God Will Battle Jerusalem’s Foes

14 Behold, a ^(A)day is coming for the Lord when ^(B)the spoil taken from you will be divided among you. ² For I will ^(C)gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the ^(D)houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city. ³ Then the Lord will go forth and ^(E)fight against those nations, as ^[a]when He fights on a day of battle. ⁴ In that day His feet will ^(F)stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be ^(G)split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south. ⁵ You will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled before the ^(H)earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. ^(I)Then the Lord, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with ^[b]Him!

⁶ In that day there will be ^(J)no light; the ^[c]luminaries will dwindle. ⁷ For it will be ^(K)a unique day which is ^(L)known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but it will come about that at ^(M)evening time there will be light.

⁸ And in that day ^(N)living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter.

God Will Be King over All

⁹ And the Lord will be ^(O)king over all the earth; in that day the Lord will be the only ^(P)one, and His name the only one.

¹⁰ All the land will be changed into a plain from ^(Q)Geba to ^(R)Rimmon south of Jerusalem; but ^[d]Jerusalem will ^(S)rise and ^(T)remain on its site from ^(U)Benjamin’s Gate as far as the place of the First Gate to the ^(V)Corner Gate, and from the ^(W)Tower of Hananel to the king’s wine presses. ^11 [e]People will live in it, and there will ^(X)no longer be a curse, for Jerusalem will ^(Y)dwell in security.

¹² Now this will be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the peoples who have gone to war against Jerusalem; their flesh will ^(Z)rot while they stand on their feet, and their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongue will rot in their mouth. ¹³ It will come about in that day that a great panic from the Lord will ^[f]fall on them; and they will ^(AA)seize one another’s hand, and the hand of one will ^[g]be lifted against the hand of another. ^14 (AB)Judah also will fight at Jerusalem; and the ^(AC)wealth of all the surrounding nations will be gathered, gold and silver and garments in great abundance. ¹⁵ So also like this ^(AD)plague will be the plague on the horse, the mule, the camel, the donkey and all the cattle that will be in those camps.

¹⁶ Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will ^(AE)go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to celebrate the ^(AF)Feast of Booths. ¹⁷ And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the ^(AG)King, the Lord of hosts, there will be ^(AH)no rain on them. ¹⁸ If the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, then no rain will fall on them; it will be the ^(AI)plague with which the Lord smites the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. ¹⁹ This will be the ^[h]punishment of Egypt, and the ^[i]punishment of all the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths.

²⁰ In that day there will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “^(AJ)HOLY TO THE LORD.” And the ^(AK)cooking pots in the Lord’s house will be like the bowls before the altar. ²¹ Every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be ^(AL)holy to the Lord of hosts; and all who sacrifice will come and take of them and boil in them. And there will no longer be a ^[j](AM)Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts in that day.

Purpose of This Letter

3 This is now, ^(A)beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am ^(B)stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, ² that you should ^(C)remember the words spoken beforehand by ^(D)the holy prophets and ^(E)the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles.

The Coming Day of the Lord

^3 (F)Know this first of all, that ^(G)in the last days ^(H)mockers will come with their mocking, ^(I)following after their own lusts, ⁴ and saying, “^(J)Where is the promise of His ^(K)coming? For ever since the fathers ^(L)fell asleep, all continues just as it was ^(M)from the beginning of creation.” ⁵ For ^[a]when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that ^(N)by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was ^(O)formed out of water and by water, ⁶ through which ^(P)the world at that time was ^(Q)destroyed, being flooded with water. ⁷ But by His word ^(R)the present heavens and earth are being reserved for ^(S)fire, kept for ^(T)the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

⁸ But do not let this one fact escape your notice, ^(U)beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and ^(V)a thousand years like one day. ^9 (W)The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but ^(X)is patient toward you, ^(Y)not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

A New Heaven and Earth

¹⁰ But ^(Z)the day of the Lord ^(AA)will come like a thief, in which ^(AB)the heavens ^(AC)will pass away with a roar and the ^(AD)elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and ^(AE)the earth and ^[b]its works will be ^[c]burned up.

¹¹ Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, ^12 (AF)looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which ^(AG)the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the ^(AH)elements will melt with intense heat! ¹³ But according to His ^(AI)promise we are looking for ^(AJ)new heavens and a new earth, ^(AK)in which righteousness dwells.

^14 (AL)Therefore, ^(AM)beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be ^(AN)found by Him in peace, ^(AO)spotless and blameless, ¹⁵ and regard the ^(AP)patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also ^(AQ)our beloved brother Paul, ^(AR)according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, ¹⁶ as also in all his letters, speaking in them of ^(AS)these things, ^(AT)in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and ^(AU)unstable distort, as they do also ^(AV)the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. ¹⁷ You therefore, ^(AW)beloved, knowing this beforehand, ^(AX)be on your guard so that you are not carried away by ^(AY)the error of ^(AZ)unprincipled men and ^(BA)fall from your own steadfastness, ¹⁸ but grow in the grace and ^(BB)knowledge of our ^(BC)Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. ^(BD)To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.