever mocks the poor insults his Maker;
uhe who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.
6 Grandchildren are vthe crown of the aged,
and the glory of children is their fathers.
7 Fine speech is wnot becoming to a fool;
still less is false speech to a prince.
8 xA bribe is like a magic2 stone in the eyes of the one who gives it;
wherever he turns he prospers.
9 Whoever ycovers an offense seeks love,
but zhe who repeats a matter separates close friends.
10 aA rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding
than a hundred blows into a fool.
11 An evil man seeks only rebellion,
and a cruel messenger will be sent against him.
12 Let a man meet a she-bear robbed of her cubs
rather than a fool in his folly.
13 If anyone breturns evil for good,
evil will not depart from his house.
14 cThe beginning of strife is like letting out water,
so quit before the quarrel breaks out.
15 He who justifies the wicked and he who dcondemns the righteous
are both alike an abomination to the Lord.
16 Why should a fool have money in his hand to ebuy wisdom
when he has no sense?
17 fA friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for adversity.
18 One who lacks sense ggives a pledge
and puts up security in the presence of his neighbor.
19 Whoever loves transgression loves strife;
he who makes his door high seeks destruction.
20 A man of hcrooked heart does not discover good,
and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity.
21 iHe who sires a fool gets himself sorrow,
and the father of a fool has no joy.
22 jA joyful heart is good medicine,
but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
23 The wicked kaccepts a bribe in secret3
lto pervert the ways of justice.
24 The discerning sets his face toward wisdom,
but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.
25 A foolish son is a grief to his father
and bitterness to her who bore him.
26 To impose a fine on a righteous man is not good,
nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.
27 mWhoever nrestrains his words has knowledge,
and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.
28 Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise;
when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.
The First Beast
1 And I saw a beast rising qout of the sea, with ten horns and rseven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. 2 And the beast that I saw was slike a leopard; its feet were tlike a bear’s, and its mouth was ulike a lion’s mouth. And to it the vdragon gave his power and whis throne and great authority. 3 One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth xmarveled as they followed the beast. 4 And they yworshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, z“Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?”
5 And the beast was given aa mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for bforty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling,1 that is, those who dwell in heaven. 7 Also it was allowed cto make war on the saints and to dconquer them.2 And authority was given it over every etribe and people and language and nation, 8 and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the fbook of life of the gLamb who was slain. 9 If anyone has an hear, let him hear:
10 iIf anyone is to be taken captive,
to captivity he goes;
if anyone is to be slain with the sword,
with the sword must he be slain.
jHere is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.
The Second Beast
11 Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and kit spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence,3 and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. 13 It performs great lsigns, even making fire mcome down from heaven to earth in front of people, 14 and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of4 the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not nworship the image of the beast oto be slain. 16 Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave,5 to be marked on the right hand or the pforehead, 17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has qthe mark, that is, the name of the beast or rthe number of its name. 18 sThis calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.6
The Lamb and the 144,000
1 Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the tLamb, and with him u144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name vwritten on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a voice from heaven wlike the roar of many waters and xlike the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, 3 and they were singing a ynew song before the throne and before the zfour living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been aredeemed from the earth. 4 It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as bfirstfruits for God and the Lamb, 5 and cin their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless.
The Messages of the Three Angels
6 Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel dto proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every enation and tribe and language and people. 7 And he said with a loud voice, f“Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”
8 Another angel, a second, followed, saying, g“Fallen, fallen is hBabylon the great, she who made all nations drink the iwine of the passion7 of her sexual immorality.”
9 And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his jforehead or on his hand, 10 he also will drink the kwine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with lfire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And mthe smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, nday or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives othe mark of its name.”
12 pHere is a call for the endurance of the saints, qthose who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.8
13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, r“Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may srest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”
The Harvest of the Earth
14 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, tand seated on the cloud uone like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand. 15 And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, v“Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.” 16 So he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped.
17 Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 18 And another angel came out from the altar, the angel who has authority over the fire, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Put in your sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe.” 19 So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great wwinepress of the wrath of God. 20 And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse’s bridle, for 1,600 stadia.9
The Seven Angels with Seven Plagues
1 Then I saw another xsign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished.
2 And I saw what appeared to be a ysea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had zconquered the beast and its image and athe number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. 3 And they sing bthe song of Moses, the servant of God, and cthe song of the Lamb, saying,
“Great and amazing are your deeds,
O Lord God the Almighty!
dJust and true are your ways,
O King of the nations!10
4 eWho will not ffear, O Lord,
and glorify your name?
For you alone are gholy.
hAll nations will come
and worship you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.”
5 After this I looked, and the sanctuary of the itent11 of witness in heaven jwas opened, 6 and out of the sanctuary came the seven angels with the seven plagues, clothed in pure, bright linen, kwith golden sashes around their chests. 7 And one of the lfour living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever, 8 and the sanctuary mwas filled with nsmoke from the glory of God and from his power, and ono one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.
