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Return to the Lord

12 “Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
    (A)“return to me with all your heart,
(B)with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
13     and (C)rend your hearts and not (D)your garments.”
Return to the Lord your God,
    (E)for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
    (F)and he relents over disaster.
14 (G)Who knows whether he will not turn and relent,
    and (H)leave a blessing behind him,
(I)a grain offering and a drink offering
    for the Lord your God?
15 (J)Blow the trumpet in Zion;
    (K)consecrate a fast;
call a solemn assembly;
16     gather the people.
(L)Consecrate the congregation;
    assemble the elders;
(M)gather the children,
    even nursing infants.
(N)Let the bridegroom leave his room,
    and the bride her chamber.
17 (O)Between the (P)vestibule and the (Q)altar
    (R)let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep
and say, “Spare your people, O Lord,
    and make not your heritage a reproach,
    a byword among the nations.[a]
(S)Why should they say among the peoples,
    ‘Where is their God?’”

The Lord Had Pity

18 (T)Then the Lord became jealous for his land
    (U)and had pity on his people.
19 The Lord answered and said to his people,
“Behold, (V)I am sending to you
    grain, wine, and oil,
    (W)and you will be satisfied;
and I will no more make you
    a reproach among the nations.

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Footnotes

  1. Joel 2:17 Or reproach, that the nations should rule over them

A Great Multitude from Every Nation

After this I looked, and behold, (A)a great multitude that no one could number, (B)from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, (C)clothed in white robes, with (D)palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, (E)“Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 And all the angels were standing round the throne and round the elders and (F)the four living creatures, and they (G)fell on their faces before the throne and worshipped God, 12 (H)saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and might be to our God for ever and ever! Amen.”

13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, (I)clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of (J)the great tribulation. (K)They have washed their robes and (L)made them white (M)in the blood of the Lamb.

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