The Seventh Seal Is Opened

Revelation 8 When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. ²I noticed that the seven angels who stood before God were each given a trumpet.
³Another angel, who had a gold container for incense, came and stood at the altar. This one was given a lot of incense to offer with the prayers of God's people on the gold altar in front of the throne. ⁴Then the smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God's people, went up to God from the hand of the angel.
⁵After this, the angel filled the incense container with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth. Thunder roared, lightning flashed, and the earth shook.

The Trumpets

⁶The seven angels now got ready to blow their trumpets.
⁷When the first angel blew his trumpet, hail and fire mixed with blood were thrown down on the earth. A third of the earth, a third of the trees, and a third of all green plants were burned.
⁸When the second angel blew his trumpet, something like a great fiery mountain was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned to blood, ⁹a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
¹⁰When the third angel blew his trumpet, a great star fell from heaven. It was burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on a third of the springs of water. ¹¹The name of the star was Bitter, and a third of the water turned bitter. Many people died because the water was so bitter.
¹²When the fourth angel blew his trumpet, a third of the sun, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars were struck. They each lost a third of their light. So during a third of the day there was no light, and a third of the night was also without light.
¹³Then I looked and saw a lone eagle flying across the sky. It was shouting, "Trouble, trouble, trouble to everyone who lives on earth! The other three angels are now going to blow their trumpets."

People Who Settled in Jerusalem

Nehemiah 11 The nation's leaders and their families settled in Jerusalem. But there was room for only one out of every ten of the remaining families, and so they asked God to show them who would live there. ²Then everyone else asked God to bless those who were willing to live in Jerusalem.
³Some of the people of Israel, the priests, the Levites, the temple workers, and the descendants of Solomon's servants lived on their own property in the towns of Judah. But the leaders of the province lived in Jerusalem with their families.

The Judah Tribe

^4-6From the Judah tribe, two leaders settled in Jerusalem with their relatives. One of them was Athaiah son of Uzziah. His ancestors were Zechariah, Amariah, Shephatiah, Mahalalel, and Perez, the son of Judah. From the descendants of Perez, four hundred sixty-eight of the best men lived in Jerusalem.
The other leader from Judah was Maaseiah the son of Baruch. His ancestors were Colhozeh, Hazaiah, Adaiah, Joiarib, Zechariah, and Shelah, the son of Judah.

The Benjamin Tribe

^7-8From the Benjamin tribe, three leaders settled in Jerusalem. The first was Sallu son of Meshullam, and the others were Gabbai and Sallai. Sallu's ancestors were Joed, Pedaiah, Kolaiah, Maaseiah, Ithiel, and Jeshaiah. Altogether, there were nine hundred twenty-eight men of the Benjamin tribe living in Jerusalem. ⁹Joel son of Zichri was their leader, and Judah son of Hassenuah was second in command.

Priests

¹⁰Four priests settled in Jerusalem. The first was Jedaiah; he was the son of Joiarib and the uncle of Jachin.
¹¹The second priest to settle there was Seraiah son of Hilkiah. His ancestors were Meshullam, Zadok, Meraioth, and Ahitub, who had been a high priest. ¹²Altogether, there were eight hundred twenty-two from his clan who served in the temple.
The third priest to settle there was Adaiah son of Jeroham. His ancestors were Pelaliah, Amzi, Zechariah, Pashhur, and Malchijah. ¹³Altogether, there were two hundred forty-two clan leaders among his relatives.
The fourth priest to settle there was Amashsai son of Azarel. His ancestors were Ahzai, Meshillemoth, and Immer. ¹⁴Altogether, there were one hundred twenty-eight brave warriors from their clans, and their leader was Zabdiel son of Haggedolim.

Levites

¹⁵Several Levites settled in Jerusalem. First, there was Shemaiah son of Hasshub. His ancestors were Azrikam, Hashabiah, and Bunni.
¹⁶Next, there were Shabbethai and Jozabad, who were in charge of the work outside the temple.
¹⁷Then there was Mattaniah son of Mica. His ancestors were Zabdi and Asaph. Mattaniah led the temple choir in the prayer of praise. Bakbukiah, who also settled in Jerusalem, was his assistant.
Finally, there was Abda son of Shammua; his grandfather was Galal, and his great-grandfather was Jeduthun.
¹⁸Altogether, two hundred eighty-four Levites settled in the holy city.

Temple Guards and Others

¹⁹One hundred seventy-two temple guards settled in Jerusalem; their leaders were Akkub and Talmon.
²⁰The rest of the Israelites, including priests and Levites, lived on their own property in the other towns of Judah. ²¹But the temple workers lived in the section of Jerusalem known as Ophel, and the two men in charge of them were Ziha and Gishpa.
²²Uzzi son of Bani was the leader of the Levites in Jerusalem. His grandfather was Hashabiah, his great-grandfather was Mattaniah, and his great-great-grandfather was Mica. He belonged to the Asaph clan that was in charge of the music for the temple services, ²³though the daily choice of music and musicians was decided by royal decree of the Persian king.
²⁴The people of Israel were represented at the Persian court by Pethahiah son of Meshezabel from the Zerah clan of the Judah tribe.

The People in the Other Towns and Villages

²⁵Some of the people of Judah lived in the following towns near their farms: Kiriath-Arba, Dibon, Jekabzeel, ²⁶Jeshua, Moladah, Beth-Pelet, ²⁷Hazar-Shual, Beersheba, ²⁸Ziklag, Meconah, ²⁹Enrimmon, Zorah, Jarmuth, ³⁰Zanoah, Adullam, Lachish, and Azekah. In fact, they settled the towns from Beersheba in the south to Hinnom Valley in the north.
³¹The people of Benjamin lived in the towns of Geba, Michmash, Aija, Bethel with its nearby villages, ³²Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah, ³³Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim, ³⁴Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat, ³⁵Lod, and Ono, as well as in Craft Valley. ³⁶Several groups of Levites from the territory of Judah were sent to live among the people of Benjamin.

Psalm 103
[By David.]
The LORD's Wonderful Love

¹With all my heart I praise the LORD,
and with all that I am I praise his holy name!
²With all my heart I praise the LORD!
I will never forget how kind he has been.

³The LORD forgives our sins, heals us when we are sick,
⁴and protects us from death.
His kindness and love are a crown on our heads.
⁵Each day that we live, he provides for our needs
and gives us the strength of a young eagle.

⁶For all who are mistreated, the LORD brings justice.
⁷He taught his Law to Moses
and showed all Israel what he could do.

⁸The LORD is merciful! He is kind and patient,
and his love never fails.
⁹The LORD won't always be angry and point out our sins;
¹⁰he doesn't punish us as our sins deserve.

¹¹How great is God's love for all who worship him?
Greater than the distance between heaven and earth!
¹²How far has the LORD taken our sins from us?
Farther than the distance from east to west!

¹³Just as parents are kind to their children,
the LORD is kind to all who worship him,
¹⁴because he knows we are made of dust.
¹⁵We humans are like grass
or wild flowers that quickly bloom.
¹⁶But a scorching wind blows,
and they quickly wither to be forever forgotten.

¹⁷The LORD is always kind to those who worship him,
and he keeps his promises to their descendants
¹⁸who faithfully obey him.
¹⁹God has set up his kingdom in heaven,
and he rules the whole creation.
²⁰All of you mighty angels, who obey God's commands,
come and praise your LORD!
²¹All of you thousands who serve and obey God,
come and praise your LORD!
²²All of God's creation and all that he rules,
come and praise your LORD!
With all my heart I praise the LORD!