³⁶ “Now therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, ‘It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: ³⁷ Behold, I will ^(A)gather them out of all countries where I have driven them in My anger, in My fury, and in great wrath; I will bring them back to this place, and I will cause them ^(B)to dwell safely. ³⁸ They shall be ^(C)My people, and I will be their God; ³⁹ then I will ^(D)give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them. ⁴⁰ And ^(E)I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but ^(F)I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me. ⁴¹ Yes, ^(G)I will rejoice over them to do them good, and ^(H)I will ^[a]assuredly plant them in this land, with all My heart and with all My soul.’

⁴² “For thus says the Lord: ^(I)‘Just as I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will bring on them all the good that I have promised them. ⁴³ And fields will be bought in this land ^(J)of which you say, “It is desolate, without man or beast; it has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans.” ⁴⁴ Men will buy fields for money, sign deeds and seal them, and take witnesses, in ^(K)the land of Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem, in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the ^[b]lowland, and in the cities of the ^[c]South; for ^(L)I will cause their captives to return,’ says the Lord.”

Greeting

1 Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ,

To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the ^[a]bishops and ^(A)deacons:

² Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thankfulness and Prayer

^3 (B)I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, ⁴ always in ^(C)every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, ^5 (D)for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, ⁶ being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun ^(E)a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; ⁷ just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace. ⁸ For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ.

⁹ And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, ¹⁰ that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, ¹¹ being filled with the fruits of righteousness ^(F)which are by Jesus Christ, ^(G)to the glory and praise of God.

Excellence of the Restored Nation

33 Moreover the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still ^(A)shut up in the court of the prison, saying, ² “Thus says the Lord ^(B)who made it, the Lord who formed it to establish it ^(C)(the^[a] Lord is His name): ^3 (D)‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and ^[b]mighty things, which you do not know.’

⁴ “For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city and the houses of the kings of Judah, which have been pulled down to fortify against ^(E)the siege mounds and the sword: ⁵ ‘They come to fight with the Chaldeans, but only to ^(F)fill their places with the dead bodies of men whom I will slay in My anger and My fury, all for whose wickedness I have hidden My face from this city. ⁶ Behold, ^(G)I will bring it health and healing; I will heal them and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth. ⁷ And ^(H)I will cause the captives of Judah and the captives of Israel to return, and will rebuild those places ^(I)as at the first. ⁸ I will ^(J)cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by which they have transgressed against Me. ^9 (K)Then it shall be to Me a name of joy, a praise, and an honor before all nations of the earth, who shall hear all the good that I do to them; they shall ^(L)fear and tremble for all the goodness and all the prosperity that I provide for it.’

¹⁰ “Thus says the Lord: ‘Again there shall be heard in this place—^(M)of which you say, “It is desolate, without man and without beast”—in the cities of Judah, in the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man and without inhabitant and without beast, ¹¹ the ^(N)voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who will say:

and of those who will bring ^(P)the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord. For I will cause the captives of the land to return as at the first,’ says the Lord.

¹² “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(Q)‘In this place which is desolate, without man and without beast, and in all its cities, there shall again be a dwelling place of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down. ^13 (R)In the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the lowland, in the cities of the South, in the land of Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, the flocks shall again ^(S)pass under the hands of him who counts them,’ says the Lord.

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 ^(A)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 ^(B)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 ^[a]before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. ^9 (C)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 (D)“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. ¹² But a ^[b]hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and ^(E)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 ^(F)I know My sheep, and ^(G)am known by My own. ^15 (H)As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; ^(I)and I lay down My life for the sheep. ¹⁶ And ^(J)other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; ^(K)and there will be one flock and one shepherd.

¹⁷ “Therefore My Father ^(L)loves Me, ^(M)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 ^(N)have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. ^(O)This command I have received from My Father.”

¹⁹ Therefore ^(P)there was a division again among the Jews because of these sayings. ²⁰ And many of them said, ^(Q)“He has a demon and is ^[c]mad. Why do you listen to Him?”

²¹ Others said, “These are not the words of one who has a demon. ^(R)Can a demon ^(S)open the eyes of the blind?”