Jeremiah 5:14-6:30
English Standard Version
The Lord Proclaims Judgment
14 Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of hosts:
“Because you have spoken this word,
behold, (A)I am making my words in your mouth (B)a fire,
and this people wood, and the fire shall consume them.
15 (C)Behold, I am bringing against you
a nation from afar, O house of Israel,
declares the Lord.
It is an enduring nation;
it is an ancient nation,
a nation whose language you do not know,
(D)nor can you understand what they say.
16 (E)Their quiver is like (F)an open tomb;
they are all mighty warriors.
17 (G)They shall eat up your harvest and your food;
they shall eat up your sons and your daughters;
they shall eat up your flocks and your herds;
they shall eat up your vines and your fig trees;
your (H)fortified cities in which you trust
they shall beat down with the sword.”
18 “But even in those days, declares the Lord, (I)I will not make a full end of you. 19 And when your people say, (J)‘Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?’ you shall say to them, ‘As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your land, (K)so you shall serve foreigners in a land that is not yours.’”
20 Declare this in the house of Jacob;
proclaim it in Judah:
21 “Hear this, (L)O foolish and senseless people,
(M)who have eyes, but see not,
who have ears, but hear not.
22 (N)Do you not fear me? declares the Lord.
Do you not tremble before me?
I placed the sand (O)as the boundary for the sea,
a perpetual barrier that it cannot pass;
though the waves toss, they cannot prevail;
though (P)they roar, they cannot pass over it.
23 (Q)But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart;
they have turned aside and gone away.
24 They do not say in their hearts,
‘Let us fear the Lord our God,
(R)who gives the rain in its season,
the autumn rain and the spring rain,
and keeps for us
(S)the weeks appointed for the harvest.’
25 (T)Your iniquities have turned these away,
and your sins have kept good from you.
26 For wicked men are found among my people;
(U)they lurk like fowlers lying in wait.[a]
(V)They set a trap;
they catch men.
27 Like a cage full of birds,
their houses are full of deceit;
therefore they have become great and rich;
28 (W)they have grown fat and sleek.
They know no bounds in deeds of evil;
(X)they judge not with justice
the cause of the fatherless, to make it prosper,
and they do not defend the rights of the needy.
29 (Y)Shall I not punish them for these things?
declares the Lord,
and shall I not avenge myself
on a nation such as this?”
30 An appalling and (Z)horrible thing
has happened in the land:
31 (AA)the prophets prophesy falsely,
and the priests rule at their direction;
(AB)my people love to have it so,
but what will you do when the end comes?
Impending Disaster for Jerusalem
6 Flee for safety, (AC)O people of Benjamin,
from the midst of Jerusalem!
Blow the trumpet in (AD)Tekoa,
and raise a signal on (AE)Beth-haccherem,
for disaster looms (AF)out of the north,
and great destruction.
2 The lovely and delicately bred I will destroy,
(AG)the daughter of Zion.[b]
3 (AH)Shepherds with their flocks shall come against her;
(AI)they shall pitch their tents around her;
they shall pasture, each in his place.
4 (AJ)“Prepare war against her;
arise, and let us attack (AK)at noon!
Woe to us, for the day declines,
for the shadows of evening lengthen!
5 Arise, and let us attack by night
and destroy her palaces!”
6 For thus says the Lord of hosts:
(AL)“Cut down her trees;
(AM)cast up a siege mound against Jerusalem.
This is the city that must be (AN)punished;
there is nothing but oppression within her.
7 (AO)As a well keeps its water fresh,
so she keeps fresh her evil;
(AP)violence and destruction are heard within her;
sickness and wounds are ever before me.
8 Be warned, O Jerusalem,
(AQ)lest I turn from you in disgust,
lest I make you (AR)a desolation,
an uninhabited land.”
9 Thus says the Lord of hosts:
(AS)“They shall glean thoroughly as a vine
the remnant of Israel;
like a grape gatherer pass your hand again
over its branches.”
10 (AT)To whom shall I speak and give warning,
that they may hear?
(AU)Behold, their ears are uncircumcised,
(AV)they cannot listen;
behold, (AW)the word of the Lord is to them an object of scorn;
they take no pleasure in it.
11 Therefore I am full of the wrath of the Lord;
(AX)I am weary of holding it in.
(AY)“Pour it out upon the children in the street,
and upon the gatherings of young men, also;
(AZ)both husband and wife (BA)shall be taken,
the elderly and the very aged.
12 (BB)Their houses shall be turned over to others,
their fields and wives together,
for I will stretch out my hand
against the inhabitants of the land,”
declares the Lord.
13 (BC)“For from the least to the greatest of them,
everyone (BD)is greedy for unjust gain;
and from (BE)prophet to priest,
everyone deals falsely.
14 They have healed the wound of my people lightly,
saying, (BF)‘Peace, peace,’
(BG)when there is no peace.
15 (BH)Were they ashamed when they committed abomination?
No, they were not at all ashamed;
they did not know how to blush.
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
(BI)at the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown,”
says the Lord.
16 Thus says the Lord:
“Stand by the roads, and look,
and ask for (BJ)the ancient paths,
where the good way is; and walk in it,
(BK)and find rest for your souls.
But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
17 (BL)I set watchmen over you, saying,
‘Pay attention to (BM)the sound of the trumpet!’
But they said, (BN)‘We will not pay attention.’
18 Therefore hear, O nations,
and know, O congregation, what will happen to them.
19 Hear, O earth; behold, I am bringing disaster upon this people,
(BO)the fruit of their devices,
because they have not paid attention to my words;
and as for my law, they have rejected it.
20 (BP)What use to me is (BQ)frankincense that comes from (BR)Sheba,
or sweet cane from a distant land?
(BS)Your burnt offerings are not acceptable,
nor your sacrifices pleasing to me.
21 Therefore thus says the Lord:
(BT)‘Behold, I will lay before this people
stumbling blocks against which they shall stumble;
fathers and sons together,
neighbor and friend shall perish.’”
22 Thus says the Lord:
(BU)“Behold, a people is coming (BV)from the north country,
a great nation is stirring from (BW)the farthest parts of the earth.
23 They lay hold on bow and javelin;
they are (BX)cruel and have no mercy;
(BY)the sound of them is like the roaring sea;
they ride on horses,
set in array as a man for battle,
against you, O daughter of Zion!”
24 We have heard the report of it;
(BZ)our hands fall helpless;
anguish has taken hold of us,
(CA)pain as of a woman in labor.
25 Go not out into the field,
nor walk on the road,
for the enemy has a sword;
(CB)terror is on every side.
26 O daughter of my people, (CC)put on sackcloth,
and (CD)roll in ashes;
(CE)make mourning as for an only son,
most bitter lamentation,
for suddenly the destroyer
will come upon us.
27 “I have made you (CF)a tester of metals among my people,
that you may know and (CG)test their ways.
28 (CH)They are all stubbornly rebellious,
(CI)going about with slanders;
they are (CJ)bronze and iron;
all of them act corruptly.
29 The (CK)bellows blow fiercely;
the lead is consumed by the fire;
(CL)in vain the refining goes on,
for the wicked are not removed.
30 (CM)Rejected silver they are called,
for the Lord has rejected them.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 5:26 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
- Jeremiah 6:2 Or I have likened the daughter of Zion to the loveliest pasture
Psalm 35:22-28
English Standard Version
22 (A)You have seen, O Lord; (B)be not silent!
O Lord, (C)be not far from me!
23 Awake and (D)rouse yourself for (E)my vindication,
for my cause, my God and my Lord!
24 (F)Vindicate me, O Lord, my God,
according to your righteousness,
and (G)let them not rejoice over me!
25 Let them not say in their hearts,
(H)“Aha, our heart's desire!”
Let them not say, (I)“We have swallowed him up.”
26 Let them be (J)put to shame and disappointed altogether
who rejoice at my calamity!
Let them be (K)clothed with shame and dishonor
who (L)magnify themselves against me!
27 Let those who delight in my righteousness
shout for joy and be glad
(M)and say evermore,
(N)“Great is the Lord,
who (O)delights in the welfare of his servant!”
28 Then my (P)tongue shall tell of your righteousness
and of your praise all the day long.
John 18-19
English Standard Version
Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus
18 When Jesus had spoken these words, (A)he went out with his disciples across (B)the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. 2 Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew (C)the place, for (D)Jesus often met there with his disciples. 3 (E)So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons. 4 Then Jesus, (F)knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, (G)“Whom do you seek?” 5 They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.”[a] Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. 6 (H)When Jesus[b] said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground. 7 So he asked them again, (I)“Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” 8 Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go.” 9 (J)This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken: “Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one.” 10 Then Simon Peter, (K)having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant[c] and cut off his right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.) 11 So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; (L)shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?”
Jesus Faces Annas and Caiaphas
12 So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews[d] arrested Jesus and bound him. 13 First they (M)led him to (N)Annas, for he was the father-in-law of (O)Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. 14 It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews (P)that it would be expedient that one man should die for the people.
Peter Denies Jesus
15 (Q)Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he entered with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, 16 (R)but Peter stood outside at the door. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the servant girl who kept watch at the door, and brought Peter in. 17 (S)The servant girl at the door said to Peter, “You also are not one of this man's disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.” 18 Now the servants[e] and officers had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold, and they were standing and warming themselves. (T)Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself.
The High Priest Questions Jesus
19 (U)The high priest then questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. 20 Jesus answered him, “I have spoken (V)openly (W)to the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. (X)I have said nothing in secret. 21 Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them; they know what I said.” 22 When he had said these things, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying, (Y)“Is that how you answer the high priest?” 23 Jesus answered him, “If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong; but if what I said is right, why do you strike me?” 24 (Z)Annas then sent him bound to (AA)Caiaphas the high priest.
Peter Denies Jesus Again
25 (AB)Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, “You also are not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not.” 26 One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of (AC)the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Did I not see you (AD)in the garden with him?” 27 Peter again denied it, and (AE)at once a rooster crowed.
Jesus Before Pilate
28 (AF)Then they led Jesus (AG)from the house of Caiaphas to (AH)the governor's headquarters.[f] It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor's headquarters, (AI)so that they would not be defiled, (AJ)but could eat the Passover. 29 (AK)So Pilate went outside to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?” 30 They answered him, “If this man were not doing evil, we would not have delivered him over to you.” 31 Pilate said to them, (AL)“Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” The Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death.” 32 (AM)This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken (AN)to show by what kind of death he was going to die.
My Kingdom Is Not of This World
33 (AO)So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, (AP)“Are you the King of the Jews?” 34 Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” 35 Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?” 36 Jesus answered, (AQ)“My kingdom (AR)is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, (AS)my servants would have been fighting, that (AT)I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” 37 Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, (AU)“You say that I am a king. (AV)For this purpose I was born and for this purpose (AW)I have come into the world—(AX)to bear witness to the truth. (AY)Everyone who is (AZ)of the truth (BA)listens to my voice.” 38 Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”
After he had said this, (BB)he went back outside to the Jews and told them, (BC)“I find no guilt in him. 39 (BD)But you have a custom that I should release one man for you at the Passover. So do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” 40 They cried out again, (BE)“Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber.[g]
Jesus Delivered to Be Crucified
19 Then Pilate took Jesus and (BF)flogged him. 2 (BG)And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. 3 They came up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck him with their hands. 4 Pilate went out again and said to them, “See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that (BH)I find no guilt in him.” 5 So Jesus came out, wearing (BI)the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, (BJ)“Behold the man!” 6 When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, (BK)“Take him yourselves and crucify him, for (BL)I find no guilt in him.” 7 The Jews[h] answered him, “We have a law, and (BM)according to that law he ought to die because (BN)he has made himself the Son of God.” 8 When Pilate heard this statement, (BO)he was even more afraid. 9 (BP)He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, (BQ)“Where are you from?” But (BR)Jesus gave him no answer. 10 So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” 11 Jesus answered him, (BS)“You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore (BT)he who delivered me over to you (BU)has the greater sin.”
12 From then on (BV)Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar's friend. (BW)Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.” 13 So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on (BX)the judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic[i] Gabbatha. 14 Now it was (BY)the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour.[j] He said to the Jews, (BZ)“Behold your King!” 15 They cried out, (CA)“Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” 16 (CB)So he (CC)delivered him over to them to be crucified.
The Crucifixion
So they took Jesus, 17 and (CD)he went out, (CE)bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. 18 (CF)There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. 19 Pilate (CG)also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” 20 Many of the Jews read this inscription, for (CH)the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. 21 So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but rather, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’” 22 Pilate answered, (CI)“What I have written I have written.”
23 (CJ)When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic.[k] But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, 24 so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” (CK)This was to fulfill the Scripture which says,
(CL)“They divided my garments among them,
and for my clothing they cast lots.”
So the soldiers did these things, 25 (CM)but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother and (CN)the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, (CO)“Woman, behold, your son!” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to (CP)his own home.
The Death of Jesus
28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now (CQ)finished, said ((CR)to fulfill the Scripture), (CS)“I thirst.” 29 A jar full of sour wine stood there, (CT)so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, (CU)“It is finished,” and he bowed his head and (CV)gave up his spirit.
Jesus' Side Is Pierced
31 Since it was (CW)the day of Preparation, and (CX)so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was (CY)a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. 32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other (CZ)who had been crucified with him. 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out (DA)blood and water. 35 (DB)He who saw it has borne witness—(DC)his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth—(DD)that you also may believe. 36 (DE)For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: (DF)“Not one of his bones (DG)will be broken.” 37 And again another Scripture says, (DH)“They will look on him whom they have pierced.”
Jesus Is Buried
38 (DI)After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly (DJ)for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. 39 (DK)Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus[l] by night, came (DL)bringing a mixture of (DM)myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds[m] in weight. 40 So they took the body of Jesus and (DN)bound it in (DO)linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. 41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a (DP)garden, and (DQ)in the garden a new tomb (DR)in which no one had yet been laid. 42 So because of the Jewish (DS)day of Preparation, (DT)since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.
Footnotes
- John 18:5 Greek I am; also verses 6, 8
- John 18:6 Greek he
- John 18:10 Or bondservant; twice in this verse
- John 18:12 Greek Ioudaioi probably refers here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, in that time; also verses 14, 31, 36, 38
- John 18:18 Or bondservants; also verse 26
- John 18:28 Greek the praetorium
- John 18:40 Or an insurrectionist
- John 19:7 Greek Ioudaioi probably refers here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, in that time; also verses 12, 14, 31, 38
- John 19:13 Or Hebrew; also verses 17, 20
- John 19:14 That is, about noon
- John 19:23 Greek chiton, a long garment worn under the cloak next to the skin
- John 19:39 Greek him
- John 19:39 Greek one hundred litras; a litra (or Roman pound) was equal to about 11 1/2 ounces or 327 grams
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
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