Joel 2:18-32

English Standard Version

The Lord Had Pity

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

²⁰“I will remove the northerner far from you,
    and drive him into a parched and desolate land,
his vanguard^[a] into ^(E)the eastern sea,
    and his rear guard^[b] into ^(F)the western sea;
^(G)the stench and foul smell of him will rise,
    for he has done great things.

²¹“Fear not, O land;
    be glad and rejoice,
    for ^(H)the Lord has done great things!
²²Fear not, ^(I)you beasts of the field,
    for ^(J)the pastures of the wilderness are green;
^(K)the tree bears its fruit;
    the fig tree and ^(L)vine give their full yield.

²³^(M)“Be glad, O children of Zion,
    and ^(N)rejoice in the Lord your God,
for he has given ^(O)the early rain for your vindication;
    he has poured down for you abundant rain,
    ^(P)the early and ^(Q)the latter rain, as before.

²⁴“The threshing floors shall be full of grain;
    the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
²⁵I will restore^[c] to you the years
    that ^(R)the swarming locust has eaten,
^(S)the hopper, ^(T)the destroyer, and ^(U)the cutter,
    ^(V)my great army, which I sent among you.

²⁶^(W)“You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,
    and praise the name of the Lord your God,
    who has dealt wondrously with you.
And my people ^(X)shall never again be put to shame.
²⁷^(Y)You shall know that I am ^(Z)in the midst of Israel,
    and that ^(AA)I am the Lord your God ^(AB)and there is none else.
And my people ^(AC)shall never again be put to shame.

The Lord Will Pour Out His Spirit

²⁸^[d] ^(AD)“And it shall come to pass afterward,
    that ^(AE)I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;
^(AF)your sons and ^(AG)your daughters shall prophesy,
    your old men shall dream dreams,
    and your young men shall see visions.
²⁹^(AH)Even on the male and female servants
    in those days I will pour out my Spirit.

³⁰“And I will show ^(AI)wonders in the heavens and ^(AJ)on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. ³¹^(AK)The sun shall be turned to darkness, ^(AL)and the moon to blood, ^(AM)before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. ³²And it shall come to pass that ^(AN)everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. ^(AO)For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among ^(AP)the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.

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Footnotes

Joel 2:20 Hebrew face
Joel 2:20 Hebrew his end
Joel 2:25 Or pay back
Joel 2:28 Ch 3:1 in Hebrew

Romans 11:25-12:13

English Standard Version

The Mystery of Israel's Salvation

²⁵^(A)Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers:^[a] ^(B)a partial hardening has come upon Israel, ^(C)until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. ²⁶And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written,

^(D)“The Deliverer will come ^(E)from Zion,
he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”;
²⁷“and this will be my ^(F)covenant with them
^(G)when I take away their sins.”

²⁸As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are ^(H)beloved for the sake of their forefathers. ²⁹For the gifts and ^(I)the calling of God are irrevocable. ³⁰For just as ^(J)you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, ³¹so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now^[b] receive mercy. ³²For God ^(K)has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.

³³Oh, the depth of the riches and ^(L)wisdom and knowledge of God! ^(M)How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

³⁴“For ^(N)who has known the mind of the Lord,
or ^(O)who has been his counselor?”
³⁵“Or ^(P)who has given a gift to him
that he might be repaid?”

³⁶For ^(Q)from him and through him and to him are all things. ^(R)To him be glory forever. Amen.

A Living Sacrifice

12 ^(S)I appeal to you therefore, brothers,^[c] by the mercies of God, ^(T)to present your bodies ^(U)as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.^[d] ²^(V)Do not be conformed to this world,^[e] but be transformed by ^(W)the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may ^(X)discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.^[f]

Gifts of Grace

³For ^(Y)by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you ^(Z)not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, ^(AA)each according to ^(AB)the measure of faith that God has assigned. ⁴For ^(AC)as in one body we have many members,^[g] and the members do not all have the same function, ⁵so we, ^(AD)though many, ^(AE)are one body in Christ, and individually ^(AF)members one of another. ⁶^(AG)Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if ^(AH)prophecy, ^(AI)in proportion to our faith; ⁷if ^(AJ)service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; ⁸the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; ^(AK)the one who leads,^[h] with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with ^(AL)cheerfulness.

Marks of the True Christian

⁹^(AM)Let love be genuine. ^(AN)Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. ¹⁰^(AO)Love one another with brotherly affection. ^(AP)Outdo one another in showing honor. ¹¹Do not be slothful in zeal, ^(AQ)be fervent in spirit,^[i] ^(AR)serve the Lord. ¹²^(AS)Rejoice in hope, ^(AT)be patient in tribulation, ^(AU)be constant in prayer. ¹³^(AV)Contribute to the needs of the saints and ^(AW)seek to show hospitality.