Day 351 The Bible in a Year (Orthodox canon)

Ezekiel 19

1 Moreover do thou take up a lamentation for the prince of Israel, 2 and say, Why is thy mother become a whelp in the midst of lions? in the midst of lions she has multiplied her whelps. 3 And one of her whelps sprang forth; he became a lion, and learned to take prey, he devoured men. 4 And the nations heard a report of him; he was caught in their pit, and they brought him into the land of Egypt in chains. 5 And she saw that he was driven away from her, [and] her hope [of him] perished, and she took another of her whelps; she made him a lion. 6 And he went up and down in the midst of lions, he became a lion, and learned to take prey, he devoured men. 7 And he prowled in his boldness and laid waste their cities, and made the land desolate, and the fulness of it, by the voice of his roaring. 8 Then the nations set upon him from the countries round about, and they spread their nets upon him: he was taken in their pit. 9 And they put him in chains and in a cage, [and] he came to the king of Babylon; and he cast him into prison, that his voice should not be heard on the mountains of Israel. 10 Thy mother was as a vine and as a blossom on a pomegranate tree, planted by water: her fruit and her shoots abounded by reason of much water. 11 And she became a rod for a tribe of princes, and was elevated in her bulk in the midst of [other] trees, and she saw her bulk in the multitude of her branches. 12 But she was broken down in wrath, she was cast upon the ground, and the east wind dried up her choice [branches]: vengeance came upon them, and the rod of her strength was withered; fire consumed it. 13 And now they have planted her in the wilderness, in a dry land. 14 And fire is gone out of a rod of her choice [boughs], and has devoured her; and there was no rod of strength in her. Her race is become a parable of lamentation, and it shall be for a lamentation.

Ezekiel 20

1 And it came to pass in the seventh year, on the fifteenth day of the month, there came men of the elders of the house of Israel to enquire of the Lord, and they sat before me. 2 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 3 Son of man, speak to the elders of the house of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, Thus saith the Lord; Are ye come to enquire of me? [As] I live, I will not be enquired of by you, saith the Lord. 4 Shall I utterly take vengeance on them, son of man? testify to them of the iniquities of their fathers: 5 and thou shalt say to them, Thus saith the Lord; From the day that I chose the house of Israel, and became known to the seed of the house of Jacob, and was known to them in the land of Egypt, and helped them with my hand, saying, I am the Lord your God; 6 in that day I helped them with my hand, to bring them out of the land of Egypt into the land which I prepared for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, it is abundant beyond every land. 7 And I said to them, Let every one cast away the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the devices of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. 8 But they revolted from me, and would not hearken to me: they cast not away the abominations of their eyes, and forsook not the devices of Egypt: then I said that I would pour out my wrath upon them, to accomplish my wrath upon them in the midst of Egypt. 9 But I wrought [so] that my name should not be at all profaned in the sight of the Gentiles, in the midst of whom they are, among whom I was made known to them in their sight, to bring them out of the land of Egypt. 10 And I brought them into the wilderness. 11 And I gave them my commandments, and made known to them mine ordinances, all which [if] a man shall do, he shall even live in them. 12 And I gave them my sabbaths, that they should be for a sign between me and them, that they should know that I am the Lord that sanctify them. 13 And I said to the house of Israel in the wilderness, Walk ye in my commandments: but they walked not [in them], and they rejected mine ordinances, which [if] a man shall do, he shall even live in them; and they grievously profaned my sabbaths: and I said that I would pour out my wrath upon them in the wilderness, to consume them. 14 But I wrought [so] that my name should not be at all profaned before the Gentiles, before whose eyes I brought them out. 15 But I lifted up my hand against them in the wilderness once for all, that I would not bring them into the land which I gave them, a land flowing with milk and honey, it is sweeter than all lands: 16 because they rejected mine ordinances, and walked not in my commandments, but profaned my sabbaths, and went after the imaginations of their hearts. 17 Yet mine eyes spared them, so as [not] to destroy them utterly, and I did not make an end of them in the wilderness. 18 And I said to their children in the wilderness, Walk not ye in the customs of your fathers, and keep not their ordinances, and have no fellowship with their practices, nor defile yourselves [with them]. 19 I [am] the Lord your God; walk in my commandments, and keep mine ordinances, and do them; 20 and hallow my sabbaths, and let them be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God. 21 But they provoked me, and their children walked not in my commandments, and they took no heed to mine ordinances to do them, which [if] a man shall do, he shall even live in them, and they profaned my sabbaths: then I said that I would pour out my wrath upon them in the wilderness, to accomplish mine anger upon them. 22 But I wrought so that my name might not be at all profaned before the Gentiles; and I brought them out in their sight. 23 I lifted up my hand against them in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the Gentiles, [and] disperse them in the countries; 24 because they kept not mine ordinances, and rejected my commandments, and profaned my sabbaths, and their eyes went after the imaginations of their fathers. 25 So I gave them commandments [that were] not good, and ordinances in which they should not live. 26 And I will defile them by their [own] decrees, when I pass through upon every one that opens the womb, that I may destroy them. 27 Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, Thus saith the Lord: Hitherto have your fathers provoked me in their trespasses in which they transgressed against me. 28 Whereas I brought them into the land concerning which I lifted up mine hand to give it them; and they looked upon every high hill, and every shady tree, and they sacrificed there to their gods, and offered there a sweet-smelling savour, and there they poured out their drink-offerings. 29 And I said to them, What is Abama, that ye go in thither? and they called its name Abama, until this day. 30 Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord, Do ye pollute yourselves with the iniquities of your fathers, and do ye go a-whoring after their abominations, 31 and [do ye pollute yourselves] with the first-fruits of your gifts, in the offerings wherewith ye pollute yourselves in all your imaginations, until this day; and shall I answer you, O house of Israel? [As] I live, saith the Lord, I will not answer you, neither shall this thing come upon your spirit. 32 And it shall not be as ye say, We will be as the nations, and as the tribes of the earth, to worship stocks and stones. 33 Therefore, [as] I live, saith the Lord, I will reign over you with a strong hand, and with a high arm, and with outpoured wrath: 34 I will bring you out from the nations, and will take you out of the lands wherein ye were dispersed, with a strong hand, and with a high arm, and with outpoured wrath. 35 And I will bring you into the wilderness of the nations, and will plead with you there face to face. 36 As I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I judge you, saith the Lord. 37 And I will cause you to pass under my rod, and I will bring you in by number. 38 And I will separate from among you the ungodly and the revolters; for I will lead them forth out of their place of sojourning, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the Lord, [even] the Lord. 39 And [as to] you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord, [even] the Lord; Put away each one his [evil] practices, and hereafter if ye hearken to me, then shall ye no more profane my holy name by your gifts and by devices. 40 For upon my holy mountain, on the high mountain, saith the Lord, [even] the Lord, there shall all the house of Israel serve me for ever: and there will I accept [you], and there will I have respect to your first-fruits, and the first-fruits of your offerings, in all your holy things. 41 I will accept you with a sweet-smelling savour, when I bring you out from the nations, and take you out of the countries wherein ye have been dispersed; and I will be sanctified among you in the sight of the nations. 42 And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have brought you into the land of Israel, into the land concerning which I lifted up my hand to give it to your fathers. 43 And ye shall there remember your ways, and your devices wherewith ye defiled yourselves; and ye shall bewail yourselves for all your wickedness. 44 And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have done thus to you, that my name may not be profaned in your evil ways, and in your corrupt devices, saith the Lord.

Ezekiel 21

1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 Son of man, set thy face against Thæman, and look toward Darom, and prophesy against the chief forest of Nageb, 3 and thou shalt say to the forest of Nageb, Hear the word of the Lord; thus saith the Lord, [even] the Lord; Behold, I [will] kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour in thee every green tree, and every dry tree: the flame that is kindled shall not be quenched, and every face shall be scorched with it from the south to the north. 4 And all flesh shall know that I the Lord have kindled it: it shall not be quenched. 5 And I said, Not so, O Lord God! they say to me, Is not this that is spoken a parable? 6 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 7 Therefore prophesy, son of man, set thy face steadfastly toward Jerusalem, and look toward their holy places, and thou shalt prophesy against the land of Israel, 8 and thou shalt say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I am against thee, and I will draw forth my sword out of its sheath, and I will destroy out of thee the transgressor and unrighteous. 9 Because I will destroy out of thee the unrighteous and the transgressor, [therefore] so shall my sword come forth out of its sheath against all flesh from the south to the north: 10 and all flesh shall know that I the Lord have drawn forth my sword out of its sheath: it shall not return any more. 11 And thou, son of man, groan with the breaking of thy loins; thou shalt even groan heavily in their sight. 12 And it shall come to pass, if they shall say to thee, Wherefore dost thou groan? that thou shalt say, For the report; because it comes: and every heart shall break, and all hands shall become feeble, and all flesh and every spirit shall faint, and all thighs shall be defiled with moisture: behold, it comes, saith the Lord. 13 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 14 Son of man, prophesy, and thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord; Say, Sword, sword, be sharpened and rage, 15 that thou mayest slay victims; be sharpened that thou mayest be bright, ready for slaughter, slay, set at nought, despise every tree. 16 And he made it ready for his hand to hold: the sword is sharpened, it is ready to put into the hand of the slayer. 17 Cry out and howl, son of man: for this [sword] is come upon my people, this [sword is come] upon all the princes of Israel: they shall be as strangers: [judgment] with the sword is come upon my people: therefore clap thine hands, for sentence has been passed: 18 and what if even the tribe be rejected? it shall not be, saith the Lord God. 19 And thou, son of man, prophesy, and clap thine hands, and take a second sword: the third sword is [the sword] of the slain, the great sword of the slain: and thou shalt strike them with amazement, lest the heart should faint 20 and the weak ones be multiplied at every gate—they are given up to the slaughter of the sword: it is well fitted for slaughter, it is well fitted for glittering. 21 And do thou go on, sharpen thyself on the right and on the left whithersoever thy face may set itself. 22 And I also will clap my hands, and let loose my fury: I the Lord have spoken [it]. 23 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 24 And thou, son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may enter in: the two shall go forth of one country; and [there shall be] a force at the top of the way of the city, thou shalt set [it] at the top of the way, 25 that the sword may enter in upon Rabbath of the children of Ammon, and upon Judea, and upon Jerusalem in the midst thereof. 26 For the king of Babylon shall stand on the old way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination, to make bright the arrow, and to enquire of the graven images, and to examine [the victims]. 27 On his right was the divination against Jerusalem, to cast a mound, to open the mouth in shouting, to lift up the voice with crying, to cast a mound against her gates, to cast up a heap, and to build forts. 28 And he was to them as one using divination before them, and he himself recounting his iniquities, that they might be borne in mind. 29 Therefore thus saith the Lord, Because ye have caused your iniquities to be remembered, in the discovery of your wickedness, so that your sins should be seen, in all your wickedness and in your [evil] practices; because ye have caused remembrance [of them], in these shall ye be taken. 30 And thou profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day, [even] an end, is come in a season of iniquity, thus saith the Lord; 31 Thou hast taken off the mitre and put on the crown, it shall not have such [another] after it: thou hast abased that which was high, and exalted that which was low. 32 Injustice, injustice, injustice, will I make it: woe to it: such shall it be until he comes to whom it belongs; and I will deliver [it] to him. 33 And thou, son of man, prophesy, and thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord, concerning the children of Ammon, and concerning their reproach; and thou shalt say, O sword, sword, drawn for slaughter, and drawn for destruction, awake, that thou mayest gleam. 34 While thou art seeing vain [visions], and while thou art prophesying falsehoods, to bring thyself upon the necks of ungodly transgressors, the day is come, [even] an end, in a season of iniquity. 35 Turn, rest not in this place wherein thou wert born: in thine own land will I judge thee. 36 And I will pour out my wrath upon thee, I will blow upon thee with the fire of my wrath, and I will deliver thee into the hands of barbarians skilled in working destruction. 37 Thou shalt be fuel for fire; thy blood shall be in the midst of thy land; there shall be no remembrance at all of thee: for I the Lord have spoken [it].

Revelation 13

1 Then I stood on the sand of the sea. I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads. On his horns were ten crowns, and on his heads, blasphemous names. 2 The beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. 3 One of his heads looked like it had been wounded fatally. His fatal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled at the beast. 4 They worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” 5 A mouth speaking great things and blasphemy was given to him. Authority to make war for forty-two months was given to him. 6 He opened his mouth for blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, his dwelling, and those who dwell in heaven. 7 It was given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. Authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation was given to him. 8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been killed. 9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear. 10 If anyone is to go into captivity, he will go into captivity. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, he must be killed. Here is the endurance and the faith of the saints. 11 I saw another beast coming up out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. 12 He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. He makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. 13 He performs great signs, even making fire come down out of the sky to the earth in the sight of people. 14 He deceives my own people who dwell on the earth because of the signs he was granted to do in front of the beast, saying to those who dwell on the earth that they should make an image to the beast who had the sword wound and lived. 15 It was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause as many as wouldn’t worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16 He causes all, the small and the great, the rich and the poor, and the free and the slave, to be given marks on their right hands or on their foreheads; 17 and that no one would be able to buy or to sell unless he has that mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom. He who has understanding, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is six hundred sixty-six.