Old/New Testament
Chapter 13
Oracles Concerning the End of False Prophecy.[a] 1 On that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David[b] and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to purify from sin and uncleanness.(A)
2 On that day—oracle of the Lord of hosts—I will destroy the names of the idols from the land, so that they will be mentioned no more; I will also remove the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness from the land. 3 If any still prophesy, their father and mother who bore them will say, “You will not live, because you have spoken a lie in the name of the Lord.” Their father and mother who bore them will thrust them through when they prophesy.(B)
4 On that day, all prophets will be ashamed of the visions they prophesy; and they will not put on the hairy mantle[c] to mislead,(C) 5 but each will say, “I am not a prophet. I am a tiller of the soil, for I have owned land since my youth.”(D) 6 And if anyone asks, “What are these wounds on your chest?”[d] each will answer, “I received these wounds in the house of my friends.”(E)
The Song of the Sword
7 Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,
against the one who is my associate
—oracle of the Lord of hosts.
Strike the shepherd
that the sheep may be scattered;[e](F)
I will turn my hand against the little ones.
8 In all the land—oracle of the Lord—
two thirds of them will be cut off and perish,
and one third will be left.
9 I will bring the one third through the fire;
I will refine them as one refines silver,(G)
and I will test them as one tests gold.
They will call upon my name, and I will answer them;(H)
I will say, “They are my people,”(I)
and they will say, “The Lord is my God.”
Chapter 14
Devastation and Rescue of Jerusalem. 1 [f]A day is coming for the Lord when the spoils taken from you will be divided in your midst. 2 And I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem for battle: The city will be taken, houses will be plundered, women raped; half the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be removed from the city. 3 Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, fighting as on a day of battle.(J) 4 On that day God’s feet will stand[g] on the Mount of Olives, which is opposite Jerusalem to the east. The Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west by a very deep valley,(K) and half of the mountain will move to the north and half of it to the south. 5 You will flee by the valley between the mountains, for the valley between the mountains will reach to Azal. Thus you will flee as you fled because of the earthquake[h] in the days of Uzziah king of Judah.(L) Then the Lord, my God, will come, and all his holy ones with him.(M)
Jerusalem Restored. 6 On that day there will no longer be cold or frost. 7 There will be one continuous day—it is known to the Lord—not day and night, for in the evening there will be light. 8 On that day, fresh water will flow from Jerusalem,(N) half to the eastern sea, and half to the western sea. This will be so in summer and in winter. 9 The Lord will be king over the whole earth;(O) on that day the Lord will be the only one, and the Lord’s name the only one. 10 All the land will turn into a plain, from Geba to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem, which will stand exalted in its place—from the Gate of Benjamin to the place of the first gate, to the Corner Gate and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s wine presses. 11 The city will be inhabited; never again will it be doomed. Jerusalem will dwell securely.(P)
The Fate of Jerusalem’s Foes. 12 And this will be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the peoples that have fought against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, and their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.(Q) 13 On that day a great panic from the Lord will be upon them.(R) They will seize each other’s hands, and their hands will be raised against each other. 14 Even Judah will fight against Jerusalem. The riches of all the surrounding nations will be gathered together—gold, silver, and garments—in great abundance. 15 Like the plague on human beings will be the plague upon the horses, mules, camels, donkeys, and upon all the beasts that are in those camps.
The Future: Jerusalem, Judah, and the Nations. 16 Everyone who is left of all the nations that came against Jerusalem will go up year after year to bow down to the King, the Lord of hosts, and to celebrate the feast of Booths.[i](S) 17 Should any of the families of the earth(T) not go up to Jerusalem to bow down to the King, the Lord of hosts, then there will be no rain for them. 18 And if the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, upon them will fall the plague,(U) with which the Lord strikes the nations that do not go up to celebrate the feast of Booths. 19 This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the feast of Booths.
20 On that day, “Holy to the Lord”(V) will be written on the horses’ bells.[j] The pots in the house of the Lord will be as the basins before the altar. 21 Every pot[k] in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the Lord of hosts. All who come to sacrifice will take them and cook in them. No longer will there be merchants in the house of the Lord of hosts on that day.
VI. The New Creation[a]
Chapter 21
The New Heaven and the New Earth. 1 (A)Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.[b] 2 I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem,[c] coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.(B) 3 I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race.(C) He will dwell with them and they will be his people[d] and God himself will always be with them [as their God].[e] 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, [for] the old order has passed away.”(D)
5 The one who sat on the throne[f] said, “Behold, I make all things new.” Then he said, “Write these words down, for they are trustworthy and true.”(E) 6 He said to me, “They are accomplished.[g] I [am] the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give a gift from the spring of life-giving water.(F) 7 The victor[h] will inherit these gifts, and I shall be his God, and he will be my son.(G) 8 But as for cowards,[i] the unfaithful, the depraved, murderers, the unchaste, sorcerers, idol-worshipers, and deceivers of every sort, their lot is in the burning pool of fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”(H)
The New Jerusalem.[j] 9 One of the seven angels who held the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come here. I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”[k] 10 He took me in spirit to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God.(I) 11 It gleamed with the splendor of God. Its radiance was like that of a precious stone, like jasper, clear as crystal.(J) 12 It had a massive, high wall, with twelve gates where twelve angels were stationed and on which names were inscribed, [the names] of the twelve tribes of the Israelites. 13 There were three gates facing east, three north, three south, and three west.(K) 14 The wall of the city had twelve courses of stones as its foundation, on which were inscribed the twelve names of the twelve apostles[l] of the Lamb.(L)
15 [m]The one who spoke to me held a gold measuring rod to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. 16 The city was square, its length the same as [also] its width. He measured the city with the rod and found it fifteen hundred miles[n] in length and width and height. 17 He also measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits[o] according to the standard unit of measurement the angel used. 18 [p]The wall was constructed of jasper, while the city was pure gold, clear as glass. 19 The foundations of the city wall were decorated with every precious stone; the first course of stones was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald,(M) 20 the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh hyacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. 21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made from a single pearl; and the street of the city was of pure gold, transparent as glass.
22 [q](N)I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God almighty and the Lamb. 23 [r]The city had no need of sun or moon to shine on it,(O) for the glory of God gave it light, and its lamp was the Lamb. 24 The nations will walk by its light,[s] and to it the kings of the earth will bring their treasure.(P) 25 During the day its gates will never be shut, and there will be no night there. 26 The treasure and wealth of the nations will be brought there, 27 but nothing unclean will enter it, nor any[one] who does abominable things or tells lies. Only those will enter whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.(Q)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.