Jerusalem Will Fall to Nebuchadnezzar

21 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, when King Zedekiah sent to him ^(A)Pashhur the son of Malchiah and ^(B)Zephaniah the priest, the son of ^(C)Maaseiah, saying, ^2 (D)“Inquire of the Lord for us, ^(E)for Nebuchadnezzar^[a] king of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the Lord will deal with us according to ^(F)all his wonderful deeds and will make him withdraw from us.”

³ Then Jeremiah said to them: “Thus you shall say to Zedekiah, ⁴ ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ^(G)Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands and with which you are fighting against the king of Babylon and against the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the walls. ^(H)And I will bring them together into the midst of this city. ⁵ I myself will fight against you ^(I)with outstretched hand and strong arm, ^(J)in anger and in fury and in great wrath. ⁶ And I will strike down the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast. They shall die of a great pestilence. ⁷ Afterward, declares the Lord, ^(K)I will give Zedekiah king of Judah and his servants and the people in this city who survive the pestilence, sword, and famine into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of their enemies, into the hand of those who seek their lives. He shall strike them down with the edge of the sword. ^(L)He shall not pity them or spare them or have compassion.’

⁸ “And to this people you shall say: ^(M)‘Thus says the Lord: Behold, ^(N)I set before you the way of life and the way of death. ⁹ He who stays in this city shall die ^(O)by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, but he who goes out and ^(P)surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you shall live ^(Q)and shall have his life as a prize of war. ¹⁰ For ^(R)I have set my face against this city for harm and ^(S)not for good, declares the Lord: ^(T)it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.’

Message to the House of David

¹¹ “And to the house of the king of Judah say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, ¹² O house of David! Thus says the Lord:

I Am the True Vine

15 “I am the ^(A)true vine, and my Father is ^(B)the vinedresser. ^2 (C)Every branch in me that does not bear fruit ^(D)he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, ^(E)that it may bear more fruit. ³ Already ^(F)you are clean ^(G)because of the word that I have spoken to you. ^4 (H)Abide ^(I)in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. ⁵ I am the vine; ^(J)you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that ^(K)bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ If anyone does not abide in me ^(L)he is thrown away like a branch and withers; ^(M)and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. ⁷ If ^(N)you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ^(O)ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ^8 (P)By this my Father is glorified, that you ^(Q)bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. ^9 (R)As the Father has loved me, ^(S)so have I loved you. Abide in my love. ^10 (T)If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as ^(U)I have kept ^(V)my Father's commandments and abide in his love. ¹¹ These things I have spoken to you, ^(W)that my joy may be in you, and that ^(X)your joy may be full.

^12 (Y)“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. ^13 (Z)Greater love has no one than this, ^(AA)that someone lay down his life for his friends. ¹⁴ You are ^(AB)my friends ^(AC)if you do what I command you. ^15 (AD)No longer do I call you servants,^[a] for the servant ^(AE)does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for ^(AF)all that I have heard from my Father ^(AG)I have made known to you. ¹⁶ You did not choose me, but ^(AH)I chose you and appointed you that you should go and ^(AI)bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that ^(AJ)whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. ¹⁷ These things I command you, ^(AK)so that you will love one another.

The Hatred of the World

^18 (AL)“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. ^19 (AM)If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because ^(AN)you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. ²⁰ Remember the word that I said to you: ^(AO)‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, ^(AP)they will also persecute you. ^(AQ)If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. ²¹ But ^(AR)all these things they will do to you ^(AS)on account of my name, ^(AT)because they do not know him who sent me. ²² If I had not come and spoken to them, ^(AU)they would not have been guilty of sin,^[b] but now they have no excuse for their sin. ^23 (AV)Whoever hates me hates my Father also. ^24 (AW)If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, ^(AX)they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have ^(AY)seen and hated both me and my Father. ²⁵ But ^(AZ)the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ^(BA)‘They hated me without a cause.’

²⁶ “But ^(BB)when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, ^(BC)he will bear witness about me. ²⁷ And ^(BD)you also will bear witness, ^(BE)because you have been with me ^(BF)from the beginning.