Jerusalem to Be Attacked

12 The ^[a]burden of the word of the Lord concerning Israel.

Thus declares the Lord who ^(A)stretches out the heavens, ^(B)lays the foundation of the earth, and ^(C)forms the spirit of man within him, ² “Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a ^(D)cup ^[b]that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against ^(E)Judah. ³ It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy ^(F)stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be ^(G)severely ^[c]injured. And all the ^(H)nations of the earth will be gathered against it. ⁴ In that day,” declares the Lord, “I will strike every horse with bewilderment and his rider with madness. But I will ^[d]watch over the house of Judah, while I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. ⁵ Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘^[e]A strong support for us are the inhabitants of Jerusalem through the Lord of hosts, their God.’

⁶ “In that day I will make the clans of Judah like a ^(I)firepot among pieces of wood and a flaming torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right hand and on the left all the surrounding peoples, while the ^(J)inhabitants of Jerusalem again dwell on their own sites in Jerusalem. ⁷ The Lord also will ^(K)save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of ^(L)David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be magnified above Judah. ⁸ In that day the Lord will ^(M)defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who ^[f](N)is feeble among them in that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like ^(O)God, like the ^(P)angel of the Lord before them. ⁹ And in that day I will ^[g](Q)set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

¹⁰ “I will ^(R)pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, ^[h]the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have ^(S)pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one ^(T)mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. ¹¹ In that day there will be great ^(U)mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the ^[i]plain of ^[j]Megiddo. ¹² The land will mourn, every family by itself; the family of the house of David by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself and their wives by themselves; ¹³ the family of the house of Levi by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself and their wives by themselves; ¹⁴ all the families that remain, every family by itself and their wives by themselves.

The Words of Lemuel

31 The words of King Lemuel, the ^[a]oracle which his mother taught him:

Growth in Christian Virtue

1 ^[a]Simon Peter, a ^(A)bond-servant and ^(B)apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who have received ^(C)a faith of the same ^[b]kind as ours, ^[c]by ^(D)the righteousness of ^(E)our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: ^2 (F)Grace and peace be multiplied to you in ^(G)the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; ³ seeing that His ^(H)divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true ^(I)knowledge of Him who ^(J)called us ^[d]by His own glory and ^[e]excellence. ^4 [f]For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent ^(K)promises, so that by them you may become ^(L)partakers of the divine nature, having ^(M)escaped the ^(N)corruption that is in ^(O)the world by lust. ⁵ Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith ^(P)supply ^(Q)moral ^[g]excellence, and in your moral excellence, ^(R)knowledge, ⁶ and in your knowledge, ^(S)self-control, and in your self-control, ^(T)perseverance, and in your perseverance, ^(U)godliness, ⁷ and in your godliness, ^(V)brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. ⁸ For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor ^(W)unfruitful in the true ^(X)knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ For he who lacks these qualities is ^(Y)blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his ^(Z)purification from his former sins. ¹⁰ Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His ^(AA)calling and ^(AB)choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never ^(AC)stumble; ¹¹ for in this way the entrance into ^(AD)the eternal kingdom of our ^(AE)Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be ^(AF)abundantly ^(AG)supplied to you.

¹² Therefore, ^(AH)I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in ^(AI)the truth which is present with you. ¹³ I consider it ^(AJ)right, as long as I am in ^(AK)this earthly dwelling, to ^(AL)stir you up by way of reminder, ¹⁴ knowing that ^(AM)the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, ^(AN)as also our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. ¹⁵ And I will also be diligent that at any time after my ^(AO)departure you will be able to call these things to mind.

Eyewitnesses

¹⁶ For we did not follow cleverly devised ^(AP)tales when we made known to you the ^(AQ)power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were ^(AR)eyewitnesses of His majesty. ¹⁷ For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an ^[h](AS)utterance as this was ^[i]made to Him by the ^(AT)Majestic Glory, “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased”— ¹⁸ and we ourselves heard this ^[j]utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the ^(AU)holy mountain.

^19 [k]So we have ^(AV)the prophetic word made more ^(AW)sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to ^(AX)a lamp shining in a dark place, until the ^(AY)day dawns and the ^(AZ)morning star arises ^(BA)in your hearts. ²⁰ But ^(BB)know this first of all, that ^(BC)no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, ²¹ for ^(BD)no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men ^(BE)moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.