The Day of the Lord Is Near
7 iBe silent before the Lord God!
For the jday of the Lord is near;
kthe Lord has prepared a sacrifice
and lconsecrated his guests.
8 And on the day of the Lord’s sacrifice—
“I will punish the officials and the king’s sons
and all who array themselves in foreign attire.
9 On that day I will punish
everyone who mleaps over the threshold,
and those who fill their master’s1 house
with violence and fraud.
10 “On that day,” declares the Lord,
“a cry will be heard from the Fish Gate,
a wail from the Second Quarter,
a loud crash from the hills.
11 Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar!
For all the traders2 are no more;
all who weigh out silver are cut off.
12 At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
and I will punish the men
who are complacent,3
those who say in their hearts,
n‘The Lord will not do good,
nor will he do ill.’
13 Their goods shall be plundered,
and their houses laid waste.
oThough they build houses,
they shall not inhabit them;
though they plant vineyards,
they shall not drink wine from them.”
14 The great day of the Lord is near,
near and hastening fast;
the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter;
the mighty man cries aloud there.
15 A day of wrath is that day,
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of ruin and devastation,
pa day of darkness and gloom,
qa day of clouds and thick darkness,
16 a day of trumpet blast and battle cry
against the fortified cities
and against the lofty battlements.
Book Four
From Everlasting to Everlasting
A Prayer of Moses, the man of God.
1 Lord, you have been pour dwelling place1
in all generations.
2 qBefore the mountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
rfrom everlasting to everlasting you are God.
3 You sreturn man to dust
and say, “Return, O children of man!”2
4 For ta thousand years in your sight
are but as yesterday when it is past,
or as a watch in the night.
5 You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream,
like grass that is renewed in the morning:
6 in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
in the evening it fades and withers.
7 For we are brought to an end by your anger;
by your wrath we are dismayed.
8 You have set our iniquities before you,
our usecret sins in the light of your presence.
9 For all our days pass away under your wrath;
we bring our years to an end like a sigh.
10 The years of our life are seventy,
or even by reason of strength eighty;
vyet their span3 is but toil and trouble;
wthey are soon gone, and we fly away.
11 Who considers the power of your anger,
and your wrath according to the fear of you?
12 So xteach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.
The Day of the Lord
1 Now concerning the ftimes and the seasons, brothers,1 gyou have no need to have anything written to you. 2 For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come hlike a thief in the night. 3 While people are isaying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4 But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. 5 For you are all jchildren2 of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. 6 So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us kkeep awake and lbe sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having mput on the nbreastplate of ofaith and love, and for a phelmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God has not destined us for qwrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. 11 rTherefore encourage one another and sbuild one another up, just as you are doing.
The Parable of the Talents
14 h“For it will be like a man igoing on a journey, who called his servants1 and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five jtalents,2 to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and ksettled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.3 You have been lfaithful over a little; I will mset you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and nslothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For oto everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And pcast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
