The Lord Comes and Reigns

14 A day of the Lord^(A) is coming, Jerusalem, when your possessions^(B) will be plundered and divided up within your very walls.

² I will gather all the nations^(C) to Jerusalem to fight against it;^(D) the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped.^(E) Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city.^{(F) 3} Then the Lord will go out and fight^(G) against those nations, as he fights on a day of battle.^{(H) 4} On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives,^(I) east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split^(J) in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. ⁵ You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake^[a](K) in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come,^(L) and all the holy ones with him.^(M)

⁶ On that day there will be neither sunlight^(N) nor cold, frosty darkness. ⁷ It will be a unique^(O) day—a day known only to the Lord—with no distinction between day and night.^(P) When evening comes, there will be light.^(Q)

⁸ On that day living water^(R) will flow^(S) out from Jerusalem, half of it east^(T) to the Dead Sea and half of it west to the Mediterranean Sea, in summer and in winter.^(U)

⁹ The Lord will be king^(V) over the whole earth.^(W) On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name.^(X)

¹⁰ The whole land, from Geba^(Y) to Rimmon,^(Z) south of Jerusalem, will become like the Arabah. But Jerusalem will be raised up^(AA) high from the Benjamin Gate^(AB) to the site of the First Gate, to the Corner Gate,^(AC) and from the Tower of Hananel^(AD) to the royal winepresses, and will remain in its place.^{(AE) 11} It will be inhabited;^(AF) never again will it be destroyed. Jerusalem will be secure.^(AG)

¹² This is the plague with which the Lord will strike^(AH) all the nations that fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.^{(AI) 13} On that day people will be stricken by the Lord with great panic.^(AJ) They will seize each other by the hand and attack one another.^{(AK) 14} Judah^(AL) too will fight at Jerusalem. The wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected^(AM)—great quantities of gold and silver and clothing. ¹⁵ A similar plague^(AN) will strike the horses and mules, the camels and donkeys, and all the animals in those camps.

¹⁶ Then the survivors^(AO) from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship^(AP) the King,^(AQ) the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.^{(AR) 17} If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship^(AS) the King, the Lord Almighty, they will have no rain.^{(AT) 18} If the Egyptian people do not go up and take part, they will have no rain. The Lord^[b] will bring on them the plague^(AU) he inflicts on the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.^{(AV) 19} This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.^(AW)

²⁰ On that day holy to the Lord^(AX) will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots^(AY) in the Lord’s house will be like the sacred bowls^(AZ) in front of the altar. ²¹ Every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy^(BA) to the Lord Almighty, and all who come to sacrifice will take some of the pots and cook in them. And on that day^(BB) there will no longer be a Canaanite^[c](BC) in the house^(BD) of the Lord Almighty.^(BE)

The Day of the Lord

3 Dear friends,^(A) this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders^(B) to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. ² I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets^(C) and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.^(D)

³ Above all, you must understand that in the last days^(E) scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.^{(F) 4} They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised?^(G) Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.”^{(H) 5} But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word^(I) the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water.^{(J) 6} By these waters also the world of that time^(K) was deluged and destroyed.^{(L) 7} By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire,^(M) being kept for the day of judgment^(N) and destruction of the ungodly.

⁸ But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.^{(O) 9} The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise,^(P) as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient^(Q) with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.^(R)

¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come like a thief.^(S) The heavens will disappear with a roar;^(T) the elements will be destroyed by fire,^(U) and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.^[a](V)

¹¹ Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives ¹² as you look forward^(W) to the day of God and speed its coming.^[b](X) That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.^{(Y) 13} But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth,^(Z) where righteousness dwells.

¹⁴ So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless^(AA) and at peace with him. ¹⁵ Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience^(AB) means salvation,^(AC) just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.^{(AD) 16} He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable^(AE) people distort,^(AF) as they do the other Scriptures,^(AG) to their own destruction.

¹⁷ Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard^(AH) so that you may not be carried away by the error^(AI) of the lawless^(AJ) and fall from your secure position.^{(AK) 18} But grow in the grace^(AL) and knowledge^(AM) of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.^(AN) To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.^(AO)