He Will Not Forsake His Saints

^[a] Of David.

David's Charge to Israel

28 ^(A)David assembled at Jerusalem all the officials of Israel, the ^(B)officials of the tribes, the officers of the divisions that served the king, the ^(C)commanders of thousands, the commanders of hundreds, the ^(D)stewards of all the property and livestock of the king and his sons, together with the palace officials, the ^(E)mighty men and all the seasoned warriors. ² Then King David rose to his feet and said: “Hear me, my brothers and my people. ^(F)I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord and for the ^(G)footstool of our God, and I made preparations for building. ³ But God said to me, ^(H)‘You may not build a house for my name, for you are a man of war and have shed blood.’ ⁴ Yet the Lord God of Israel ^(I)chose me from all my father's house to be king over Israel ^(J)forever. ^(K)For he chose Judah as leader, and in the house of Judah my father's ^(L)house, and among my father's sons he took pleasure in me to make me king over all Israel. ⁵ And of ^(M)all my sons (for the Lord has given me many sons) he ^(N)has chosen Solomon my son to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel. ⁶ He said to me, ‘It is ^(O)Solomon your son who shall build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. ⁷ I will establish his kingdom ^(P)forever ^(Q)if he continues strong in keeping my commandments and my rules, as he is today.’ ⁸ Now therefore in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God, observe and seek out all the commandments of the Lord your God, that you may possess this good land and leave it for an inheritance to your children after you forever.

David's Charge to Solomon

⁹ “And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a ^(R)whole heart and with a willing mind, ^(S)for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. ^(T)If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever. ¹⁰ Be careful now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; ^(U)be strong and do it.”

¹¹ Then David gave Solomon his son the ^(V)plan of the ^(W)vestibule of the temple,^[a] and of its houses, its treasuries, its upper rooms, and its inner chambers, and of the room for the ^(X)mercy seat; ¹² and the plan of all that he had in mind for the courts of the house of the Lord, all the surrounding chambers, ^(Y)the treasuries of the house of God, and the treasuries for dedicated gifts; ¹³ for the ^(Z)divisions of the priests and of the ^(AA)Levites, and all the work of the service in the house of the Lord; for all the vessels for the service in the house of the Lord, ¹⁴ the weight of gold for all golden vessels for each service, the weight of silver vessels for each service, ¹⁵ the weight of the golden ^(AB)lampstands and their lamps, the weight of gold for each lampstand and its lamps, the weight of silver for a lampstand and its lamps, according to the use of each lampstand in the service, ¹⁶ the weight of gold for each table for the showbread, the silver for the silver tables, ¹⁷ and pure gold for the forks, the basins and the cups; for the golden bowls and the weight of each; for the silver bowls and the weight of each; ¹⁸ for the ^(AC)altar of incense made of refined gold, and its weight; also his plan for the golden chariot of the ^(AD)cherubim that spread their wings and covered the ark of the covenant of the Lord. ¹⁹ “All this he made clear to me in writing from the hand of the Lord, ^(AE)all the work to be done according to the plan.”

²⁰ Then David said to Solomon his son, ^(AF)“Be strong and courageous and do it. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed, for the Lord God, even my God, is with you. He will not leave you or forsake you, until all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished. ²¹ And behold the ^(AG)divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the service of the house of God; and with you in all the work will be ^(AH)every willing man who has skill for any kind of service; also the officers and all the people will be wholly at your command.”

The Abomination of Desolation

¹⁵ “So when you see the abomination of desolation ^(A)spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in ^(B)the holy place (^(C)let the reader understand), ¹⁶ then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ^17 (D)Let the one who is on ^(E)the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, ¹⁸ and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. ¹⁹ And ^(F)alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! ²⁰ Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. ²¹ For then there will be ^(G)great tribulation, ^(H)such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. ²² And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for ^(I)the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. ^23 (J)Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. ²⁴ For ^(K)false christs and ^(L)false prophets will arise and ^(M)perform great signs and wonders, ^(N)so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. ²⁵ See, ^(O)I have told you beforehand. ²⁶ So, if they say to you, ‘Look, ^(P)he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. ^27 (Q)For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be ^(R)the coming of the Son of Man. ^28 (S)Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

The Coming of the Son of Man

²⁹ “Immediately after ^(T)the tribulation of those days ^(U)the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and ^(V)the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰ Then ^(W)will appear in heaven ^(X)the sign of the Son of Man, and then ^(Y)all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and ^(Z)they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven ^(AA)with power and great glory. ³¹ And ^(AB)he will send out his angels with a loud ^(AC)trumpet call, and they will ^(AD)gather ^(AE)his elect from ^(AF)the four winds, ^(AG)from one end of heaven to the other.

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

³² “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. ³³ So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, ^(AH)at the very gates. ^34 (AI)Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. ^35 (AJ)Heaven and earth will pass away, but ^(AK)my words will not pass away.

No One Knows That Day and Hour

³⁶ “But concerning that day and hour ^(AL)no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, ^(AM)nor the Son,^{[a] (AN)}but the Father only. ^37 (AO)For as were the days of Noah, ^(AP)so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ^38 (AQ)For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, ^(AR)marrying and giving in marriage, until ^(AS)the day when Noah entered the ark, ³⁹ and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, ^(AT)so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰ Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. ^41 (AU)Two women will be grinding ^(AV)at the mill; one will be taken and one left. ⁴² Therefore, ^(AW)stay awake, for you do not know on what day ^(AX)your Lord is coming. ^43 (AY)But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night ^(AZ)the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴ Therefore you also must be ^(BA)ready, for ^(BB)the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

⁴⁵ “Who then is ^(BC)the faithful and ^(BD)wise servant,^[b] whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? ^46 (BE)Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. ⁴⁷ Truly, I say to you, ^(BF)he will set him over all his possessions. ⁴⁸ But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master ^(BG)is delayed,’ ⁴⁹ and begins to beat his fellow servants^[c] and eats and drinks with ^(BH)drunkards, ⁵⁰ the master of that servant will come ^(BI)on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know ⁵¹ and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place ^(BJ)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.