The People of Israel Confess Their Sin

9 Now on the twenty-fourth day of ^(A)this month the people of Israel were assembled ^(B)with fasting ^(C)and in sackcloth, ^(D)and with earth on their heads. ^2 (E)And the Israelites^[a] separated themselves from all foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. ^3 (F)And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day; for another quarter of it they made confession and worshiped the Lord their God. ⁴ On the stairs of the Levites stood ^(G)Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani; and they cried with a loud voice to the Lord their God. ⁵ Then the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, “Stand up and bless the Lord your God from everlasting to everlasting. ^(H)Blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.

^{6 [b] (I)}“You are the Lord, you alone. ^(J)You have made heaven, ^(K)the heaven of heavens, ^(L)with all their host, ^(M)the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; ^(N)and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you. ⁷ You are the Lord, the God ^(O)who chose Abram and brought him out of ^(P)Ur of the Chaldeans ^(Q)and gave him the name Abraham. ^8 (R)You found his heart faithful before you, ^(S)and made with him the covenant to give to his offspring ^(T)the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite, and the Girgashite. ^(U)And you have kept your promise, for you are righteous.

^9 (V)“And you saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt and heard ^(W)their cry at the Red Sea, ^10 (X)and performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh and all his servants and all the people of his land, for you knew that ^(Y)they acted arrogantly against our fathers. And ^(Z)you made a name for yourself, as it is to this day. ^11 (AA)And you divided the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on dry land, and you cast their pursuers into the depths, ^(AB)as a stone into mighty waters. ¹² By ^(AC)a pillar of cloud you led them in the day, and by a pillar of fire in the night to light for them the way in which they should go. ^13 (AD)You came down on Mount Sinai ^(AE)and spoke with them from heaven and gave them ^(AF)right rules and true laws, good statutes and commandments, ^14 (AG)and you made known to them your holy Sabbath and commanded them commandments and statutes and a law by Moses your servant. ^15 (AH)You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger and ^(AI)brought water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and you ^(AJ)told them to go in to possess the land that you had sworn to give them.

¹⁶ “But they and our fathers ^(AK)acted presumptuously and stiffened their neck and did not obey your commandments. ¹⁷ They refused to obey ^(AL)and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt.^[c] But you are a God ready to forgive, ^(AM)gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them. ¹⁸ Even ^(AN)when they had made for themselves a golden^[d] calf and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,’ ^(AO)and had committed great blasphemies, ¹⁹ you ^(AP)in your great mercies did not forsake them in the wilderness. ^(AQ)The pillar of cloud to lead them in the way did not depart from them by day, ^(AR)nor the pillar of fire by night to light for them the way by which they should go. ^20 (AS)You gave your good Spirit to instruct them ^(AT)and did not withhold your manna from their mouth and gave them water for their thirst. ^21 (AU)Forty years you sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell.

²² “And you gave them kingdoms and peoples and allotted to them every corner. ^(AV)So they took possession of the land of Sihon king of Heshbon ^(AW)and the land of Og king of Bashan. ²³ You multiplied their children ^(AX)as the stars of heaven, and you brought them into the land that you had told their fathers to enter and possess.

Godlessness in the Last Days

3 But understand this, that ^(A)in the last days there will come times of difficulty. ² For people will be ^(B)lovers of self, ^(C)lovers of money, ^(D)proud, ^(E)arrogant, abusive, ^(F)disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, ^3 (G)heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, ^(H)not loving good, ⁴ treacherous, reckless, ^(I)swollen with conceit, ^(J)lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, ⁵ having the appearance of godliness, but ^(K)denying its power. ^(L)Avoid such people. ⁶ For among them are ^(M)those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, ⁷ always learning and never able to ^(N)arrive at a knowledge of the truth. ⁸ Just as ^(O)Jannes and Jambres ^(P)opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, ^(Q)men corrupted in mind and ^(R)disqualified regarding the faith. ⁹ But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, ^(S)as was that of those two men.

All Scripture Is Breathed Out by God

^10 (T)You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, ¹¹ my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me ^(U)at Antioch, ^(V)at Iconium, and ^(W)at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet ^(X)from them all ^(Y)the Lord rescued me. ¹² Indeed, all who desire to ^(Z)live a godly life in Christ Jesus ^(AA)will be persecuted, ¹³ while ^(AB)evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and ^(AC)being deceived. ¹⁴ But as for you, ^(AD)continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom^[a] you learned it ¹⁵ and how ^(AE)from childhood you have been acquainted with ^(AF)the sacred writings, ^(AG)which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ^16 (AH)All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷ that ^(AI)the man of God^[b] may be complete, ^(AJ)equipped ^(AK)for every good work.

^24 (A)So the descendants went in and possessed the land, ^(B)and you subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them into their hand, with their kings and the peoples of the land, that they might do with them as they would. ²⁵ And they captured ^(C)fortified cities and ^(D)a rich land, and took possession of ^(E)houses full of all good things, cisterns already hewn, vineyards, olive orchards and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled ^(F)and became fat and delighted themselves in ^(G)your great goodness.

^26 (H)“Nevertheless, they were disobedient and rebelled against you ^(I)and cast your law behind their back ^(J)and killed your prophets, who ^(K)had warned them in order to turn them back to you, ^(L)and they committed great blasphemies. ^27 (M)Therefore you gave them into the hand of their enemies, who made them suffer. ^(N)And in the time of their suffering they cried out to you and you heard them from heaven, and according to your great mercies you gave them ^(O)saviors who saved them from the hand of their enemies. ^28 (P)But after they had rest they did evil again before you, and you abandoned them to the hand of their enemies, so that they had dominion over them. Yet when they turned and cried to you, you heard from heaven, ^(Q)and many times you delivered them according to your mercies. ^29 (R)And you warned them in order to turn them back to your law. Yet ^(S)they acted presumptuously and did not obey your commandments, but sinned against your rules, ^(T)which if a person does them, he shall live by them, ^(U)and they turned a stubborn shoulder ^(V)and stiffened their neck and would not obey. ³⁰ Many years ^(W)you bore with them ^(X)and warned them ^(Y)by your Spirit through your prophets. ^(Z)Yet they would not give ear. ^(AA)Therefore you gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands. ³¹ Nevertheless, ^(AB)in your great mercies ^(AC)you did not make an end of them or forsake them, ^(AD)for you are a gracious and merciful God.

³² “Now, therefore, our God, ^(AE)the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love, let not all the hardship seem little to you that has come upon us, upon our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our fathers, and all your people, ^(AF)since the time of the kings of Assyria until this day. ^33 (AG)Yet you have been righteous in all that has come upon us, for you have dealt faithfully ^(AH)and we have acted wickedly. ³⁴ Our kings, our princes, our priests, and our fathers have not kept your law or paid attention to your commandments and your warnings that you gave them. ³⁵ Even in their own kingdom, ^(AI)and amid your great goodness that you gave them, and in the large and ^(AJ)rich land that you set before them, ^(AK)they did not serve you or turn from their wicked works. ³⁶ Behold, ^(AL)we are slaves this day; in the land that you gave to our fathers to enjoy its fruit and its good gifts, behold, we are slaves. ^37 (AM)And its rich yield goes to the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins. They rule over our bodies and over our livestock as they please, and we are in great distress.

^38 [a] “Because of all this ^(AN)we make a firm covenant in writing; on ^(AO)the sealed document are the names of^[b] our princes, our Levites, and our priests.

^14 (A)Strive for peace with everyone, and for the ^(B)holiness ^(C)without which no one will see the Lord. ¹⁵ See to it that no one ^(D)fails to obtain the grace of God; that no ^(E)“root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; ¹⁶ that no one is ^(F)sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. ¹⁷ For you know that ^(G)afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.

A Kingdom That Cannot Be Shaken

¹⁸ For you have not come to ^(H)what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest ¹⁹ and ^(I)the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words ^(J)made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. ²⁰ For they could not endure the order that was given, ^(K)“If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” ²¹ Indeed, ^(L)so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” ²² But you have come to ^(M)Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, ^(N)the heavenly Jerusalem, and to ^(O)innumerable angels in festal gathering, ²³ and to ^(P)the assembly^[a] of the firstborn who are ^(Q)enrolled in heaven, and to ^(R)God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, ²⁴ and to Jesus, ^(S)the mediator of a new covenant, and to ^(T)the sprinkled blood ^(U)that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

²⁵ See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For ^(V)if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. ²⁶ At that time ^(W)his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, ^(X)“Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” ²⁷ This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates ^(Y)the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. ²⁸ Therefore let us be grateful for receiving ^(Z)a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus ^(AA)let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, ²⁹ for our ^(AB)God is a consuming fire.