O Lord, Do Not Delay

To the choirmaster. Of David, ^(A)for the memorial offering.

The Time of the End

12 “At that time shall arise ^(A)Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And ^(B)there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, ^(C)everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. ² And many of those who ^(D)sleep in ^(E)the dust of the earth shall ^(F)awake, ^(G)some to everlasting life, and ^(H)some to shame and everlasting contempt. ^3 (I)And those who are wise ^(J)shall shine like the brightness of the sky above;^[a] and ^(K)those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. ⁴ But you, Daniel, ^(L)shut up the words and ^(M)seal the book, until ^(N)the time of the end. ^(O)Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”

⁵ Then I, Daniel, looked, and behold, two others stood, one on ^(P)this bank of the stream and one on that bank of the stream. ⁶ And someone said to ^(Q)the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream,^{[b] (R)}“How long shall it be till the end of these wonders?” ⁷ And I heard ^(S)the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream; ^(T)he raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven and ^(U)swore by him who lives forever that it would be for a ^(V)time, times, and half a time, and that when the shattering of ^(W)the power of ^(X)the holy people comes to an end all these things would be finished. ⁸ I heard, ^(Y)but I did not understand. Then I said, “O my lord, what shall be the outcome of these things?” ⁹ He said, ^(Z)“Go your way, Daniel, ^(AA)for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end. ^10 (AB)Many shall purify themselves and make themselves white and be refined, but ^(AC)the wicked shall act wickedly. And none of the wicked shall understand, ^(AD)but those who are wise shall understand. ¹¹ And from the time that ^(AE)the regular burnt offering is taken away and ^(AF)the abomination that makes desolate is set up, there shall be 1,290 days. ^12 (AG)Blessed is he who waits and arrives at the 1,335 days. ^13 (AH)But go your way till the end. ^(AI)And you shall rest and shall stand in your allotted place at ^(AJ)the end of the days.”

The Day of the Lord Will Come

3 This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them ^(A)I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, ^2 (B)that you should remember the predictions of ^(C)the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, ³ knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come ^(D)in the last days with scoffing, ^(E)following their own sinful desires. ^4 (F)They will say, “Where is the promise of ^(G)his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” ⁵ For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth ^(H)was formed out of water and through water ^(I)by the word of God, ⁶ and that by means of these the world that then existed ^(J)was deluged with water and ^(K)perished. ⁷ But by the same word ^(L)the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and ^(M)destruction of the ungodly.

⁸ But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and ^(N)a thousand years as one day. ^9 (O)The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise ^(P)as some count slowness, but ^(Q)is patient toward you,^{[a] (R)}not wishing that any should perish, but ^(S)that all should reach repentance. ¹⁰ But ^(T)the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then ^(U)the heavens will pass away with a roar, and ^(V)the heavenly bodies^[b] will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.^[c]

¹¹ Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, ^(W)what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, ^12 (X)waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and ^(Y)the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! ¹³ But according to his promise we are waiting for ^(Z)new heavens and a new earth ^(AA)in which righteousness dwells.

Final Words

^14 (AB)Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him ^(AC)without spot or ^(AD)blemish, and ^(AE)at peace. ¹⁵ And count ^(AF)the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as ^(AG)our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you ^(AH)according to the wisdom given him, ¹⁶ as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. ^(AI)There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, ^(AJ)as they do the other Scriptures. ¹⁷ You therefore, beloved, ^(AK)knowing this beforehand, ^(AL)take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. ¹⁸ But ^(AM)grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. ^(AN)To him be the glory both now and to the day of ^(AO)eternity. Amen.