2 Kings 23
New King James Version
Josiah Restores True Worship(A)
23 Now (B)the king sent them to gather all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem to him. 2 The king went up to the house of the Lord with all the men of Judah, and with him all the inhabitants of Jerusalem—the priests and the prophets and all the people, both small and great. And he (C)read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant (D)which had been found in the house of the Lord.
3 Then the king (E)stood by a pillar and made a (F)covenant before the Lord, to follow the Lord and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people took a stand for the covenant. 4 And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, the (G)priests of the second order, and the doorkeepers, to bring (H)out of the temple of the Lord all the articles that were made for Baal, for [a]Asherah, and for all [b]the host of heaven; and he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel. 5 Then he removed the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense on the high places in the cities of Judah and in the places all around Jerusalem, and those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, to the moon, to the [c]constellations, and to (I)all the host of heaven. 6 And he brought out the (J)wooden[d] image from the house of the Lord, to the Brook Kidron outside Jerusalem, burned it at the Brook Kidron and ground it to (K)ashes, and threw its ashes on (L)the graves of the common people. 7 Then he tore down the ritual [e]booths (M)of the [f]perverted persons that were in the house of the Lord, (N)where the (O)women wove hangings for the wooden image. 8 And he brought all the priests from the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from (P)Geba to Beersheba; also he broke down the high places at the gates which were at the entrance of the Gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were to the left of the city gate. 9 (Q)Nevertheless the priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, (R)but they ate unleavened bread among their brethren.
10 And he defiled (S)Topheth, which is in (T)the Valley of the [g]Son of Hinnom, (U)that no man might make his son or his daughter (V)pass through the fire to Molech. 11 Then he removed the horses that the kings of Judah had [h]dedicated to the sun, at the entrance to the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathan-Melech, the officer who was in the court; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. 12 The altars that were (W)on the roof, the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which (X)Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, the king broke down and pulverized there, and threw their dust into the Brook Kidron. 13 Then the king defiled the [i]high places that were east of Jerusalem, which were on the [j]south of [k]the Mount of Corruption, which (Y)Solomon king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the people of Ammon. 14 And he (Z)broke in pieces the sacred pillars and cut down the wooden images, and filled their places with the bones of men.
15 Moreover the altar that was at Bethel, and the [l]high place (AA)which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he broke down; and he burned the high place and crushed it to powder, and burned the wooden image. 16 As Josiah turned, he saw the tombs that were there on the mountain. And he sent and took the bones out of the tombs and burned them on the altar, and defiled it according to the (AB)word of the Lord which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these words. 17 Then he said, “What gravestone is this that I see?”
So the men of the city told him, “It is (AC)the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things which you have done against the altar of Bethel.”
18 And he said, “Let him alone; let no one move his bones.” So they let his bones alone, with the bones of (AD)the prophet who came from Samaria.
19 Now Josiah also took away all the [m]shrines of the [n]high places that were (AE)in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke [o]the Lord to anger; and he did to them according to all the deeds he had done in Bethel. 20 (AF)He (AG)executed all the priests of the [p]high places who were there, on the altars, and (AH)burned men’s bones on them; and he returned to Jerusalem.
21 Then the king commanded all the people, saying, (AI)“Keep the Passover to the Lord your God, (AJ)as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.” 22 (AK)Such a Passover surely had never been held since the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah. 23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah this Passover was held before the Lord in Jerusalem. 24 Moreover Josiah put away those who consulted mediums and spiritists, the household gods and idols, all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might perform the words of (AL)the law which were written in the book (AM)that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the Lord. 25 (AN)Now before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses; nor after him did any arise like him.
Impending Judgment on Judah
26 Nevertheless the Lord did not turn from the fierceness of His great wrath, with which His anger was aroused against Judah, (AO)because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked Him. 27 And the Lord said, “I will also remove Judah from My sight, as (AP)I have removed Israel, and will cast off this city Jerusalem which I have chosen, and the house of which I said, (AQ)‘My name shall be there.’ ”
Josiah Dies in Battle(AR)
28 Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 29 (AS)In his days Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt went [q]to the aid of the king of Assyria, to the River Euphrates; and King Josiah went against him. And Pharaoh Necho killed him at (AT)Megiddo when he (AU)confronted him. 30 (AV)Then his servants moved his body in a chariot from Megiddo, brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own tomb. And (AW)the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, anointed him, and made him king in his father’s place.
The Reign and Captivity of Jehoahaz(AX)
31 (AY)Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was (AZ)Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 32 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done. 33 Now Pharaoh Necho put him in prison (BA)at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem; and he imposed on the land a tribute of one hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 34 Then (BB)Pharaoh Necho made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah, and (BC)changed his name to (BD)Jehoiakim. And Pharaoh took Jehoahaz (BE)and went to Egypt, and [r]he died there.
Jehoiakim Reigns in Judah(BF)
35 So Jehoiakim gave (BG)the silver and gold to Pharaoh; but he taxed the land to give money according to the command of Pharaoh; he exacted the silver and gold from the people of the land, from every one according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Necho. 36 (BH)Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zebudah the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. 37 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 23:4 A Canaanite goddess
- 2 Kings 23:4 The gods of the Assyrians
- 2 Kings 23:5 Of the Zodiac
- 2 Kings 23:6 Heb. Asherah, a Canaanite goddess
- 2 Kings 23:7 Lit. houses
- 2 Kings 23:7 Heb. qedeshim, those practicing sodomy and prostitution in religious rituals
- 2 Kings 23:10 Kt. Sons
- 2 Kings 23:11 given
- 2 Kings 23:13 Places for pagan worship
- 2 Kings 23:13 Lit. right of
- 2 Kings 23:13 The Mount of Olives
- 2 Kings 23:15 A place for pagan worship
- 2 Kings 23:19 Lit. houses
- 2 Kings 23:19 Places for pagan worship
- 2 Kings 23:19 So with LXX, Syr., Vg.; MT, Tg. omit the Lord
- 2 Kings 23:20 Places for pagan worship
- 2 Kings 23:29 Or to attack, Heb. al can mean together with or against
- 2 Kings 23:34 Jehoahaz
2 Chronicles 35
New King James Version
Josiah Keeps the Passover(A)
35 Now (B)Josiah kept a Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem, and they slaughtered the Passover lambs on the (C)fourteenth day of the first month. 2 And he set the priests in their (D)duties and (E)encouraged them for the service of the house of the Lord. 3 Then he said to the Levites (F)who taught all Israel, who were holy to the Lord: (G)“Put the holy ark (H)in the house which Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, built. (I)It shall no longer be a burden on your shoulders. Now serve the Lord your God and His people Israel. 4 Prepare yourselves (J)according to your fathers’ [a]houses, according to your divisions, following the (K)written instruction of David king of Israel and the (L)written instruction of Solomon his son. 5 And (M)stand in the holy place according to the divisions of the fathers’ houses of your brethren the lay people, and according to the division of the father’s house of the Levites. 6 So slaughter the Passover offerings, (N)consecrate yourselves, and prepare them for your brethren, that they may do according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses.”
7 Then Josiah (O)gave the lay people lambs and young goats from the flock, all for Passover offerings for all who were present, to the number of thirty thousand, as well as three thousand cattle; these were from the king’s (P)possessions. 8 And his (Q)leaders gave willingly to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, rulers of the house of God, gave to the priests for the Passover offerings two thousand six hundred from the flock, and three hundred cattle. 9 Also (R)Conaniah, his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, chief of the Levites, gave to the Levites for Passover offerings five thousand from the flock and five hundred cattle.
10 So the service was prepared, and the priests (S)stood in their places, and the (T)Levites in their divisions, according to the king’s command. 11 And they slaughtered the Passover offerings; and the priests (U)sprinkled the blood with their hands, while the Levites (V)skinned the animals. 12 Then they removed the burnt offerings that they might give them to the divisions of the fathers’ houses of the lay people, to offer to the Lord, as it is written (W)in the Book of Moses. And so they did with the cattle. 13 Also they (X)roasted the Passover offerings with fire according to the ordinance; but the other holy offerings they (Y)boiled in pots, in caldrons, and in pans, and divided them quickly among all the lay people. 14 Then afterward they prepared portions for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the sons of Aaron, were busy in offering burnt offerings and fat until night; therefore the Levites prepared portions for themselves and for the priests, the sons of Aaron. 15 And the singers, the sons of Asaph, were in their places, according to the (Z)command of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer. Also the gatekeepers (AA)were at each gate; they did not have to leave their position, because their brethren the Levites prepared portions for them.
16 So all the service of the Lord was prepared the same day, to keep the Passover and to offer burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord, according to the command of King Josiah. 17 And the children of Israel who were present kept the Passover at that time, and the Feast of (AB)Unleavened Bread for seven days. 18 (AC)There had been no Passover kept in Israel like that since the days of Samuel the prophet; and none of the kings of Israel had kept such a Passover as Josiah kept, with the priests and the Levites, all Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 19 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah this Passover was kept.
Josiah Dies in Battle(AD)
20 (AE)After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against (AF)Carchemish by the Euphrates; and Josiah went out against him. 21 But he sent messengers to him, saying, “What have I to do with you, king of Judah? I have not come against you this day, but against the house with which I have war; for God commanded me to make haste. Refrain from meddling with God, who is with me, lest He destroy you.” 22 Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him, but (AG)disguised himself so that he might fight with him, and did not heed the words of Necho from the mouth of God. So he came to fight in the Valley of Megiddo.
23 And the archers shot King Josiah; and the king said to his servants, “Take me away, for I am severely wounded.” 24 (AH)His servants therefore took him out of that chariot and put him in the second chariot that he had, and they brought him to Jerusalem. So he died, and was buried in one of the tombs of his fathers. And (AI)all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.
25 Jeremiah also (AJ)lamented for (AK)Josiah. And to this day (AL)all the singing men and the singing women speak of Josiah in their lamentations. (AM)They made it a custom in Israel; and indeed they are written in the Laments.
26 Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and his goodness, according to what was written in the Law of the Lord, 27 and his deeds from first to last, indeed they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 35:4 households
Jeremiah 1-9
New King James Version
Jeremiah Called to Be a Priest
1 The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were (A)in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, 2 to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of (B)Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, (C)in the thirteenth year of his reign. 3 It came also in the days of (D)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, (E)until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, (F)until the carrying away of Jerusalem captive (G)in the fifth month.
The Prophet Is Called
4 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
5 “Before I (H)formed you in the womb (I)I knew you;
Before you were born I (J)sanctified[a] you;
I [b]ordained you a prophet to the nations.”
6 Then said I:
(K)“Ah, Lord God!
Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.”
7 But the Lord said to me:
“Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’
For you shall go to all to whom I send you,
And (L)whatever I command you, you shall speak.
8 (M)Do not be afraid of their faces,
For (N)I am with you to deliver you,” says the Lord.
9 Then the Lord put forth His hand and (O)touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me:
“Behold, I have (P)put My words in your mouth.
10 (Q)See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms,
To (R)root out and to pull down,
To destroy and to throw down,
To build and to plant.”
11 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?”
And I said, “I see a [c]branch of an almond tree.”
12 Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am [d]ready to perform My word.”
13 And the word of the Lord came to me the second time, saying, “What do you see?”
And I said, “I see (S)a boiling pot, and it is facing away from the north.”
14 Then the Lord said to me:
“Out of the (T)north calamity shall break forth
On all the inhabitants of the land.
15 For behold, I am (U)calling
All the families of the kingdoms of the north,” says the Lord;
“They shall come and (V)each one set his throne
At the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem,
Against all its walls all around,
And against all the cities of Judah.
16 I will utter My judgments
Against them concerning all their wickedness,
Because (W)they have forsaken Me,
Burned (X)incense to other gods,
And worshiped the works of their own (Y)hands.
17 “Therefore (Z)prepare yourself and arise,
And speak to them all that I command you.
(AA)Do not be dismayed before their faces,
Lest I dismay you before them.
18 For behold, I have made you this day
(AB)A fortified city and an iron pillar,
And bronze walls against the whole land—
Against the kings of Judah,
Against its princes,
Against its priests,
And against the people of the land.
19 They will fight against you,
But they shall not prevail against you.
For I am with you,” says the Lord, “to deliver you.”
God’s Case Against Israel
2 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Go and cry in the hearing of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord:
“I remember you,
The kindness of your (AC)youth,
The love of your betrothal,
(AD)When you [e]went after Me in the wilderness,
In a land not sown.
3 (AE)Israel was holiness to the Lord,
(AF)The firstfruits of His increase.
(AG)All that devour him will offend;
Disaster will (AH)come upon them,” says the Lord.’ ”
4 Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob and all the families of the house of Israel. 5 Thus says the Lord:
(AI)“What injustice have your fathers found in Me,
That they have gone far from Me,
(AJ)Have followed [f]idols,
And have become idolaters?
6 Neither did they say, ‘Where is the Lord,
Who (AK)brought us up out of the land of Egypt,
Who led us through (AL)the wilderness,
Through a land of deserts and pits,
Through a land of drought and the shadow of death,
Through a land that no one crossed
And where no one dwelt?’
7 I brought you into (AM)a bountiful country,
To eat its fruit and its goodness.
But when you entered, you (AN)defiled My land
And made My heritage an abomination.
8 The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’
And those who handle the (AO)law did not know Me;
The rulers also transgressed against Me;
(AP)The prophets prophesied by Baal,
And walked after things that do not profit.
9 “Therefore (AQ)I will yet [g]bring charges against you,” says the Lord,
“And against your children’s children I will bring charges.
10 For pass beyond the coasts of [h]Cyprus and see,
Send to [i]Kedar and consider diligently,
And see if there has been such a (AR)thing.
11 (AS)Has a nation changed its gods,
Which are (AT)not gods?
(AU)But My people have changed their Glory
For what does not profit.
12 Be astonished, O heavens, at this,
And be horribly afraid;
Be very desolate,” says the Lord.
13 “For My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me, the (AV)fountain of living waters,
And hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water.
14 “Is Israel (AW)a servant?
Is he a homeborn slave?
Why is he plundered?
15 (AX)The young lions roared at him, and growled;
They made his land waste;
His cities are burned, without inhabitant.
16 Also the people of [j]Noph and (AY)Tahpanhes
Have [k]broken the crown of your head.
17 (AZ)Have you not brought this on yourself,
In that you have forsaken the Lord your God
When (BA)He led you in the way?
18 And now why take (BB)the road to Egypt,
To drink the waters of (BC)Sihor?
Or why take the road to (BD)Assyria,
To drink the waters of [l]the River?
19 Your own wickedness will (BE)correct you,
And your backslidings will rebuke you.
Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing
That you have forsaken the Lord your God,
And the [m]fear of Me is not in you,”
Says the Lord God of hosts.
20 “For of old I have (BF)broken your yoke and burst your bonds;
And (BG)you said, ‘I will not [n]transgress,’
When (BH)on every high hill and under every green tree
You lay down, (BI)playing the harlot.
21 Yet I had (BJ)planted you a noble vine, a seed of highest quality.
How then have you turned before Me
Into (BK)the degenerate plant of an alien vine?
22 For though you wash yourself with lye, and use much soap,
Yet your iniquity is (BL)marked[o] before Me,” says the Lord God.
23 “How(BM) can you say, ‘I am not [p]polluted,
I have not gone after the Baals’?
See your way in the valley;
Know what you have done:
You are a swift dromedary breaking loose in her ways,
24 A wild donkey used to the wilderness,
That sniffs at the wind in her desire;
In her time of mating, who can turn her away?
All those who seek her will not weary themselves;
In her month they will find her.
25 Withhold your foot from being unshod, and your throat from thirst.
But you said, (BN)‘There is no hope.
No! For I have loved (BO)aliens, and after them I will go.’
26 “As the thief is ashamed when he is found out,
So is the house of Israel ashamed;
They and their kings and their princes, and their priests and their (BP)prophets,
27 Saying to a tree, ‘You are my father,’
And to a (BQ)stone, ‘You gave birth to me.’
For they have turned their back to Me, and not their face.
But in the time of their (BR)trouble
They will say, ‘Arise and save us.’
28 But (BS)where are your gods that you have made for yourselves?
Let them arise,
If they (BT)can save you in the time of your [q]trouble;
For (BU)according to the number of your cities
Are your gods, O Judah.
29 “Why will you plead with Me?
You all have transgressed against Me,” says the Lord.
30 “In vain I have (BV)chastened your children;
They (BW)received no correction.
Your sword has (BX)devoured your prophets
Like a destroying lion.
31 “O generation, see the word of the Lord!
Have I been a wilderness to Israel,
Or a land of darkness?
Why do My people say, ‘We [r]are lords;
(BY)We will come no more to You’?
32 Can a virgin forget her ornaments,
Or a bride her attire?
Yet My people (BZ)have forgotten Me days without number.
33 “Why do you beautify your way to seek love?
Therefore you have also taught
The wicked women your ways.
34 Also on your skirts is found
(CA)The blood of the lives of the poor innocents.
I have not found it by [s]secret search,
But plainly on all these things.
35 (CB)Yet you say, ‘Because I am innocent,
Surely His anger shall turn from me.’
Behold, (CC)I will plead My case against you,
(CD)Because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’
36 (CE)Why do you gad about so much to change your way?
Also (CF)you shall be ashamed of Egypt (CG)as you were ashamed of Assyria.
37 Indeed you will go forth from him
With your hands on (CH)your head;
For the Lord has rejected your trusted allies,
And you will (CI)not prosper by them.
Israel Is Shameless
3 “They say, ‘If a man divorces his wife,
And she goes from him
And becomes another man’s,
(CJ)May he return to her again?’
Would not that (CK)land be greatly polluted?
But you have (CL)played the harlot with many lovers;
(CM)Yet return to Me,” says the Lord.
2 “Lift up your eyes to (CN)the desolate heights and see:
Where have you not [t]lain with men?
(CO)By the road you have sat for them
Like an Arabian in the wilderness;
(CP)And you have polluted the land
With your harlotries and your wickedness.
3 Therefore the (CQ)showers have been withheld,
And there has been no latter rain.
You have had a (CR)harlot’s forehead;
You refuse to be ashamed.
4 Will you not from this time cry to Me,
‘My Father, You are (CS)the guide of (CT)my youth?
5 (CU)Will He remain angry forever?
Will He keep it to the end?’
Behold, you have spoken and done evil things,
As you were able.”
A Call to Repentance
6 The Lord said also to me in the days of Josiah the king: “Have you seen what (CV)backsliding Israel has done? She has (CW)gone up on every high mountain and under every green tree, and there played the harlot. 7 (CX)And I said, after she had done all these things, ‘Return to Me.’ But she did not return. And her treacherous (CY)sister Judah saw it. 8 Then I saw that (CZ)for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had (DA)put her away and given her a certificate of divorce; (DB)yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also. 9 So it came to pass, through her casual harlotry, that she (DC)defiled the land and committed adultery with (DD)stones and trees. 10 And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah has not turned to Me (DE)with her whole heart, but in pretense,” says the Lord.
11 Then the Lord said to me, (DF)“Backsliding Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. 12 Go and proclaim these words toward (DG)the north, and say:
‘Return, backsliding Israel,’ says the Lord;
‘I will not cause My anger to fall on you.
For I am (DH)merciful,’ says the Lord;
‘I will not remain angry forever.
13 (DI)Only acknowledge your iniquity,
That you have transgressed against the Lord your God,
And have (DJ)scattered your [u]charms
To (DK)alien deities (DL)under every green tree,
And you have not obeyed My voice,’ says the Lord.
14 “Return, O backsliding children,” says the Lord; (DM)“for I am married to you. I will take you, (DN)one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to (DO)Zion. 15 And I will give you (DP)shepherds according to My heart, who will (DQ)feed you with knowledge and understanding.
16 “Then it shall come to pass, when you are multiplied and (DR)increased in the land in those days,” says the Lord, “that they will say no more, ‘The ark of the covenant of the Lord.’ (DS)It shall not come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they visit it, nor shall it be made anymore.
17 “At that time Jerusalem shall be called The Throne of the Lord, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, (DT)to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem. No more shall they (DU)follow[v] the dictates of their evil hearts.
18 “In those days (DV)the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of (DW)the north to (DX)the land that I have given as an inheritance to your fathers.
19 “But I said:
‘How can I put you among the children
And give you (DY)a pleasant land,
A beautiful heritage of the hosts of nations?’
“And I said:
‘You shall call Me, (DZ)“My Father,”
And not turn away from Me.’
20 Surely, as a wife treacherously departs from her [w]husband,
So (EA)have you dealt treacherously with Me,
O house of Israel,” says the Lord.
21 A voice was heard on (EB)the desolate heights,
Weeping and supplications of the children of Israel.
For they have perverted their way;
They have forgotten the Lord their God.
22 “Return, you backsliding children,
And I will (EC)heal your backslidings.”
“Indeed we do come to You,
For You are the Lord our God.
23 (ED)Truly, in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills,
And from the multitude of mountains;
(EE)Truly, in the Lord our God
Is the salvation of Israel.
24 (EF)For shame has devoured
The labor of our fathers from our youth—
Their flocks and their herds,
Their sons and their daughters.
25 We lie down in our shame,
And our [x]reproach covers us.
(EG)For we have sinned against the Lord our God,
We and our fathers,
From our youth even to this day,
And (EH)have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.”
Jeremiah Laments over Judah
4 “If you will return, O Israel,” says the Lord,
(EI)“Return to Me;
And if you will put away your abominations out of My sight,
Then you shall not be moved.
2 (EJ)And you shall swear, ‘The Lord lives,’
(EK)In truth, in [y]judgment, and in righteousness;
(EL)The nations shall bless themselves in Him,
And in Him they shall (EM)glory.”
3 For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:
(EN)“Break up your [z]fallow ground,
And (EO)do not sow among thorns.
4 (EP)Circumcise yourselves to the Lord,
And take away the foreskins of your hearts,
You men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
Lest My fury come forth like fire,
And burn so that no one can quench it,
Because of the evil of your doings.”
An Imminent Invasion
5 Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say:
(EQ)“Blow the trumpet in the land;
Cry, ‘Gather together,’
And say, (ER)‘Assemble yourselves,
And let us go into the fortified cities.’
6 Set up the [aa]standard toward Zion.
Take refuge! Do not delay!
For I will bring disaster from the (ES)north,
And great destruction.”
7 (ET)The lion has come up from his thicket,
And (EU)the destroyer of nations is on his way.
He has gone forth from his place
(EV)To make your land desolate.
Your cities will be laid waste,
Without inhabitant.
8 For this, (EW)clothe yourself with sackcloth,
Lament and wail.
For the fierce anger of the Lord
Has not turned back from us.
9 “And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the Lord,
“That the heart of the king shall perish,
And the heart of the princes;
The priests shall be astonished,
And the prophets shall wonder.”
10 Then I said, “Ah, Lord God!
(EX)Surely You have greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem,
(EY)Saying, ‘You shall have peace,’
Whereas the sword reaches to the [ab]heart.”
11 At that time it will be said
To this people and to Jerusalem,
(EZ)“A dry wind of the desolate heights blows in the wilderness
Toward the daughter of My people—
Not to fan or to cleanse—
12 A wind too strong for these will come for Me;
Now (FA)I will also speak judgment against them.”
13 “Behold, he shall come up like clouds,
And (FB)his chariots like a whirlwind.
(FC)His horses are swifter than eagles.
Woe to us, for we are plundered!”
14 O Jerusalem, (FD)wash your heart from wickedness,
That you may be saved.
How long shall your evil thoughts lodge within you?
15 For a voice declares (FE)from Dan
And proclaims [ac]affliction from Mount Ephraim:
16 “Make mention to the nations,
Yes, proclaim against Jerusalem,
That watchers come from a (FF)far country
And raise their voice against the cities of Judah.
17 (FG)Like keepers of a field they are against her all around,
Because she has been rebellious against Me,” says the Lord.
18 “Your(FH) ways and your doings
Have procured these things for you.
This is your wickedness,
Because it is bitter,
Because it reaches to your heart.”
Sorrow for the Doomed Nation
19 O my (FI)soul, my soul!
I am pained in my very heart!
My heart makes a noise in me;
I cannot hold my peace,
Because you have heard, O my soul,
The sound of the trumpet,
The alarm of war.
20 (FJ)Destruction upon destruction is cried,
For the whole land is plundered.
Suddenly (FK)my tents are plundered,
And my curtains in a moment.
21 How long will I see the [ad]standard,
And hear the sound of the trumpet?
22 “For My people are foolish,
They have not known Me.
They are [ae]silly children,
And they have no understanding.
(FL)They are wise to do evil,
But to do good they have no knowledge.”
23 (FM)I beheld the earth, and indeed it was (FN)without form, and void;
And the heavens, they had no light.
24 (FO)I beheld the mountains, and indeed they trembled,
And all the hills moved back and forth.
25 I beheld, and indeed there was no man,
And (FP)all the birds of the heavens had fled.
26 I beheld, and indeed the fruitful land was a (FQ)wilderness,
And all its cities were broken down
At the presence of the Lord,
By His fierce anger.
27 For thus says the Lord:
“The whole land shall be desolate;
(FR)Yet I will not make a full end.
28 For this (FS)shall the earth mourn,
And (FT)the heavens above be black,
Because I have spoken.
I have (FU)purposed and (FV)will not relent,
Nor will I turn back from it.
29 The whole city shall flee from the noise of the horsemen and bowmen.
They shall go into thickets and climb up on the rocks.
Every city shall be forsaken,
And not a man shall dwell in it.
30 “And when you are plundered,
What will you do?
Though you clothe yourself with crimson,
Though you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold,
(FW)Though you enlarge your eyes with paint,
In vain you will make yourself fair;
(FX)Your lovers will despise you;
They will seek your life.
31 “For I have heard a voice as of a woman in [af]labor,
The anguish as of her who brings forth her first child,
The voice of the daughter of Zion bewailing herself;
She (FY)spreads her hands, saying,
‘Woe is me now, for my soul is [ag]weary
Because of murderers!’
The Justice of God’s Judgment
5 “Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem;
See now and know;
And seek in her open places
(FZ)If you can find a man,
(GA)If there is anyone who executes [ah]judgment,
Who seeks the truth,
(GB)And I will pardon her.
2 (GC)Though they say, ‘As (GD)the Lord lives,’
Surely they (GE)swear falsely.”
3 O Lord, are not (GF)Your eyes on the truth?
You have (GG)stricken them,
But they have not grieved;
You have consumed them,
But (GH)they have refused to receive correction.
They have made their faces harder than rock;
They have refused to return.
4 Therefore I said, “Surely these are poor.
They are foolish;
For (GI)they do not know the way of the Lord,
The judgment of their God.
5 I will go to the great men and speak to them,
For (GJ)they have known the way of the Lord,
The judgment of their God.”
But these have altogether (GK)broken the yoke
And burst the bonds.
6 Therefore (GL)a lion from the forest shall slay them,
(GM)A wolf of the deserts shall destroy them;
(GN)A leopard will watch over their cities.
Everyone who goes out from there shall be torn in pieces,
Because their transgressions are many;
Their backslidings have increased.
7 “How shall I pardon you for this?
Your children have forsaken Me
And (GO)sworn by those (GP)that are not gods.
(GQ)When I had fed them to the full,
Then they committed adultery
And assembled themselves by troops in the harlots’ houses.
8 (GR)They were like well-fed lusty stallions;
Every one neighed after his neighbor’s wife.
9 Shall I not punish them for these things?” says the Lord.
“And shall I not (GS)avenge Myself on such a nation as this?
10 “Go up on her walls and destroy,
But do not [ai]make a (GT)complete end.
Take away her branches,
For they are not the Lord’s.
11 For (GU)the house of Israel and the house of Judah
Have dealt very treacherously with Me,” says the Lord.
12 (GV)They have lied about the Lord,
And said, (GW)“It is not He.
(GX)Neither will [aj]evil come upon us,
Nor shall we see sword or famine.
13 And the prophets become wind,
For the word is not in them.
Thus shall it be done to them.”
14 Therefore thus says the Lord God of hosts:
“Because you speak this word,
(GY)Behold, I will make My words in your mouth fire,
And this people wood,
And it shall devour them.
15 Behold, I will bring a (GZ)nation against you (HA)from afar,
O house of Israel,” says the Lord.
“It is a mighty nation,
It is an ancient nation,
A nation whose language you do not know,
Nor can you understand what they say.
16 Their quiver is like an open tomb;
They are all mighty men.
17 And they shall eat up your (HB)harvest and your bread,
Which your sons and daughters should eat.
They shall eat up your flocks and your herds;
They shall eat up your vines and your fig trees;
They shall destroy your fortified cities,
In which you trust, with the sword.
18 “Nevertheless in those days,” says the Lord, “I (HC)will not [ak]make a complete end of you. 19 And it will be when you say, (HD)‘Why does the Lord our God do all these things to us?’ then you shall answer them, ‘Just as you have (HE)forsaken Me and served foreign gods in your land, so (HF)you shall serve aliens in a land that is not yours.’
20 “Declare this in the house of Jacob
And proclaim it in Judah, saying,
21 ‘Hear this now, O (HG)foolish people,
Without [al]understanding,
Who have eyes and see not,
And who have ears and hear not:
22 (HH)Do you not fear Me?’ says the Lord.
‘Will you not tremble at My presence,
Who have placed the sand as the (HI)bound of the sea,
By a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass beyond it?
And though its waves toss to and fro,
Yet they cannot prevail;
Though they roar, yet they cannot pass over it.
23 But this people has a defiant and rebellious heart;
They have revolted and departed.
24 They do not say in their heart,
“Let us now fear the Lord our God,
(HJ)Who gives rain, both the (HK)former and the latter, in its season.
(HL)He reserves for us the appointed weeks of the harvest.”
25 (HM)Your iniquities have turned these things away,
And your sins have withheld good from you.
26 ‘For among My people are found wicked men;
They (HN)lie in wait as one who sets snares;
They set a trap;
They catch men.
27 As a cage is full of birds,
So their houses are full of deceit.
Therefore they have become great and grown rich.
28 They have grown (HO)fat, they are sleek;
Yes, they [am]surpass the deeds of the wicked;
They do not plead (HP)the cause,
The cause of the fatherless;
(HQ)Yet they prosper,
And the right of the needy they do not defend.
29 (HR)Shall I not punish them for these things?’ says the Lord.
‘Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?’
30 “An astonishing and (HS)horrible thing
Has been committed in the land:
31 The prophets prophesy (HT)falsely,
And the priests rule by their own power;
And My people (HU)love to have it so.
But what will you do in the end?
Impending Destruction from the North
6 “O you children of Benjamin,
Gather yourselves to flee from the midst of Jerusalem!
Blow the trumpet in Tekoa,
And set up a signal-fire in (HV)Beth Haccerem;
(HW)For disaster appears out of the north,
And great destruction.
2 I have likened the daughter of Zion
To a lovely and delicate woman.
3 The (HX)shepherds with their flocks shall come to her.
They shall pitch their tents against her all around.
Each one shall pasture in his own place.”
4 “Prepare(HY) war against her;
Arise, and let us go up (HZ)at noon.
Woe to us, for the day goes away,
For the shadows of the evening are lengthening.
5 Arise, and let us go by night,
And let us destroy her palaces.”
6 For thus has the Lord of hosts said:
“Cut down trees,
And build a mound against Jerusalem.
This is the city to be punished.
She is full of oppression in her midst.
7 (IA)As a fountain [an]wells up with water,
So she wells up with her wickedness.
(IB)Violence and plundering are heard in her.
Before Me continually are [ao]grief and wounds.
8 Be instructed, O Jerusalem,
Lest (IC)My soul depart from you;
Lest I make you desolate,
A land not inhabited.”
9 Thus says the Lord of hosts:
“They shall thoroughly glean as a vine the remnant of Israel;
As a grape-gatherer, put your hand back into the branches.”
10 To whom shall I speak and give warning,
That they may hear?
Indeed their (ID)ear is uncircumcised,
And they cannot give heed.
Behold, (IE)the word of the Lord is a reproach to them;
They have no delight in it.
11 Therefore I am full of the fury of the Lord.
(IF)I am weary of holding it in.
“I will pour it out (IG)on the children outside,
And on the assembly of young men together;
For even the husband shall be taken with the wife,
The aged with him who is full of days.
12 And (IH)their houses shall be turned over to others,
Fields and wives together;
For I will stretch out My hand
Against the inhabitants of the land,” says the Lord.
13 “Because from the least of them even to the greatest of them,
Everyone is given to (II)covetousness;
And from the prophet even to the (IJ)priest,
Everyone deals falsely.
14 They have also (IK)healed the [ap]hurt of My people [aq]slightly,
(IL)Saying, ‘Peace, peace!’
When there is no peace.
15 Were they (IM)ashamed when they had committed abomination?
No! They were not at all ashamed;
Nor did they know how to blush.
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
At the time I punish them,
They shall be cast down,” says the Lord.
16 Thus says the Lord:
“Stand in the ways and see,
And ask for the (IN)old paths, where the good way is,
And walk in it;
Then you will find (IO)rest for your souls.
But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
17 Also, I set (IP)watchmen over you, saying,
(IQ)‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’
But they said, ‘We will not listen.’
18 Therefore hear, you nations,
And know, O congregation, what is among them.
19 (IR)Hear, O earth!
Behold, I will certainly bring (IS)calamity on this people—
(IT)The fruit of their thoughts,
Because they have not heeded My words
Nor My law, but rejected it.
20 (IU)For what purpose to Me
Comes frankincense (IV)from Sheba,
And (IW)sweet cane from a far country?
(IX)Your burnt offerings are not acceptable,
Nor your sacrifices sweet to Me.”
21 Therefore thus says the Lord:
“Behold, I will lay stumbling blocks before this people,
And the fathers and the sons together shall fall on them.
The neighbor and his friend shall perish.”
22 Thus says the Lord:
“Behold, a people comes from the (IY)north country,
And a great nation will be raised from the farthest parts of the earth.
23 They will lay hold on bow and spear;
They are cruel and have no mercy;
Their voice (IZ)roars like the sea;
And they ride on horses,
As men of war set in array against you, O daughter of Zion.”
24 We have heard the report of it;
Our hands grow feeble.
(JA)Anguish has taken hold of us,
Pain as of a woman in [ar]labor.
25 Do not go out into the field,
Nor walk by the way.
Because of the sword of the enemy,
Fear is on every side.
26 O daughter of my people,
(JB)Dress in sackcloth
(JC)And roll about in ashes!
(JD)Make mourning as for an only son, most bitter lamentation;
For the plunderer will suddenly come upon us.
27 “I have set you as an assayer and (JE)a fortress among My people,
That you may know and test their way.
28 (JF)They are all stubborn rebels, (JG)walking as slanderers.
They are (JH)bronze and iron,
They are all corrupters;
29 The bellows blow fiercely,
The lead is consumed by the fire;
The smelter refines in vain,
For the wicked are not drawn off.
30 People will call them (JI)rejected silver,
Because the Lord has rejected them.”
Trusting in Lying Words(JJ)
7 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 (JK)“Stand in 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 in at these gates to worship the Lord!’ ” 3 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: (JL)“Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. 4 (JM)Do not trust in these lying words, saying, ‘The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are these.’
5 “For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly (JN)execute [as]judgment between a man and his neighbor, 6 if you do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, (JO)or walk after other gods to your hurt, 7 (JP)then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in (JQ)the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever.
8 “Behold, you trust in (JR)lying words that cannot profit. 9 (JS)Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and (JT)walk after other gods whom you do not know, 10 (JU)and then come and stand before Me in this house (JV)which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered to do all these abominations’? 11 Has (JW)this house, which is called by My name, become a (JX)den of thieves in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,” says the Lord.
12 “But go now to (JY)My place which was in Shiloh, (JZ)where I set My name at the first, and see (KA)what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel. 13 And now, because you have done all these works,” says the Lord, “and I spoke to you, (KB)rising up early and speaking, but you did not hear, and I (KC)called you, but you did not answer, 14 therefore I will do to the house which is called by My name, in which you trust, and to this place which I gave to you and your fathers, as I have done to (KD)Shiloh. 15 And I will cast you out of My sight, (KE)as I have cast out all your brethren—(KF)the whole posterity of Ephraim.
16 “Therefore (KG)do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them, nor make intercession to Me; (KH)for I will not hear you. 17 Do you not see what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 (KI)The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they (KJ)pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke Me to anger. 19 (KK)Do they provoke Me to anger?” says the Lord. “Do they not provoke themselves, to the shame of their own faces?”
20 Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Behold, My anger and My fury will be poured out on this place—on man and on beast, on the trees of the field and on the fruit of the ground. And it will burn and not be quenched.”
21 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: (KL)“Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat meat. 22 (KM)For I did not speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices. 23 But this is what I commanded them, saying, (KN)‘Obey My voice, and (KO)I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.’ 24 (KP)Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but (KQ)followed[at] the counsels and the [au]dictates of their evil hearts, and (KR)went[av] backward and not forward. 25 Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have even (KS)sent to you all My servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them. 26 (KT)Yet they did not obey Me or incline their ear, but (KU)stiffened their neck. (KV)They did worse than their fathers.
27 “Therefore (KW)you shall speak all these words to them, but they will not obey you. You shall also call to them, but they will not answer you.
Judgment on Obscene Religion
28 “So you shall say to them, ‘This is a nation that does not obey the voice of the Lord their God (KX)nor receive correction. (KY)Truth has perished and has been cut off from their mouth. 29 (KZ)Cut off your hair and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on the desolate heights; for the Lord has rejected and forsaken the generation of His wrath.’ 30 For the children of Judah have done evil in My sight,” says the Lord. (LA)“They have set their abominations in the house which is called by My name, to [aw]pollute it. 31 And they have built the (LB)high places of Tophet, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to (LC)burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, (LD)which I did not command, nor did it come into My heart.
32 “Therefore behold, (LE)the days are coming,” says the Lord, “when it will no more be called Tophet, or the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter; (LF)for they will bury in Tophet until there is no room. 33 The (LG)corpses of this people will be food for the birds of the heaven and for the beasts of the earth. And no one will frighten them away. 34 Then I will cause to (LH)cease from the cities of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride. For (LI)the land shall be desolate.
Jeremiah Mourns for His People
8 “At that time,” says the Lord, “they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of its princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves. 2 They shall spread them before the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven, which they have loved and which they have served and after which they have walked, which they have sought and (LJ)which they have worshiped. They shall not be gathered (LK)nor buried; they shall be like refuse on the face of the earth. 3 Then (LL)death shall be chosen rather than life by all the [ax]residue of those who remain of this evil family, who remain in all the places where I have driven them,” says the Lord of hosts.
The Peril of False Teaching
4 “Moreover you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord:
“Will they fall and not rise?
Will one turn away and not return?
5 Why has this people (LM)slidden back,
Jerusalem, in a perpetual backsliding?
(LN)They hold fast to deceit,
(LO)They refuse to return.
6 (LP)I listened and heard,
But they do not speak aright.
(LQ)No man repented of his wickedness,
Saying, ‘What have I done?’
Everyone turned to his own course,
As the horse rushes into the battle.
7 “Even (LR)the stork in the heavens
Knows her appointed times;
And the turtledove, the swift, and the swallow
Observe the time of their coming.
But (LS)My people do not know the judgment of the Lord.
8 “How can you say, ‘We are wise,
(LT)And the law of the Lord is with us’?
Look, the false pen of the scribe certainly works falsehood.
9 (LU)The wise men are ashamed,
They are dismayed and taken.
Behold, they have rejected the word of the Lord;
So (LV)what wisdom do they have?
10 Therefore (LW)I will give their wives to others,
And their fields to those who will inherit them;
Because from the least even to the greatest
Everyone is given to (LX)covetousness;
From the prophet even to the priest
Everyone deals falsely.
11 For they have (LY)healed the hurt of the daughter of My people [ay]slightly,
Saying, (LZ)‘Peace, peace!’
When there is no peace.
12 Were they (MA)ashamed when they had committed abomination?
No! They were not at all ashamed,
Nor did they know how to blush.
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
In the time of their punishment
They shall be cast down,” says the Lord.
13 “I will surely [az]consume them,” says the Lord.
“No grapes shall be (MB)on the vine,
Nor figs on the (MC)fig tree,
And the leaf shall fade;
And the things I have given them shall (MD)pass away from them.” ’ ”
14 “Why do we sit still?
(ME)Assemble yourselves,
And let us enter the fortified cities,
And let us be silent there.
For the Lord our God has put us to silence
And given us (MF)water[ba] of gall to drink,
Because we have sinned against the Lord.
15 “We (MG)looked for peace, but no good came;
And for a time of health, and there was trouble!
16 The snorting of His horses was heard from (MH)Dan.
The whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of His (MI)strong ones;
For they have come and devoured the land and all that is in it,
The city and those who dwell in it.”
17 “For behold, I will send serpents among you,
Vipers which cannot be (MJ)charmed,
And they shall bite you,” says the Lord.
The Prophet Mourns for the People
18 I would comfort myself in sorrow;
My heart is faint in me.
19 Listen! The voice,
The cry of the daughter of my people
From (MK)a far country:
“Is not the Lord in Zion?
Is not her King in her?”
“Why have they provoked Me to anger
With their carved images—
With foreign idols?”
20 “The harvest is past,
The summer is ended,
And we are not saved!”
21 (ML)For the hurt of the daughter of my people I am hurt.
I am (MM)mourning;
Astonishment has taken hold of me.
22 Is there no (MN)balm in Gilead,
Is there no physician there?
Why then is there no recovery
For the health of the daughter of my people?
Disobedience Brings God’s Judgment
9 Oh, (MO)that my head were waters,
And my eyes a fountain of tears,
That I might weep day and night
For the slain of the daughter of my people!
2 Oh, that I had in the wilderness
A lodging place for travelers;
That I might leave my people,
And go from them!
For (MP)they are all adulterers,
An assembly of treacherous men.
3 “And like their bow (MQ)they have bent their tongues for lies.
They are not valiant for the truth on the earth.
For they proceed from (MR)evil to evil,
And they (MS)do not know Me,” says the Lord.
4 “Everyone(MT) take heed to his [bb]neighbor,
And do not trust any brother;
For every brother will utterly supplant,
And every neighbor will (MU)walk with slanderers.
5 Everyone will (MV)deceive his neighbor,
And will not speak the truth;
They have taught their tongue to speak lies;
They weary themselves to commit iniquity.
6 Your dwelling place is in the midst of deceit;
Through deceit they refuse to know Me,” says the Lord.
7 Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts:
“Behold, (MW)I will refine them and [bc]try them;
(MX)For how shall I deal with the daughter of My people?
8 Their tongue is an arrow shot out;
It speaks (MY)deceit;
One speaks (MZ)peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth,
But [bd]in his heart he [be]lies in wait.
9 (NA)Shall I not punish them for these things?” says the Lord.
“Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?”
10 I will take up a weeping and wailing for the mountains,
And (NB)for the [bf]dwelling places of the wilderness a lamentation,
Because they are burned up,
So that no one can pass through;
Nor can men hear the voice of the cattle.
(NC)Both the birds of the heavens and the beasts have fled;
They are gone.
11 “I will make Jerusalem (ND)a heap of ruins, (NE)a den of jackals.
I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.”
12 (NF)Who is the wise man who may understand this? And who is he to whom the mouth of the Lord has spoken, that he may declare it? Why does the land perish and burn up like a wilderness, so that no one can pass through?
13 And the Lord said, “Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them, and have (NG)not obeyed My voice, nor walked according to it, 14 but they have (NH)walked according to the [bg]dictates of their own hearts and after the Baals, (NI)which their fathers taught them,” 15 therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will (NJ)feed them, this people, (NK)with wormwood, and give them [bh]water of gall to drink. 16 I will (NL)scatter them also among the Gentiles, whom neither they nor their fathers have known. (NM)And I will send a sword after them until I have consumed them.”
The People Mourn in Judgment
17 Thus says the Lord of hosts:
“Consider and call for (NN)the mourning women,
That they may come;
And send for skillful wailing women,
That they may come.
18 Let them make haste
And take up a wailing for us,
That (NO)our eyes may run with tears,
And our eyelids gush with water.
19 For a voice of wailing is heard from Zion:
‘How we are plundered!
We are greatly ashamed,
Because we have forsaken the land,
Because we have been cast out of (NP)our dwellings.’ ”
20 Yet hear the word of the Lord, O women,
And let your ear receive the word of His mouth;
Teach your daughters wailing,
And everyone her neighbor a lamentation.
21 For death has come through our windows,
Has entered our palaces,
To kill off (NQ)the children—[bi]no longer to be outside!
And the young men—[bj]no longer on the streets!
22 Speak, “Thus says the Lord:
‘Even the carcasses of men shall fall (NR)as refuse on the open field,
Like cuttings after the harvester,
And no one shall gather them.’ ”
23 Thus says the Lord:
(NS)“Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,
Let not the mighty man glory in his (NT)might,
Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;
24 But (NU)let him who glories glory in this,
That he understands and knows Me,
That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, [bk]judgment, and righteousness in the earth.
(NV)For in these I delight,” says the Lord.
25 “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “that (NW)I will punish all who are circumcised with the uncircumcised— 26 Egypt, Judah, Edom, the people of Ammon, Moab, and all who are in the (NX)farthest corners, who dwell in the wilderness. For all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are (NY)uncircumcised in the heart.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 1:5 set you apart
- Jeremiah 1:5 appointed
- Jeremiah 1:11 Lit. rod
- Jeremiah 1:12 Lit. watching
- Jeremiah 2:2 followed
- Jeremiah 2:5 vanities or futilities
- Jeremiah 2:9 contend with
- Jeremiah 2:10 Heb. Kittim, representative of western cultures
- Jeremiah 2:10 In northern Arabian desert, representative of eastern cultures
- Jeremiah 2:16 Memphis in ancient Egypt
- Jeremiah 2:16 Or grazed
- Jeremiah 2:18 The Euphrates
- Jeremiah 2:19 dread
- Jeremiah 2:20 Kt. serve
- Jeremiah 2:22 stained
- Jeremiah 2:23 defiled
- Jeremiah 2:28 Or evil
- Jeremiah 2:31 have dominion
- Jeremiah 2:34 digging
- Jeremiah 3:2 Kt. been violated
- Jeremiah 3:13 Lit. ways
- Jeremiah 3:17 walk after the stubbornness or imagination
- Jeremiah 3:20 Lit. companion
- Jeremiah 3:25 disgrace
- Jeremiah 4:2 justice
- Jeremiah 4:3 untilled
- Jeremiah 4:6 banner
- Jeremiah 4:10 Lit. soul
- Jeremiah 4:15 Or wickedness
- Jeremiah 4:21 banner
- Jeremiah 4:22 foolish
- Jeremiah 4:31 childbirth
- Jeremiah 4:31 faint
- Jeremiah 5:1 justice
- Jeremiah 5:10 completely destroy
- Jeremiah 5:12 disaster
- Jeremiah 5:18 completely destroy
- Jeremiah 5:21 Lit. heart
- Jeremiah 5:28 Or pass over or overlook
- Jeremiah 6:7 gushes
- Jeremiah 6:7 sickness
- Jeremiah 6:14 Lit. crushing
- Jeremiah 6:14 Superficially
- Jeremiah 6:24 childbirth
- Jeremiah 7:5 justice
- Jeremiah 7:24 walked in
- Jeremiah 7:24 stubbornness or imagination
- Jeremiah 7:24 Lit. they were
- Jeremiah 7:30 defile
- Jeremiah 8:3 remnant
- Jeremiah 8:11 Superficially
- Jeremiah 8:13 Or take them away
- Jeremiah 8:14 Bitter or poisonous water
- Jeremiah 9:4 friend
- Jeremiah 9:7 test
- Jeremiah 9:8 Inwardly he
- Jeremiah 9:8 sets his ambush
- Jeremiah 9:10 Or pastures
- Jeremiah 9:14 stubbornness or imagination
- Jeremiah 9:15 Bitter or poisonous water
- Jeremiah 9:21 Lit. from outside
- Jeremiah 9:21 Lit. from the square
- Jeremiah 9:24 justice
Habakkuk 1-3
New King James Version
The Prophet Questions God’s Judgments
1 The [a]burden which the prophet Habakkuk saw.
The Prophet’s Question
2 O Lord, how long shall I cry,
(A)And You will not hear?
Even cry out to You, (B)“Violence!”
And You will (C)not save.
3 Why do You show me iniquity,
And cause me to see [b]trouble?
For plundering and violence are before me;
There is strife, and contention arises.
4 Therefore the law is powerless,
And justice never goes forth.
For the (D)wicked surround the righteous;
Therefore perverse judgment proceeds.
The Lord’s Reply
5 “Look(E) among the nations and watch—
Be utterly astounded!
For I will work a work in your days
Which you would not believe, though it were told you.
6 For indeed I am (F)raising up the Chaldeans,
A bitter and hasty (G)nation
Which marches through the breadth of the earth,
To possess dwelling places that are not theirs.
7 They are terrible and dreadful;
Their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves.
8 Their horses also are (H)swifter than leopards,
And more fierce than evening wolves.
Their [c]chargers [d]charge ahead;
Their cavalry comes from afar;
They fly as the (I)eagle that hastens to eat.
9 “They all come for violence;
Their faces are set like the east wind.
They gather captives like sand.
10 They scoff at kings,
And princes are scorned by them.
They deride every stronghold,
For they heap up earthen mounds and seize it.
11 Then his [e]mind changes, and he transgresses;
He commits offense,
(J)Ascribing this power to his god.”
The Prophet’s Second Question
12 Are You not (K)from everlasting,
O Lord my God, my Holy One?
We shall not die.
O Lord, (L)You have appointed them for judgment;
O Rock, You have marked them for (M)correction.
13 You are of purer eyes than to behold evil,
And cannot look on wickedness.
Why do You look on those who deal treacherously,
And hold Your tongue when the wicked devours
A person more righteous than he?
14 Why do You make men like fish of the sea,
Like creeping things that have no ruler over them?
15 They take up all of them with a hook,
They catch them in their net,
And gather them in their dragnet.
Therefore they rejoice and are glad.
16 Therefore (N)they sacrifice to their net,
And burn incense to their dragnet;
Because by them their share is [f]sumptuous
And their food plentiful.
17 Shall they therefore empty their net,
And continue to slay nations without pity?
The Just Shall Live by Faith
2 I will (O)stand my watch
And set myself on the rampart,
And watch to see what He will say to me,
And what I will answer when I am corrected.
The Just Live by Faith
2 Then the Lord answered me and said:
(P)“Write the vision
And make it plain on tablets,
That he may run who reads it.
3 For (Q)the vision is yet for an appointed time;
But at the end it will speak, and it will (R)not lie.
Though it tarries, (S)wait for it;
Because it will (T)surely come,
It will not tarry.
4 “Behold the proud,
His soul is not upright in him;
But the (U)just shall live by his faith.
Woe to the Wicked
5 “Indeed, because he transgresses by wine,
He is a proud man,
And he does not stay at home.
Because he (V)enlarges his desire as [g]hell,
And he is like death, and cannot be satisfied,
He gathers to himself all nations
And heaps up for himself all peoples.
6 “Will not all these (W)take up a proverb against him,
And a taunting riddle against him, and say,
‘Woe to him who increases
What is not his—how long?
And to him who loads himself with [h]many pledges’?
7 Will not [i]your creditors rise up suddenly?
Will they not awaken who oppress you?
And you will become their booty.
8 (X)Because you have plundered many nations,
All the remnant of the people shall plunder you,
Because of men’s [j]blood
And the violence of the land and the city,
And of all who dwell in it.
9 “Woe to him who covets evil gain for his house,
That he may (Y)set his nest on high,
That he may be delivered from the [k]power of disaster!
10 You give shameful counsel to your house,
Cutting off many peoples,
And sin against your soul.
11 For the stone will cry out from the wall,
And the beam from the timbers will answer it.
12 “Woe to him who builds a town with bloodshed,
Who establishes a city by iniquity!
13 Behold, is it not of the Lord of hosts
That the peoples labor [l]to feed the fire,
And nations weary themselves in vain?
14 For the earth will be filled
With the knowledge of the glory of the Lord,
As the waters cover the sea.
15 “Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbor,
[m]Pressing him to your (Z)bottle,
Even to make him drunk,
That you may look on [n]his nakedness!
16 You are filled with shame instead of glory.
You also—drink!
And [o]be exposed as uncircumcised!
The cup of the Lord’s right hand will be turned against you,
And utter shame will be on your glory.
17 For the violence done to Lebanon will cover you,
And the plunder of beasts which made them afraid,
Because of men’s blood
And the violence of the land and the city,
And of all who dwell in it.
18 “What profit is the image, that its maker should carve it,
The molded image, a teacher of lies,
That the maker of its mold should trust in it,
To make mute idols?
19 Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Awake!’
To silent stone, ‘Arise! It shall teach!’
Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver,
Yet in it there is no breath at all.
20 “But(AA) the Lord is in His holy temple.
Let all the earth keep silence before Him.”
The Prophet’s Prayer
3 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, on [p]Shigionoth.
2 O Lord, I have heard Your speech and was afraid;
O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years!
In the midst of the years make it known;
In wrath remember mercy.
3 God came from Teman,
The Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah
His glory covered the heavens,
And the earth was full of His praise.
4 His brightness was like the light;
He had rays flashing from His hand,
And there His power was hidden.
5 Before Him went pestilence,
And fever followed at His feet.
6 He stood and measured the earth;
He looked and startled the nations.
(AB)And the everlasting mountains were scattered,
The perpetual hills bowed.
His ways are everlasting.
7 I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction;
The curtains of the land of Midian trembled.
8 O Lord, were You displeased with the rivers,
Was Your anger against the rivers,
Was Your wrath against the sea,
That You rode on Your horses,
Your chariots of salvation?
9 Your bow was made quite ready;
Oaths were sworn over Your [q]arrows. Selah
You divided the earth with rivers.
10 The mountains saw You and trembled;
The overflowing of the water passed by.
The deep uttered its voice,
And (AC)lifted its hands on high.
11 The (AD)sun and moon stood still in their habitation;
At the light of Your arrows they went,
At the shining of Your glittering spear.
12 You marched through the land in indignation;
You [r]trampled the nations in anger.
13 You went forth for the salvation of Your people,
For salvation with Your Anointed.
You struck the head from the house of the wicked,
By laying bare from foundation to neck. Selah
14 You thrust through with his own arrows
The head of his villages.
They came out like a whirlwind to scatter me;
Their rejoicing was like feasting on the poor in secret.
15 (AE)You walked through the sea with Your horses,
Through the heap of great waters.
16 When I heard, (AF)my body trembled;
My lips quivered at the voice;
Rottenness entered my bones;
And I trembled in myself,
That I might rest in the day of trouble.
When he comes up to the people,
He will invade them with his troops.
A Hymn of Faith
17 Though the fig tree may not blossom,
Nor fruit be on the vines;
Though the labor of the olive may fail,
And the fields yield no food;
Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,
And there be no herd in the stalls—
18 Yet I will (AG)rejoice in the Lord,
I will joy in the God of my salvation.
19 [s]The Lord God is my strength;
He will make my feet like (AH)deer’s feet,
And He will make me (AI)walk on my high hills.
To the Chief Musician. With my stringed instruments.
Footnotes
- Habakkuk 1:1 oracle, prophecy
- Habakkuk 1:3 Or toil
- Habakkuk 1:8 Lit. horsemen
- Habakkuk 1:8 Lit. spring about
- Habakkuk 1:11 Lit. spirit or wind
- Habakkuk 1:16 Lit. fat
- Habakkuk 2:5 Or Sheol
- Habakkuk 2:6 Syr., Vg. thick clay
- Habakkuk 2:7 Lit. those who bite you
- Habakkuk 2:8 Or bloodshed
- Habakkuk 2:9 Lit. hand of evil
- Habakkuk 2:13 Lit. for what satisfies fire, for what is of no lasting value
- Habakkuk 2:15 Lit. Attaching or Joining
- Habakkuk 2:15 Lit. their
- Habakkuk 2:16 DSS, LXX reel!; Syr., Vg. fall fast asleep!
- Habakkuk 3:1 Exact meaning unknown
- Habakkuk 3:9 Lit. tribes or rods, cf. v. 14
- Habakkuk 3:12 Or threshed
- Habakkuk 3:19 Heb. YHWH Adonai
Zephaniah 1-3
New King James Version
The Great Day of the Lord(A)
1 The word of the Lord which came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of (B)Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.
The Great Day of the Lord
2 “I will [a]utterly consume everything
From the face of the land,”
Says the Lord;
3 “I(C) will consume man and beast;
I will consume the birds of the heavens,
The fish of the sea,
And the [b]stumbling blocks along with the wicked.
I will cut off man from the face of the [c]land,”
Says the Lord.
4 “I will stretch out My hand against Judah,
And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
[d]I will cut off every trace of Baal from this place,
The names of the (D)idolatrous[e] priests with the pagan priests—
5 Those (E)who worship the host of heaven on the housetops;
Those who worship and swear oaths by the Lord,
But who also swear (F)by [f]Milcom;
6 (G)Those who have turned back from following the Lord,
And (H)have not sought the Lord, nor inquired of Him.”
7 (I)Be silent in the presence of the Lord God;
(J)For the day of the Lord is at hand,
For (K)the Lord has prepared a sacrifice;
He has [g]invited His guests.
8 “And it shall be,
In the day of the Lord’s sacrifice,
That I will punish (L)the princes and the king’s children,
And all such as are clothed with foreign apparel.
9 In the same day I will punish
All those who (M)leap over the threshold,
Who fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit.
10 “And there shall be on that day,” says the Lord,
“The sound of a mournful cry from (N)the Fish Gate,
A wailing from the Second Quarter,
And a loud crashing from the hills.
11 (O)Wail, you inhabitants of [h]Maktesh!
For all the merchant people are cut down;
All those who handle money are cut off.
12 “And it shall come to pass at that time
That I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
And punish the men
Who are (P)settled[i] in complacency,
(Q)Who say in their heart,
‘The Lord will not do good,
Nor will He do evil.’
13 Therefore their goods shall become booty,
And their houses a desolation;
They shall build houses, but not inhabit them;
They shall plant vineyards, but (R)not drink their wine.”
14 (S)The great day of the Lord is near;
It is near and hastens quickly.
The noise of the day of the Lord is bitter;
There the mighty men shall cry out.
15 (T)That day is a day of wrath,
A day of trouble and distress,
A day of devastation and desolation,
A day of darkness and gloominess,
A day of clouds and thick darkness,
16 A day of (U)trumpet and alarm
Against the fortified cities
And against the high towers.
17 “I will bring distress upon men,
And they shall (V)walk like blind men,
Because they have sinned against the Lord;
Their blood shall be poured out like dust,
And their flesh like refuse.”
18 (W)Neither their silver nor their gold
Shall be able to deliver them
In the day of the Lord’s wrath;
But the whole land shall be devoured
By the fire of His jealousy,
For He will make speedy riddance
Of all those who dwell in the land.
A Call to Repentance
2 Gather(X) yourselves together, yes, gather together,
O [j]undesirable nation,
2 Before the decree is issued,
Or the day passes like chaff,
Before the Lord’s fierce anger comes upon you,
Before the day of the Lord’s anger comes upon you!
3 (Y)Seek the Lord, (Z)all you meek of the earth,
Who have upheld His justice.
Seek righteousness, seek humility.
(AA)It may be that you will be hidden
In the day of the Lord’s anger.
Judgment on Nations
4 For (AB)Gaza shall be forsaken,
And Ashkelon desolate;
They shall drive out Ashdod (AC)at noonday,
And Ekron shall be uprooted.
5 Woe to the inhabitants of (AD)the seacoast,
The nation of the Cherethites!
The word of the Lord is against you,
O (AE)Canaan, land of the Philistines:
“I will destroy you;
So there shall be no inhabitant.”
6 The seacoast shall be pastures,
With [k]shelters for shepherds (AF)and folds for flocks.
7 The coast shall be for (AG)the remnant of the house of Judah;
They shall feed their flocks there;
In the houses of Ashkelon they shall lie down at evening.
For the Lord their God will (AH)intervene[l] for them,
And (AI)return their captives.
8 “I(AJ) have heard the reproach of Moab,
And (AK)the insults of the people of Ammon,
With which they have reproached My people,
And (AL)made arrogant threats against their borders.
9 Therefore, as I live,”
Says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel,
“Surely (AM)Moab shall be like Sodom,
And (AN)the people of Ammon like Gomorrah—
(AO)Overrun[m] with weeds and saltpits,
And a [n]perpetual desolation.
The residue of My people shall plunder them,
And the remnant of My people shall possess them.”
10 This they shall have (AP)for their pride,
Because they have reproached and made arrogant threats
Against the people of the Lord of hosts.
11 The Lord will be awesome to them,
For He will reduce to nothing all the gods of the earth;
(AQ)People shall worship Him,
Each one from his place,
Indeed all (AR)the shores of the nations.
13 And He will stretch out His hand against the north,
(AU)Destroy Assyria,
And make Nineveh a desolation,
As dry as the wilderness.
14 The herds shall lie down in her midst,
(AV)Every beast of the nation.
Both the (AW)pelican and the bittern
Shall lodge on the capitals of her pillars;
Their voice shall sing in the windows;
Desolation shall be at the threshold;
For He will lay bare the (AX)cedar work.
15 This is the rejoicing city
(AY)That dwelt securely,
(AZ)That said in her heart,
“I am it, and there is none besides me.”
How has she become a desolation,
A place for beasts to lie down!
Everyone who passes by her
(BA)Shall hiss and (BB)shake his fist.
The Wickedness of Jerusalem
3 Woe to her who is rebellious and polluted,
To the oppressing city!
2 She has not obeyed His voice,
She has not received correction;
She has not trusted in the Lord,
She has not drawn near to her God.
3 (BC)Her princes in her midst are roaring lions;
Her judges are (BD)evening wolves
That leave not a bone till morning.
4 Her (BE)prophets are insolent, treacherous people;
Her priests have [o]polluted the sanctuary,
They have done (BF)violence to the law.
5 The Lord is righteous in her midst,
He will do no unrighteousness.
[p]Every morning He brings His justice to light;
He never fails,
But (BG)the unjust knows no shame.
6 “I have cut off nations,
Their fortresses are devastated;
I have made their streets desolate,
With none passing by.
Their cities are destroyed;
There is no one, no inhabitant.
7 (BH)I said, ‘Surely you will fear Me,
You will receive instruction’—
So that her dwelling would not be cut off,
Despite everything for which I punished her.
But [q]they rose early and (BI)corrupted all their deeds.
A Faithful Remnant(BJ)
8 “Therefore (BK)wait for Me,” says the Lord,
“Until the day I rise up [r]for plunder;
My determination is to (BL)gather the nations
To My assembly of kingdoms,
To pour on them My indignation,
All My fierce anger;
All the earth (BM)shall be devoured
With the fire of My jealousy.
9 “For then I will restore to the peoples (BN)a pure [s]language,
That they all may call on the name of the Lord,
To serve Him with one accord.
10 (BO)From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia
My worshipers,
The daughter of My dispersed ones,
Shall bring My offering.
11 In that day you shall not be shamed for any of your deeds
In which you transgress against Me;
For then I will take away from your midst
Those who (BP)rejoice in your pride,
And you shall no longer be haughty
In My holy mountain.
12 I will leave in your midst
(BQ)A meek and humble people,
And they shall trust in the name of the Lord.
13 (BR)The remnant of Israel (BS)shall do no unrighteousness
(BT)And speak no lies,
Nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth;
For (BU)they shall feed their flocks and lie down,
And no one shall make them afraid.”
Joy in God’s Faithfulness
14 (BV)Sing, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
O daughter of Jerusalem!
15 The Lord has taken away your judgments,
He has cast out your enemy.
(BW)The King of Israel, the Lord, (BX)is in your midst;
You shall [t]see disaster no more.
16 In that day (BY)it shall be said to Jerusalem:
“Do not fear;
Zion, (BZ)let not your hands be weak.
17 The Lord your God (CA)in your midst,
The Mighty One, will save;
(CB)He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.”
18 “I will gather those who (CC)sorrow over the appointed assembly,
Who are among you,
To whom its reproach is a burden.
19 Behold, at that time
I will deal with all who afflict you;
I will save the (CD)lame,
And gather those who were driven out;
I will appoint them for praise and fame
In every land where they were put to shame.
20 At that time (CE)I will bring you back,
Even at the time I gather you;
For I will give you [u]fame and praise
Among all the peoples of the earth,
When I return your captives before your eyes,”
Says the Lord.
Footnotes
- Zephaniah 1:2 Lit. make a complete end of, Jer. 8:13
- Zephaniah 1:3 Idols
- Zephaniah 1:3 ground
- Zephaniah 1:4 Fulfilled in 2 Kin. 23:4, 5
- Zephaniah 1:4 Heb. chemarim
- Zephaniah 1:5 Or Malcam, an Ammonite god, 1 Kin. 11:5; Jer. 49:1; Molech, Lev. 18:21
- Zephaniah 1:7 Lit. set apart, consecrated
- Zephaniah 1:11 A market district of Jerusalem, lit. Mortar
- Zephaniah 1:12 Lit. on their lees; like the dregs of wine
- Zephaniah 2:1 Or shameless
- Zephaniah 2:6 Underground huts or cisterns, lit. excavations
- Zephaniah 2:7 Lit. visit them
- Zephaniah 2:9 Lit. Possessed by nettles
- Zephaniah 2:9 Or permanent ruin
- Zephaniah 3:4 Or profaned
- Zephaniah 3:5 Lit. Morning by morning
- Zephaniah 3:7 They were eager
- Zephaniah 3:8 LXX, Syr. for witness; Tg. for the day of My revelation for judgment; Vg. for the day of My resurrection that is to come
- Zephaniah 3:9 Lit. lip
- Zephaniah 3:15 So with Heb. mss., LXX, Bg.; MT, Vg. fear
- Zephaniah 3:20 Lit. a name
John 7-13
New King James Version
Jesus’ Brothers Disbelieve
7 After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, (A)because the [a]Jews sought to kill Him. 2 (B)Now the Jews’ Feast of Tabernacles was at hand. 3 (C)His brothers therefore said to Him, “Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing. 4 For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.” 5 For (D)even His (E)brothers did not believe in Him.
6 Then Jesus said to them, (F)“My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready. 7 (G)The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me (H)because I testify of it that its works are evil. 8 You go up to this feast. I am not [b]yet going up to this feast, (I)for My time has not yet fully come.” 9 When He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee.
The Heavenly Scholar
10 But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. 11 Then (J)the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, “Where is He?” 12 And (K)there was much complaining among the people concerning Him. (L)Some said, “He is good”; others said, “No, on the contrary, He deceives the people.” 13 However, no one spoke openly of Him (M)for fear of the Jews.
14 Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and (N)taught. 15 (O)And the Jews marveled, saying, “How does this Man know letters, having never studied?”
16 [c]Jesus answered them and said, (P)“My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. 17 (Q)If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority. 18 (R)He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who (S)seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and (T)no unrighteousness is in Him. 19 (U)Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law? (V)Why do you seek to kill Me?”
20 The people answered and said, (W)“You have a demon. Who is seeking to kill You?”
21 Jesus answered and said to them, “I did one work, and you all marvel. 22 (X)Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, (Y)but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. 23 If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because (Z)I made a man completely well on the Sabbath? 24 (AA)Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”
Could This Be the Christ?
25 Now some of them from Jerusalem said, “Is this not He whom they seek to (AB)kill? 26 But look! He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him. (AC)Do the rulers know indeed that this is [d]truly the Christ? 27 (AD)However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from.”
28 Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, (AE)“You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and (AF)I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me (AG)is true, (AH)whom you do not know. 29 [e]But (AI)I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me.”
30 Therefore (AJ)they sought to take Him; but (AK)no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come. 31 And (AL)many of the people believed in Him, and said, “When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?”
Jesus and the Religious Leaders
32 The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him. 33 Then Jesus said [f]to them, (AM)“I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I (AN)go to Him who sent Me. 34 You (AO)will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you (AP)cannot come.”
35 Then the Jews said among themselves, “Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him? Does He intend to go to (AQ)the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? 36 What is this thing that He said, ‘You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come’?”
The Promise of the Holy Spirit
37 (AR)On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, (AS)“If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 (AT)He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, (AU)out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 39 (AV)But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those [g]believing in Him would receive; for the [h]Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet (AW)glorified.
Who Is He?
40 Therefore [i]many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, “Truly this is (AX)the Prophet.” 41 Others said, “This is (AY)the Christ.”
But some said, “Will the Christ come out of Galilee? 42 (AZ)Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, (BA)where David was?” 43 So (BB)there was a division among the people because of Him. 44 Now (BC)some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him.
Rejected by the Authorities
45 Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why have you not brought Him?”
46 The officers answered, (BD)“No man ever spoke like this Man!”
47 Then the Pharisees answered them, “Are you also deceived? 48 Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him? 49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.”
50 Nicodemus (BE)(he who came to [j]Jesus [k]by night, being one of them) said to them, 51 (BF)“Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?”
52 They answered and said to him, “Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for (BG)no prophet [l]has arisen out of Galilee.”
An Adulteress Faces the Light of the World
53 [m]And everyone went to his own house.
Jesus the Light of the World
8 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
2 Now [n]early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and (BH)taught them. 3 Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, 4 they said to Him, “Teacher, [o]this woman was caught in (BI)adultery, in the very act. 5 (BJ)Now [p]Moses, in the law, commanded us [q]that such should be stoned. But what do You [r]say?” 6 This they said, testing Him, that they (BK)might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, [s]as though He did not hear.
7 So when they continued asking Him, He [t]raised Himself up and said to them, (BL)“He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” 8 And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 Then those who heard it, (BM)being[u] convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10 When Jesus had raised Himself up [v]and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers [w]of yours? Has no one condemned you?”
11 She said, “No one, Lord.”
And Jesus said to her, (BN)“Neither do I condemn you; go [x]and (BO)sin no more.”
12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, (BP)“I am the light of the world. He who (BQ)follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
Jesus Defends His Self-Witness
13 The Pharisees therefore said to Him, (BR)“You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not [y]true.”
14 Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but (BS)you do not know where I come from and where I am going. 15 (BT)You judge according to the flesh; (BU)I judge no one. 16 And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for (BV)I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me. 17 (BW)It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. 18 I am One who bears witness of Myself, and (BX)the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me.”
19 Then they said to Him, “Where is Your Father?”
Jesus answered, (BY)“You know neither Me nor My Father. (BZ)If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also.”
20 These words Jesus spoke in (CA)the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and (CB)no one laid hands on Him, for (CC)His hour had not yet come.
Jesus Predicts His Departure
21 Then Jesus said to them again, “I am going away, and (CD)you will seek Me, and (CE)will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come.”
22 So the Jews said, “Will He kill Himself, because He says, ‘Where I go you cannot come’?”
23 And He said to them, (CF)“You are from beneath; I am from above. (CG)You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 (CH)Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; (CI)for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
25 Then they said to Him, “Who are You?”
And Jesus said to them, “Just what I (CJ)have been saying to you from the beginning. 26 I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but (CK)He who sent Me is true; and (CL)I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him.”
27 They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father.
28 Then Jesus said to them, “When you (CM)lift[z] up the Son of Man, (CN)then you will know that I am He, and (CO)that I do nothing of Myself; but (CP)as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. 29 And (CQ)He who sent Me is with Me. (CR)The Father has not left Me alone, (CS)for I always do those things that please Him.” 30 As He spoke these words, (CT)many believed in Him.
The Truth Shall Make You Free
31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you (CU)abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the (CV)truth, and (CW)the truth shall make you free.”
33 They answered Him, (CX)“We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?”
34 Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, (CY)whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 And (CZ)a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 (DA)Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.
Abraham’s Seed and Satan’s
37 “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but (DB)you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. 38 (DC)I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have [aa]seen with your father.”
39 They answered and said to Him, (DD)“Abraham is our father.”
Jesus said to them, (DE)“If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. 40 (DF)But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth (DG)which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. 41 You do the deeds of your father.”
Then they said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; (DH)we have one Father—God.”
42 Jesus said to them, (DI)“If God were your Father, you would love Me, for (DJ)I proceeded forth and came from God; (DK)nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. 43 (DL)Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. 44 (DM)You are of your father the devil, and the (DN)desires of your father you want to (DO)do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and (DP)does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. 46 Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? 47 (DQ)He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.”
Before Abraham Was, I AM
48 Then the Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and (DR)have a demon?”
49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and (DS)you dishonor Me. 50 And (DT)I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges. 51 Most assuredly, I say to you, (DU)if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death.”
52 Then the Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You (DV)have a demon! (DW)Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.’ 53 Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead. (DX)Who do You make Yourself out to be?”
54 Jesus answered, (DY)“If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. (DZ)It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is [ab]your God. 55 Yet (EA)you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, ‘I do not know Him,’ I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and (EB)keep His word. 56 Your father Abraham (EC)rejoiced to see My day, (ED)and he saw it and was glad.”
57 Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”
58 Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, (EE)before Abraham was, (EF)I AM.”
59 Then (EG)they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, (EH)going[ac] through the midst of them, and so passed by.
A Man Born Blind Receives Sight
9 Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. 2 And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, (EI)who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, (EJ)but that the works of God should be revealed in him. 4 (EK)I[ad] must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is (EL)day; the night is coming when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, (EM)I am the light of the world.”
6 When He had said these things, (EN)He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. 7 And He said to him, “Go, wash (EO)in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So (EP)he went and washed, and came back seeing.
8 Therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was [ae]blind said, “Is not this he who sat and begged?”
9 Some said, “This is he.” Others said, [af]“He is like him.”
He said, “I am he.”
10 Therefore they said to him, “How were your eyes opened?”
11 He answered and said, (EQ)“A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to [ag]the pool of Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed, and I received sight.”
12 Then they said to him, “Where is He?”
He said, “I do not know.”
The Pharisees Excommunicate the Healed Man
13 They brought him who formerly was blind to the Pharisees. 14 Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. 15 Then the Pharisees also asked him again how he had received his sight. He said to them, “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.”
16 Therefore some of the Pharisees said, “This Man is not from God, because He does not [ah]keep the Sabbath.”
Others said, (ER)“How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And (ES)there was a division among them.
17 They said to the blind man again, “What do you say about Him because He opened your eyes?”
He said, (ET)“He is a prophet.”
18 But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight. 19 And they asked them, saying, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?”
20 His parents answered them and said, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; 21 but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know. He is of age; ask him. He will speak for himself.” 22 His parents said these things because (EU)they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he (EV)would be put out of the synagogue. 23 Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
24 So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, (EW)“Give God the glory! (EX)We know that this Man is a sinner.”
25 He answered and said, “Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.”
26 Then they said to him again, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?”
27 He answered them, “I told you already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?”
28 Then they reviled him and said, “You are His disciple, but we are Moses’ disciples. 29 We know that God (EY)spoke to (EZ)Moses; as for this fellow, (FA)we do not know where He is from.”
30 The man answered and said to them, (FB)“Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes! 31 Now we know that (FC)God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. 32 Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. 33 (FD)If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.”
34 They answered and said to him, (FE)“You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?” And they [ai]cast him out.
True Vision and True Blindness
35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had (FF)found him, He said to him, “Do you (FG)believe in (FH)the Son of [aj]God?”
36 He answered and said, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?”
37 And Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him and (FI)it is He who is talking with you.”
38 Then he said, “Lord, I believe!” And he (FJ)worshiped Him.
39 And Jesus said, (FK)“For judgment I have come into this world, (FL)that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.”
40 Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, (FM)and said to Him, “Are we blind also?”
41 Jesus said to them, (FN)“If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.
Jesus the True Shepherd
10 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by (FO)name and leads them out. 4 And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 Yet they will by no means follow a (FP)stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them.
Jesus the Good Shepherd
7 Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who ever came [ak]before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. 9 (FQ)I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
11 (FR)“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. 12 But a [al]hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and (FS)leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. 13 The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd; and (FT)I know My sheep, and (FU)am known by My own. 15 (FV)As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; (FW)and I lay down My life for the sheep. 16 And (FX)other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; (FY)and there will be one flock and one shepherd.
17 “Therefore My Father (FZ)loves Me, (GA)because I lay down My life that I may take it again. 18 No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I (GB)have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. (GC)This command I have received from My Father.”
19 Therefore (GD)there was a division again among the Jews because of these sayings. 20 And many of them said, (GE)“He has a demon and is [am]mad. Why do you listen to Him?”
21 Others said, “These are not the words of one who has a demon. (GF)Can a demon (GG)open the eyes of the blind?”
The Shepherd Knows His Sheep
22 Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. 23 And Jesus walked in the temple, (GH)in Solomon’s porch. 24 Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, “How long do You keep us in [an]doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. (GI)The works that I do in My Father’s name, they (GJ)bear witness of Me. 26 But (GK)you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, [ao]as I said to you. 27 (GL)My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 (GM)My Father, (GN)who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. 30 (GO)I and My Father are one.”
Renewed Efforts to Stone Jesus
31 Then (GP)the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. 32 Jesus answered them, “Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?”
33 The Jews answered Him, saying, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for (GQ)blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, (GR)make Yourself God.”
34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, (GS)‘I said, “You are gods” ’? 35 If He called them gods, (GT)to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture (GU)cannot be broken), 36 do you say of Him (GV)whom the Father sanctified and (GW)sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ (GX)because I said, ‘I am (GY)the Son of God’? 37 (GZ)If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; 38 but if I do, though you do not believe Me, (HA)believe the works, that you may know and [ap]believe (HB)that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.” 39 (HC)Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.
The Believers Beyond Jordan
40 And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place (HD)where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed. 41 Then many came to Him and said, “John performed no sign, (HE)but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true.” 42 And many believed in Him there.
The Death of Lazarus
11 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of (HF)Mary and her sister Martha. 2 (HG)It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. 3 Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”
4 When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So, when He heard that he was sick, (HH)He stayed two more days in the place where He was. 7 Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”
8 The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to (HI)stone You, and are You going there again?”
9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? (HJ)If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the (HK)light of this world. 10 But (HL)if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” 11 These things He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus (HM)sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.”
12 Then His disciples said, “Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.” 13 However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.
14 Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. 15 And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.”
16 Then (HN)Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.”
I Am the Resurrection and the Life
17 So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about [aq]two miles away. 19 And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.
20 Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house. 21 Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that (HO)whatever You ask of God, God will give You.”
23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 Martha said to Him, (HP)“I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I am (HQ)the resurrection and the life. (HR)He who believes in Me, though he may (HS)die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
27 She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, (HT)I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
Jesus and Death, the Last Enemy
28 And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, “The Teacher has come and is calling for you.” 29 As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but [ar]was in the place where Martha met Him. 31 (HU)Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, [as]saying, “She is going to the tomb to weep there.”
32 Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she (HV)fell down at His feet, saying to Him, (HW)“Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”
33 Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. 34 And He said, “Where have you laid him?”
They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.”
35 (HX)Jesus wept. 36 Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!”
37 And some of them said, “Could not this Man, (HY)who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?”
Lazarus Raised from the Dead
38 Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a (HZ)stone lay against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”
Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.”
40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would (IA)see the glory of God?” 41 Then they took away the stone [at]from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 42 And I know that You always hear Me, but (IB)because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” 43 Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” 44 And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with (IC)graveclothes, and (ID)his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”
The Plot to Kill Jesus(IE)
45 Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, (IF)and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him. 46 But some of them went away to the Pharisees and (IG)told them the things Jesus did. 47 (IH)Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, (II)“What shall we do? For this Man works many signs. 48 If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation.”
49 And one of them, (IJ)Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, 50 (IK)nor do you consider that it is expedient for [au]us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish.” 51 Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, 52 and (IL)not for that nation only, but (IM)also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad.
53 Then, from that day on, they plotted to (IN)put Him to death. 54 (IO)Therefore Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there into the country near the wilderness, to a city called (IP)Ephraim, and there remained with His disciples.
55 (IQ)And the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went from the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover, to (IR)purify themselves. 56 (IS)Then they sought Jesus, and spoke among themselves as they stood in the temple, “What do you think—that He will not come to the feast?” 57 Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a command, that if anyone knew where He was, he should report it, that they might (IT)seize Him.
The Anointing at Bethany(IU)
12 Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, (IV)where Lazarus was [av]who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. 2 (IW)There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. 3 Then (IX)Mary took a pound of very costly oil of (IY)spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
4 But one of His disciples, (IZ)Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said, 5 “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for [aw]three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and (JA)had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.
7 But Jesus said, “Let her alone; [ax]she has kept this for the day of My burial. 8 For (JB)the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always.”
The Plot to Kill Lazarus
9 Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, (JC)whom He had raised from the dead. 10 (JD)But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, 11 (JE)because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.
The Triumphal Entry(JF)
12 (JG)The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13 took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out:
“Hosanna!
(JH)‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’
The King of Israel!”
14 (JI)Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written:
15 “Fear(JJ) not, daughter of Zion;
Behold, your King is coming,
Sitting on a donkey’s colt.”
16 (JK)His disciples did not understand these things at first; (JL)but when Jesus was glorified, (JM)then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.
17 Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness. 18 (JN)For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign. 19 The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, (JO)“You see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look, the world has gone after Him!”
The Fruitful Grain of Wheat
20 Now there (JP)were certain Greeks among those (JQ)who came up to worship at the feast. 21 Then they came to Philip, (JR)who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”
22 Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus.
23 But Jesus answered them, saying, (JS)“The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. 24 Most assuredly, I say to you, (JT)unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much [ay]grain. 25 (JU)He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves Me, let him (JV)follow Me; and (JW)where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.
Jesus Predicts His Death on the Cross
27 (JX)“Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? (JY)But for this purpose I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify Your name.”
(JZ)Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.”
29 Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to Him.”
30 Jesus answered and said, (KA)“This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake. 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now (KB)the ruler of this world will be cast out. 32 And I, (KC)if I am [az]lifted up from the earth, will draw (KD)all peoples to Myself.” 33 (KE)This He said, signifying by what death He would die.
34 The people answered Him, (KF)“We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?”
35 Then Jesus said to them, “A little while longer (KG)the light is with you. (KH)Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; (KI)he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become (KJ)sons of light.” These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and (KK)was hidden from them.
Who Has Believed Our Report?
37 But although He had done so many (KL)signs before them, they did not believe in Him, 38 that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke:
(KM)“Lord, who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
39 Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again:
40 “He(KN) has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts,
(KO)Lest they should see with their eyes,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.”
41 (KP)These things Isaiah said [ba]when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.
Walk in the Light
42 Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but (KQ)because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; 43 (KR)for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
44 Then Jesus cried out and said, (KS)“He who believes in Me, (KT)believes not in Me (KU)but in Him who sent Me. 45 And (KV)he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. 46 (KW)I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. 47 And if anyone hears My words and does not [bb]believe, (KX)I do not judge him; for (KY)I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. 48 (KZ)He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—(LA)the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. 49 For (LB)I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, (LC)what I should say and what I should speak. 50 And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I (LD)speak.”
Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet
13 Now (LE)before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that (LF)His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He (LG)loved them to the end.
2 And [bc]supper being ended, (LH)the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him, 3 Jesus, knowing (LI)that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He (LJ)had come from God and (LK)was going to God, 4 (LL)rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. 5 After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. 6 Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, (LM)“Lord, are You washing my feet?”
7 Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you (LN)do not understand now, (LO)but you will know after this.”
8 Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet!”
Jesus answered him, (LP)“If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.”
9 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!”
10 Jesus said to him, “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and (LQ)you are clean, but not all of you.” 11 For (LR)He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, “You are not all clean.”
12 So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you [bd]know what I have done to you? 13 (LS)You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. 14 (LT)If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, (LU)you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For (LV)I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. 16 (LW)Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. 17 (LX)If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.
Jesus Identifies His Betrayer(LY)
18 “I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen; but that the (LZ)Scripture may be fulfilled, (MA)‘He who eats [be]bread with Me has lifted up his heel against Me.’ 19 (MB)Now I tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am He. 20 (MC)Most assuredly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.”
21 (MD)When Jesus had said these things, (ME)He was troubled in spirit, and testified and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, (MF)one of you will betray Me.” 22 Then the disciples looked at one another, perplexed about whom He spoke.
23 Now (MG)there was [bf]leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved. 24 Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask who it was of whom He spoke.
25 Then, leaning [bg]back on Jesus’ breast, he said to Him, “Lord, who is it?”
26 Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I shall give a piece of bread when I have dipped it.” And having dipped the bread, He gave it to (MH)Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. 27 (MI)Now after the piece of bread, Satan entered him. Then Jesus said to him, “What you do, do quickly.” 28 But no one at the table knew for what reason He said this to him. 29 For some thought, because (MJ)Judas had the money box, that Jesus had said to him, “Buy those things we need for the feast,” or that he should give something to the poor.
30 Having received the piece of bread, he then went out immediately. And it was night.
The New Commandment
31 So, when he had gone out, Jesus said, (MK)“Now the Son of Man is glorified, and (ML)God is glorified in Him. 32 If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and (MM)glorify Him immediately. 33 Little children, I shall be with you a (MN)little while longer. You will seek Me; (MO)and as I said to the Jews, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come,’ so now I say to you. 34 (MP)A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 (MQ)By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial
36 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?”
Jesus answered him, “Where I (MR)am going you cannot follow Me now, but (MS)you shall follow Me afterward.”
37 Peter said to Him, “Lord, why can I not follow You now? I will (MT)lay down my life for Your sake.”
38 Jesus answered him, “Will you lay down your life for My sake? Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not (MU)crow till you have denied Me three times.
Footnotes
- John 7:1 The ruling authorities
- John 7:8 NU omits yet
- John 7:16 NU, M So Jesus
- John 7:26 NU omits truly
- John 7:29 NU, M omit But
- John 7:33 NU, M omit to them
- John 7:39 NU who believed
- John 7:39 NU omits Holy
- John 7:40 NU some
- John 7:50 Lit. Him
- John 7:50 NU before
- John 7:52 NU is to rise
- John 7:53 NU brackets 7:53 through 8:11 as not in the original text. They are present in over 900 mss. of John.
- John 8:2 M very early
- John 8:4 M we found this woman
- John 8:5 M in our law Moses commanded
- John 8:5 NU, M to stone such
- John 8:5 M adds about her
- John 8:6 NU, M omit as though He did not hear
- John 8:7 M He looked up
- John 8:9 NU, M omit being convicted by their conscience
- John 8:10 NU omits and saw no one but the woman; M He saw her and said,
- John 8:10 NU, M omit of yours
- John 8:11 NU, M add from now on
- John 8:13 valid as testimony
- John 8:28 Crucify
- John 8:38 NU heard from
- John 8:54 NU, M our
- John 8:59 NU omits the rest of v. 59.
- John 9:4 NU We
- John 9:8 NU a beggar
- John 9:9 NU “No, but he is like him.”
- John 9:11 NU omits the pool of
- John 9:16 observe
- John 9:34 Excommunicated him
- John 9:35 NU Man
- John 10:8 M omits before Me
- John 10:12 hired man
- John 10:20 insane
- John 10:24 Suspense
- John 10:26 NU omits as I said to you
- John 10:38 NU understand
- John 11:18 Lit. 15 stadia
- John 11:30 NU was still
- John 11:31 NU supposing that she was going
- John 11:41 NU omits from the place where the dead man was lying
- John 11:50 NU you
- John 12:1 NU omits who had been dead
- John 12:5 About one year’s wages for a worker
- John 12:7 NU that she may keep
- John 12:24 Lit. fruit
- John 12:32 Crucified
- John 12:41 NU because
- John 12:47 NU keep them
- John 13:2 NU during supper
- John 13:12 understand
- John 13:18 NU My bread has
- John 13:23 reclining
- John 13:25 NU, M add thus
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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