This Bible reading plan takes you through most of the Holy Scriptures each weekday of the year. Each day has three Bible readings:
You're welcome to read one, two, or all three of the readings every weekday. And if you fall behind, don't worry! You can either use the weekends to catch up or you can simply dive in to the reading for that day, even if you've missed a few days, weeks, or even months!
You can download a foldable bookmark here: 2026
17:1 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk.” 3 And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. 5 And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations.” 6 And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.1
When I saw her, I marveled greatly. 7 But the angel said to me, “Why do you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her. 8 The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit2 and go to destruction. And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come. 9 This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; 10 they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he does come he must remain only a little while. 11 As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to destruction. 12 And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast. 13 These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast. 14 They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”
15 And the angel3 said to me, “The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages. 16 And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire, 17 for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. 18 And the woman that you saw is the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth.”
(ESV)
I find people who mix their metaphors, whether intentionally or unintentionally, to be quite entertaining. And people do this more often than you might think. Ray Romano, the American actor best known for his work on the sitcom "Everybody Love Raymond" is reported to have said, "Your dirty laundry is coming home to roost." Is that because the chickens dirtied the laundry? Or how about the renowned English author Agatha Christie, who once penned these words: "One has to tidy up the loose ends." Isn't that, "Tie up the loose ends"? And then, leave it to a politician to really stick his foot in his mouth, as former vice president Al Gore did. Gore once quipped at a press conference, "We all know that a leopard can't change his stripes." And indeed that's true. Mainly because a leopard doesn't have any stripes. He has spots.
You would think that a writer as astute, observant, and careful as John would never commit such a cardinal literary sin like mixing his metaphors. But in Revelation 17, this is exactly what he does.
John sees a vision of a prostitute riding a beast who has emerged from the waters. This beast, John continues, has seven heads and ten horns (cf. verses 1-3). Now clearly, this language is to be interpreted metaphorically, as John himself later explains. He even "decodes," as it were, bits and pieces of his metaphorical language for us: "The seven heads of the beast are the seven hills on which the woman sits" (verse 9). So this woman is sitting on some sort of seven-hilled landscape. But then John continues, "They are also the seven kings" (verse 10). Wait! I thought the seven heads of the beast were supposed to symbolize seven hills. How can they also symbolize seven kings?
With such a labyrinth of imagery, it's no wonder that the book of Revelation can confuse and frustrate many. So let me see if I can help decipher some of John's metaphors, mixed as they may be. The prostitute seems to represent those once faithful followers of God who turn away from him in apostasy. Indeed, the sad image of a harlot is common imagery in the Old Testament for Israel, who regularly turns away from God to follow her own sinful desires. As the prophet Isaiah says, "See how the faithful city of Jerusalem has become a harlot! She was once full of justice; righteousness used to dwell in her - but now murderers" (Isaiah 1:21)! The beast out of the sea on which this woman sits seems to symbolize the Roman Empire, especially since this beast's seven heads symbolize the "seven hills" (verse 9) on which Rome famously sits. The "seven kings," then, could very well be some of the wicked Roman emperors with whom John would have had to contend as he wrote Revelation. For John had been exiled by these same emperors to the remote island of Patmos because he stood up for his faith in Christ when these emperors demanded that all subjects of the empire worship them as gods. In the end, however, although these are my educated guesses as to what this imagery in Revelation 17 represents, they are still only my educated guesses. In other words, I cannot, in the final analysis, decipher every one of John's apocalyptic metaphors with precise specificity.
More than once, I have met a person who was convinced that he had every last one of the beasts, horns, kings, bowls, plagues, scrolls, and trumpets deciphered and decoded with the precise specificity that so stubbornly eludes me. And, oddly enough, all of these images from John's book just happened to correspond with the news stories he had read in the New York Times earlier that morning! "The end of the world is at hand," he would confidently, and even arrogantly, announce to me. Usually, I would respond with only a knowing glance. And then I would wait. Because while he was furiously readying himself for "apocalypse now," I just continued on with my daily activities, content to leave the Lord's return to the Lord. And eventually, the timetables he had placed on his predictions of doom and gloom expired. And he was proven wrong. Perhaps his precise specificity wasn't so precise after all.
One of the reasons I believe John mixes his metaphors is to try to prevent us from engaging in interpretations of his writings which would foolishly and haughtily seek to decipher his metaphors with precise specificity. For John's metaphors are not meant to be precise predictions, but general descriptions of the sad state of wickedness in the world and of the glorious promise of salvation with Christ. Sadly, this has not detoured many from their foolish, and so far completely wrongheaded, interpretations of John's visions.
I cannot interpret John's apocalyptic mixed metaphors specifically. I can only speak to them generally. And that's okay. I think John intended it that way. But this I do know and this I do believe with amazing specificity: That "the Lamb will overcome evil because he is Lord of lords and King of kings - and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers" (verse 14). No matter what may come of John's mixed metaphors, this I know: I will live eternally with the Lamb. And that makes me happy as an oyster. Or is that a clam?
21 And the word of the LORD came to me: 22 “Son of man, what is this proverb that you1 have about the land of Israel, saying, ‘The days grow long, and every vision comes to nothing’? 23 Tell them therefore, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: I will put an end to this proverb, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel.’ But say to them, The days are near, and the fulfillment2 of every vision. 24 For there shall be no more any false vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel. 25 For I am the LORD; I will speak the word that I will speak, and it will be performed. It will no longer be delayed, but in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak the word and perform it, declares the Lord GOD.”
26 And the word of the LORD came to me: 27 “Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, ‘The vision that he sees is for many days from now, and he prophesies of times far off.’ 28 Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: None of my words will be delayed any longer, but the word that I speak will be performed, declares the Lord GOD.”
13:1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel, who are prophesying, and say to those who prophesy from their own hearts: ‘Hear the word of the LORD!’ 3 Thus says the Lord GOD, Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! 4 Your prophets have been like jackals among ruins, O Israel. 5 You have not gone up into the breaches, or built up a wall for the house of Israel, that it might stand in battle in the day of the LORD. 6 They have seen false visions and lying divinations. They say, ‘Declares the LORD,’ when the LORD has not sent them, and yet they expect him to fulfill their word. 7 Have you not seen a false vision and uttered a lying divination, whenever you have said, ‘Declares the LORD,’ although I have not spoken?”
8 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Because you have uttered falsehood and seen lying visions, therefore behold, I am against you, declares the Lord GOD. 9 My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and who give lying divinations. They shall not be in the council of my people, nor be enrolled in the register of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord GOD. 10 Precisely because they have misled my people, saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace, and because, when the people build a wall, these prophets smear it with whitewash,3 11 say to those who smear it with whitewash that it shall fall! There will be a deluge of rain, and you, O great hailstones, will fall, and a stormy wind break out. 12 And when the wall falls, will it not be said to you, ‘Where is the coating with which you smeared it?’ 13 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: I will make a stormy wind break out in my wrath, and there shall be a deluge of rain in my anger, and great hailstones in wrath to make a full end. 14 And I will break down the wall that you have smeared with whitewash, and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation will be laid bare. When it falls, you shall perish in the midst of it, and you shall know that I am the LORD. 15 Thus will I spend my wrath upon the wall and upon those who have smeared it with whitewash, and I will say to you, The wall is no more, nor those who smeared it, 16 the prophets of Israel who prophesied concerning Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her, when there was no peace, declares the Lord GOD.
[1] 12:22
[2] 12:23
[3] 13:10
(ESV)
As Ezekiel's fellow exiles listened to his words and watched his portrayal of the fate of Jerusalem, they responded by throwing an old proverb in his face: "The days grow long, and every vision comes to nothing." It's hard to imagine that they could have such an attitude since they were in exile themselves, yet they refused to believe that God's judgment on Jerusalem was certain and imminent. Instead, they believed that it was for many days off, and that their fellow Jews in Jerusalem would be untouched. They sounded like the scoffers to whom Peter referred to in 2 Peter chapter 3 that were questioning Christ's return: "Where is this 'coming' he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation." But God's Word never fails, and His judgments are never delayed according to His perfect timing. So God told the exiles, "in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak the word and perform it, declares the Lord GOD." God then went on to condemn the false prophets who made up their prophesies according to the their own spirit, rather than listening to the Holy Spirit, who made up words following the desires of their own hearts, rather than listening to the heart of God. They had the audacity to say, "Declares the LORD," even though God had not sent them. God pronounced that because they misled His people, they would not be listed among His people. These false prophets promised "Peace, when there is no peace." Their lying promises were like a flimsy wall disguised with whitewash, but swept away by the storm of God's wrath. Those lying prophets would be swept away along with the wall of lies they had erected.
16 For he did not remember to show kindness,
but pursued the poor and needy
and the brokenhearted, to put them to death.
17 He loved to curse; let curses come1 upon him!
He did not delight in blessing; may it be far2 from him!
18 He clothed himself with cursing as his coat;
may it soak3 into his body like water,
like oil into his bones!
19 May it be like a garment that he wraps around him,
like a belt that he puts on every day!
20 May this be the reward of my accusers from the LORD,
of those who speak evil against my life!
21 But you, O GOD my Lord,
deal on my behalf for your name’s sake;
because your steadfast love is good, deliver me!
22 For I am poor and needy,
and my heart is stricken within me.
23 I am gone like a shadow at evening;
I am shaken off like a locust.
24 My knees are weak through fasting;
my body has become gaunt, with no fat.
25 I am an object of scorn to my accusers;
when they see me, they wag their heads.
26 Help me, O LORD my God!
Save me according to your steadfast love!
27 Let them know that this is your hand;
you, O LORD, have done it!
28 Let them curse, but you will bless!
They arise and are put to shame, but your servant will be glad!
29 May my accusers be clothed with dishonor;
may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a cloak!
30 With my mouth I will give great thanks to the LORD;
I will praise him in the midst of the throng.
31 For he stands at the right hand of the needy one,
to save him from those who condemn his soul to death.
[1] 109:17
[2] 109:17
[3] 109:18
(ESV)