18 “For I know¹ their works and their thoughts, and the time is coming² to gather all nations and tongues. And ^pthey shall come and shall see my glory, 19 and I will set a sign among them. And from them I will send survivors to the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands far away, that have not heard my fame or seen my glory. And they shall declare my glory among the nations. 20 And they shall bring all your brothers from all the nations as an ^qoffering to the Lord, on horses and in chariots and in litters and on mules and on dromedaries, to ^rmy holy mountain Jerusalem, says the Lord, just as the Israelites bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord. 21 And some of them also I will take for ^spriests and for Levites, says the Lord.

God Himself Is Judge

A Psalm of Asaph.

4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And have you forgotten the ^fexhortation that addresses you as sons?

7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. ⁱGod is treating you as sons. For ^jwhat son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father ^kof spirits and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that ^lwe may share his holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the ^mpeaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been ⁿtrained by it.

12 Therefore ^olift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. 14 ^pStrive for peace with everyone, and for the ^qholiness without which no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no ^r“root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; 16 that no one is ^ssexually immoral or unholy like Esau, ^twho sold his birthright for a single meal. 17 For you know that ^uafterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.

A Kingdom That Cannot Be Shaken

18 For you have not come to what may be touched, ^va blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest 19 and the ^wsound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers ^xbeg that no further messages be spoken to them. 20 For they could not endure the order that was given, ^y“If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” 21 Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, ^z“I tremble with fear.” 22 But you have come to Mount ^aZion and to the ^bcity of the ^cliving God, the ^dheavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and to the assembly¹ of the firstborn who are ^eenrolled in heaven, and to God, the ^fjudge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous ^gmade perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the ^hmediator of a ⁱnew covenant, and to the ^jsprinkled blood that speaks a better word than ^kthe blood of ^lAbel.

25 See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not ^mescape when they refused him who warned them on earth, ⁿmuch less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. 26 ^oAt that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, ^p“Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 27 This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a ^qkingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29 for ^rour God is a consuming fire.

The Narrow Door

22 He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be ^hfew?” And he said to them, 24 ⁱ“Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ^j‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ^k‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. ^lDepart from me, all you workers of evil!’ 28 ^mIn that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. 29 And people will come ⁿfrom east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God. 30 And behold, ^osome are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”