Return of the Remnant of Israel and Judah

¹⁰ On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.^(A)

¹¹ On that day the Lord will again raise^[a] his hand to recover the remnant that is left of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea.^(B)

The Dead Are Judged

¹¹ Then I saw a great white throne and the one who sat on it; the earth and the heaven fled from his^[a] presence, and no place was found for them.^{(A) 12} And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Also another book was opened, the book of life. And the dead were judged according to their works, as recorded in the books.^{(B) 13} And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and all were judged according to what they had done.^{(C) 14} Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire,^{(D) 15} and anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

The New Heaven and the New Earth

21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.^{(E) 2} And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.^{(F) 3} And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

⁵ And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.”^{(I) 6} Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.^{(J) 7} Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God, and they will be my children. ⁸ But as for the cowardly, the faithless,^[g] the polluted, the murderers, the sexually immoral,^[h] the sorcerers, the idolaters, and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”^(K)

The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

⁵ In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was descended from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.^{(A) 6} Both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord.^{(B) 7} But they had no children because Elizabeth was barren, and both were getting on in years.

⁸ Once when he was serving as priest before God during his section’s turn of duty,^{(C) 9} he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord to offer incense.^{(D) 10} Now at the time of the incense offering, the whole assembly of the people was praying outside.^{(E) 11} Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. ¹² When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified, and fear overwhelmed him. ¹³ But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John.^{(F) 14} You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth,^{(G) 15} for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit.^{(H) 16} He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.^{(I) 17} With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”^{(J) 18} Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I know that this will happen? For I am an old man, and my wife is getting on in years.”^{(K) 19} The angel replied, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.^{(L) 20} But now, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will become mute, unable to speak, until the day these things occur.”^(M)

²¹ Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering at his delay in the sanctuary. ²² When he did come out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He kept motioning to them and remained unable to speak. ²³ When his time of service was ended, he returned to his home.

²⁴ After those days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she remained in seclusion. She said, ²⁵ “This is what the Lord has done for me in this time, when he looked favorably on me and took away the disgrace I have endured among my people.”^(N)