Judgment on Israel’s Enemies
1 The oracle of the word of the Lord is against the land of Hadrach
and gDamascus is its resting place.
For the Lord has an eye on mankind
and on all the tribes of Israel,1
2 hand on Hamath also, which borders on it,
iTyre and iSidon, though jthey are very wise.
3 Tyre has built herself ka rampart
and lheaped up silver like dust,
and fine gold like the mud of the streets.
4 But behold, the Lord will strip her of her possessions
and strike down mher power on the sea,
and nshe shall be devoured by fire.
5 oAshkelon shall see it, and be afraid;
Gaza too, and shall writhe in anguish;
Ekron also, because its hopes are confounded.
The king shall perish from Gaza;
Ashkelon shall be uninhabited;
6 pa mixed people2 shall dwell in Ashdod,
and I will cut off the pride of Philistia.
7 I will take away qits blood from its mouth,
and rits abominations from between its teeth;
sit too shall be a remnant for our God;
it shall be like ta clan in Judah,
and Ekron shall be like the Jebusites.
8 Then uI will encamp at my house as a guard,
vso that none shall march to and fro;
wno oppressor shall again march over them,
xfor now I see with my own eyes.
The Coming King of Zion
9 yRejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
zBehold, ayour king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he,
bhumble and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
10 cI will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
and dthe war horse from Jerusalem;
and the battle bow shall be cut off,
and ehe shall speak peace to the nations;
fhis rule shall be from sea to sea,
and from gthe River3 to the ends of the earth.
11 As for you also, because of hthe blood of my covenant with you,
iI will set your prisoners free from jthe waterless pit.
12 Return to your stronghold, O kprisoners of hope;
today I declare that lI will restore to you double.
13 For mI have bent Judah as my bow;
I have made Ephraim its arrow.
I will stir up your sons, O Zion,
against your sons, nO Greece,
and wield you like a warrior’s sword.
The Lord Will Save His People
14 Then the Lord will appear over them,
and ohis arrow will go forth like lightning;
pthe Lord God will sound the trumpet
and will march forth in qthe whirlwinds rof the south.
15 The Lord of hosts swill protect them,
and tthey shall devour, uand tread down the sling stones,
and vthey shall drink and roar as if drunk with wine,
and be full like a bowl,
drenched wlike the corners of the altar.
16 On that day the Lord their God will save them,
as xthe flock of his people;
for ylike the jewels of a crown
they shall shine on his land.
17 zFor how great is his goodness, and how great his beauty!
aGrain shall make the young men flourish,
and new wine the young women.
A Good Soldier of Christ Jesus
1 You then, wmy child, xbe strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, 2 and ywhat you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses zentrust to faithful men,1 awho will be able to teach others also. 3 bShare in suffering as ca good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier dgets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. 5 eAn athlete is not fcrowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6 It is gthe hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. 7 Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
8 Remember Jesus Christ, hrisen from the dead, the ioffspring of David, jas preached in my gospel, 9 kfor which I am suffering, lbound with chains as a criminal. But mthe word of God is not bound! 10 Therefore nI endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain othe salvation that is in Christ Jesus with peternal glory. 11 The saying is qtrustworthy, for:
rIf we have died with him, we will also slive with him;
12 tif we endure, we will also reign with him;
uif we deny him, he also will deny us;
for xhe cannot deny himself.
A Worker Approved by God
14 Remind them of these things, and ycharge them before God2 znot to quarrel about words, awhich does no good, but only ruins the hearers. 15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved,3 a worker bwho has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. 16 But cavoid dirreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, 17 and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are eHymenaeus and Philetus, 18 who have swerved from the truth, fsaying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some. 19 But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: g“The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone hwho names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”
20 Now in ia great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, jsome for honorable use, some for dishonorable. 21 Therefore, kif anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable,4 he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, lready for every good work.
22 So mflee nyouthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with othose who call on the Lord pfrom a pure heart. 23 Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant qcontroversies; you know that they breed quarrels. 24 And rthe Lord’s servant5 must not be quarrelsome but skind to everyone, table to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents uwith gentleness. God vmay perhaps grant them repentance wleading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from xthe snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.
