12 When the Lord has finished all his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, he1 will punish the speech2 of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the boastful look in his eyes. 13 For he says:
“By the strength of my hand I have done it,
and by my wisdom, for I have understanding;
I remove the boundaries of peoples,
and plunder their treasures;
like a bull I bring down those who sit on thrones.
14 My hand has found like a nest
the wealth of the peoples;
and as one gathers eggs that have been forsaken,
so I have gathered all the earth;
and there was none that moved a wing
or opened the mouth or chirped.”
15 oShall the axe boast over him who hews with it,
or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it?
As if a rod should wield him who lifts it,
or as if a staff should lift him who is not wood!
16 Therefore the Lord God of hosts
will send wasting sickness among his stout warriors,
and under his glory a burning will be kindled,
like the burning of fire.
17 The light of Israel will become a fire,
and his Holy One a flame,
and it will burn and devour
his thorns and briers in one day.
18 The glory of his forest and of his fruitful land
the Lord will destroy, both soul and body,
and it will be as when a sick man wastes away.
19 The remnant of the trees of his forest will be so few
that a child can write them down.
The Remnant of Israel Will Return
20 In that day the premnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more lean on him who struck them, but will qlean on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 21 rA remnant will return, the sremnant of Jacob, to the tmighty God. 22 For uthough your people Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will return. vDestruction is decreed, overflowing with righteousness. 23 For the Lord God of hosts will make a full end, as decreed, in the midst of all the earth.
24 Therefore thus says the Lord God of hosts: “O my people, who dwell in Zion, wbe not afraid of the Assyrians when they strike with the rod and lift up their staff against you as the Egyptians did. 25 For in a very little while my fury will come to an end, and my anger will be directed to their destruction. 26 And the Lord of hosts will wield against them a whip, xas when he struck Midian at the rock of Oreb. And his staff will be over the sea, and he will lift it yas he did in Egypt. 27 And in that day his zburden will depart from your shoulder, and his yoke from your neck; and the yoke will be broken because of the fat.”3
28 He has come to Aiath;
he has passed through Migron;
at Michmash he stores his baggage;
29 they have crossed over the pass;
at Geba they lodge for the night;
Ramah trembles;
Gibeah of Saul has fled.
30 Cry aloud, O daughter of Gallim!
Give attention, O Laishah!
O poor Anathoth!
31 Madmenah is in flight;
the inhabitants of Gebim flee for safety.
32 This very day he will halt at aNob;
he will shake his fist
at the mount of the daughter of Zion,
the hill of Jerusalem.
33 Behold, the Lord God of hosts
will lop the boughs with terrifying power;
the great in height will be hewn down,
and the lofty will be brought low.
34 He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an axe,
and Lebanon will fall by the Majestic One.
2 to turn aside the needy from justice
and to rob the poor of my people of their right,
that widows may be their spoil,
and that they may make the fatherless their prey!
Greeting
1 aPeter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who are elect exiles of the bDispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 according to the cforeknowledge of God the Father, in the dsanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for esprinkling with his blood:
May grace and peace be multiplied to you.
Born Again to a Living Hope
3 fBlessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be gborn again to a living hhope ithrough the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an jinheritance that is kimperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation lready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you mrejoice, though now nfor a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the otested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the prevelation of Jesus Christ. 8 qThough you have not seen him, you love him. rThough you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours ssearched and inquired carefully, 11 inquiring what person or time1 the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he tpredicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent uglories. 12 It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things vthat have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you wby the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, xthings into which angels long to look.
Called to Be Holy
13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action,2 and being ysober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, zdo not be conformed to the apassions of your bformer ignorance, 15 but as he who ccalled you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, d“You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 17 And if you call on him as Father who judges eimpartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your fexile, 18 knowing that you were gransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, hnot with perishable things such as isilver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a jlamb without blemish or spot. 20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was kmade manifest in the last times for the sake of you 21 lwho through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him mglory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
