Proverbs 14

 ¹ The wise woman builds her house,
       but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.

 ² He whose walk is upright fears the LORD,
       but he whose ways are devious despises him.

 ³ A fool's talk brings a rod to his back,
       but the lips of the wise protect them.

 ⁴ Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty,
       but from the strength of an ox comes an abundant harvest.

 ⁵ A truthful witness does not deceive,
       but a false witness pours out lies.

 ⁶ The mocker seeks wisdom and finds none,
       but knowledge comes easily to the discerning.

 ⁷ Stay away from a foolish man,
       for you will not find knowledge on his lips.

 ⁸ The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways,
       but the folly of fools is deception.

 ⁹ Fools mock at making amends for sin,
       but goodwill is found among the upright.

 ¹⁰ Each heart knows its own bitterness,
       and no one else can share its joy.

 ¹¹ The house of the wicked will be destroyed,
       but the tent of the upright will flourish.

 ¹² There is a way that seems right to a man,
       but in the end it leads to death.

 ¹³ Even in laughter the heart may ache,
       and joy may end in grief.

 ¹⁴ The faithless will be fully repaid for their ways,
       and the good man rewarded for his.

 ¹⁵ A simple man believes anything,
       but a prudent man gives thought to his steps.

 ¹⁶ A wise man fears the LORD and shuns evil,
       but a fool is hotheaded and reckless.

 ¹⁷ A quick-tempered man does foolish things,
       and a crafty man is hated.

 ¹⁸ The simple inherit folly,
       but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.

 ¹⁹ Evil men will bow down in the presence of the good,
       and the wicked at the gates of the righteous.

 ²⁰ The poor are shunned even by their neighbors,
       but the rich have many friends.

 ²¹ He who despises his neighbor sins,
       but blessed is he who is kind to the needy.

 ²² Do not those who plot evil go astray?
       But those who plan what is good find ^[a] love and faithfulness.

 ²³ All hard work brings a profit,
       but mere talk leads only to poverty.

 ²⁴ The wealth of the wise is their crown,
       but the folly of fools yields folly.

 ²⁵ A truthful witness saves lives,
       but a false witness is deceitful.

 ²⁶ He who fears the LORD has a secure fortress,
       and for his children it will be a refuge.

 ²⁷ The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life,
       turning a man from the snares of death.

 ²⁸ A large population is a king's glory,
       but without subjects a prince is ruined.

 ²⁹ A patient man has great understanding,
       but a quick-tempered man displays folly.

 ³⁰ A heart at peace gives life to the body,
       but envy rots the bones.

 ³¹ He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker,
       but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.

 ³² When calamity comes, the wicked are brought down,
       but even in death the righteous have a refuge.

 ³³ Wisdom reposes in the heart of the discerning
       and even among fools she lets herself be known. ^[b]

 ³⁴ Righteousness exalts a nation,
       but sin is a disgrace to any people.

 ³⁵ A king delights in a wise servant,
       but a shameful servant incurs his wrath.

Revelation 16

The Seven Bowls of God's Wrath

 ³The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead man, and every living thing in the sea died.

 ⁴The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. ⁵Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say:
   "You are just in these judgments,
      you who are and who were, the Holy One,
      because you have so judged;
 ⁶for they have shed the blood of your saints and prophets,
      and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve."

 ⁷And I heard the altar respond:
   "Yes, Lord God Almighty,
      true and just are your judgments."

 ⁸The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was given power to scorch people with fire. ⁹They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him.

 ¹⁰The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was plunged into darkness. Men gnawed their tongues in agony ¹¹and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done.

 ¹²The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East. ¹³Then I saw three evil^[a] spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. ¹⁴They are spirits of demons performing miraculous signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty.

 ¹⁵"Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed."

 ¹⁶Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.

 ¹⁷The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, "It is done!" ¹⁸Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake. ¹⁹The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath. ²⁰Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found. ²¹From the sky huge hailstones of about a hundred pounds each fell upon men. And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible.

Revelation 17

The Woman and the Beast

 ³Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a desert. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. ⁴The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. ⁵This title was written on her forehead:
      MYSTERY
      BABYLON THE GREAT
      THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES
      AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. ⁶I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus.

   When I saw her, I was greatly astonished. ⁷Then the angel said to me: "Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns. ⁸The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because he once was, now is not, and yet will come.

 ⁹"This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. ¹⁰They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for a little while. ¹¹The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction.

 ¹²"The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. ¹³They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. ¹⁴They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers."

 ¹⁵Then the angel said to me, "The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. ¹⁶The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. ¹⁷For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to give the beast their power to rule, until God's words are fulfilled. ¹⁸The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth."