¹⁷ “As for you, My flock, this is what the Lord God says: ‘Behold, I am going to ^(A)judge between one ^[a]sheep and another, between the rams and the male goats. ¹⁸ Is it too ^(B)little a thing for you to feed in the good pasture, that you must trample with your feet the rest of your pastures? Or too little for you to drink the clear waters, that you must muddy the rest with your feet? ¹⁹ But as for My flock, they must eat what you trample with your feet, and drink what you muddy with your feet!’”

²⁰ Therefore, this is what the Lord God says to them: “Behold, I, I Myself will also judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. ²¹ Since you push away with your side and shoulder, and ^(C)gore all the ^[b]weak with your horns until you have scattered them ^[c]abroad, ²² therefore, I will ^(D)save My flock, and they will no longer be plunder; and I will judge between one sheep and another.

²³ “Then I will ^(E)appoint over them one ^(F)shepherd, My servant ^(G)David, and he will feed them; he will feed them himself and be their shepherd. ²⁴ And I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant ^(H)David will be prince among them; I the Lord have spoken.

²⁵ “And I will make a ^(I)covenant of peace with them and ^(J)eliminate harmful animals from the land, so that they may ^(K)live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. ²⁶ I will make them and the places around My hill a ^(L)blessing. And I will make ^(M)showers fall in their season; they will be showers of ^(N)blessing. ²⁷ Also the tree of the field will yield its fruit and the earth will yield its produce, and they will be ^(O)secure on their land. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I have ^(P)broken the bars of their yoke and have saved them from the hand of those who enslaved them. ²⁸ They will no longer be plunder to the nations, and the animals of the earth will not devour them; but they will ^(Q)live securely, and no one will make them afraid. ²⁹ I will establish for them a ^(R)renowned planting place, and they will ^(S)not again be ^[d]victims of famine in the land, and they will not ^(T)endure the insults of the nations anymore. ³⁰ Then they will know that ^(U)I, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are My people,” declares the Lord God. ³¹ “As for you, My ^(V)sheep, ^[e]the ^(W)sheep of My pasture, you are mankind, and I am your God,” declares the Lord God.

Those Who Died in Christ

¹³ But ^(A)we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who ^[a](B)are asleep, so that you will not grieve as indeed ^(C)the rest of mankind do, who have ^(D)no hope. ¹⁴ For if we believe that Jesus died and rose from the dead, ^(E)so also God will bring with Him ^(F)those who have fallen asleep ^[b]through Jesus. ¹⁵ For we say this to you ^(G)by the word of the Lord, that ^(H)we who are alive ^[c]and remain until ^(I)the coming of the Lord will not precede ^(J)those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord ^(K)Himself ^(L)will descend from heaven with a ^[d](M)shout, with the voice of ^(N)the archangel and with the ^(O)trumpet of God, and ^(P)the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ Then ^(Q)we who are alive, who remain, will be ^(R)caught up together with them ^(S)in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always ^(T)be with the Lord. ¹⁸ Therefore, ^[e]comfort one another with these words.

The Day of the Lord

5 Now as to the ^(U)periods and ^[f]times, brothers and sisters, you ^(V)have no need of anything to be written to you. ² For you yourselves know full well that ^(W)the day of the Lord is coming ^(X)just like a thief in the night. ³ While they are saying, “^(Y)Peace and safety!” then ^(Z)sudden destruction ^[g]will come upon them like ^(AA)labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. ⁴ But you, brothers and sisters, are not in ^(AB)darkness, so that the day would overtake you ^[h](AC)like a thief; ⁵ for you are all ^(AD)sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of ^(AE)darkness; ⁶ so then, let’s not ^(AF)sleep as ^[i](AG)others do, but let’s be alert and ^[j](AH)sober. ⁷ For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who are drunk, ^(AI)get drunk at night. ⁸ But since ^(AJ)we are of the day, let’s ^(AK)be ^[k]sober, having put on the ^(AL)breastplate of ^(AM)faith and love, and as a ^(AN)helmet, the ^(AO)hope of salvation. ⁹ For God has not destined us for ^(AP)wrath, but for ^(AQ)obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, ^10 (AR)who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. ¹¹ Therefore, ^[l]encourage one another and ^(AS)build one another up, just as you also are doing.

Israel to Be Renewed for His Name’s Sake

²² “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “It is ^(A)not for your sake, house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went. ²³ And I will ^(B)vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned among them. Then the ^(C)nations will know that I am the Lord,” declares the Lord God, “when I show Myself holy among you in their sight. ²⁴ For I will ^(D)take you from the nations, and gather you from all the lands; and I will bring you into your own land. ²⁵ Then I will ^(E)sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your ^(F)filthiness and from all your ^(G)idols. ²⁶ Moreover, I will give you a ^(H)new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the ^(I)heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ And I will ^(J)put My Spirit within you and bring it about that you walk in My statutes, and are careful and ^[a]follow My ordinances. ²⁸ And you will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be ^(K)My people, and I will be your God. ²⁹ Moreover, I will save you from all your uncleanness; and I will call for the grain and multiply it, and I ^(L)will not ^[b]bring a famine on you. ³⁰ Instead, I will ^(M)multiply the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field, so that you will not receive again the disgrace of famine among the nations. ³¹ Then you will ^(N)remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight for your wrongdoings and your abominations. ³² I am not doing this ^(O)for your sake,” declares the Lord God; “let that be known to you. Be ashamed and humiliated for your ways, house of Israel!”

³³ ‘This is what the Lord God says: “On the day that I cleanse you from all your wrongdoings, I will populate the ^(P)cities, and the ^(Q)places of ruins will be rebuilt. ³⁴ The desolated land will be cultivated instead of being a desolation in the sight of everyone who passes by. ³⁵ And they will say, ‘This desolated land has become like the ^(R)Garden of Eden; and the waste, desolated and ruined cities are fortified and inhabited.’ ³⁶ Then the nations around you that are left will know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt the ruined places and planted that which was desolated; I, the Lord, have spoken, and I ^(S)will do it.”

³⁷ ‘This is what the Lord God says: “This too I will let the house of Israel ask Me to do for them: I will increase their people like a flock. ³⁸ Like the ^(T)flock ^[c]for sacrifices, like the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so will the waste cities be filled with ^(U)flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”’”

God’s Final Word in His Son

1 God, after He ^(A)spoke long ago to the fathers in ^(B)the prophets in many portions and ^(C)in many ways, ^2 [a](D)in these last days ^(E)has spoken to us ^[b]in His ^(F)Son, whom He appointed ^(G)heir of all things, ^(H)through whom He also made the ^[c](I)world. ^3 [d]And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact ^(J)representation of His nature, and ^[e](K)upholds all things by ^[f]the word of His power. When He had made ^(L)purification of sins, He ^(M)sat down at the right hand of the ^(N)Majesty on high, ⁴ having become so much better than the angels, to the extent that He has inherited a more excellent ^(O)name than they.

⁵ For to which of the angels did He ever say,

And again,

⁶ And ^[g]when He again ^(R)brings the firstborn into ^[h](S)the world, He says,

⁷ And regarding the angels He says,

⁸ But regarding the Son He says,

¹⁰ And,

¹³ But to which of the angels has He ever said,

¹⁴ Are they not all ^(AG)ministering spirits, sent out to provide service for the sake of those who will ^(AH)inherit ^(AI)salvation?