Seventy Years of Captivity

25 The word came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim^(A) son of Josiah king of Judah, which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar^(B) king of Babylon. ² So Jeremiah the prophet said to all the people of Judah^(C) and to all those living in Jerusalem: ³ For twenty-three years—from the thirteenth year of Josiah^(D) son of Amon king of Judah until this very day—the word of the Lord has come to me and I have spoken to you again and again,^(E) but you have not listened.^(F)

⁴ And though the Lord has sent all his servants the prophets^(G) to you again and again, you have not listened or paid any attention.^{(H) 5} They said, “Turn^(I) now, each of you, from your evil ways and your evil practices, and you can stay in the land^(J) the Lord gave to you and your ancestors for ever and ever. ⁶ Do not follow other gods^(K) to serve and worship them; do not arouse my anger with what your hands have made. Then I will not harm you.”

⁷ “But you did not listen to me,” declares the Lord, “and you have aroused^(L) my anger with what your hands have made,^(M) and you have brought harm^(N) to yourselves.”

⁸ Therefore the Lord Almighty says this: “Because you have not listened to my words, ⁹ I will summon^(O) all the peoples of the north^(P) and my servant^(Q) Nebuchadnezzar^(R) king of Babylon,” declares the Lord, “and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy^[a](S) them and make them an object of horror and scorn,^(T) and an everlasting ruin.^{(U) 10} I will banish from them the sounds^(V) of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom,^(W) the sound of millstones^(X) and the light of the lamp.^{(Y) 11} This whole country will become a desolate wasteland,^(Z) and these nations will serve^(AA) the king of Babylon seventy years.^(AB)

¹² “But when the seventy years^(AC) are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon^(AD) and his nation, the land of the Babylonians,^[b] for their guilt,” declares the Lord, “and will make it desolate^(AE) forever. ¹³ I will bring on that land all the things I have spoken against it, all that are written^(AF) in this book and prophesied by Jeremiah against all the nations. ¹⁴ They themselves will be enslaved^(AG) by many nations^(AH) and great kings; I will repay^(AI) them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.”

²² Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands^(A) as you do to the Lord.^{(B) 23} For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church,^(C) his body, of which he is the Savior. ²⁴ Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands^(D) in everything.

²⁵ Husbands, love your wives,^(E) just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her^{(F) 26} to make her holy,^(G) cleansing^[a] her by the washing^(H) with water through the word, ²⁷ and to present her to himself^(I) as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.^{(J) 28} In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives^(K) as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— ³⁰ for we are members of his body.^{(L) 31} “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”^{[b](M) 32} This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. ³³ However, each one of you also must love his wife^(N) as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

² This is what the Lord said to me: “Make a yoke^(A) out of straps and crossbars and put it on your neck. ³ Then send^(B) word to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon,^(C) Tyre and Sidon^(D) through the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. ⁴ Give them a message for their masters and say, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Tell this to your masters: ⁵ With my great power and outstretched arm^(E) I made^(F) the earth and its people and the animals^(G) that are on it, and I give^(H) it to anyone I please. ⁶ Now I will give all your countries into the hands of my servant^(I) Nebuchadnezzar^(J) king of Babylon; I will make even the wild animals subject to him.^{(K) 7} All nations will serve^(L) him and his son and his grandson until the time^(M) for his land comes; then many nations and great kings will subjugate^(N) him.

⁸ “‘“If, however, any nation or kingdom will not serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon or bow its neck under his yoke, I will punish^(O) that nation with the sword,^(P) famine^(Q) and plague,^(R) declares the Lord, until I destroy it by his hand. ⁹ So do not listen to your prophets,^(S) your diviners,^(T) your interpreters of dreams,^(U) your mediums^(V) or your sorcerers^(W) who tell you, ‘You will not serve^(X) the king of Babylon.’ ¹⁰ They prophesy lies^(Y) to you that will only serve to remove^(Z) you far from your lands; I will banish you and you will perish. ¹¹ But if any nation will bow its neck under the yoke^(AA) of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will let that nation remain in its own land to till it and to live^(AB) there, declares the Lord.”’”

¹² I gave the same message to Zedekiah king of Judah. I said, “Bow your neck under the yoke^(AC) of the king of Babylon; serve him and his people, and you will live.^{(AD) 13} Why will you and your people die^(AE) by the sword, famine and plague^(AF) with which the Lord has threatened any nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? ¹⁴ Do not listen^(AG) to the words of the prophets^(AH) who say to you, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they are prophesying lies^(AI) to you. ¹⁵ ‘I have not sent^(AJ) them,’ declares the Lord. ‘They are prophesying lies in my name.^(AK) Therefore, I will banish you and you will perish,^(AL) both you and the prophets who prophesy to you.’”

¹⁶ Then I said to the priests and all these people, “This is what the Lord says: Do not listen to the prophets who say, ‘Very soon now the articles^(AM) from the Lord’s house will be brought back from Babylon.’ They are prophesying lies to you. ¹⁷ Do not listen^(AN) to them. Serve the king of Babylon, and you will live.^(AO) Why should this city become a ruin? ¹⁸ If they are prophets and have the word of the Lord, let them plead^(AP) with the Lord Almighty that the articles remaining in the house of the Lord and in the palace of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem not be taken to Babylon. ¹⁹ For this is what the Lord Almighty says about the pillars, the bronze Sea,^(AQ) the movable stands and the other articles^(AR) that are left in this city, ²⁰ which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take away when he carried^(AS) Jehoiachin^[a](AT) son of Jehoiakim king of Judah into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem— ²¹ yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says about the things that are left in the house of the Lord and in the palace of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem: ²² ‘They will be taken^(AU) to Babylon and there they will remain until the day^(AV) I come for them,’ declares the Lord. ‘Then I will bring^(AW) them back and restore them to this place.’”

8 ¹ but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.^(A)

² At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them.^{(B) 3} The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group ⁴ and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. ⁵ In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women.^(C) Now what do you say?” ⁶ They were using this question as a trap,^(D) in order to have a basis for accusing him.^(E)

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. ⁷ When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone^(F) at her.”^{(G) 8} Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

⁹ At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. ¹⁰ Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

¹¹ “No one, sir,” she said.

“Then neither do I condemn you,”^(H) Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”^(I)

Dispute Over Jesus’ Testimony

¹² When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am^(J) the light of the world.^(K) Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”^(L)

¹³ The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.”^(M)

¹⁴ Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going.^(N) But you have no idea where I come from^(O) or where I am going. ¹⁵ You judge by human standards;^(P) I pass judgment on no one.^{(Q) 16} But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me.^{(R) 17} In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true.^{(S) 18} I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.”^(T)

¹⁹ Then they asked him, “Where is your father?”

“You do not know me or my Father,”^(U) Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”^{(V) 20} He spoke these words while teaching^(W) in the temple courts near the place where the offerings were put.^(X) Yet no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come.^(Y)

Dispute Over Who Jesus Is

²¹ Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die^(Z) in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.”^(AA)

²² This made the Jews ask, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, ‘Where I go, you cannot come’?”

²³ But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.^{(AB) 24} I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he,^(AC) you will indeed die in your sins.”

²⁵ “Who are you?” they asked.

“Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,” Jesus replied. ²⁶ “I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is trustworthy,^(AD) and what I have heard from him I tell the world.”^(AE)

²⁷ They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father. ²⁸ So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up^[a] the Son of Man,^(AF) then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me.^{(AG) 29} The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone,^(AH) for I always do what pleases him.”^{(AI) 30} Even as he spoke, many believed in him.^(AJ)