The Restoration for Judah and Israel
1 Ask rain from the Lord
in the season of the spring rain,
from the Lord who makes the storm clouds,
and he will give them showers of rain,
to everyone the vegetation in the field.
2 For the vhousehold gods utter nonsense,
and the diviners see lies;
they tell false dreams
and give empty consolation.
Therefore the people wander like sheep;
they are afflicted for wlack of a shepherd.
3 “My anger is hot against the xshepherds,
and I will punish the leaders;1
for the Lord of hosts cares for his yflock, the house of Judah,
and will make them like his majestic steed in battle.
4 From him shall come the zcornerstone,
from him the tent apeg,
from him the battle bow,
from him every ruler—all of them together.
5 They shall be like mighty men in battle,
trampling the foe in the mud of the streets;
they shall fight because the Lord is with them,
and they shall put to shame the riders on horses.
6 “I will strengthen the house of Judah,
and I will save the house of Joseph.
I will bring them back because I have compassion on them,
and they shall be as though I had not rejected them,
for bI am the Lord their God and I will answer them.
7 Then Ephraim shall become like a mighty warrior,
and their hearts shall be glad as with wine.
Their children shall see it and be glad;
their hearts shall rejoice in the Lord.
8 “I will cwhistle for them and gather them in,
for I have redeemed them,
and they shall be as many as they were before.
9 Though I scattered them among the nations,
yet in far countries they shall remember me,
and with their children they shall live and return.
10 I will bring them home dfrom the land of Egypt,
and gather them from Assyria,
and I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon,
etill there is no room for them.
11 He shall pass through the sea of troubles
and strike down the waves of the sea,
and all the depths of the Nile shall be dried up.
The pride of Assyria shall be laid low,
and fthe scepter of Egypt shall depart.
12 I will make them strong in the Lord,
and gthey shall walk in his name,”
declares the Lord.
The Flock Doomed to Slaughter
1 Open your doors, O Lebanon,
that the fire may devour your cedars!
2 hWail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,
for the glorious trees are ruined!
Wail, oaks of Bashan,
for the thick forest has been felled!
3 The sound of the wail of the shepherds,
for their glory is ruined!
The sound of the roar of the lions,
for the ithicket of the Jordan is ruined!
Godlessness in the Last Days
1 But understand this, that yin the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, zproud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, aswollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. bAvoid such people. 6 For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, 7 always learning and never able to arrive at a cknowledge of the truth. 8 Just as dJannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men ecorrupted in mind and fdisqualified regarding the faith. 9 But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.
All Scripture Is Breathed Out by God
10 gYou, however, have hfollowed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, 11 my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at iAntioch, at jIconium, and at kLystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord lrescued me. 12 Indeed, all who desire to live a mgodly life in Christ Jesus nwill be persecuted, 13 while evil people and impostors will go on ofrom bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom1 you learned it 15 and how pfrom childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 qAll Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the rman of God2 may be complete, sequipped for every good work.
