The Righteous Branch

23 ^(A)“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord. ² Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning ^(B)the shepherds who care for my people: “You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. ^(C)Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the Lord. ^3 (D)Then I will gather the remnant of my flock ^(E)out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, ^(F)and they shall be fruitful and multiply. ^4 (G)I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the Lord.

^5 (H)“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous ^(I)Branch, and ^(J)he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. ⁶ In his days Judah will be saved, and ^(K)Israel will ^(L)dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ^(M)‘The Lord is our righteousness.’

^7 (N)“Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when they shall no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ ⁸ but ‘As the Lord lives who brought up and led the offspring of the house of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he^[a] had driven them.’ Then they shall dwell in their own land.”

²⁸ And we know that for those who love God all things work together ^(A)for good,^[a] for ^(B)those who are called according to his purpose. ²⁹ For those whom he ^(C)foreknew he also ^(D)predestined ^(E)to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be ^(F)the firstborn among many brothers. ³⁰ And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also ^(G)justified, and those whom he justified he also ^(H)glorified.

God's Everlasting Love

³¹ What then shall we say to these things? ^(I)If God is for us, who can be^[b] against us? ^32 (J)He who did not spare his own Son but ^(K)gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? ³³ Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? ^(L)It is God who justifies. ^34 (M)Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—^(N)who is at the right hand of God, ^(O)who indeed is interceding for us.^{[c] 35} Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? ³⁶ As it is written,

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than ^(R)conquerors through ^(S)him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

⁵² The Jews then ^(A)disputed among themselves, saying, ^(B)“How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” ⁵³ So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of ^(C)the Son of Man and drink his blood, you ^(D)have no life in you. ⁵⁴ Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood ^(E)has eternal life, and ^(F)I will raise him up on the last day. ⁵⁵ For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. ⁵⁶ Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood ^(G)abides in me, and I in him. ⁵⁷ As ^(H)the living Father ^(I)sent me, and ^(J)I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. ^58 (K)This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread^[a] the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” ⁵⁹ Jesus^[b] said these things in the synagogue, as he taught ^(L)at Capernaum.