Fire from Heaven
1 tAs soon as Solomon finished his prayer, ufire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, vand the glory of the Lord filled the temple. 2 And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord’s house. 3 When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the Lord on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, “For he is good, wfor his steadfast love endures forever.”
The Dedication of the Temple
4 xThen the king and all the people offered sacrifice before the Lord. 5 King Solomon offered as a sacrifice 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the people dedicated the house of God. 6 The priests stood at their posts; ythe Levites also, with the instruments for music to the Lord that King David had made for giving thanks to the Lord—wfor his steadfast love endures forever—whenever David offered praises by their ministry;1 zopposite them the priests sounded trumpets, and all Israel stood.
7 aAnd Solomon consecrated the middle of the court that was before the house of the Lord, for there he offered the burnt offering and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar Solomon had made could not hold the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat.
8 At that time Solomon held the feast for seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great assembly, from bLebo-hamath to the cBrook of Egypt. 9 And on the eighth day they held a solemn assembly, for they had kept the dedication of the altar seven days and the feast seven days. 10 On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people away to their homes, joyful and glad of heart for the prosperity2 that the Lord had granted to David and to Solomon and to Israel his people.
If My People Pray
11 dThus Solomon finished the house of the Lord and the king’s house. All that Solomon had planned to do in the house of the Lord and in his own house he successfully accomplished. 12 Then the Lord appeared to Solomon in the night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer eand have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice. 13 fWhen I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, 14 if my people who are called by my name ghumble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 15 hNow my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place. 16 eFor now I have chosen and consecrated this house that my name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time. 17 And as for you, if you will walk before me as David your father walked, doing according to all that I have commanded you and keeping my statutes and my rules, 18 then I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father, saying, i‘You shall not lack a man to rule Israel.’
19 j“But if you3 turn aside and forsake my statutes and my commandments that I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, 20 kthen I will pluck you4 up from my land that I have given you, and this house that I have consecrated for my name, I will cast out of my sight, and I will make it la proverb and a byword among all peoples. 21 And at this house, which was exalted, everyone passing by will be astonished and say, m‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’ 22 Then they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore he has brought all this disaster on them.’”
Greeting
1 aThe elder to the elect lady and her children, bwhom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all who cknow dthe truth, 2 ebecause of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever:
3 fGrace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love.
Walking in Truth and Love
4 gI rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father. 5 And now I ask you, dear lady—hnot as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—ithat we love one another. 6 And jthis is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just kas you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it. 7 For lmany deceivers mhave gone out into the world, nthose who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8 Watch yourselves, oso that you may not lose what we1 have worked for, but pmay win a full reward. 9 Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, qdoes not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching qhas both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, rdo not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, 11 for whoever greets him stakes part in his wicked works.
Final Greetings
12 tThough I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. uInstead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, vso that our joy may be complete.
13 The children of your elect sister greet you.
1 I will htake my stand at my watchpost
and station myself on the tower,
and ilook out to see jwhat he will say to me,
and what I will answer concerning my complaint.
The Righteous Shall Live by His Faith
2 And the Lord answered me:
k“Write the vision;
make it plain on tablets,
so he may run who reads it.
3 For still lthe vision awaits its appointed time;
it hastens to the end—it will not lie.
If it seems slow, mwait for it;
nit will surely come; it will not delay.
4 “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him,
5 “Moreover, wine2 is pa traitor,
an arrogant man who is never at rest.3
His greed is as wide as Sheol;
like death qhe has never enough.
rHe gathers for himself all nations
and collects as his own all peoples.”
Woe to the Chaldeans
6 Shall not all these stake up their taunt against him, with scoffing and riddles for him, and say,
t“Woe to him uwho heaps up what is not his own—
for vhow long?—
and wloads himself with pledges!”
7 xWill not your debtors suddenly arise,
and those awake who will make you tremble?
Then you will be spoil for them.
8 yBecause you have plundered many nations,
all the remnant of the peoples shall plunder you,
zfor the blood of man and yviolence to the earth,
to cities and all who dwell in them.
9 t“Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house,
to be safe from the reach of harm!
10 You have devised shame for your house
cby cutting off many peoples;
you have forfeited your life.
11 For dthe stone will cry out from the wall,
and the beam from the woodwork respond.
12 t“Woe to him ewho builds a town with blood
and founds a city on iniquity!
13 Behold, is it not from the Lord of hosts
that fpeoples labor merely for fire,
and nations weary themselves for nothing?
14 gFor the earth will be filled
with the knowledge of hthe glory of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
15 t“Woe to him iwho makes his neighbors drink—
you pour out your wrath and make them drunk,
in order to gaze jat their nakedness!
16 You will have your fill kof shame instead of glory.
lDrink, yourself, and show your uncircumcision!
lThe cup in the Lord’s right hand
will come around to you,
and mutter shame will come upon your glory!
17 nThe violence odone to Lebanon will overwhelm you,
as will the destruction of the beasts that terrified them,
nfor the blood of man and violence to the earth,
to cities and all who dwell in them.
18 p“What profit is an idol
when its maker has shaped it,
a metal image, qa teacher of lies?
For its maker trusts in his own creation
when he makes rspeechless idols!
19 sWoe to him twho says to a wooden thing, Awake;
to a silent stone, Arise!
Can this teach?
Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver,
and uthere is no breath at all in it.
20 But vthe Lord is in his holy temple;
wlet all the earth keep silence before him.”
The Widow’s Offering
1 yJesus1 looked up and saw the rich zputting their gifts into athe offering box, 2 and he saw a poor widow put in two bsmall copper coins.2 3 And he said, “Truly, I tell you, cthis poor widow has put in more than all of them. 4 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her dpoverty put in all eshe had to live on.”
Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple
5 fAnd while some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he said, 6 “As for these things that you see, gthe days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” 7 And they asked him, “Teacher, hwhen will these things be, and what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?” 8 And he said, i“See that you are not led astray. For jmany will come in my name, saying, k‘I am he!’ and, l‘The time is at hand!’ Do not go after them. 9 And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be mterrified, for these things nmust first take place, but the end will not be at once.”
Jesus Foretells Wars and Persecution
10 Then he said to them, o“Nation will rise against nation, and pkingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be great qearthquakes, and in various places rfamines and pestilences. And there will be sterrors and great tsigns from heaven. 12 But before all this uthey will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to vthe synagogues and wprisons, and you xwill be brought before ykings and zgovernors for my name’s sake. 13 aThis will be your opportunity to bear witness. 14 Settle it therefore in your minds bnot to meditate beforehand how to answer, 15 for cI will give you a mouth and dwisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or econtradict. 16 You will be delivered up feven by parents and brothers3 and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. 17 gYou will be hated by all for my name’s sake. 18 But hnot a hair of your head will perish. 19 By your iendurance you will gain your lives.
Jesus Foretells Destruction of Jerusalem
20 “But jwhen you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that kits desolation has come near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it, 22 for these are ldays of mvengeance, to fulfill nall that is written. 23 oAlas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress upon the earth and pwrath against this people. 24 They will fall by the edge of the sword and qbe led captive among all nations, and rJerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, suntil the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
The Coming of the Son of Man
25 “And tthere will be signs in sun and moon uand stars, and on the earth vdistress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26 people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For wthe powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 And then they will see xthe Son of Man coming in a cloud ywith power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and zraise your heads, because ayour redemption is drawing near.”
The Lesson of the Fig Tree
29 And he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. 30 As soon as they come out in leaf, you see bfor yourselves and know that the summer is already near. 31 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 cTruly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. 33 dHeaven and earth will pass away, but emy words will not pass away.
Watch Yourselves
34 “But watch yourselves flest gyour hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and hcares of this life, and ithat day come upon you suddenly jlike a trap. 35 For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 But kstay awake at all times, lpraying that you may mhave strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and nto stand before the Son of Man.”
37 And oevery day he was teaching in the temple, but pat night he went out and lodged on qthe mount called Olivet. 38 And early in the morning oall the people came to him in the temple to hear him.
