A Vision of a Golden Lampstand
1 And fthe angel who talked with me came again gand woke me, like a man who is awakened out of his sleep. 2 And he said to me, “What do you see?” I said, “I see, and behold, ha lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it, and iseven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it. 3 And there are jtwo olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.” 4 And I said to fthe angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?” 5 Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, k“Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.” 6 Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to lZerubbabel: mNot by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. 7 Who are you, nO great mountain? Before lZerubbabel oyou shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward pthe top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’”
8 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 9 q“The hands of lZerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also rcomplete it. sThen you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. 10 tFor whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see uthe plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.
v“These seven vare the eyes of the Lord, wwhich range through the whole earth.” 11 Then I said to him, “What are these jtwo olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?” 12 And a second time I answered and said to him, “What are these jtwo branches of the olive trees, which are beside the two golden pipes from which the golden oil1 is poured out?” 13 He said to me, x“Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.” 14 Then he said, y“These are the two anointed ones2 who stand by zthe Lord of the whole earth.”
A Vision of a Flying Scroll
1 Again I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, a flying ascroll! 2 And he said to me, “What do you see?” I answered, “I see a flying ascroll. Its length is twenty cubits, and its width ten cubits.”3 3 Then he said to me, “This is bthe curse that goes out over the face of the whole land. For everyone who csteals shall be cleaned out according to what is on one side, and everyone who dswears falsely4 shall be cleaned out according to what is on the other side. 4 I will send it out, declares the Lord of hosts, and it shall enter the house of the thief, and the house of ehim who swears falsely by my name. And fit shall remain in his house and gconsume it, both timber and stones.”
A Vision of a Woman in a Basket
5 hThen the angel who talked with me came forward and said to me, i“Lift your eyes and see what this is that is going out.” 6 And I said, “What is it?” He said, “This is jthe basket5 that is going out.” And he said, “This is their iniquity6 in all the land.” 7 And behold, the leaden cover was lifted, and there was a woman sitting in the basket! 8 And he said, “This is Wickedness.” And he thrust her back into the basket, and thrust down jthe leaden weight on its opening.
9 Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, two women coming forward! kThe wind was in their wings. They had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and heaven. 10 Then I said to the angel who talked with me, “Where are they taking the basket?” 11 He said to me, “To the lland of Shinar, to build a house for it. And when this is prepared, they will set the basket down there on its base.”
Paul the Minister to the Gentiles
14 mI myself am satisfied about you, my brothers,1 that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with nall knowledge and able to instruct one another. 15 But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, obecause of the grace given me by God 16 to be pa minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles qin the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that rthe offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. 17 In Christ Jesus, then, I have sreason to be proud of tmy work for God. 18 For I will not venture to speak of anything except uwhat Christ has accomplished through me vto bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, 19 wby the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that xfrom Jerusalem and all the way around yto Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; 20 and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, zlest I build on someone else’s foundation, 21 but as it is written,
a“Those who have never been told of him will see,
and those who have never heard will understand.”
Paul’s Plan to Visit Rome
22 This is the reason why bI have so often been hindered from coming to you. 23 But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and csince I have longed for many years to come to you, 24 I hope to see you in passing as I go dto Spain, and eto be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while. 25 At present, however, fI am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. 26 For gMacedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. 27 For they were pleased to do it, and indeed hthey owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings. 28 When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected,2 I will leave ifor Spain by way of you. 29 I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing3 of Christ.
30 I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by jthe love of the Spirit, kto strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, 31 lthat I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that mmy service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, 32 so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and nbe refreshed in your company. 33 May othe God of peace be with you all. Amen.
