19 It was told Joab, Behold, the king is weeping and mourning for Absalom.

² So the victory that day was turned into mourning for all the people, for they heard it said, The king grieves for his son.

³ The people slipped into the city stealthily that day as humiliated people steal away when they flee in battle.

⁴ But the king covered his face and cried with a loud voice, O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!

⁵ And Joab came into the house to the king and said, You have today covered the faces of all your servants with shame, who this day have saved your life and the lives of your sons and your daughters and the lives of your wives and concubines.

⁶ For you love those who hate you and hate those who love you. You have declared today that princes and servants are nothing to you; for today I see that if Absalom had lived and all the rest of us had died, you would be well pleased.

⁷ So now arise, go out and speak kindly and encouragingly to your servants; for I swear by the Lord that if you do not go, not a man will remain with you this night. And this will be worse for you than all the evil that has befallen you from your youth until now.

⁸ Then the king arose and sat in the gate. And all [his followers] were told, The king is sitting in the gate, and they all came before the king. Now Israel [Absalom’s troops] had fled, every man to his home.

⁹ And all the people were at strife throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, The king delivered us from the hands of our enemies, and he saved us from the hands of the Philistines. And now he has fled out of the land from Absalom.

¹⁰ And Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. So now, why do you say nothing about bringing back the king?

¹¹ And King David sent to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, saying, Say to the elders of Judah, Why are you the last to bring the king back to his house, when the word of all Israel has come to the king, to bring him to his house?

¹² You are my kinsmen; you are my bone and my flesh. Why then are you the last to bring back the king?

¹³ And say to Amasa, Are you not of my bone and of my flesh? May God do so to me, and more also, if you are not commander of my army hereafter in place of Joab.

¹⁴ He inclined the hearts of all the men of Judah as one man, so they sent word to [him], Return, you and all your servants.

¹⁵ So [David] returned and came to the Jordan. And Judah came to Gilgal to meet the king, to conduct him over the Jordan.

¹⁶ And Shimei son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahurim, hastily came down with the men of Judah to meet King David,

¹⁷ And 1,000 men of Benjamin with him. And Ziba, the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and twenty servants with him, rushed to the Jordan and pressed quickly into the king’s presence.

¹⁸ And there went over a ferryboat to bring over the king’s household and to do what he thought good. And Shimei son of Gera fell down before the king as David came to the Jordan,

¹⁹ And said to the king, Let not my lord impute iniquity to me and hold me guilty, nor remember what your servant did the day my lord went out of Jerusalem [when Shimei grossly insulted David]; may the king not take it to heart.

²⁰ For your servant knows that I have sinned; therefore, behold, I am today the first of all the house of Joseph to come down to meet my lord the king.

²¹ But Abishai son of Zeruiah said, Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the Lord’s anointed?

²² David said, What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah, that you should be an adversary to me today? Shall anyone be put to death today in Israel? For do not I know that I am this day king over Israel?

²³ Therefore the king said to Shimei, You shall not die [at my hand]. And the king gave him his oath.^(A)

²⁴ Mephibosheth the son [grandson] of Saul came down to meet the king, and had not dressed his feet, trimmed his beard, or washed his clothes from the day the king left until he returned in peace and safety.

²⁵ And when he came to Jerusalem to meet the king, David said to him, Why did you not go with me, Mephibosheth?

²⁶ He said, My lord O king, my servant [Ziba] deceived me; for I said, Saddle me the donkey that I may ride on it and go to the king, for your servant is lame [but he took the donkey and left without me].

²⁷ He has slandered your servant to my lord the king. But the king is as an angel of God; so do what is good in your eyes.

²⁸ For all of my father’s house were but doomed to death before my lord the king; yet you set your servant among those who ate at your own table. What right therefore have I to cry any more to the king?

²⁹ The king said to him, Why speak any more of your affairs? I say, You and Ziba divide the land.

³⁰ Mephibosheth said to the king, Oh, let him take it all, since my lord the king has returned home in safety and peace.

³¹ Now Barzillai the Gileadite came down from Rogelim and went on to the Jordan with the king to conduct him over the Jordan.

³² Now Barzillai was a very aged man, even eighty years old; and he had provided the king with food while he remained at Mahanaim, for he was a very great man.

³³ And the king said to Barzillai, Come over with me, and I will provide for you with me in Jerusalem.

³⁴ And Barzillai said to the king, How much longer have I to live, that it would be worthwhile for me to go up with the king to Jerusalem?

³⁵ I am this day eighty years old. Could I now [be useful as a counselor to] discern between good and evil? Can your servant appreciate what I eat or drink? Can I any longer enjoy the voices of singing men and women? Why then should your servant be still a burden to my lord the king?

³⁶ Your servant will only go over the Jordan with the king. Why should the king repay me with such a reward?

³⁷ Let your servant turn back again, that I may die in my own city and be buried by the grave of my father and mother. But here is your servant Chimham; let him go over with my lord the king. And do to him what shall seem good to you.

³⁸ The king answered, Chimham shall go over with me, and I will do to him what seems good to you; and whatever you ask of me I will do for you.

³⁹ So all the people went over the Jordan. When the king had crossed over, he kissed Barzillai and blessed him, and [the great man] returned to his own place.

⁴⁰ Then the king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham went with him; and all the people of Judah and also half the people of Israel escorted the king.

⁴¹ And all the men of Israel came to the king and said to him, Why have our kinsmen, the men of Judah, stolen you away and have brought the king and his household over the Jordan, and all David’s men with him?

⁴² But all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, Because the king is near of kin to us. Why then be angry about it? Have we eaten at all at the king’s expense? Or has he given us any gift?

⁴³ Then the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, We have ten [tribes’] shares in the king; and we have more right to David than you have. Why then did you despise and ignore us? Were we not the first to speak of our bringing back our king? But the words of the men of Judah were more violent than the charges of the men of Israel.

36 In the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord:

² Take a scroll [of parchment] for a book and write on it all the words I have spoken to you against Israel and Judah and all the nations from the day I spoke to you in the days of [King] Josiah until this day.

³ It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I purpose to do to them, so that each one may turn from his evil way, that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.^(A)

⁴ Then Jeremiah called Baruch son of Neriah, and Baruch wrote upon the scroll of the book all the words which Jeremiah dictated, [words] that the Lord had spoken to him.

⁵ And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, I am [in hiding, virtually] restrained and shut up; I cannot go into the house of the Lord.

⁶ Therefore you go, and on a day of fasting, in the hearing of all the people in the Lord’s house, you shall read the words of the Lord which you have written on the scroll at my dictation. Also you shall read them in the hearing of all who come out of the cities of Judah.

⁷ It may be that they will make their supplication [for mercy] before the Lord, and each one will turn back from his evil way, for great is the anger and the wrath that the Lord has pronounced against this people.

⁸ And Baruch son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading from [Jeremiah’s] book the words of the Lord in the Lord’s house.

⁹ And in the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, in the ninth month, a fast was proclaimed before the Lord for all the people in Jerusalem and all the people who came to Jerusalem from the cities of Judah.

¹⁰ Then Baruch read in the hearing of all the people the words of Jeremiah from the scroll of the book in the house of the Lord, in the chamber of Gemariah son of Shaphan the scribe, in the upper court at the entry of the New Gate of the Lord’s house.

¹¹ When Micaiah son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, had heard out of the book all the words of the Lord,

¹² He went down to the king’s house into the scribe’s chamber, and behold, all the princes were sitting there: Elishama the scribe, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Achbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the [other] princes.

¹³ Then Micaiah declared to them all the words that he had heard when Baruch read the book in the hearing of the people.

¹⁴ Therefore all the princes sent Jehudi son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, Take in your hand the scroll from which you have read in the hearing of the people and come [to us]. So Baruch son of Neriah took the scroll in his hand and came to them.

¹⁵ And they said to him, Sit down now and read it in our hearing. So Baruch read it in their hearing.

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26 When Jesus had ended this discourse, He said to His disciples,

² You know that the Passover is in two days—and the Son of Man will be delivered up ^[a]treacherously to be crucified.

³ Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the [^[b]open] court of the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas,

⁴ And consulted together in order to arrest Jesus by stratagem secretly and put Him to death.

⁵ But they said, It must not be during the Feast, for fear that there will be a riot among the people.

⁶ Now when Jesus came back to Bethany and was in the house of Simon the leper,

⁷ A woman came up to Him with an alabaster flask of very precious perfume, and she poured it on His head as He reclined at table.

⁸ And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, For what purpose is all this waste?

⁹ For this perfume might have been sold for a large sum and the money given to the poor.

¹⁰ But Jesus, fully aware of this, said to them, Why do you bother the woman? She has done a noble (praiseworthy and beautiful) thing to Me.

¹¹ For you always have the poor among you, but you will not always have Me.^(A)

¹² In pouring this perfume on My body she has done something to prepare Me for My burial.

¹³ Truly I tell you, wherever this good news (the Gospel) is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will be told also, in memory of her.

¹⁴ Then one of the Twelve [apostles], who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests

¹⁵ And said, What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you? And they weighed out for and paid to him thirty pieces of silver [about twenty-one dollars and sixty cents].^(B)

¹⁶ And from that moment he sought a fitting opportunity to betray Him.

¹⁷ Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread [Passover week], the disciples came to Jesus and said to Him, Where do You wish us to prepare for You to eat the Passover supper?

¹⁸ He said, Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, The Master says: My time is near; I will keep the Passover at your house with My disciples.

¹⁹ And accordingly the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they made ready the Passover supper.^(C)

²⁰ When it was evening, He was reclining at table with the twelve disciples.

²¹ And as they were eating, He said, Solemnly I say to you, one of you will betray Me!

²² They were exceedingly pained and distressed and deeply hurt and sorrowful and began to say to Him one after another, ^[c]Surely it cannot be I, Lord, can it?

²³ He replied, He who has [just] dipped his hand in the same dish with Me will betray Me!

²⁴ The Son of Man is going just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better (more profitable and wholesome) for that man if he had never been born!^(D)

²⁵ Judas, the betrayer, said, ^[d]Surely it is not I, is it, Master? He said to him, You have stated [the fact].

²⁶ Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread and, ^[e]praising God, gave thanks and asked Him to bless it to their use, and when He had broken it, He gave it to the disciples and said, Take, eat; this is My body.

²⁷ And He took a cup, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, Drink of it, all of you;

²⁸ For this is My blood of the new covenant, which [^[f]ratifies the agreement and] is ^[g]being poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.^(E)

²⁹ I say to you, I shall not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it with you new and ^[h]of superior quality in My Father’s kingdom.

³⁰ And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

³¹ Then Jesus said to them, You will all be offended and stumble and fall away because of Me this night [distrusting and deserting Me], for it is written, I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.^(F)

³² But after I am raised up [to life again], I will go ahead of you to Galilee.

³³ Peter declared to Him, Though they all are offended and stumble and fall away because of You [and distrust and desert You], I will never do so.

³⁴ Jesus said to him, Solemnly I declare to you, this very night, before a ^[i]single rooster crows, you will deny and disown Me three times.

³⁵ Peter said to Him, Even if I must die with You, I will not deny or disown You! And all the disciples said the same thing.

³⁶ Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and He told His disciples, Sit down here while I go over yonder and pray.

³⁷ And taking with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, He began to ^[j]show grief and distress of mind and was ^[k]deeply depressed.

³⁸ Then He said to them, My soul is very sad and deeply grieved, so that ^[l]I am almost dying of sorrow. Stay here and keep awake and keep watch with Me.

³⁹ And going a little farther, He threw Himself upon the ground on His face and prayed saying, My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will [not what I desire], but as You will and desire.

⁴⁰ And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and He said to Peter, What! Are you so utterly unable to stay awake and keep watch with Me for one hour?

⁴¹ All of you must keep awake (give strict attention, be cautious and active) and watch and pray, that you may not come into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

⁴² Again a second time He went away and prayed, My Father, if this cannot pass by unless I drink it, Your will be done.

⁴³ And again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were weighed down with sleep.

⁴⁴ So, leaving them again, He went away and prayed for the third time, using the same words.

⁴⁵ Then He returned to the disciples and said to them, Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of ^[m]especially wicked sinners [^[n]whose way or nature it is to act in opposition to God].

⁴⁶ Get up, let us be going! See, My betrayer is at hand!

⁴⁷ As He was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve [apostles], came up, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and elders of the people.

⁴⁸ Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, The One I shall kiss is the Man; seize Him.

⁴⁹ And he came up to Jesus at once and said, Hail (greetings, good health to You, long life to You), Master! And he ^[o]embraced Him and kissed Him ^[p]with [pretended] warmth and devotion.

⁵⁰ Jesus said to him, Friend, for what are you here? Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and arrested Him.

⁵¹ And behold, one of those who were with Jesus reached out his hand and drew his sword and, striking the body servant of the high priest, cut off his ear.

⁵² Then Jesus said to him, Put your sword back into its place, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.^(G)

⁵³ Do you suppose that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will immediately provide Me with more than twelve legions [^[q]more than 80,000] of angels?

⁵⁴ But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must come about this way?

⁵⁵ At that moment Jesus said to the crowds, Have you come out with swords and clubs as [you would] against a robber to capture Me? Day after day I was ^[r]accustomed to sit in the ^[s]porches and courts of the temple teaching, and you did not arrest Me.

⁵⁶ But all this has taken place in order that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples deserted Him and, fleeing, escaped.

⁵⁷ But those who had seized Jesus took Him away to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had assembled.

⁵⁸ But Peter followed Him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest’s home; he even went inside and sat with the guards to see the end.

⁵⁹ Now the chief priests and the whole council (the Sanhedrin) sought to get false witnesses to testify against Jesus, so that they might put Him to death;

⁶⁰ But they found none, though many witnesses came forward [to testify]. At last two men came forward

⁶¹ And testified, This ^[t]Fellow said, I am able to tear down the ^[u]sanctuary of the temple of God and to build it up again in three days.

⁶² And the high priest stood up and said, Have You no answer to make? What about this that these men testify against You?

⁶³ But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, ^[v]I call upon you to swear by the living God, and tell us whether you are the Christ, the Son of God.

⁶⁴ Jesus said to him, ^[w]You have stated [the fact]. More than that, I tell you: You will in the future see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of ^[x]the Almighty and coming on the clouds of the sky.^(H)

⁶⁵ Then the high priest tore his clothes and exclaimed, He has uttered blasphemy! What need have we of further evidence? You have now heard His blasphemy.^(I)

⁶⁶ What do you think now? They answered, He deserves to be put to death.

⁶⁷ Then they spat in His face and struck Him with their fists; and some ^[y]slapped Him in the face,^(J)

⁶⁸ Saying, Prophesy to us, You Christ (the Messiah)! Who was it that struck You?

⁶⁹ Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and ^[z]one maid came up to him and said, You were also with Jesus the Galilean!

⁷⁰ But he denied it ^[aa]falsely before them all, saying, I do not know what you mean.

⁷¹ And when he had gone out to the porch, another maid saw him, and she said to the bystanders, This fellow was with Jesus the Nazarene!

⁷² And again he denied it and ^[ab]disowned Him with an oath, saying, I do not know the Man!

⁷³ After a little while, the bystanders came up and said to Peter, You certainly are one of them too, for even your accent betrays you.

⁷⁴ Then Peter began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, I do not even know the Man! And at that moment a rooster crowed.

⁷⁵ And Peter remembered Jesus’ words, when He had said, Before a ^[ac]single rooster crows, you will deny and disown Me three times. And he went outside and wept bitterly.

3 Now there was a certain man among the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler (a leader, an authority) among the Jews,

² Who came to Jesus at night and said to Him, Rabbi, we know and are certain that You have come from God [as] a Teacher; for no one can do these signs (these wonderworks, these miracles—and produce the proofs) that You do unless God is with him.

³ Jesus answered him, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, that unless a person is born again (anew, from above), he cannot ever see (know, be acquainted with, and experience) the kingdom of God.

⁴ Nicodemus said to Him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter his mother’s womb again and be born?

⁵ Jesus answered, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, unless a man is born of water and [^[a]even] the Spirit, he cannot [ever] enter the kingdom of God.^(A)

⁶ What is born of [from] the flesh is flesh [of the physical is physical]; and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.

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