Hear this, you peoples of the earth: ¹  ‘Take note! ²  I am about to bring disaster on these people. It will come as punishment for their scheming. ³  For they have paid no attention to what I have said, ⁴  and they have rejected my law.

What will you say ¹  when the Lord ²  appoints as rulers over you those allies that you, yourself, had actually prepared as such? ³  Then anguish and agony will grip you like that of a woman giving birth to a baby. ⁴ 

“The Lord has made you priest in place of Jehoiada. ¹  He has put you in charge in the Lord’s temple of controlling ²  any lunatic ³  who pretends to be a prophet. ⁴  And it is your duty to put any such person in the stocks ⁵  with an iron collar around his neck. ⁶ 

“People of Babylonia, ¹  you plundered my people. ²  That made you happy and glad. You frolic about like calves in a pasture. ³  Your joyous sounds are like the neighs of a stallion. ⁴ 

ט (Tet) Her menstrual flow ¹  has soiled ²  her clothing; ³  she did not consider ⁴  the consequences of her sin. ⁵  Her demise ⁶  was astonishing, ⁷  and there was no one to comfort her. She cried, “Look, ⁸  O Lord, on my ⁹  affliction because my enemy boasts!”

She did not abandon the prostitution she had practiced in Egypt; for in her youth men had sex with her, fondled her virgin breasts, and ravished her. ¹ 

You have issued an edict, O king, that everyone must bow down and pay homage to the golden statue when they hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, trigon, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music.

Plead earnestly ¹  with your ²  mother (for ³  she is not my wife, and I am not her husband), so that ⁴  she might put an end to her adulterous lifestyle, ⁵  and turn away from her sexually immoral behavior. ⁶ 

Thus whenever you do charitable giving, ¹  do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in synagogues ²  and on streets so that people will praise them. I tell you the truth, ³  they have their reward.

But whenever you pray, go into your room, ¹  close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you. ² 

They sent to him their disciples along with the Herodians, ¹  saying, “Teacher, we know that you are truthful, and teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. ²  You do not court anyone’s favor because you show no partiality. ³ 

But he saw through their hypocrisy and said ¹  to them, “Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius ²  and let me look at it.”

Before it was sold, ¹  did it not ²  belong to you? And when it was sold, was the money ³  not at your disposal? How have you thought up this deed in your heart? ⁴  You have not lied to people ⁵  but to God!”

as you also join in helping us by prayer, so that many people may give thanks to God ¹  on our behalf for the gracious gift given to us through the help of many.

Nor do we boast beyond certain limits ¹  in the work ²  done by others, but we hope ³  that as your faith continues to grow, our work may be greatly expanded ⁴  among you according to our limits, ⁵ 

Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and make your hearts pure, you double-minded. ¹ 

But to the rest of you in Thyatira, all who do not hold to this teaching ¹  (who have not learned the so-called “deep secrets ²  of Satan”), to you I say: I do not put any additional burden on you.

Moses said, “I am going to go out ¹  from you and pray to the Lord, and the swarms of flies will go away from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people tomorrow. Only do not let Pharaoh deal falsely again ²  by not releasing ³  the people to sacrifice to the Lord.”

They ¹  must not discriminate in judgment, but hear the lowly ²  and the great alike. Nor should they be intimidated by human beings, for judgment belongs to God. If the matter being adjudicated is too difficult for them, they should bring it before me for a hearing.

Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me this way by sending my enemy away? Now he has escaped!” Michal replied to Saul, “He said to me, ‘Help me get away or else I will kill you!’” ¹