Old/New Testament
The Refinement of Judah
13 “In that day there will be a fountain opened up for the dynasty[a] of David and the people of Jerusalem to cleanse them from sin and impurity.[b] 2 And also on that day,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will remove[c] the names of the idols from the land and they will never again be remembered. Moreover, I will remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land. 3 Then, if anyone prophesies in spite of this, his father and mother to whom he was born will say to him, ‘You cannot live, for you lie in the name of the Lord.’ Then his father and mother to whom he was born will run him through with a sword when he prophesies.[d]
4 “Therefore, on that day each prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies and will no longer wear the hairy garment[e] of a prophet to deceive the people.[f] 5 Instead he will say, ‘I am no prophet; indeed, I am a farmer, for a man has made me his indentured servant since my youth.’[g] 6 Then someone will ask him, ‘What are these wounds on your chest?’[h] and he will answer, ‘Some that I received in the house of my friends.’
7 “Awake, sword, against my shepherd,
against the man who is my associate,”
says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
“Strike the shepherd that the flock may be scattered;[i]
I will turn my hand against the insignificant ones.
8 It will happen in all the land,” says the Lord,
“that two-thirds of the people[j] in it will be cut off and die,
but one-third will be left in it.[k]
9 Then I will bring the remaining third into the fire;
I will refine them like silver is refined
and will test them like gold is tested.
They will call on my name and I will answer;
I will say, ‘These are my people,’
and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’”[l]
The Sovereignty of the Lord
14 A day of the Lord[m] is about to come when your possessions[n] will be divided as plunder in your midst. 2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to wage war; the city will be taken, its houses plundered, and the women raped. Then half of the city will go into exile, but the remainder of the people will not be taken away.[o]
3 Then the Lord will go to battle[p] and fight against those nations, just as he fought battles in ancient days.[q] 4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives that lies to the east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in half from east to west, leaving a great valley. Half the mountain will move northward and the other half southward.[r] 5 Then you will escape[s] through my mountain valley, for the valley of the mountains will extend to Azal.[t] Indeed, you will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of King Uzziah[u] of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come with all his holy ones with him. 6 On that day there will be no light—the sources of light in the heavens will congeal.[v] 7 It will happen in one day—a day known to the Lord—not in the day or the night, but in the evening there will be light.[w] 8 Moreover, on that day living waters will flow out from Jerusalem,[x] half of them to the eastern sea[y] and half of them to the western sea;[z] it will happen both in summer and in winter.
9 The Lord will then be king over all the earth. In that day the Lord will be seen as one with a single name.[aa] 10 All the land will change[ab] and become like the rift valley[ac] from Geba to Rimmon,[ad] south of Jerusalem. Jerusalem will be raised up and will stay in its own place from the Benjamin Gate to the site of the First Gate[ae] and on to the Corner Gate,[af] and from the Tower of Hananel to the royal winepresses.[ag] 11 And people will settle there, and there will no longer be the threat of divine extermination—Jerusalem will dwell in security.
12 But this will be the nature of the plague with which the Lord will strike all the nations that have fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh will decay while they stand on their feet, their eyes will rot away in their sockets, and their tongues will dissolve in their mouths. 13 On that day there will be great confusion from the Lord among them; they will seize each other and attack one another violently. 14 Moreover, Judah will fight at[ah] Jerusalem, and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be gathered up[ai]—gold, silver, and clothing in great abundance. 15 This is the kind of plague that will devastate horses, mules, camels, donkeys, and all the other animals in those camps.
16 Then all who survive from all the nations that came to attack Jerusalem will go up annually to worship the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, and to observe the Feast of Shelters.[aj] 17 But if any of the nations anywhere on earth refuse to go up to Jerusalem[ak] to worship the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, they will get no rain. 18 If the Egyptians will not do so, they will get no rain—instead there will be the kind of plague that the Lord inflicts on any nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Shelters. 19 This will be the punishment of Egypt and of all nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Shelters.
20 On that day the bells of the horses will bear the inscription “Holy to the Lord.” The cooking pots in the Lord’s temple[al] will be as holy as the bowls in front of the altar.[am] 21 Every cooking pot in Jerusalem and Judah will become holy in the sight of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, so that all who offer sacrifices may come and use some of them to boil their sacrifices in them. On that day there will no longer be a Canaanite[an] in the house of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
A New Heaven and a New Earth
21 Then[a] I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had ceased to exist,[b] and the sea existed no more. 2 And I saw the holy city—the new Jerusalem—descending out of heaven from God, made ready like a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Look! The residence[c] of God is among human beings.[d] He[e] will live among them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them.[f] 4 He[g] will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will not exist any more—or mourning, or crying, or pain, for the former things have ceased to exist.”[h]
5 And the one seated on the throne said: “Look! I am making all things new!” Then[i] he said to me, “Write it down,[j] because these words are reliable[k] and true.” 6 He also said to me, “It is done![l] I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the one who is thirsty I will give water[m] free of charge[n] from the spring of the water of life. 7 The one who conquers[o] will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 But as for the cowards, unbelievers, detestable persons, murderers, the sexually immoral, and those who practice magic spells,[p] idol worshipers,[q] and all those who lie, their place[r] will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur.[s] That[t] is the second death.”
The New Jerusalem Descends
9 Then[u] one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven final plagues came and spoke to me,[v] saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb!” 10 So[w] he took me away in the Spirit[x] to a huge, majestic mountain[y] and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. 11 The city possesses[z] the glory of God; its brilliance is like a precious jewel, like a stone of crystal-clear jasper.[aa] 12 It has[ab] a massive, high wall[ac] with twelve gates,[ad] with twelve angels at the gates, and the names of the twelve tribes of the nation of Israel[ae] are written on the gates.[af] 13 There are[ag] three gates on the east side, three gates on the north side, three gates on the south side and three gates on the west side.[ah] 14 The[ai] wall of the city has twelve foundations, and on them are the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15 The angel[aj] who spoke to me had a golden measuring rod with which to measure the city and its foundation stones and wall. 16 Now[ak] the city is laid out as a square,[al] its length and width the same. He[am] measured the city with the measuring rod[an] at 1,400 miles[ao] (its length and width and height are equal). 17 He also measured its wall, 144 cubits[ap] according to human measurement, which is also the angel’s.[aq] 18 The city’s[ar] wall is made[as] of jasper and the city is pure gold, like transparent glass.[at] 19 The foundations of the city’s wall are decorated[au] with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation is jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate,[av] the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx,[aw] the sixth carnelian,[ax] the seventh chrysolite,[ay] the eighth beryl,[az] the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase,[ba] the eleventh jacinth,[bb] and the twelfth amethyst. 21 And the twelve gates are twelve pearls—each one of the gates is made from just one pearl! The[bc] main street[bd] of the city is pure gold, like transparent glass.
22 Now[be] I saw no temple in the city, because the Lord God—the All-Powerful[bf]—and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because the glory of God lights it up, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 The nations[bg] will walk by its light and the kings of the earth will bring their grandeur[bh] into it. 25 Its gates will never be closed during the day[bi] (and[bj] there will be no night there).[bk] 26 They will bring the grandeur and the wealth[bl] of the nations[bm] into it, 27 but[bn] nothing ritually unclean[bo] will ever enter into it, nor anyone who does what is detestable[bp] or practices falsehood,[bq] but only those whose names[br] are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
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