¹³ And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: ^(A)Blessed are the dead ^(B)who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, ^(C)“that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”

⁹ then ^(A)the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials,^[a] and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment,

¹⁰ They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, ^(A)holy and true, ^(B)how long ^(C)before you will judge and ^(D)avenge our blood on ^(E)those who dwell on the earth?” ¹¹ Then they were each given ^(F)a white robe and ^(G)told to rest a little longer, ^(H)until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers^{[a] (I)}should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

³ knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come ^(A)in the last days with scoffing, ^(B)following their own sinful desires. ^4 (C)They will say, “Where is the promise of ^(D)his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” ⁵ For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth ^(E)was formed out of water and through water ^(F)by the word of God, ⁶ and that by means of these the world that then existed ^(G)was deluged with water and ^(H)perished. ⁷ But by the same word ^(I)the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and ^(J)destruction of the ungodly.