⁸ I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

²³ Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful.^{(A) 24} And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, ²⁵ not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.^(B)

²⁶ For if we willfully persist in sin after having received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins^(C)

Persecutions Foretold

⁹ “Then they will hand you over to be tortured and will put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of my name.^{(A) 10} Then many will fall away,^[a] and they will betray one another and hate one another.^{(B) 11} And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.^{(C) 12} And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold. ¹³ But the one who endures to the end will be saved.^(D)

²⁶ Just as it was in the days of Noah, so, too, it will be in the days of the Son of Man.^{(A) 27} They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage until the day Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed all of them. ²⁸ Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot, they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building,^{(B) 29} but on the day that Lot left Sodom it rained fire and sulfur from heaven and destroyed all of them; ³⁰ it will be like that on the day that the Son of Man is revealed.

⁸ But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day.^{(A) 9} The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you,^[a] not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.^(B)

³ And in their greed they will exploit you with deceptive words. Their condemnation, pronounced against them long ago, has not been idle, and their destruction is not asleep.^(A)

Warning to Rich Oppressors

5 Come now, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming to you. ² Your riches have rotted, and your clothes are moth-eaten.^{(A) 3} Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you, and it will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure^[a] during the last days. ⁴ Listen! The wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.^{(B) 5} You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have nourished your hearts in a day of slaughter.^{(C) 6} You have condemned and murdered the righteous one, who does not resist you.

Patience in Suffering

⁷ Be patient, therefore, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains.^{(D) 8} You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.^[b](E)

5 Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written to you.^{(A) 2} For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.^{(B) 3} When they say, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape!^(C)