2 Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on My holy Mount [Zion]. Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of [the judgment of] the Lord is coming; it is close at hand—^(A)

² A day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and of thick mists and darkness, like the morning dawn spread upon the mountains; so there comes a [heathen, hostile] people numerous and mighty, the like of which has never been before and shall not be again even to the years of many generations.

³ A fire devours before them, and behind them a flame burns; the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yes, and none has escaped [the ravages of the devouring hordes].

⁴ Their appearance is like the appearance of horses, and like war horses and horsemen, so do they run.

⁵ Like the noise of chariots on the tops of the mountains they leap—like the noise of a flame of fire devouring the stubble, like a mighty people set in battle array.^(B)

⁶ Before them the peoples are in anguish; all faces become pale.

⁷ They run like mighty men; they climb the wall like men of war. They march each one [straight ahead] on his ways, and they do not break their ranks.

⁸ Neither does one thrust upon another; they walk every one in his path. And they burst through and upon the weapons, yet they are not wounded and do not change their course.

⁹ They leap upon the city; they run upon the wall; they climb up on and into the houses; they enter in at the windows like a thief.

¹⁰ The earth quakes before them; the heavens tremble. The sun and the moon are darkened and the stars withdraw their shining.^(C)

¹¹ And the Lord utters His voice before His army, for His host is very great, and [they are] strong and powerful who execute [God’s] word. For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible, and who can endure it?^(D)

¹² Therefore also now, says the Lord, turn and keep on coming to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning [until every hindrance is removed and the broken fellowship is restored].

¹³ Rend your hearts and not your garments and return to the Lord, your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in loving-kindness; and He revokes His sentence of evil [when His conditions are met].

¹⁴ Who knows but what He will turn, revoke your sentence [of evil], and leave a blessing behind Him [giving you the means with which to serve Him], even a cereal or meal offering and a drink offering for the Lord, your God?

¹⁵ Blow the trumpet in Zion; set apart a fast [a day of restraint and humility]; call a solemn assembly.

¹⁶ Gather the people, sanctify the congregation; assemble the elderly people, gather the children and the nursing infants; let the bridegroom [who is legally exempt from attending] go forth from his chamber and the bride out of her closet. [None is exempt from the humiliation.]

¹⁷ Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar; and let them say, Have pity and spare Your people, O Lord, and give not Your heritage to reproach, that the [heathen] nations should rule over them or use a byword against them. Why should they say among the peoples, Where is their God?

¹⁸ Then was the Lord jealous for His land and had pity on His people.

¹⁹ Yes, the Lord answered and said to His people, Behold, I am sending you grain and juice [of the grape] and oil, and you shall be satisfied with them; and I will no more make you a reproach among the [heathen] nations.

²⁰ But I will remove far off from you the northern [destroyer’s] army and will drive it into a land barren and desolate, with its front toward the eastern [Dead] Sea and with its rear toward the western [Mediterranean] Sea. And its stench shall come up [like that of a decaying mass of locusts, a symbol and forecast of the fate of the northern army in the final day of the Lord], and its foul odor shall come up, because ^[a]He has done great things [the Lord will have destroyed the invaders]!^(E)

¹³ And from there we made a circuit [following the coast] and reached Rhegium; and one day later a south wind sprang up, and the next day we arrived at Puteoli.

¹⁴ There we found some [Christian] brethren and were entreated to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to Rome.

¹⁵ And the [Christian] brethren there, having had news of us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and received new courage.

¹⁶ When we arrived at Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard, but Paul was permitted to live by himself with the soldier who guarded him.

¹⁷ Three days after [our arrival], he called together the leading local Jews; and when they had gathered, he said to them, Brethren, though I have done nothing against the people or against the customs of our forefathers, yet I was turned over as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans.

¹⁸ After they had examined me, they were ready to release me because I was innocent of any offense deserving the death penalty.

¹⁹ But when the Jews protested, I was forced to appeal to Caesar, though it was not because I had any charge to make against my nation.

²⁰ This is the reason therefore why I have begged to see you and to talk with you, since it is because of the Hope of Israel (the Messiah) that I am bound with this chain.

²¹ And they answered him, We have not received any letters about you from Judea, and none of the [Jewish] brethren coming here has reported or spoken anything evil about you.

²² But we think it fitting and are eager to hear from you what it is that you have in mind and believe and what your opinion is, for with regard to this sect it is known to all of us that it is everywhere denounced.

²³ So when they had set a day with him, they came in large numbers to his lodging. And he fully set forth and explained the matter to them from morning until night, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to persuade them concerning Jesus both from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets.

²⁴ And some were convinced and believed what he said, and others did not believe.

²⁵ And as they disagreed among themselves, they began to leave, [but not before] Paul had added one statement [more]: The Holy Spirit was right in saying through Isaiah the prophet to your forefathers:

²⁶ Go to this people and say to them, You will indeed hear and hear with your ears but will not understand, and you will indeed look and look with your eyes but will not see [not perceive, have knowledge of or become acquainted with what you look at, at all].

²⁷ For the heart (the understanding, the soul) of this people has grown dull (stupid, hardened, and calloused), and their ears are heavy and hard of hearing and they have shut tight their eyes, so that they may not perceive and have knowledge and become acquainted with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their souls and turn [to Me and be converted], that I may heal them.^(A)

²⁸ So let it be understood by you then that [this message of] the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen [to it]!^(B)

^29 [a]And when he had said these things, the Jews went away, arguing and disputing among themselves.

³⁰ After this Paul lived there for two entire years [at his own expense] in his own rented lodging, and he welcomed all who came to him,

³¹ Preaching to them the kingdom of God and teaching them about the Lord Jesus Christ with boldness and quite openly, and without being molested or hindered.

1 The beginning [of the facts] of the good news (the Gospel) of Jesus Christ, ^[a]the Son of God.

^2 [b]Just as it is written in the prophet Isaiah: Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will make ready Your way—^(A)

³ A voice of one crying in the wilderness [shouting in the desert], Prepare the way of the Lord, make His ^[c]beaten tracks straight (level and passable)!^(B)

⁴ John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness (desert), preaching a baptism [^[d]obligating] repentance (^[e]a change of one’s mind for the better, heartily amending one’s ways, with abhorrence of his past sins) in order ^[f]to obtain forgiveness of and release from sins.

⁵ And there kept going out to him [continuously] all the country of Judea and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, ^[g]as they were confessing their sins.

⁶ And John wore clothing woven of camel’s hair and had a leather girdle around his loins and ate locusts and wild honey.

⁷ And he preached, saying, After me comes He Who is stronger (more powerful and more valiant) than I, the strap of Whose sandals I am not worthy or fit to stoop down and unloose.

⁸ I have baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.

⁹ In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.

¹⁰ And when He came up out of the water, at once he [John] saw the heavens torn open and the [Holy] Spirit like a dove coming down [^[h]to enter] ^[i]into Him.^(C)

¹¹ And there came a voice ^[j]out from within heaven, You are My Beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.^(D)

¹² Immediately the [Holy] Spirit [from within] drove Him out into the wilderness (desert),

¹³ And He stayed in the wilderness (desert) forty days, being tempted [all the while] by Satan; and He was with the wild beasts, and the angels ministered to Him [continually].

¹⁴ Now after John was arrested and put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the good news (the Gospel) of the kingdom of God,

¹⁵ And saying, The [appointed period of] time is fulfilled (completed), and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent (^[k]have a change of mind which issues in regret for past sins and in change of conduct for the better) and believe (trust in, rely on, and adhere to) the good news (the Gospel).

¹⁶ And passing along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon [Peter] and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net [to and fro] in the sea, for they were fishermen.

¹⁷ And Jesus said to them, Come after Me and ^[l]be My disciples, and I will make you to become fishers of men.

¹⁸ And at once they left their nets and [^[m]yielding up all claim to them] followed [with] Him [^[n]joining Him as disciples and siding with His party].