Judgment on Israel’s Enemies

9 A prophecy:^(A)

The Coming of Zion’s King

The Lord Will Appear

The Lord Will Care for Judah

Two Shepherds

⁴ This is what the Lord my God says: “Shepherd the flock marked for slaughter.^{(CF) 5} Their buyers slaughter them and go unpunished. Those who sell them say, ‘Praise the Lord, I am rich!’ Their own shepherds do not spare them.^{(CG) 6} For I will no longer have pity on the people of the land,” declares the Lord. “I will give everyone into the hands of their neighbors^(CH) and their king. They will devastate the land, and I will not rescue anyone from their hands.”^(CI)

⁷ So I shepherded the flock marked for slaughter,^(CJ) particularly the oppressed of the flock. Then I took two staffs and called one Favor and the other Union, and I shepherded the flock. ⁸ In one month I got rid of the three shepherds.

The flock detested^(CK) me, and I grew weary of them ⁹ and said, “I will not be your shepherd. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish.^(CL) Let those who are left eat^(CM) one another’s flesh.”

¹⁰ Then I took my staff called Favor^(CN) and broke it, revoking^(CO) the covenant I had made with all the nations. ¹¹ It was revoked on that day, and so the oppressed of the flock who were watching me knew it was the word of the Lord.

¹² I told them, “If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.” So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.^(CP)

¹³ And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the handsome price at which they valued me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver^(CQ) and threw them to the potter at the house of the Lord.^(CR)

¹⁴ Then I broke my second staff called Union, breaking the family bond between Judah and Israel.

¹⁵ Then the Lord said to me, “Take again the equipment of a foolish shepherd. ¹⁶ For I am going to raise up a shepherd over the land who will not care for the lost, or seek the young, or heal the injured, or feed the healthy, but will eat the meat of the choice sheep, tearing off their hooves.

Jerusalem’s Enemies to Be Destroyed

12 A prophecy:^(CV) The word of the Lord concerning Israel.

The Lord, who stretches out the heavens,^(CW) who lays the foundation of the earth,^(CX) and who forms the human spirit within a person,^(CY) declares: ² “I am going to make Jerusalem a cup^(CZ) that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling.^(DA) Judah^(DB) will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. ³ On that day, when all the nations^(DC) of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock^(DD) for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure^(DE) themselves. ⁴ On that day I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness,” declares the Lord. “I will keep a watchful eye over Judah, but I will blind all the horses of the nations.^{(DF) 5} Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The people of Jerusalem are strong,^(DG) because the Lord Almighty is their God.’

⁶ “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot^(DH) in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume^(DI) all the surrounding peoples right and left, but Jerusalem will remain intact^(DJ) in her place.

⁷ “The Lord will save the dwellings of Judah first, so that the honor of the house of David and of Jerusalem’s inhabitants may not be greater than that of Judah.^{(DK) 8} On that day the Lord will shield^(DL) those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest^(DM) among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God,^(DN) like the angel of the Lord going before^(DO) them. ⁹ On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations^(DP) that attack Jerusalem.^(DQ)

Mourning for the One They Pierced

¹⁰ “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit^[e](DR) of grace and supplication.^(DS) They will look on^[f] me, the one they have pierced,^(DT) and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child,^(DU) and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.^{(DV) 11} On that day the weeping^(DW) in Jerusalem will be as great as the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.^{(DX) 12} The land will mourn,^(DY) each clan by itself, with their wives by themselves: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives, ¹³ the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives, ¹⁴ and all the rest of the clans and their wives.^(DZ)

The Thousand Years

20 And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven,^(A) having the key^(B) to the Abyss^(C) and holding in his hand a great chain. ² He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan,^(D) and bound him for a thousand years.^{(E) 3} He threw him into the Abyss,^(F) and locked and sealed^(G) it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations^(H) anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.

⁴ I saw thrones^(I) on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge.^(J) And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded^(K) because of their testimony about Jesus^(L) and because of the word of God.^(M) They^[a] had not worshiped the beast^(N) or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands.^(O) They came to life and reigned^(P) with Christ a thousand years. ⁵ (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection.^{(Q) 6} Blessed^(R) and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death^(S) has no power over them, but they will be priests^(T) of God and of Christ and will reign with him^(U) for a thousand years.

The Judgment of Satan

⁷ When the thousand years are over,^(V) Satan will be released from his prison ⁸ and will go out to deceive the nations^(W) in the four corners of the earth^(X)—Gog and Magog^(Y)—and to gather them for battle.^(Z) In number they are like the sand on the seashore.^{(AA) 9} They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded^(AB) the camp of God’s people, the city he loves.^(AC) But fire came down from heaven^(AD) and devoured them. ¹⁰ And the devil, who deceived them,^(AE) was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur,^(AF) where the beast^(AG) and the false prophet^(AH) had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.^(AI)

The Judgment of the Dead

¹¹ Then I saw a great white throne^(AJ) and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence,^(AK) and there was no place for them. ¹² And I saw the dead, great and small,^(AL) standing before the throne, and books were opened.^(AM) Another book was opened, which is the book of life.^(AN) The dead were judged^(AO) according to what they had done^(AP) as recorded in the books. ¹³ The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades^(AQ) gave up the dead^(AR) that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done.^{(AS) 14} Then death^(AT) and Hades^(AU) were thrown into the lake of fire.^(AV) The lake of fire is the second death.^{(AW) 15} Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life^(AX) was thrown into the lake of fire.