Psalm 145^[a]

A psalm of praise. Of David.

Psalm 98

A psalm.

¹⁵ on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month.^(A)

The Promised Glory of the New House

In the second year of King Darius,^(B) 2 ¹ on the twenty-first day of the seventh month,^(C) the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai:^{(D) 2} “Speak to Zerubbabel^(E) son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, to Joshua son of Jozadak,^[a](F) the high priest, and to the remnant^(G) of the people. Ask them, ³ ‘Who of you is left who saw this house^(H) in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing?^{(I) 4} But now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ declares the Lord. ‘Be strong,^(J) Joshua son of Jozadak,^(K) the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,’ declares the Lord, ‘and work. For I am with^(L) you,’ declares the Lord Almighty. ⁵ ‘This is what I covenanted^(M) with you when you came out of Egypt.^(N) And my Spirit^(O) remains among you. Do not fear.’^(P)

⁶ “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In a little while^(Q) I will once more shake the heavens and the earth,^(R) the sea and the dry land. ⁷ I will shake all nations, and what is desired^(S) by all nations will come, and I will fill this house^(T) with glory,^(U)’ says the Lord Almighty. ⁸ ‘The silver is mine and the gold^(V) is mine,’ declares the Lord Almighty. ⁹ ‘The glory^(W) of this present house^(X) will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace,^(Y)’ declares the Lord Almighty.”

The Man of Lawlessness

2 Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ^(A) and our being gathered to him,^(B) we ask you, brothers and sisters, ² not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter^(C)—asserting that the day of the Lord^(D) has already come.^{(E) 3} Don’t let anyone deceive you^(F) in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion^(G) occurs and the man of lawlessness^[a] is revealed,^(H) the man doomed to destruction. ⁴ He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God^(I) or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.^(J)

⁵ Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things?^(K)

Stand Firm

¹³ But we ought always to thank God for you,^(A) brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits^[a](B) to be saved^(C) through the sanctifying work of the Spirit^(D) and through belief in the truth. ¹⁴ He called you^(E) to this through our gospel,^(F) that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

¹⁵ So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm^(G) and hold fast to the teachings^[b] we passed on to you,^(H) whether by word of mouth or by letter.

¹⁶ May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father,^(I) who loved us^(J) and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, ¹⁷ encourage^(K) your hearts and strengthen^(L) you in every good deed and word.

The Resurrection and Marriage^(A)

²⁷ Some of the Sadducees,^(B) who say there is no resurrection,^(C) came to Jesus with a question. ²⁸ “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.^{(D) 29} Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a woman and died childless. ³⁰ The second ³¹ and then the third married her, and in the same way the seven died, leaving no children. ³² Finally, the woman died too. ³³ Now then, at the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?”

³⁴ Jesus replied, “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. ³⁵ But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come^(E) and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, ³⁶ and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children,^(F) since they are children of the resurrection. ³⁷ But in the account of the burning bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’^{[a](G) 38} He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.”