The Fall of Jerusalem

39 ^(A)In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and besieged it. ² In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, a breach was made in the city. ³ Then all ^(B)the officials of the king of Babylon came ^(C)and sat in the middle gate: Nergal-sar-ezer of Samgar, Nebu-sar-sekim ^(D)the Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the Rab-mag, with all the rest of the officers of the king of Babylon. ⁴ When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled, going out of the city at night by way of the king's garden through the gate between the two walls; and they went toward ^(E)the Arabah. ⁵ But the army of the Chaldeans pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in ^(F)the plains of Jericho. And when they had taken him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, at ^(G)Riblah, in the land of Hamath; ^(H)and he passed sentence on him. ⁶ The king of Babylon ^(I)slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah at ^(J)Riblah before his eyes, and the king of Babylon ^(K)slaughtered all the nobles of Judah. ^7 (L)He put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chains to take him to Babylon. ^8 (M)The Chaldeans burned the king's house and the house of the people, ^(N)and broke down the walls of Jerusalem. ⁹ Then ^(O)Nebuzaradan, the ^(P)captain of the guard, carried into exile to Babylon the rest of the people who were left in the city, ^(Q)those who had deserted to him, and the people who remained. ¹⁰ Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, ^(R)left in the land of Judah some of the poor people who owned nothing, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time.

The Lord Delivers Jeremiah

¹¹ Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave command concerning Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, saying, ^12 (S)“Take him, look after him well, and do him no harm, but deal with him as he tells you.” ¹³ So ^(T)Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, Nebushazban the Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the Rab-mag, ^(U)and all the chief officers of the king of Babylon ¹⁴ sent and took Jeremiah from ^(V)the court of the guard. They entrusted him to ^(W)Gedaliah the son of ^(X)Ahikam, son of ^(Y)Shaphan, that he should take him home. So ^(Z)he lived among the people.

¹⁵ The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah ^(AA)while he was shut up in the court of the guard: ¹⁶ “Go, and say to ^(AB)Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ^(AC)Behold, I will fulfill my words against this city for harm and ^(AD)not for good, and they shall be accomplished before you on that day. ¹⁷ But I will deliver you on that day, declares the Lord, and you shall not be given into the hand of the men ^(AE)of whom you are afraid. ¹⁸ For I will surely save you, and you shall not fall by the sword, but you shall have your ^(AF)life as a prize of war, ^(AG)because you have put your trust in me, declares the Lord.’”

Jeremiah Remains in Judah

40 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord ^(AH)after Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had let him go from ^(AI)Ramah, when he took him ^(AJ)bound in chains along with all the captives of Jerusalem and Judah who were being exiled to Babylon. ² The captain of the guard took Jeremiah and said to him, ^(AK)“The Lord your God pronounced this disaster against this place. ³ The Lord has brought it about, and has done as he said. ^(AL)Because you sinned against the Lord and did not obey his voice, this thing has come upon you. ⁴ Now, behold, I release you today from ^(AM)the chains on your hands. ^(AN)If it seems good to you to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will look after you well, ^(AO)but if it seems wrong to you to come with me to Babylon, do not come. ^(AP)See, the whole land is before you; go wherever you think it good and right to go. ⁵ If you remain,^[a] then return to ^(AQ)Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, ^(AR)whom the king of Babylon appointed governor of the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people. Or go wherever you think it right to go.” So the captain of the guard gave him an allowance of food and a present, and let him go. ⁶ Then Jeremiah went to ^(AS)Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, at ^(AT)Mizpah, and lived with him ^(AU)among the people ^(AV)who were left in the land.

^7 (AW)When all the captains of the forces in the open country and their men heard that ^(AX)the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam governor in the land and had committed to him men, women, and children, those of ^(AY)the poorest of the land who had not been taken into exile to Babylon, ⁸ they went to Gedaliah at ^(AZ)Mizpah—^(BA)Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, ^(BB)Johanan the son of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, ^(BC)Jezaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men. ⁹ Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, swore to them and their men, saying, “Do not be afraid to serve the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, ^(BD)and it shall be well with you. ¹⁰ As for me, I will dwell at ^(BE)Mizpah, to represent you before the Chaldeans who will come to us. But as for you, ^(BF)gather wine and summer fruits and oil, and store them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities that you have taken.” ¹¹ Likewise, when all the Judeans who were in ^(BG)Moab and among ^(BH)the Ammonites and in ^(BI)Edom and in other lands heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, as governor over them, ^12 (BJ)then all the Judeans returned from all the places to which they had been driven and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah. And they ^(BK)gathered wine and summer fruits in great abundance.

¹³ Now ^(BL)Johanan the son of Kareah and ^(BM)all the leaders of the forces in the open country came to Gedaliah at Mizpah ¹⁴ and said to him, “Do you know that Baalis the king of ^(BN)the Ammonites has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to take your life?” But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam would not believe them. ¹⁵ Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke secretly to Gedaliah at Mizpah, “Please let me go and strike down Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no one will know it. Why should he take your life, so that all the Judeans who are gathered about you would be scattered, ^(BO)and the remnant of Judah would perish?” ¹⁶ But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, “You shall not do this thing, for you are speaking falsely of Ishmael.”

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, ^(A)the Son of God.^[a]

^2 (B)As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,^[b]

^4 (F)John appeared, baptizing in ^(G)the wilderness and proclaiming ^(H)a baptism of ^(I)repentance ^(J)for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵ And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, ^(K)confessing their sins. ⁶ Now John was ^(L)clothed with camel's hair and ^(M)wore a leather belt around his waist and ate ^(N)locusts and ^(O)wild honey. ⁷ And he preached, saying, ^(P)“After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. ^8 (Q)I have baptized you with water, but ^(R)he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

The Baptism of Jesus

^9 (S)In those days Jesus ^(T)came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰ And when he came up out of the water, immediately he ^(U)saw ^(V)the heavens being torn open ^(W)and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. ¹¹ And ^(X)a voice came from heaven, ^(Y)“You are my beloved Son;^[d] with you I am well pleased.”

The Temptation of Jesus

^12 (Z)The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. ^13 (AA)And he was in the wilderness forty days, being ^(AB)tempted by ^(AC)Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and ^(AD)the angels were ministering to him.

Jesus Begins His Ministry

^14 (AE)Now after John was arrested, Jesus ^(AF)came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, ¹⁵ and saying, ^(AG)“The time is fulfilled, and ^(AH)the kingdom of God is at hand;^{[e] (AI)}repent and believe in the gospel.”

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

^16 (AJ)Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. ¹⁷ And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become ^(AK)fishers of men.”^{[f] 18} And immediately they left their nets and followed him. ¹⁹ And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. ²⁰ And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.

Jesus Heals a Man with an Unclean Spirit

^21 (AL)And they went into Capernaum, and immediately ^(AM)on the Sabbath ^(AN)he entered the synagogue and was teaching. ²² And ^(AO)they were astonished at his teaching, ^(AP)for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. ²³ And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, ^24 (AQ)“What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? ^(AR)I know who you are—^(AS)the Holy One of God.” ²⁵ But Jesus ^(AT)rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” ²⁶ And the unclean spirit, ^(AU)convulsing him and ^(AV)crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. ²⁷ And they were all ^(AW)amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? ^(AX)A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” ²⁸ And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.

Jesus Heals Many

^29 (AY)And immediately he^{[g] (AZ)}left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. ³⁰ Now ^(BA)Simon's mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. ³¹ And he came and ^(BB)took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

³² That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or ^(BC)oppressed by demons. ³³ And the whole city was gathered together at the door. ^34 (BD)And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And ^(BE)he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

Jesus Preaches in Galilee

^35 (BF)And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and ^(BG)there he prayed. ³⁶ And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, ³⁷ and they found him and said to him, ^(BH)“Everyone is looking for you.” ³⁸ And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for ^(BI)that is why I came out.” ^39 (BJ)And ^(BK)he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.

Jesus Cleanses a Leper

^40 (BL)And a leper^[h] came to him, imploring him, and ^(BM)kneeling said to him, ^(BN)“If you will, you can make me clean.” ⁴¹ Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” ⁴² And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. ⁴³ And ^(BO)Jesus^[i] sternly charged him and sent him away at once, ⁴⁴ and said to him, ^(BP)“See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, ^(BQ)show yourself to the priest and ^(BR)offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, ^(BS)for a proof to them.” ^45 (BT)But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter ^(BU)a town, but was out in ^(BV)desolate places, and ^(BW)people were coming to him from every quarter.

Jesus Heals a Paralytic

2 And when he returned to ^(BX)Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. ² And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. ^3 (BY)And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. ⁴ And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, ^(BZ)they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. ⁵ And when Jesus ^(CA)saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, ^(CB)your sins are forgiven.” ⁶ Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, ⁷ “Why does this man speak like that? ^(CC)He is blaspheming! ^(CD)Who can forgive sins but God alone?” ⁸ And immediately Jesus, ^(CE)perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? ⁹ Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? ¹⁰ But that you may know that ^(CF)the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— ¹¹ “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” ¹² And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and ^(CG)glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

Jesus Calls Levi

¹³ He went out again beside the sea, and ^(CH)all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. ^14 (CI)And as he passed by, he saw ^(CJ)Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.

¹⁵ And as he reclined at table in his house, many ^(CK)tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. ¹⁶ And ^(CL)the scribes of^[j] the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, ^(CM)“Why does he eat^[k] with tax collectors and sinners?” ¹⁷ And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. ^(CN)I came not to call the righteous, ^(CO)but sinners.”

A Question About Fasting

¹⁸ Now ^(CP)John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And people came and said to him, ^(CQ)“Why do John's disciples and ^(CR)the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” ¹⁹ And Jesus said to them, ^(CS)“Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. ^20 (CT)The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and ^(CU)then they will fast in that day. ²¹ No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. ²² And no one puts new wine into old ^(CV)wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.”^[l]

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

^23 (CW)One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples ^(CX)began to pluck heads of grain. ²⁴ And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, ^(CY)why are they doing ^(CZ)what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” ²⁵ And he said to them, ^(DA)“Have you never read ^(DB)what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: ²⁶ how he entered the house of God, in the time of^{[m] (DC)}Abiathar the high priest, and ate ^(DD)the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?” ²⁷ And he said to them, ^(DE)“The Sabbath was made for man, ^(DF)not man for the Sabbath. ²⁸ So ^(DG)the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”

A Man with a Withered Hand

3 ^(DH)Again ^(DI)he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. ² And ^(DJ)they watched Jesus,^[n] to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. ³ And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” ⁴ And he said to them, ^(DK)“Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. ⁵ And he ^(DL)looked around at them with anger, grieved at ^(DM)their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” ^(DN)He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. ^6 (DO)The Pharisees went out and immediately ^(DP)held counsel with ^(DQ)the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

A Great Crowd Follows Jesus

^7 (DR)Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and ^(DS)a great crowd followed, from Galilee and Judea ⁸ and Jerusalem and ^(DT)Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around ^(DU)Tyre and Sidon. When the great crowd heard all that he was doing, they came to him. ⁹ And he told his disciples to ^(DV)have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they ^(DW)crush him, ¹⁰ for ^(DX)he had healed many, so that all who had ^(DY)diseases pressed around him ^(DZ)to touch him. ^11 (EA)And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they ^(EB)fell down before him and cried out, “You are ^(EC)the Son of God.” ¹² And ^(ED)he strictly ordered them not to make him known.

The Twelve Apostles

^13 (EE)And he went up on the mountain and called to him those ^(EF)whom he desired, and they came to him. ^14 (EG)And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach ^15 (EH)and have authority to cast out demons. ¹⁶ He appointed the twelve: ^(EI)Simon (to whom ^(EJ)he gave the name Peter); ^17 (EK)James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); ¹⁸ Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and ^(EL)Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot,^{[o] 19} and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

²⁰ Then he went ^(EM)home, and the crowd gathered again, ^(EN)so that they could not even eat. ^21 (EO)And when ^(EP)his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He ^(EQ)is out of his mind.”

Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit

²² And ^(ER)the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, ^(ES)“He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” ^23 (ET)And he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? ²⁴ If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. ²⁵ And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. ²⁶ And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. ²⁷ But ^(EU)no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. ^(EV)Then indeed he may plunder his house.

^28 (EW)“Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, ²⁹ but whoever ^(EX)blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— ³⁰ for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

Jesus' Mother and Brothers

^31 (EY)And his mother and his ^(EZ)brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. ³² And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers^[p] are outside, seeking you.” ³³ And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” ³⁴ And ^(FA)looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! ^35 (FB)For whoever ^(FC)does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”