Revelation 9 Then the fifth angel
blew his trumpet. I saw a star which had fallen down to
the earth, and it was given the key to the abyss. 2The
star opened the abyss, and smoke poured out of it, like
the smoke from a large furnace; the sunlight and the air
were darkened by the smoke from the abyss. 3Locusts
came down out of the smoke upon the earth, and they were
given the same kind of power that scorpions have. 4They
were told not to harm the grass or the trees or any other
plant; they could harm only the people who did not have
the mark of God's seal on their foreheads. 5The
locusts were not allowed to kill these people, but only
to torture them for five months. The pain caused by the
torture is like the pain caused by a scorpion's sting. 6During
those five months they will seek death, but will not find
it; they will want to die, but death will flee from them.
 7The
locusts looked like horses ready for battle; on their
heads they had what seemed to be crowns of gold, and
their faces were like human faces. 8Their hair
was like women's hair, their teeth were like lions'
teeth. 9Their chests were covered with what
looked like iron breastplates, and the sound made by
their wings was like the noise of many horse-drawn
chariots rushing into battle. 10They have
tails and stings like those of a scorpion, and it is with
their tails that they have the power to hurt people for
five months. 11They have a king ruling over
them, who is the angel in charge of the abyss. His name
in Hebrew is Abaddon; in Greek the name is Apollyon
(meaning "The Destroyer").
12The
first horror is over; after this there are still two more
horrors to come.
13Then
the sixth angel blew his trumpet. I heard a voice coming
from the four corners of the gold altar standing before
God. 14The voice said to the sixth angel,
"Release the four angels who are bound at the great
Euphrates River!" 15The four angels were
released; for this very hour of this very day of this
very month and year they had been kept ready to kill a
third of all the human race. 16I was told
the number of the mounted troops: it was two hundred
million. 17And in my vision I saw the horses
and their riders: they had breastplates red as fire, blue
as sapphire, and yellow as sulfur. The horses' heads were
like lions' heads, and from their mouths came out fire,
smoke, and sulfur. 18A third of the human
race was killed by those three plagues: the fire, the
smoke, and the sulfur coming out of the horses' mouths. 19For
the power of the horses is in their mouths and also in
their tails. Their tails are like snakes with heads, and
they use them to hurt people.
20The
rest of the human race, all those who had not been killed
by these plagues, did not turn away from what they
themselves had made. They did not stop worshiping demons,
nor the idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood,
which cannot see, hear, or walk. 21Nor did
they repent of their murders, their magic, their sexual
immorality, or their stealing.
List of Priests
and Levites
Nehemiah 12 The following is a
list of the priests and Levites who returned from exile
with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and with the High Priest
Joshua:
2-7Priests:
 Seraiah,
Jeremiah, Ezra,
Amariah,
Malluch, Hattush,
Shecaniah,
Rehum, Meremoth,
Iddo,
Ginnethoi, Abijah,
Mijamin,
Maadiah, Bilgah,
Shemaiah,
Joiarib, Jedaiah,
Sallu,
Amok, Hilkiah, and Jedaiah.
 These
men were leaders among all their fellow priests in the
days of Joshua.
8Levites:
The
following were in charge of the singing of hymns of
thanksgiving: Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah,
and Mattaniah.
9The
following formed the choir that sang the responses:
Bakbukiah, Unno, and their fellow Levites.
Descendants of the High
Priest Joshua
10Joshua
was the father of Joiakim; Joiakim was the father of
Eliashib; Eliashib was the father of Joiada; 11Joiada
was the father of Jonathan; and Jonathan was the father
of Jaddua.
Heads of the Priestly
Clans
12-21When
Joiakim was High Priest, the following priests were the
heads of the priestly clans:
Record of the Priestly
and Levite Families
22A record
was kept of the heads of the Levite families and of the
priestly families during the lifetimes of the following
High Priests: Eliashib, Joiada, Jonathan, and Jaddua.
This record was finished when Darius was emperor of
Persia.
23The
heads of the Levite families, however, were recorded in
the official records only until the time of Jonathan, the
grandson of Eliashib.
Assignment of Duties
in the Temple
24Under
the direction of Hashabiah, Sherebiah, Jeshua, Binnui,
and Kadmiel, the Levites were organized into groups. Two
groups at a time praised God responsively and gave thanks
to him, in accordance with the instructions given by King
David, the man of God.
25The
following Temple guards were in charge of guarding the
storerooms by the gates to the Temple: Mattaniah,
Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub.
26These
people lived during the time of Joiakim, the son of
Joshua and grandson of Jehozadak, and the time of
Nehemiah the governor, and the time of Ezra, the priest
who was a scholar of the Law.
Nehemiah Dedicates
the City Wall
27When
the city wall of Jerusalem was dedicated, the Levites
were brought in from wherever they were living, so that
they could join in celebrating the dedication with songs
of thanksgiving and with the music of cymbals and harps. 28The
Levite families of singers gathered from the area where
they had settled around Jerusalem and from the towns
around Netophah, 29and from Bethgilgal, Geba,
and Azmaveth. 30The priests and the Levites
performed ritual purification for themselves, the people,
the gates, and the city wall.
31I assembled
the leaders of Judah on top of the wall and put them in
charge of two large groups to march around the city,
giving thanks to God.
The
first group went to the right on top of the wall toward
the Rubbish Gate. 32Hoshaiah marched behind
the singers, followed by half the leaders of Judah. 33-35The
following priests, blowing trumpets, marched next:
Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, and
Jeremiah. Next came Zechariah, the son of Jonathan and
grandson of Shemaiah. (His ancestors also included
Mattaniah, Micaiah, and Zaccur, of the clan of Asaph.) 36He
was followed by other members of his clan--Shemaiah,
Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and
Hanani--all of whom carried musical instruments of the
kind played by King David, the man of God. Ezra the
scholar led this group in the procession. 37At
the Fountain Gate they went up the steps that led to
David's City, past David's palace, and back to the wall
at the Water Gate, on the east side of the city.
38The
other group of those who gave thanks went to the left
along the top of the wall, and I followed with half of
the people. We marched past the Tower of the Ovens to the
Broad Wall, 39and from there we went past
Ephraim Gate, Jeshanah Gate, the Fish Gate, the Tower of
Hananel, and the Tower of the Hundred, to the Sheep Gate.
We ended our march near the gate to the Temple.
40So
both the groups that were giving thanks to God reached
the Temple area.
In
addition to the leaders who were with me, 41my
group included the following priests, blowing trumpets:
Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai,
Zechariah, and Hananiah; 42and they were
followed by Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan,
Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. The singers, led by Jezrahiah,
sang at the top of their voices.
43That
day many sacrifices were offered, and the people were
full of joy because God had made them very happy. The
women and the children joined in the celebration, and the
noise they all made could be heard for miles.
Providing for Worship
in the Temple
44At
that time men were put in charge of the storerooms where
contributions for the Temple were kept, including the
tithes and the first grain and fruit that ripened each
year. These men were responsible for collecting from the
farms near the various cities the contributions for the
priests and the Levites which the Law required. All the
people of Judah were pleased with the priests and the
Levites, 45because they performed the
ceremonies of purification and the other rituals that God
had commanded. The Temple musicians and the Temple guards
also performed their duties in accordance with the
regulations made by King David and his son Solomon. 46From
the time of King David and the musician Asaph long ago,
the musicians have led songs of praise and thanksgiving
to God. 47In the time of Zerubbabel and also
in the time of Nehemiah, all the people of Israel gave
daily gifts for the support of the Temple musicians and
the Temple guards. The people gave a sacred offering to
the Levites, and the Levites gave the required portion to
the priests.
In Praise of the
Creator
Psalm 104 Praise the LORD, my soul!
 O LORD, my God, how great you are!
 You
are clothed with majesty and glory;
 2 you
cover yourself with light.
You
have spread out the heavens like a tent
3and
built your home on the waters above.
You
use the clouds as your chariot
and
ride on the wings of the wind.
4You
use the winds as your messengers
and
flashes of lightning as your servants.
5You
have set the earth firmly on its foundations,
and
it will never be moved.
6You
placed the ocean over it like a robe,
and
the water covered the mountains.
7When
you rebuked the waters, they fled;
they
rushed away when they heard your shout of command.
8They
flowed over the mountains and into the valleys,
to
the place you had made for them.
9You
set a boundary they can never pass,
to
keep them from covering the earth again.
 10You
make springs flow in the valleys,
and
rivers run between the hills.
11They
provide water for the wild animals;
there
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12In
the trees near by,
the
birds make their nests and sing.
13From
the sky you send rain on the hills,
and
the earth is filled with your blessings.
14You
make grass grow for the cattle
and
plants for us to use,
so
that we can grow our crops
15and
produce wine to make us happy,
olive
oil to make us cheerful,
and
bread to give us strength.
16The
cedars of Lebanon get plenty of rain--
the
LORD's own trees, which he planted.
17There
the birds build their nests;
the
storks nest in the fir trees.
18The
wild goats live in the high mountains,
and
the rock badgers hide in the cliffs.
19You
created the moon to mark the months;
the
sun knows the time to set.
20You
made the night, and in the darkness
all
the wild animals come out.
21The
young lions roar while they hunt,
looking
for the food that God provides.
22When
the sun rises, they go back
and
lie down in their dens.
23Then
people go out to do their work
and
keep working until evening.
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