The Davidic Kingdom

¹⁴ ‘Behold, ^(A)days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will ^(B)fulfill the good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and the house of Judah. ¹⁵ In those days and at that time I will make a ^(C)righteous Branch of David sprout; and He shall execute ^(D)justice and righteousness on the earth. ¹⁶ In those days ^(E)Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety; and this is the name by which it will be called: the ^(F)Lord is our righteousness.’ ¹⁷ For this is what the Lord says: ‘^[a]David shall ^(G)not lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel; ^18 [b]and the ^(H)Levitical priests shall not lack a man before Me to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings, and to ^(I)prepare sacrifices ^[c]continually.’”

¹⁹ And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, ²⁰ “This is what the Lord says: ‘If you can ^(J)break My covenant for the day and My covenant for the night, so that day and night do not occur at their proper time, ²¹ then ^(K)My covenant with David My servant may also be broken, so that he will not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levitical priests, My ministers. ²² As the ^(L)heavenly ^[d]lights cannot be counted, and the ^(M)sand of the sea cannot be measured, so I will ^(N)multiply the ^[e]descendants of My servant David and the ^(O)Levites who serve Me.’”

²³ And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, ²⁴ “Have you not observed what these people have asserted, saying, ‘The ^(P)two families which the Lord chose, He has ^(Q)rejected them’? So they ^(R)despise My people as no longer being a nation ^[f]in their sight. ²⁵ This is what the Lord says: ‘If My ^(S)covenant for day and night does not continue, and I have ^(T)not established the ^[g]fixed patterns of heaven and earth, ²⁶ then I would ^(U)reject the ^[h]descendants of Jacob and David My servant, so as not to take from his ^[i]descendants ^(V)rulers over the ^[j]descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But I will ^(W)restore their fortunes and have ^(X)mercy on them.’”

The Gospel Is Preached

¹² Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that my circumstances ^(A)have turned out for the greater progress of the ^(B)gospel, ¹³ so that my ^[a](C)imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the ^[b]praetorian guard and to ^(D)everyone else, ¹⁴ and that most of the brothers and sisters, ^[c]trusting in the Lord because of my ^[d](E)imprisonment, have ^(F)far more courage to speak the word of God without fear. ^15 (G)Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even ^[e]from envy and strife, but some also ^[f]from goodwill; ¹⁶ the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the ^(H)gospel; ¹⁷ the former proclaim Christ ^(I)out of selfish ambition ^[g]rather than from pure motives, thinking that they are causing me distress in my ^[h](J)imprisonment. ¹⁸ What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice.

But not only that, I also will rejoice, ¹⁹ for I know that this will turn out for my ^[i]deliverance ^(K)through your ^[j]prayers and the provision of ^(L)the Spirit of Jesus Christ, ²⁰ according to my ^(M)eager expectation and ^(N)hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with ^(O)all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be ^(P)exalted in my body, ^(Q)whether by life or by death.

To Live Is Christ

²¹ For to me, ^(R)to live is Christ, and to die is gain. ^22 [k]But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean ^(S)fruitful labor for me; and I do not know ^[l]which to choose. ²³ But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the ^(T)desire to depart and ^(U)be with Christ, for that is very much better; ²⁴ yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sakes. ^25 (V)Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy ^[m]in the faith, ²⁶ so that your ^(W)pride in Christ Jesus may be abundant because of me by my coming to you again.

²⁷ Only conduct yourselves in a manner ^(X)worthy of the ^(Y)gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear about you that you are ^(Z)standing firm in ^(AA)one spirit, with one ^[n]mind ^(AB)striving together for the faith of the gospel; ²⁸ and in no way alarmed by your opponents—which is a ^(AC)sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and this too, from God. ²⁹ For to you ^(AD)it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to ^(AE)suffer on His behalf, ³⁰ experiencing the same ^(AF)conflict which ^(AG)you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.

⁸ The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord after King Zedekiah had ^(A)made a covenant with all the people who were in Jerusalem, to ^(B)proclaim ^[a]release to them: ⁹ that each person was to set his male servant free and each his female servant, a ^(C)Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, so that ^(D)no one would keep them, his Jewish brother or sister, in bondage. ¹⁰ And all the ^(E)officials and all the people obeyed who had entered into the covenant that each person was to set his male servant free and each his female servant, so that no one would keep them in bondage any longer; they obeyed, and set them free. ¹¹ But afterward they turned around and took back the male servants and the female servants whom they had set free, and brought them into subjection as male servants and as female servants.

¹² Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, ¹³ “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘I ^(F)made a covenant with your forefathers on the day that I ^(G)brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, saying, ¹⁴ “^(H)At the end of seven years each of you shall set free his Hebrew brother who ^[b]has been sold to you and has served you for six years, and you shall send him out free from you.” But your forefathers ^(I)did not obey Me nor incline their ear to Me. ¹⁵ Although recently you had turned and ^(J)done what is right in My sight, each one proclaiming ^[c]release to his neighbor, and you had ^(K)made a covenant before Me ^(L)in the house which is called by My name. ¹⁶ Yet you ^(M)turned and ^(N)profaned My name, and each person ^[d]took back his male servant and each his female servant whom you had set free according to their desire, and you brought them into subjection to be your male and female servants.’

¹⁷ “Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘You have not obeyed Me in proclaiming ^[e]release, each one to his brother and each to his neighbor. Behold, I am ^(O)proclaiming a ^[f]release to you,’ declares the Lord, ‘to the ^(P)sword, to the plague, and to the famine; and I will make you a ^(Q)terror to all the kingdoms of the earth. ¹⁸ I will give the people who have ^(R)violated My covenant, who have not fulfilled the words of the covenant which they made before Me, when they ^(S)cut the calf in two and passed between its parts— ¹⁹ the ^(T)officials of Judah and the officials of Jerusalem, the high officials and the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf— ²⁰ I will hand them over to their enemies and to those who ^(U)seek their lives. And their ^(V)dead bodies will be food for the birds of the sky and the animals of the earth. ^21 (W)Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials I will also hand over to their enemies and to those who seek their lives, and to the army of the king of Babylon which has ^(X)withdrawn from you. ²² Behold, I am going to give a command,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will bring them back to this city, and they will fight against it and ^(Y)take it and burn it with fire; and I will make the cities of Judah a ^(Z)desolation ^(AA)without inhabitant.’”

Jesus Asserts His Deity

²² At that time the ^[a]Feast of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem; ²³ it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple area, in the portico of ^(A)Solomon. ^24 (B)The Jews then surrounded Him and began saying to Him, “How long ^[b]will You keep us in suspense? If You are the ^[c]Christ, tell us ^(C)plainly.” ²⁵ Jesus answered them, “^(D)I told you, and you do not believe; ^(E)the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me. ²⁶ But you do not believe, because ^(F)you are not of My sheep. ²⁷ My sheep ^(G)listen to My voice, and ^(H)I know them, and they follow Me; ²⁸ and I give them ^(I)eternal life, and they will never perish; and ^(J)no one will snatch them out of My hand. ^29 [d]My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. ^30 (K)I and the Father are ^[e]one.”

³¹ The Jews ^(L)picked up stones again to stone Him. ³² Jesus replied to them, “I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?” ³³ The Jews answered Him, “We are not stoning You for a good work, but for ^(M)blasphemy; and because You, being a man, ^(N)make Yourself out to be God.” ³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Has it not been written in ^(O)your ^(P)Law: ‘^(Q)I said, you are gods’? ³⁵ If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be nullified), ³⁶ are you saying of Him whom the Father ^(R)sanctified and ^(S)sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘^(T)I am the Son of God’? ^37 (U)If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; ³⁸ but if I do them, even though you do not believe Me, believe ^(V)the works, so that you may ^[f]know and understand that ^(W)the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.” ³⁹ Therefore ^(X)they were seeking again to arrest Him, and ^(Y)He eluded their grasp.

⁴⁰ And He went away ^(Z)again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was first baptizing, and He stayed there. ⁴¹ Many came to Him and were saying, “While John performed no ^(AA)sign, yet ^(AB)everything John said about this man was true.” ⁴² And ^(AC)many believed in Him there.