²¹ then say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, ^(A)I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and ^(B)bring them to their own land. ²² And ^(C)I will make them one nation in the land, on ^(D)the mountains of Israel. And ^(E)one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer ^(F)two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms. ^23 (G)They shall not ^(H)defile themselves anymore ^(I)with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But ^(J)I will save them from all the backslidings^[a] in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and ^(K)they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

²⁴ “My servant ^(L)David ^(M)shall be king over them, and they shall all have ^(N)one shepherd. ^(O)They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes. ^25 (P)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 ^(Q)forever, and David my servant shall be their prince ^(R)forever. ^26 (S)I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be ^(T)an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land^[b] and ^(U)multiply them, and will ^(V)set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. ^27 (W)My dwelling place shall be with them, ^(X)and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. ²⁸ Then ^(Y)the nations will know that ^(Z)I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when ^(AA)my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.”

Warning Concerning Antichrists

¹⁸ Children, ^(A)it is the last hour, and as you have heard that ^(B)antichrist is coming, so now ^(C)many antichrists have come. ^(D)Therefore we know that it is the last hour. ^19 (E)They went out from us, but they were not of us; for ^(F)if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, ^(G)that it might become plain that they all are not of us. ²⁰ But you have been ^(H)anointed by ^(I)the Holy One, and ^(J)you all have knowledge.^{[a] 21} I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. ²² Who is the liar but ^(K)he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is ^(L)the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. ^23 (M)No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. ²⁴ Let ^(N)what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then ^(O)you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. ²⁵ And this is the promise that he made to us^[b]—^(P)eternal life.

²⁶ I write these things to you about ^(Q)those who are trying to deceive you. ²⁷ But ^(R)the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and ^(S)you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and ^(T)is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.

Children of God

²⁸ And now, little children, abide in him, so that ^(U)when he appears ^(V)we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his ^(W)coming. ²⁹ If you know that ^(X)he is righteous, you may be sure that ^(Y)everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.

Persecution Will Come

^16 (A)“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be ^(B)wise as serpents and ^(C)innocent as doves. ¹⁷ Beware of men, for ^(D)they will deliver you over to courts and flog you ^(E)in their synagogues, ^18 (F)and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, ^(G)to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. ^19 (H)When ^(I)they deliver you over, ^(J)do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for ^(K)what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. ^20 (L)For it is not you who speak, but ^(M)the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. ^21 (N)Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, ^22 (O)and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. ^(P)But the one who endures to the end will be saved. ²³ When they ^(Q)persecute you in one town, ^(R)flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel ^(S)before the Son of Man comes.