Jeremiah 7-9
New Living Translation
Jeremiah Speaks at the Temple
7 The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, 2 “Go to the entrance of the Lord’s Temple, and give this message to the people: ‘O Judah, listen to this message from the Lord! Listen to it, all of you who worship here! 3 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says:
“‘Even now, if you quit your evil ways, I will let you stay in your own land. 4 But don’t be fooled by those who promise you safety simply because the Lord’s Temple is here. They chant, “The Lord’s Temple is here! The Lord’s Temple is here!” 5 But I will be merciful only if you stop your evil thoughts and deeds and start treating each other with justice; 6 only if you stop exploiting foreigners, orphans, and widows; only if you stop your murdering; and only if you stop harming yourselves by worshiping idols. 7 Then I will let you stay in this land that I gave to your ancestors to keep forever.
8 “‘Don’t be fooled into thinking that you will never suffer because the Temple is here. It’s a lie! 9 Do you really think you can steal, murder, commit adultery, lie, and burn incense to Baal and all those other new gods of yours, 10 and then come here and stand before me in my Temple and chant, “We are safe!”—only to go right back to all those evils again? 11 Don’t you yourselves admit that this Temple, which bears my name, has become a den of thieves? Surely I see all the evil going on there. I, the Lord, have spoken!
12 “‘Go now to the place at Shiloh where I once put the Tabernacle that bore my name. See what I did there because of all the wickedness of my people, the Israelites. 13 While you were doing these wicked things, says the Lord, I spoke to you about it repeatedly, but you would not listen. I called out to you, but you refused to answer. 14 So just as I destroyed Shiloh, I will now destroy this Temple that bears my name, this Temple that you trust in for help, this place that I gave to you and your ancestors. 15 And I will send you out of my sight into exile, just as I did your relatives, the people of Israel.[a]’
Judah’s Persistent Idolatry
16 “Pray no more for these people, Jeremiah. Do not weep or pray for them, and don’t beg me to help them, for I will not listen to you. 17 Don’t you see what they are doing throughout the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 No wonder I am so angry! Watch how the children gather wood and the fathers build sacrificial fires. See how the women knead dough and make cakes to offer to the Queen of Heaven. And they pour out liquid offerings to their other idol gods! 19 Am I the one they are hurting?” asks the Lord. “Most of all, they hurt themselves, to their own shame.”
20 So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “I will pour out my terrible fury on this place. Its people, animals, trees, and crops will be consumed by the unquenchable fire of my anger.”
21 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Take your burnt offerings and your other sacrifices and eat them yourselves! 22 When I led your ancestors out of Egypt, it was not burnt offerings and sacrifices I wanted from them. 23 This is what I told them: ‘Obey me, and I will be your God, and you will be my people. Do everything as I say, and all will be well!’
24 “But my people would not listen to me. They kept doing whatever they wanted, following the stubborn desires of their evil hearts. They went backward instead of forward. 25 From the day your ancestors left Egypt until now, I have continued to send my servants, the prophets—day in and day out. 26 But my people have not listened to me or even tried to hear. They have been stubborn and sinful—even worse than their ancestors.
27 “Tell them all this, but do not expect them to listen. Shout out your warnings, but do not expect them to respond. 28 Say to them, ‘This is the nation whose people will not obey the Lord their God and who refuse to be taught. Truth has vanished from among them; it is no longer heard on their lips. 29 Shave your head in mourning, and weep alone on the mountains. For the Lord has rejected and forsaken this generation that has provoked his fury.’
The Valley of Slaughter
30 “The people of Judah have sinned before my very eyes,” says the Lord. “They have set up their abominable idols right in the Temple that bears my name, defiling it. 31 They have built pagan shrines at Topheth, the garbage dump in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, and there they burn their sons and daughters in the fire. I have never commanded such a horrible deed; it never even crossed my mind to command such a thing! 32 So beware, for the time is coming,” says the Lord, “when that garbage dump will no longer be called Topheth or the valley of Ben-Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. They will bury the bodies in Topheth until there is no more room for them. 33 The bodies of my people will be food for the vultures and wild animals, and no one will be left to scare them away. 34 I will put an end to the happy singing and laughter in the streets of Jerusalem. The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will no longer be heard in the towns of Judah. The land will lie in complete desolation.
8 “In that day,” says the Lord, “the enemy will break open the graves of the kings and officials of Judah, and the graves of the priests, prophets, and common people of Jerusalem. 2 They will spread out their bones on the ground before the sun, moon, and stars—the gods my people have loved, served, and worshiped. Their bones will not be gathered up again or buried but will be scattered on the ground like manure. 3 And the people of this evil nation who survive will wish to die rather than live where I will send them. I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!
Deception by False Prophets
4 “Jeremiah, say to the people, ‘This is what the Lord says:
“‘When people fall down, don’t they get up again?
When they discover they’re on the wrong road, don’t they turn back?
5 Then why do these people stay on their self-destructive path?
Why do the people of Jerusalem refuse to turn back?
They cling tightly to their lies
and will not turn around.
6 I listen to their conversations
and don’t hear a word of truth.
Is anyone sorry for doing wrong?
Does anyone say, “What a terrible thing I have done”?
No! All are running down the path of sin
as swiftly as a horse galloping into battle!
7 Even the stork that flies across the sky
knows the time of her migration,
as do the turtledove, the swallow, and the crane.[b]
They all return at the proper time each year.
But not my people!
They do not know the Lord’s laws.
8 “‘How can you say, “We are wise because we have the word of the Lord,”
when your teachers have twisted it by writing lies?
9 These wise teachers will fall
into the trap of their own foolishness,
for they have rejected the word of the Lord.
Are they so wise after all?
10 I will give their wives to others
and their farms to strangers.
From the least to the greatest,
their lives are ruled by greed.
Yes, even my prophets and priests are like that.
They are all frauds.
11 They offer superficial treatments
for my people’s mortal wound.
They give assurances of peace
when there is no peace.
12 Are they ashamed of these disgusting actions?
Not at all—they don’t even know how to blush!
Therefore, they will lie among the slaughtered.
They will be brought down when I punish them,
says the Lord.
13 I will surely consume them.
There will be no more harvests of figs and grapes.
Their fruit trees will all die.
Whatever I gave them will soon be gone.
I, the Lord, have spoken!’
14 “Then the people will say,
‘Why should we wait here to die?
Come, let’s go to the fortified towns and die there.
For the Lord our God has decreed our destruction
and has given us a cup of poison to drink
because we sinned against the Lord.
15 We hoped for peace, but no peace came.
We hoped for a time of healing, but found only terror.’
16 “The snorting of the enemies’ warhorses can be heard
all the way from the land of Dan in the north!
The neighing of their stallions makes the whole land tremble.
They are coming to devour the land and everything in it—
cities and people alike.
17 I will send these enemy troops among you
like poisonous snakes you cannot charm.
They will bite you, and you will die.
I, the Lord, have spoken!”
Jeremiah Weeps for Sinful Judah
18 My grief is beyond healing;
my heart is broken.
19 Listen to the weeping of my people;
it can be heard all across the land.
“Has the Lord abandoned Jerusalem?[c]” the people ask.
“Is her King no longer there?”
“Oh, why have they provoked my anger with their carved idols
and their worthless foreign gods?” says the Lord.
20 “The harvest is finished,
and the summer is gone,” the people cry,
“yet we are not saved!”
21 I hurt with the hurt of my people.
I mourn and am overcome with grief.
22 Is there no medicine in Gilead?
Is there no physician there?
Why is there no healing
for the wounds of my people?
9 [d]If only my head were a pool of water
and my eyes a fountain of tears,
I would weep day and night
for all my people who have been slaughtered.
2 [e]Oh, that I could go away and forget my people
and live in a travelers’ shack in the desert.
For they are all adulterers—
a pack of treacherous liars.
Judgment for Disobedience
3 “My people bend their tongues like bows
to shoot out lies.
They refuse to stand up for the truth.
They only go from bad to worse.
They do not know me,”
says the Lord.
4 “Beware of your neighbor!
Don’t even trust your brother!
For brother takes advantage of brother,
and friend slanders friend.
5 They all fool and defraud each other;
no one tells the truth.
With practiced tongues they tell lies;
they wear themselves out with all their sinning.
6 They pile lie upon lie
and utterly refuse to acknowledge me,”
says the Lord.
7 Therefore, this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says:
“See, I will melt them down in a crucible
and test them like metal.
What else can I do with my people?[f]
8 For their tongues shoot lies like poisoned arrows.
They speak friendly words to their neighbors
while scheming in their heart to kill them.
9 Should I not punish them for this?” says the Lord.
“Should I not avenge myself against such a nation?”
10 I will weep for the mountains
and wail for the wilderness pastures.
For they are desolate and empty of life;
the lowing of cattle is heard no more;
the birds and wild animals have all fled.
11 “I will make Jerusalem into a heap of ruins,” says the Lord.
“It will be a place haunted by jackals.
The towns of Judah will be ghost towns,
with no one living in them.”
12 Who is wise enough to understand all this? Who has been instructed by the Lord and can explain it to others? Why has the land been so ruined that no one dares to travel through it?
13 The Lord replies, “This has happened because my people have abandoned my instructions; they have refused to obey what I said. 14 Instead, they have stubbornly followed their own desires and worshiped the images of Baal, as their ancestors taught them. 15 So now, this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: Look! I will feed them with bitterness and give them poison to drink. 16 I will scatter them around the world, in places they and their ancestors never heard of, and even there I will chase them with the sword until I have destroyed them completely.”
Weeping in Jerusalem
17 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says:
“Consider all this, and call for the mourners.
Send for the women who mourn at funerals.
18 Quick! Begin your weeping!
Let the tears flow from your eyes.
19 Hear the people of Jerusalem[g] crying in despair,
‘We are ruined! We are completely humiliated!
We must leave our land,
because our homes have been torn down.’”
20 Listen, you women, to the words of the Lord;
open your ears to what he has to say.
Teach your daughters to wail;
teach one another how to lament.
21 For death has crept in through our windows
and has entered our mansions.
It has killed off the flower of our youth:
Children no longer play in the streets,
and young men no longer gather in the squares.
22 This is what the Lord says:
“Bodies will be scattered across the fields like clumps of manure,
like bundles of grain after the harvest.
No one will be left to bury them.”
23 This is what the Lord says:
“Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom,
or the powerful boast in their power,
or the rich boast in their riches.
24 But those who wish to boast
should boast in this alone:
that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord
who demonstrates unfailing love
and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth,
and that I delight in these things.
I, the Lord, have spoken!
25 “A time is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will punish all those who are circumcised in body but not in spirit— 26 the Egyptians, Edomites, Ammonites, Moabites, the people who live in the desert in remote places,[h] and yes, even the people of Judah. And like all these pagan nations, the people of Israel also have uncircumcised hearts.”
Footnotes
- 7:15 Hebrew of Ephraim, referring to the northern kingdom of Israel.
- 8:7 The identification of some of these birds is uncertain.
- 8:19 Hebrew Zion?
- 9:1 Verse 9:1 is numbered 8:23 in Hebrew text.
- 9:2 Verses 9:2-26 are numbered 9:1-25 in Hebrew text.
- 9:7 Hebrew with the daughter of my people? Greek version reads with the evil daughter of my people?
- 9:19 Hebrew Zion.
- 9:26 Or in the desert and clip the corners of their hair.
Jeremiah 7-9
New American Standard Bible
Message at the Temple Gate
7 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 “(A)Stand at the gate of the Lord’s house and proclaim there this word, and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you of Judah, who enter by these gates to worship the Lord!’” 3 This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “(B)Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you live in this place. 4 (C)Do not trust in deceptive words, saying, ‘[a]This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.’ 5 For (D)if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly (E)practice justice between a person and his neighbor, 6 if you do not oppress the stranger, the [b](F)orphan, or the widow, and do not shed (G)innocent blood in this place, nor (H)follow other gods to your own ruin, 7 then I will let you (I)live in this place, in the (J)land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever.
8 “Behold, you are trusting in (K)deceptive words to no avail. 9 Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, [c](L)offer sacrifices to Baal, and follow (M)other gods that you have not known, 10 then (N)come and stand before Me in (O)this house which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are saved!’—so that you may do all these abominations? 11 Has (P)this house, which is called by My name, become a (Q)den of robbers in your sight? Behold, (R)I Myself have seen it,” declares the Lord.
12 “But go now to My place which was in (S)Shiloh, where I (T)made My name dwell at the beginning, and (U)see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel. 13 And now, because you have done all these things,” declares the Lord, “and I spoke to you, (V)speaking again and again, but you did not listen, and I (W)called you but you did not answer, 14 therefore I will do to the (X)house which is called by My name, (Y)in which you trust, and to the place which I gave you and your fathers, just as I (Z)did to Shiloh. 15 I will (AA)hurl you out of My sight, just as I have hurled out all your brothers, all the [d]descendants of (AB)Ephraim.
16 “As for you, (AC)do not pray for this people, and do not lift up a cry or prayer for them, and do not plead with Me; for I am not listening to you. 17 Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 The [e]children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough to make sacrificial cakes for the queen of heaven; and they (AD)pour out drink offerings to other gods in order to (AE)provoke Me to anger. 19 (AF)Are they provoking Me?” declares the Lord. “Is it not themselves instead, to their [f]own (AG)shame?” 20 Therefore this is what the Lord [g]God says: “Behold, My (AH)anger and My wrath will be poured out on this place, on human and animal life, and on the (AI)trees of the field and the fruit of the ground; and it will burn and not be quenched.”
21 This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “Add your (AJ)burnt offerings to your sacrifices and (AK)eat flesh. 22 For I did not (AL)speak to your fathers, or command them on the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. 23 But this is [h]what I commanded them, saying, ‘(AM)Obey My voice, and (AN)I will be your God, and you will be My people; and you shall walk [i]entirely in the way which I command you, so that it may (AO)go well for you.’ 24 Yet they (AP)did not obey or incline their ear, but walked by their own advice and in the stubbornness of their evil hearts, and they [j](AQ)went backward and not forward. 25 Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have (AR)sent you all My servants the prophets, sending them daily, again and again. 26 Yet they did not listen to Me or incline their ear, but (AS)stiffened their neck; they (AT)did more evil than their fathers.
27 “So you shall (AU)speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you; and you shall call to them, but they will (AV)not answer you. 28 And you shall say to them, ‘This is the nation that (AW)did not obey the voice of the Lord their God or accept discipline; [k](AX)trustworthiness has perished and has been eliminated from their mouth.
29 (AY)Cut off [l]your hair and throw it away,
And (AZ)take up a song of mourning on the bare heights;
For the Lord has (BA)rejected and forsaken
The generation of His wrath.’
30 For the sons of Judah have done that which is evil in My sight,” declares the Lord. “They have (BB)put their detestable things in the house which is called by My name, to defile it. 31 They have (BC)built the high places of Topheth, which is in the Valley of Ben-hinnom, to (BD)burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I (BE)did not command, and it did not come into My [m]mind.
32 “(BF)Therefore, behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when it will no longer be called Topheth, or the Valley of Ben-hinnom, but the Valley of the Slaughter; for they will (BG)bury in Topheth [n]because there is no other place. 33 The (BH)dead bodies of this people will be food for the birds of the sky and for the animals of the earth; and no one will frighten them away. 34 Then I will (BI)eliminate from the cities of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride; for the (BJ)land will become a site of ruins.
The Sin and Treachery of Judah
8 “At that time,” declares the Lord, “they will (BK)bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of its leaders, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem from their graves. 2 They will spread them out to the sun, the moon, and to all the (BL)heavenly [o]lights, which they have loved, which they have served, which they have followed, which they have sought, and which they have worshiped. They will not be gathered (BM)nor buried; (BN)they will be like dung on the face of the ground. 3 And (BO)death will be chosen rather than life by all the remnant that remains of this evil family, that remains in all the (BP)places to which I have driven them,” declares the Lord of armies.
4 “You shall say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says:
“Do people (BQ)fall and not get up?
Does one turn away and not [p]repent?
5 Why has this people, Jerusalem,
(BR)Turned away in continual apostasy?
They (BS)hold on to deceit,
They (BT)refuse to return.
6 I (BU)have listened and heard,
They have spoken what is not right;
(BV)No one repented of his wickedness,
Saying, ‘What have I done?’
Everyone turned to his own course,
Like a (BW)horse charging into the battle.
7 Even the stork in the sky
(BX)Knows her seasons;
And the (BY)turtledove, the swallow, and the crane
Keep to the time of their [q]migration;
But (BZ)My people do not know
The judgment of the Lord.
8 “(CA)How can you say, ‘We are wise,
And the Law of the Lord is with us’?
But behold, the lying pen of the scribes
Has made it into a lie.
9 The wise men are (CB)put to shame,
They are dismayed and caught;
Behold, they have (CC)rejected the word of the Lord,
So what kind of wisdom do they have?
10 Therefore I will (CD)give their wives to others,
Their fields to new owners;
Because from the least even to the greatest
Everyone is (CE)greedy for gain;
From the prophet even to the priest,
Everyone practices deceit.
11 They have (CF)healed the brokenness of the daughter of My people superficially,
Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’
But there is no peace.
12 Were they (CG)ashamed because of the abomination they had done?
They were not ashamed at all,
And they did not know how to be ashamed;
Therefore they will (CH)fall among those who fall;
At the (CI)time of their punishment they will collapse,”
Says the Lord.
13 “I will (CJ)certainly snatch them away,” declares the Lord.
“There will be (CK)no grapes on the vine
And (CL)no figs on the fig tree,
And the leaf will wither;
And what I have given them will pass away.”’”
14 Why are we sitting still?
(CM)Assemble yourselves, and let’s (CN)go into the fortified cities
And perish there,
For the Lord our God has doomed us
And given us (CO)poisoned water to drink,
Because (CP)we have sinned against the Lord.
15 We (CQ)waited for peace, but no good came;
For a time of healing, but behold, terror!
16 From (CR)Dan there is heard the snorting of his horses;
At the sound of the neighing of his (CS)stallions
The whole land quakes;
For they come and (CT)devour the land and its fullness,
The city and its inhabitants.
17 “For behold, I am (CU)sending serpents among you,
Vipers for which there is (CV)no charm;
And they will bite you,” declares the Lord.
18 [r]My (CW)sorrow is beyond healing,
My (CX)heart is faint within me!
19 Behold, listen! The cry of the daughter of my people from a (CY)distant land:
“Is the Lord not in Zion? Is her King not within her?”
“Why have they (CZ)provoked Me with their carved images, with foreign [s](DA)idols?”
20 “Harvest is past, summer is over,
And we are not saved.”
21 I am broken over the (DB)brokenness of the daughter of my people.
I (DC)mourn, dismay has taken hold of me.
22 Is there no (DD)balm in Gilead?
Is there no physician there?
(DE)Why then has not the [t]health of the daughter of my people [u]been restored?
Grief over Zion
9 [v](DF)Oh, that my head were waters
And my eyes a fountain of tears,
That I might weep day and night
For those slain of the (DG)daughter of my people!
2 [w](DH)Oh that I had in the desert
A travelers’ lodging place;
So that I might leave my people
And go away from them!
For all of them are (DI)adulterers,
An assembly of (DJ)treacherous people.
3 “They (DK)bend their tongues like their bows;
Lies and not truth prevail in the land;
For they (DL)proceed from evil to evil,
And they (DM)do not know Me,” declares the Lord.
4 “Let everyone (DN)be on guard against his neighbor,
And (DO)do not trust any brother;
Because every (DP)brother utterly [x]betrays,
And every neighbor (DQ)goes about as a slanderer.
5 Everyone (DR)deceives his neighbor
And does not speak the truth.
They have taught their tongue to speak lies;
They (DS)weary themselves committing wrongdoing.
6 Your (DT)dwelling is in the midst of deceit;
Through deceit they (DU)refuse to know Me,” declares the Lord.
7 Therefore this is what the Lord of armies says:
“Behold, I will refine them and (DV)put them to the test;
For (DW)what else can I do, because of the daughter of My people?
8 Their (DX)tongue is a deadly arrow;
It speaks deceit;
With his mouth one (DY)speaks peace to his neighbor,
But inwardly he (DZ)sets an ambush for him.
9 (EA)Shall I not punish them for these things?” declares the Lord.
“Shall I not avenge Myself
On a nation such as this?
10 “I will take up a weeping and wailing for the (EB)mountains,
And for the pastures of the (EC)wilderness a song of mourning,
Because they are (ED)laid waste so that no one passes through,
And the sound of the livestock is not heard;
Both the (EE)birds of the sky and the animals have fled; they are gone.
11 I will make Jerusalem a (EF)heap of ruins,
A haunt of (EG)jackals;
And I will make the cities of Judah a (EH)desolation without inhabitant.”
12 Who is the (EI)wise person who may understand this? And who is he to whom (EJ)the mouth of the Lord has spoken, that he may declare it? (EK)Why is the land destroyed, laid waste like the desert, so that no one passes through? 13 The Lord said, “Because they have (EL)abandoned My Law which I put before them, and have not obeyed My voice nor walked according to it, 14 but have (EM)followed the stubbornness of their heart and the (EN)Baals, [y]as their (EO)fathers taught them,” 15 therefore this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “Behold, (EP)I will feed this people wormwood; and I will give them (EQ)poisoned water to drink. 16 I will also (ER)scatter them among the nations, whom neither they nor their fathers have known; and I will send the (ES)sword after them until I have put an end to them.”
17 This is what the Lord of armies says:
“Consider and call for the (ET)mourning women, that they may come;
And send for the [z](EU)skillful women, that they may come!
18 Have them hurry and take up a wailing for us,
So that our (EV)eyes may shed tears,
And our eyelids flow with water.
19 For a voice of (EW)wailing is heard from Zion:
‘(EX)How devastated we are!
We are put to great shame,
For we have (EY)abandoned the land
Because they have torn down our homes.’”
20 Now hear the word of the Lord, you (EZ)women,
And let your ears receive the word of His mouth;
Teach your daughters wailing,
And have every woman teach her neighbor a song of mourning.
21 For (FA)death has come up through our windows;
It has entered our palaces
To eliminate the (FB)children from the streets,
The young men from the public squares.
22 Speak, “This is what the Lord says:
‘The corpses of people will fall (FC)like dung on the open field,
And like the sheaf after the reaper,
But no one will gather them.’”
23 This is what the Lord says: “(FD)Let no wise man boast of his wisdom, nor let the (FE)mighty man boast of his might, nor a (FF)rich man boast of his riches; 24 but let the one who boasts (FG)boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who (FH)exercises [aa]mercy, justice, and righteousness on the earth; for I (FI)delight in these things,” declares the Lord.
25 “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “that I will punish all who are circumcised and yet (FJ)uncircumcised— 26 Egypt, Judah, Edom, the sons of Ammon, Moab, and (FK)all those inhabiting the desert who trim the hair on their temples; for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are (FL)uncircumcised of heart.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 7:4 Lit They are
- Jeremiah 7:6 Or fatherless
- Jeremiah 7:9 Or burn incense
- Jeremiah 7:15 Lit seed
- Jeremiah 7:18 Lit sons
- Jeremiah 7:19 Lit their faces’
- Jeremiah 7:20 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- Jeremiah 7:23 Lit the word
- Jeremiah 7:23 Lit in all the way
- Jeremiah 7:24 Lit were
- Jeremiah 7:28 Or faithfulness
- Jeremiah 7:29 Lit your crown
- Jeremiah 7:31 Lit heart
- Jeremiah 7:32 Or until there is no place left
- Jeremiah 8:2 Lit host
- Jeremiah 8:4 Lit turn back
- Jeremiah 8:7 Lit coming
- Jeremiah 8:18 As in LXX and ancient versions
- Jeremiah 8:19 Lit futilities
- Jeremiah 8:22 Or healing
- Jeremiah 8:22 Lit gone up
- Jeremiah 9:1 Ch 8:23 in Heb
- Jeremiah 9:2 Ch 9:1 in Heb
- Jeremiah 9:4 I.e., like Jacob (a play on words)
- Jeremiah 9:14 Lit which
- Jeremiah 9:17 I.e., professional mourners
- Jeremiah 9:24 Or faithfulness
John 13
New Living Translation
Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet
13 Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end.[a] 2 It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas,[b] son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. 4 So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, 5 and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him.
6 When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
7 Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.”
8 “No,” Peter protested, “you will never ever wash my feet!”
Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.”
9 Simon Peter exclaimed, “Then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet!”
10 Jesus replied, “A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet,[c] to be entirely clean. And you disciples are clean, but not all of you.” 11 For Jesus knew who would betray him. That is what he meant when he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
12 After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? 13 You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. 14 And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. 15 I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. 16 I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message. 17 Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them.
Jesus Predicts His Betrayal
18 “I am not saying these things to all of you; I know the ones I have chosen. But this fulfills the Scripture that says, ‘The one who eats my food has turned against me.’[d] 19 I tell you this beforehand, so that when it happens you will believe that I am the Messiah.[e] 20 I tell you the truth, anyone who welcomes my messenger is welcoming me, and anyone who welcomes me is welcoming the Father who sent me.”
21 Now Jesus was deeply troubled,[f] and he exclaimed, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me!”
22 The disciples looked at each other, wondering whom he could mean. 23 The disciple Jesus loved was sitting next to Jesus at the table.[g] 24 Simon Peter motioned to him to ask, “Who’s he talking about?” 25 So that disciple leaned over to Jesus and asked, “Lord, who is it?”
26 Jesus responded, “It is the one to whom I give the bread I dip in the bowl.” And when he had dipped it, he gave it to Judas, son of Simon Iscariot. 27 When Judas had eaten the bread, Satan entered into him. Then Jesus told him, “Hurry and do what you’re going to do.” 28 None of the others at the table knew what Jesus meant. 29 Since Judas was their treasurer, some thought Jesus was telling him to go and pay for the food or to give some money to the poor. 30 So Judas left at once, going out into the night.
Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial
31 As soon as Judas left the room, Jesus said, “The time has come for the Son of Man[h] to enter into his glory, and God will be glorified because of him. 32 And since God receives glory because of the Son,[i] he will give his own glory to the Son, and he will do so at once. 33 Dear children, I will be with you only a little longer. And as I told the Jewish leaders, you will search for me, but you can’t come where I am going. 34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
36 Simon Peter asked, “Lord, where are you going?”
And Jesus replied, “You can’t go with me now, but you will follow me later.”
37 “But why can’t I come now, Lord?” he asked. “I’m ready to die for you.”
38 Jesus answered, “Die for me? I tell you the truth, Peter—before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.
Footnotes
- 13:1 Or he showed them the full extent of his love.
- 13:2 Or the devil had already intended for Judas.
- 13:10 Some manuscripts do not include except for the feet.
- 13:18 Ps 41:9.
- 13:19 Or that the ‘I am’ has come; or that I am the Lord; Greek reads that I am. See Exod 3:14.
- 13:21 Greek was troubled in his spirit.
- 13:23 Greek was reclining on Jesus’ bosom. The “disciple Jesus loved” was probably John.
- 13:31 “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.
- 13:32 Several early manuscripts do not include And since God receives glory because of the Son.
John 13
New American Standard Bible
The Lord’s Supper
13 Now before the Feast of (A)the Passover, Jesus, knowing that (B)His hour had come that He would depart from this world (C)to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them [a]to the end. 2 And during supper, (D)the devil having already put into the heart of (E)Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray Him, 3 Jesus, (F)knowing that the Father had handed all things over to Him, and that (G)He had come forth from God and was going back to God, 4 *got up from supper and *laid His outer garments aside; and He took a towel and (H)tied it around Himself.
Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet
5 Then He *poured water into the basin, and began (I)washing the disciples’ feet and wiping them with the towel which He had tied around Himself. 6 So He *came to Simon Peter. He *said to Him, “Lord, You are washing my feet?” 7 Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing, you do not realize right now, but you will understand (J)later.” 8 Peter *said to Him, “Never shall You wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “(K)If I do not wash you, (L)you have no [b]place with Me.” 9 Simon Peter *said to Him, “Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head!” 10 Jesus *said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet; otherwise he is completely clean. And (M)you are clean—but [c]not all of you.” 11 For (N)He knew the one who was betraying Him; it was for this reason that He said, “Not all of you are clean.”
12 Then, when He had washed their feet, and (O)taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done for you? 13 You call Me (P)‘Teacher’ and (Q)‘Lord’; and [d]you are correct, for so I am. 14 So if I, (R)the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I gave you (S)an example, so that you also would do just as I did for you. 16 Truly, truly I say to you, (T)a slave is not greater than his master, nor is (U)[e]one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things, you are (V)blessed if you do them. 18 (W)I am not speaking about all of you. I know the ones whom I have (X)chosen; but this is happening (Y)so that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘(Z)He who eats My bread has lifted up his heel against Me.’ 19 From now on (AA)I am telling you before it happens, so that when it does happen, you may believe that (AB)I am He. 20 Truly, truly I say to you, (AC)the one who [f]receives anyone I send, [g]receives Me; and the one who [h]receives Me [i]receives Him who sent Me.”
Jesus Predicts His Betrayal
21 When Jesus had said these things, He (AD)became troubled in spirit, and [j]testified and said, “Truly, truly I say to you that (AE)one of you will [k]betray Me.” 22 The disciples began looking at one another, (AF)at a loss to know of which one He was speaking. 23 Lying back on (AG)Jesus’ chest was one of His disciples, (AH)whom Jesus loved. 24 So Simon Peter *nodded to this disciple and *said to him, “Tell us who it is of whom He is speaking.” 25 He then simply (AI)leaned back on Jesus’ chest and *said to Him, “Lord, who is it?” 26 Jesus then *answered, “That man is the one for whom I shall dip the piece of bread and give it to him.” So when He had dipped the piece of bread, He *took and *gave it to Judas, (AJ)the son of Simon Iscariot. 27 After [l]this, (AK)Satan then (AL)entered him. Therefore Jesus *said to him, “What you are doing, do it quickly.” 28 Now none of those reclining at the table knew for what purpose He had said this to him. 29 For some were assuming, since Judas (AM)kept the money box, that Jesus was saying to him, “Buy the things we need (AN)for the feast”; or else, that he was to [m](AO)give something to the poor. 30 So after receiving the piece of bread, he left immediately; and (AP)it was night.
31 Therefore when he had left, Jesus *said, “Now [n]is (AQ)the Son of Man (AR)glorified, and (AS)God [o]is glorified in Him; 32 [p]if God is glorified in Him, (AT)God will also glorify Him in Himself, and will glorify Him immediately. 33 (AU)Little children, I am still with you (AV)a little longer. (AW)You will look for Me; and just as I said to the [q]Jews, now I also say to you: ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ 34 I am giving you a (AX)new commandment, (AY)that you love one another; (AZ)just as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 (BA)By this all people will know that you are My disciples: if you have love for one another.”
36 Simon Peter *said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?” Jesus answered, “(BB)Where I am going, you cannot follow Me now; but (BC)you will follow later.” 37 Peter *said to Him, “Lord, why can I not follow You right now? (BD)I will lay down my life for You.” 38 Jesus *replied, “Will you lay down your life for Me? Truly, truly I say to you, (BE)a rooster will not crow until you deny Me three times.
Footnotes
- John 13:1 Or to the uttermost; or eternally
- John 13:8 Or part
- John 13:10 I.e., not each one
- John 13:13 Lit you say well
- John 13:16 Gr apostolos used in a non-apostolic sense
- John 13:20 Or accepts
- John 13:20 Or accepts
- John 13:20 Or accepts
- John 13:20 Or accepts
- John 13:21 I.e., made a solemn assertion
- John 13:21 Or hand Me over
- John 13:27 Lit the piece
- John 13:29 Considered especially fitting at Passover
- John 13:31 Or was
- John 13:31 Or was
- John 13:32 Most early mss do not contain this phrase
- John 13:33 I.e., Jesus’ Jewish enemies
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
