Baskets of Figs and the Returnees

24 After ^(A)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken into exile Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the officials of Judah with the craftsmen and metalworkers from Jerusalem and had brought them to Babylon, the Lord showed me: behold, two ^(B)baskets of figs placed before the temple of the Lord. ² One basket had very good figs, like ^(C)first-ripe figs, and the other basket had ^(D)very bad figs which could not be eaten due to rottenness. ³ Then the Lord said to me, “^(E)What do you see, Jeremiah?” And I said, “Figs: the good figs are very good, and the bad ones, very bad, which cannot be eaten due to rottenness.”

⁴ Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ⁵ “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Like these good figs, so I will regard ^(F)as good the captives of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans. ⁶ For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will ^(G)bring them back to this land; and I will ^(H)build them up and not overthrow them, and I will ^(I)plant them and not uproot them. ⁷ I will also give them a ^(J)heart to know Me, for I am the Lord; and they will be ^(K)My people, and I will be their God, for they will ^(L)return to Me wholeheartedly.

⁸ ‘But like the ^(M)bad figs which cannot be eaten due to rottenness,’ indeed, this is what the Lord says, ‘so will I give up ^(N)Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials, and the ^(O)remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and the ones who live in the land of ^(P)Egypt. ⁹ I will ^(Q)make them an object of terror and an evil for all the kingdoms of the earth, as a ^(R)disgrace and a proverb, a taunt and a ^(S)curse in all the places where I will scatter them. ¹⁰ And I will send the ^(T)sword, the famine, and the plague upon them until they are eliminated from the land which I gave to them and their forefathers.’”

Jesus Is Risen!

28 ^(A)Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, ^(B)Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the tomb. ² And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for ^(C)an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away ^(D)the stone, and sat upon it. ³ And ^(E)his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. ⁴ The guards shook from fear of him and became like dead men. ⁵ And the angel said to the women, “^[a](F)Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. ⁶ He is not here, for He has risen, ^(G)just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. ⁷ And go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you ^(H)to Galilee. There you will see Him; behold, I have told you.”

⁸ And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to report to His disciples. ⁹ And behold, Jesus met them ^[b]and said, “^[c]Rejoice!” And they came up and took hold of His feet, and worshiped Him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus *said to them, “^[d](I)Do not be afraid; go, bring word to ^(J)My brothers to leave ^(K)for Galilee, and there they will see Me.”

¹¹ Now while they were on their way, some of ^(L)the men from the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened. ¹² And when they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, ¹³ and said, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him while we were asleep.’ ¹⁴ And if this comes to ^(M)the governor’s ears, we will appease him and ^[e]keep you out of trouble.” ¹⁵ And they took the money and did as they had been instructed; and this story was widely ^(N)spread among the Jews and is ^(O)to this day.

The Great Commission

¹⁶ But the eleven disciples proceeded ^(P)to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated to them. ¹⁷ And when they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but ^(Q)some ^[f]were doubtful. ¹⁸ And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “^(R)All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. ^19 [g](S)Go, therefore, and ^(T)make disciples of ^(U)all the nations, ^(V)baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to ^[h]follow all that I commanded you; and behold, ^(W)I am with you ^[i]always, to ^(X)the end of the age.”