The Lord's Covenant of Peace

^25 (A)“I will make with them a covenant of peace and ^(B)banish wild beasts from the land, ^(C)so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. ²⁶ And I will make them and the places all around my hill ^(D)a blessing, and ^(E)I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be ^(F)showers of blessing. ^27 (G)And the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, ^(H)and they shall be secure in their land. And ^(I)they shall know that I am the Lord, when ^(J)I break the bars of their yoke, and ^(K)deliver them from the hand of those who enslaved them. ^28 (L)They shall no more be a prey to the nations, ^(M)nor shall the beasts of the land devour them. ^(N)They shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid. ²⁹ And I will provide for them ^(O)renowned plantations so that ^(P)they shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land, and no longer ^(Q)suffer the reproach of the nations. ³⁰ And they shall know that ^(R)I am the Lord their God with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Lord God. ³¹ And you are my sheep, ^(S)human sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord God.”

Prophecy Against Mount Seir

35 The word of the Lord came to me: ^2 (T)“Son of man, ^(U)set your face ^(V)against ^(W)Mount Seir, and prophesy against it, ³ and say to it, Thus says the Lord God: ^(X)Behold, I am against you, Mount Seir, and ^(Y)I will stretch out my hand against you, ^(Z)and I will make you a desolation and a waste. ^4 (AA)I will lay your cities waste, and you shall become a desolation, and you shall know that I am the Lord. ⁵ Because ^(AB)you cherished perpetual enmity and gave over the people of Israel to the power of the sword ^(AC)at the time of their calamity, ^(AD)at the time of their final punishment, ⁶ therefore, ^(AE)as I live, declares the Lord God, I will prepare you for blood, and blood shall pursue you; ^(AF)because you did not hate bloodshed, therefore blood shall pursue you. ^7 (AG)I will make Mount Seir a waste ^(AH)and a desolation, and I will cut off from it ^(AI)all who come and go. ⁸ And I will fill ^(AJ)its mountains with the slain. On your hills and in your valleys and in all ^(AK)your ravines ^(AL)those slain with the sword shall fall. ^9 (AM)I will make you a perpetual desolation, and ^(AN)your cities shall not be inhabited. Then ^(AO)you will know that I am the Lord.

¹⁰ “Because you said, ^(AP)‘These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and ^(AQ)we will take possession of them’—although the ^(AR)Lord was there— ¹¹ therefore, ^(AS)as I live, declares the Lord God, I will deal with you ^(AT)according to the anger and ^(AU)envy that you showed because of your hatred against them. And ^(AV)I will make myself known among them, when I judge you. ¹² And you shall know that I am the Lord.

^(AW)“I have heard all the revilings that you uttered against the mountains of Israel, saying, ‘They are laid desolate; ^(AX)they are given us to devour.’ ¹³ And ^(AY)you magnified yourselves against me ^(AZ)with your mouth, and multiplied your words against me; I heard it. ¹⁴ Thus says the Lord God: ^(BA)While the whole earth rejoices, I will make you desolate. ¹⁵ As you ^(BB)rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate, so I will deal with you; you shall be desolate, ^(BC)Mount Seir, and all Edom, all of it. Then ^(BD)they will know that I am the Lord.

Prophecy to the Mountains of Israel

36 “And you, ^(BE)son of man, prophesy to ^(BF)the mountains of Israel, and say, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord. ² Thus says the Lord God: Because ^(BG)the enemy said of you, ^(BH)‘Aha!’ and, ‘The ancient ^(BI)heights have become our possession,’ ³ therefore prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord God: Precisely because ^(BJ)they made you desolate and crushed you from all sides, so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations, and ^(BK)you became the talk and evil gossip of the people, ⁴ therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God: Thus says the Lord God to ^(BL)the mountains and the hills, the ravines and the valleys, ^(BM)the desolate wastes and the deserted cities, which have become ^(BN)a prey and derision to the rest of the nations all around, ⁵ therefore thus says the Lord God: Surely I have spoken in ^(BO)my hot jealousy against the rest of the nations and ^(BP)against all Edom, who ^(BQ)gave my land to themselves as a possession ^(BR)with wholehearted joy and ^(BS)utter contempt, that they might make its pasturelands a prey. ⁶ Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to ^(BT)the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, Thus says the Lord God: ^(BU)Behold, I have spoken in my jealous wrath, because you have suffered ^(BV)the reproach of the nations. ⁷ Therefore thus says the Lord God: ^(BW)I swear that the nations that are all around you ^(BX)shall themselves suffer reproach.

⁸ “But you, O mountains of Israel, ^(BY)shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to my people Israel, for ^(BZ)they will soon come home. ⁹ For ^(CA)behold, I am for you, and I will turn to you, and ^(CB)you shall be tilled and sown. ¹⁰ And ^(CC)I will multiply people on you, the whole house of Israel, all of it. ^(CD)The cities shall be inhabited and the waste places rebuilt. ¹¹ And I will multiply on you ^(CE)man and beast, and ^(CF)they shall multiply and be fruitful. And I will cause you to be inhabited as in ^(CG)your former times, and ^(CH)will do more good to you than ever before. ^(CI)Then you will know that I am the Lord. ¹² I will let people walk on you, even my people Israel. ^(CJ)And they shall possess you, and you shall be their inheritance, and you shall no longer ^(CK)bereave them of children. ¹³ Thus says the Lord God: Because they say to you, ^(CL)‘You devour people, and you bereave your nation of children,’ ¹⁴ therefore you shall no longer devour people and no longer bereave your nation of children, declares the Lord God. ¹⁵ And I will not let you hear anymore ^(CM)the reproach of the nations, and you shall no longer bear the disgrace of the peoples and no longer cause your nation to stumble, declares the Lord God.”

Greeting

1 Simeon^[a] Peter, a servant^[b] and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who have obtained ^(A)a faith of equal standing with ours ^(B)by the righteousness of our ^(C)God and Savior Jesus Christ:

^2 (D)May grace and peace be multiplied to you ^(E)in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

Confirm Your Calling and Election

³ His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him ^(F)who called us to^[c] his own glory and excellence,^{[d] 4} by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become ^(G)partakers of the divine nature, ^(H)having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. ⁵ For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith ^(I)with virtue,^[e] and virtue ^(J)with knowledge, ⁶ and knowledge with self-control, and self-control ^(K)with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, ⁷ and godliness ^(L)with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection ^(M)with love. ⁸ For if these qualities^[f] are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or ^(N)unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he ^(O)is blind, having forgotten that he was ^(P)cleansed from his former sins. ¹⁰ Therefore, brothers,^[g] be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and ^(Q)election, for if you practice these qualities ^(R)you will never fall. ¹¹ For in this way there will be richly provided for you ^(S)an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.