The Day of the Lord Will Come

3 This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them ^(A)I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, ^2 (B)that you should remember the predictions of ^(C)the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, ³ knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come ^(D)in the last days with scoffing, ^(E)following their own sinful desires. ^4 (F)They will say, “Where is the promise of ^(G)his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” ⁵ For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth ^(H)was formed out of water and through water ^(I)by the word of God, ⁶ and that by means of these the world that then existed ^(J)was deluged with water and ^(K)perished. ⁷ But by the same word ^(L)the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and ^(M)destruction of the ungodly.

⁸ But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and ^(N)a thousand years as one day. ^9 (O)The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise ^(P)as some count slowness, but ^(Q)is patient toward you,^{[a] (R)}not wishing that any should perish, but ^(S)that all should reach repentance. ¹⁰ But ^(T)the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then ^(U)the heavens will pass away with a roar, and ^(V)the heavenly bodies^[b] will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.^[c]

¹¹ Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, ^(W)what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, ^12 (X)waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and ^(Y)the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! ¹³ But according to his promise we are waiting for ^(Z)new heavens and a new earth ^(AA)in which righteousness dwells.

Final Words

^14 (AB)Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him ^(AC)without spot or ^(AD)blemish, and ^(AE)at peace. ¹⁵ And count ^(AF)the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as ^(AG)our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you ^(AH)according to the wisdom given him, ¹⁶ as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. ^(AI)There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, ^(AJ)as they do the other Scriptures. ¹⁷ You therefore, beloved, ^(AK)knowing this beforehand, ^(AL)take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. ¹⁸ But ^(AM)grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. ^(AN)To him be the glory both now and to the day of ^(AO)eternity. Amen.

The Valley of Dry Bones

37 ^(A)The hand of the Lord was upon me, and ^(B)he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley;^[a] it was full of bones. ² And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. ³ And he said to me, ^(C)“Son of man, ^(D)can these bones live?” And ^(E)I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” ⁴ Then he said to me, ^(F)“Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, ^(G)O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. ⁵ Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause ^(H)breath^[b] to enter you, and you shall live. ^6 (I)And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and ^(J)cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, ^(K)and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

⁷ So I prophesied ^(L)as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, ^(M)a rattling,^[c] and the bones came together, bone to its bone. ⁸ And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But ^(N)there was no breath in them. ⁹ Then he said to me, ^(O)“Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, ^(P)son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from ^(Q)the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” ¹⁰ So I prophesied ^(R)as he commanded me, and ^(S)the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

¹¹ Then he said to me, ^(T)“Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and ^(U)our hope is lost; ^(V)we are indeed cut off.’ ¹² Therefore ^(W)prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, ^(X)I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And ^(Y)I will bring you into the land of Israel. ¹³ And ^(Z)you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. ¹⁴ And ^(AA)I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; ^(AB)I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”

I Will Be Their God; They Shall Be My People

¹⁵ The word of the Lord came to me: ^16 (AC)“Son of man, ^(AD)take a stick^[d] and write on it, ‘For ^(AE)Judah, and ^(AF)the people of Israel associated with him’; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For ^(AG)Joseph (the stick of ^(AH)Ephraim) and all the house of Israel associated with him.’ ¹⁷ And ^(AI)join them one to another into one stick, that ^(AJ)they may become ^(AK)one in your hand. ¹⁸ And when ^(AL)your people say to you, ^(AM)‘Will you not tell us what you mean by these?’ ¹⁹ say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am about to take ^(AN)the stick of Joseph (that is in the hand of Ephraim) and the tribes of Israel associated with him. And I will join with it the ^(AO)stick of Judah,^[e] and ^(AP)make them one stick, ^(AQ)that they may be one in my hand. ²⁰ When the sticks on which you write are in your hand ^(AR)before their eyes, ²¹ then say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, ^(AS)I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and ^(AT)bring them to their own land. ²² And ^(AU)I will make them one nation in the land, on ^(AV)the mountains of Israel. And ^(AW)one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer ^(AX)two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms. ^23 (AY)They shall not ^(AZ)defile themselves anymore ^(BA)with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But ^(BB)I will save them from all the backslidings^[f] in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and ^(BC)they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

²⁴ “My servant ^(BD)David ^(BE)shall be king over them, and they shall all have ^(BF)one shepherd. ^(BG)They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes. ^25 (BH)They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children's children shall dwell there ^(BI)forever, and David my servant shall be their prince ^(BJ)forever. ^26 (BK)I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be ^(BL)an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land^[g] and ^(BM)multiply them, and will ^(BN)set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. ^27 (BO)My dwelling place shall be with them, ^(BP)and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. ²⁸ Then ^(BQ)the nations will know that ^(BR)I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when ^(BS)my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.”

Prophecy Against Gog

38 The word of the Lord came to me: ^2 (BT)“Son of man, ^(BU)set your face toward ^(BV)Gog, of the land of ^(BW)Magog, the ^(BX)chief prince of ^(BY)Meshech^[h] and ^(BZ)Tubal, and ^(CA)prophesy against him ³ and say, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, ^(CB)I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech^[i] and Tubal. ^4 (CC)And I will turn you about and ^(CD)put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and ^(CE)all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in full armor, a great host, all of them with buckler and shield, wielding swords. ^5 (CF)Persia, ^(CG)Cush, and ^(CH)Put are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; ^6 (CI)Gomer and all his ^(CJ)hordes; ^(CK)Beth-togarmah from ^(CL)the uttermost parts of the north with all his hordes—^(CM)many peoples are with you.

^7 (CN)“Be ready and keep ready, you and all your hosts that are assembled about you, and be a guard for them. ^8 (CO)After many days you will be mustered. ^(CP)In the latter years you will go against ^(CQ)the land that is restored from war, the land whose people ^(CR)were gathered from many peoples upon ^(CS)the mountains of Israel, which had been a continual waste. Its people were brought out from the peoples and ^(CT)now dwell securely, all of them. ⁹ You will advance, coming on ^(CU)like a storm. You will be ^(CV)like a cloud covering the land, you and all your ^(CW)hordes, and many peoples with you.

¹⁰ “Thus says the Lord God: On that day, ^(CX)thoughts will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil scheme ¹¹ and say, ‘I will go up against ^(CY)the land of unwalled villages. I will fall upon ^(CZ)the quiet people who dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having no bars or gates,’ ¹² to seize spoil and carry off plunder, to turn your hand against ^(DA)the waste places that are now inhabited, and ^(DB)the people who were gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, ^(DC)who dwell at the center of the earth. ^13 (DD)Sheba and ^(DE)Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all ^(DF)its leaders^[j] will say to you, ‘Have you come to seize spoil? Have you assembled your hosts to carry off plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to seize great spoil?’

¹⁴ “Therefore, ^(DG)son of man, prophesy, and say to ^(DH)Gog, Thus says the Lord God: On that day when my people Israel are ^(DI)dwelling securely, ^(DJ)will you not know it? ¹⁵ You will come from your place out of ^(DK)the uttermost parts of the north, you and ^(DL)many peoples with you, ^(DM)all of them riding on horses, a great host, a mighty army. ¹⁶ You will come up against my people Israel, ^(DN)like a cloud covering the land. ^(DO)In the latter days I will bring you against my land, that the nations may know me, when through you, O Gog, ^(DP)I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.

¹⁷ “Thus says the Lord God: Are you ^(DQ)he of whom I spoke in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel, who in those days prophesied for years that I would bring you against them? ¹⁸ But on that day, the day that Gog shall come against the land of Israel, declares the Lord God, ^(DR)my wrath will be roused in my anger. ¹⁹ For ^(DS)in my jealousy and in my blazing wrath I declare, On that day ^(DT)there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. ^20 (DU)The fish of the sea and the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the field and all creeping things that creep on the ground, and all the people who are on the face of the earth, ^(DV)shall quake at my presence. And ^(DW)the mountains shall be thrown down, and the cliffs shall fall, and every wall shall tumble to the ground. ^21 (DX)I will summon a sword against Gog^[k] on all my mountains, declares the Lord God. ^(DY)Every man's sword will be against his brother. ²² With pestilence and bloodshed ^(DZ)I will enter into judgment with him, and ^(EA)I will rain upon him and ^(EB)his hordes and the many peoples who are with him ^(EC)torrential rains and hailstones, ^(ED)fire and sulfur. ²³ So I will show my greatness and my ^(EE)holiness and ^(EF)make myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then ^(EG)they will know that I am the Lord.