The Coming of the Kingdom of God^(A)

²⁰ Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come,^(B) Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, ²¹ nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’^(C) because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”^[a]

²² Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man,^(D) but you will not see it.^{(E) 23} People will tell you, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go running off after them.^{(F) 24} For the Son of Man in his day^[b] will be like the lightning,^(G) which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. ²⁵ But first he must suffer many things^(H) and be rejected^(I) by this generation.^(J)

²⁶ “Just as it was in the days of Noah,^(K) so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. ²⁷ People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.

²⁸ “It was the same in the days of Lot.^(L) People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. ²⁹ But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.

³⁰ “It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed.^{(M) 31} On that day no one who is on the housetop, with possessions inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything.^{(N) 32} Remember Lot’s wife!^{(O) 33} Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it.^{(P) 34} I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. ³⁵ Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.”^{(Q) [36] [c]}

³⁷ “Where, Lord?” they asked.

He replied, “Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.”^(R)

² “Son of man, set your face against Gog,^(A) of the land of Magog,^(B) the chief prince of^[a] Meshek and Tubal;^(C) prophesy against him ³ and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, Gog, chief prince of^[b] Meshek and Tubal.^(D)

The Nations Judged

⁴ “Now what have you against me, Tyre and Sidon^(I) and all you regions of Philistia?^(J) Are you repaying me for something I have done? If you are paying me back, I will swiftly and speedily return on your own heads what you have done.^{(K) 5} For you took my silver and my gold and carried off my finest treasures to your temples.^{[c](L) 6} You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks,^(M) that you might send them far from their homeland.

⁷ “See, I am going to rouse them out of the places to which you sold them,^(N) and I will return^(O) on your own heads what you have done. ⁸ I will sell your sons^(P) and daughters to the people of Judah,^(Q) and they will sell them to the Sabeans,^(R) a nation far away.” The Lord has spoken.^(S)

The King Who Exalts Himself

³⁶ “The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself^(A) above every god and will say unheard-of things^(B) against the God of gods.^(C) He will be successful until the time of wrath^(D) is completed, for what has been determined must take place.^{(E) 37} He will show no regard for the gods of his ancestors or for the one desired by women, nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all. ³⁸ Instead of them, he will honor a god of fortresses; a god unknown to his ancestors he will honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts. ³⁹ He will attack the mightiest fortresses with the help of a foreign god and will greatly honor those who acknowledge him. He will make them rulers over many people and will distribute the land at a price.^[a]

⁴⁰ “At the time of the end the king of the South^(F) will engage him in battle, and the king of the North will storm^(G) out against him with chariots and cavalry and a great fleet of ships. He will invade many countries and sweep through them like a flood.^{(H) 41} He will also invade the Beautiful Land.^(I) Many countries will fall, but Edom,^(J) Moab^(K) and the leaders of Ammon will be delivered from his hand. ⁴² He will extend his power over many countries; Egypt will not escape. ⁴³ He will gain control of the treasures of gold and silver and all the riches of Egypt,^(L) with the Libyans^(M) and Cushites^[b] in submission. ⁴⁴ But reports from the east and the north will alarm him, and he will set out in a great rage to destroy and annihilate many.

⁹ He replied, “Go your way, Daniel, because the words are rolled up and sealed^(A) until the time of the end.^(B)

Jerusalem’s Enemies to Be Destroyed

12 A prophecy:^(A) The word of the Lord concerning Israel.

The Lord, who stretches out the heavens,^(B) who lays the foundation of the earth,^(C) and who forms the human spirit within a person,^(D) declares: ² “I am going to make Jerusalem a cup^(E) that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling.^(F) Judah^(G) will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. ³ On that day, when all the nations^(H) of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock^(I) for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure^(J) themselves. ⁴ On that day I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness,” declares the Lord. “I will keep a watchful eye over Judah, but I will blind all the horses of the nations.^{(K) 5} Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The people of Jerusalem are strong,^(L) because the Lord Almighty is their God.’

⁶ “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot^(M) in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume^(N) all the surrounding peoples right and left, but Jerusalem will remain intact^(O) in her place.

⁷ “The Lord will save the dwellings of Judah first, so that the honor of the house of David and of Jerusalem’s inhabitants may not be greater than that of Judah.^{(P) 8} On that day the Lord will shield^(Q) those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest^(R) among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God,^(S) like the angel of the Lord going before^(T) them. ⁹ On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations^(U) that attack Jerusalem.^(V)

Mourning for the One They Pierced

¹⁰ “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit^[a](W) of grace and supplication.^(X) They will look on^[b] me, the one they have pierced,^(Y) and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child,^(Z) and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.^{(AA) 11} On that day the weeping^(AB) in Jerusalem will be as great as the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.^{(AC) 12} The land will mourn,^(AD) each clan by itself, with their wives by themselves: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives, ¹³ the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives, ¹⁴ and all the rest of the clans and their wives.^(AE)

Cleansing From Sin

13 “On that day a fountain^(AF) will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse^(AG) them from sin and impurity.

² “On that day, I will banish the names of the idols^(AH) from the land, and they will be remembered no more,”^(AI) declares the Lord Almighty. “I will remove both the prophets^(AJ) and the spirit of impurity from the land. ³ And if anyone still prophesies, their father and mother, to whom they were born, will say to them, ‘You must die, because you have told lies^(AK) in the Lord’s name.’ Then their own parents will stab the one who prophesies.^(AL)

⁴ “On that day every prophet will be ashamed^(AM) of their prophetic vision. They will not put on a prophet’s garment^(AN) of hair^(AO) in order to deceive.^{(AP) 5} Each will say, ‘I am not a prophet. I am a farmer; the land has been my livelihood since my youth.^[c]’^{(AQ) 6} If someone asks, ‘What are these wounds on your body^[d]?’ they will answer, ‘The wounds I was given at the house of my friends.’

The Shepherd Struck, the Sheep Scattered

The Lord Comes and Reigns

14 A day of the Lord^(BD) is coming, Jerusalem, when your possessions^(BE) will be plundered and divided up within your very walls.

² I will gather all the nations^(BF) to Jerusalem to fight against it;^(BG) the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped.^(BH) Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city.^{(BI) 3} Then the Lord will go out and fight^(BJ) against those nations, as he fights on a day of battle.^{(BK) 4} On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives,^(BL) east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split^(BM) in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. ⁵ You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake^[e](BN) in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come,^(BO) and all the holy ones with him.^(BP)

⁶ On that day there will be neither sunlight^(BQ) nor cold, frosty darkness. ⁷ It will be a unique^(BR) day—a day known only to the Lord—with no distinction between day and night.^(BS) When evening comes, there will be light.^(BT)

⁸ On that day living water^(BU) will flow^(BV) out from Jerusalem, half of it east^(BW) to the Dead Sea and half of it west to the Mediterranean Sea, in summer and in winter.^(BX)

⁹ The Lord will be king^(BY) over the whole earth.^(BZ) On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name.^(CA)

¹⁰ The whole land, from Geba^(CB) to Rimmon,^(CC) south of Jerusalem, will become like the Arabah. But Jerusalem will be raised up^(CD) high from the Benjamin Gate^(CE) to the site of the First Gate, to the Corner Gate,^(CF) and from the Tower of Hananel^(CG) to the royal winepresses, and will remain in its place.^{(CH) 11} It will be inhabited;^(CI) never again will it be destroyed. Jerusalem will be secure.^(CJ)

¹² This is the plague with which the Lord will strike^(CK) all the nations that fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.^{(CL) 13} On that day people will be stricken by the Lord with great panic.^(CM) They will seize each other by the hand and attack one another.^{(CN) 14} Judah^(CO) too will fight at Jerusalem. The wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected^(CP)—great quantities of gold and silver and clothing. ¹⁵ A similar plague^(CQ) will strike the horses and mules, the camels and donkeys, and all the animals in those camps.

¹⁶ Then the survivors^(CR) from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship^(CS) the King,^(CT) the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.^{(CU) 17} If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship^(CV) the King, the Lord Almighty, they will have no rain.^{(CW) 18} If the Egyptian people do not go up and take part, they will have no rain. The Lord^[f] will bring on them the plague^(CX) he inflicts on the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.^{(CY) 19} This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.^(CZ)

²⁰ On that day holy to the Lord^(DA) will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots^(DB) in the Lord’s house will be like the sacred bowls^(DC) in front of the altar. ²¹ Every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy^(DD) to the Lord Almighty, and all who come to sacrifice will take some of the pots and cook in them. And on that day^(DE) there will no longer be a Canaanite^[g](DF) in the house^(DG) of the Lord Almighty.^(DH)