^14 (A)‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘that ^(B)I will perform that good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah:

^[a]THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.’

¹⁷ “For thus says the Lord: ‘David shall never ^(D)lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel; ¹⁸ nor shall the ^(E)priests, the Levites, lack a man to ^(F)offer burnt offerings before Me, to ^[b]kindle grain offerings, and to sacrifice continually.’ ”

The Permanence of God’s Covenant

¹⁹ And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, ²⁰ “Thus says the Lord: ‘If you can break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night, so that there will not be day and night in their season, ²¹ then ^(G)My covenant may also be broken with David My servant, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levites, the priests, My ministers. ²² As ^(H)the host of heaven cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured, so will I ^(I)multiply the descendants of David My servant and the ^(J)Levites who minister to Me.’ ”

²³ Moreover the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, ²⁴ “Have you not considered what these people have spoken, saying, ‘The two families which the Lord has chosen, He has also cast them off’? Thus they have ^(K)despised My people, as if they should no more be a nation before them.

²⁵ “Thus says the Lord: ‘If ^(L)My covenant is not with day and night, and if I have not ^(M)appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth, ^26 (N)then I will ^(O)cast away the descendants of Jacob and David My servant, so that I will not take any of his descendants to be rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will cause their captives to return, and will have mercy on them.’ ”

Christ Is Preached

¹² But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, ¹³ so that it has become evident ^(A)to the whole ^[a]palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; ¹⁴ and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

¹⁵ Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill: ^16 [b]The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains; ¹⁷ but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. ¹⁸ What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.

To Live Is Christ

¹⁹ For I know that ^(B)this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, ²⁰ according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but ^(C)with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life ^(D)or by death. ²¹ For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. ²² But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I ^[c]cannot tell. ^23 [d]For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a ^(E)desire to depart and be with Christ, which is ^(F)far better. ²⁴ Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. ²⁵ And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith, ²⁶ that ^(G)your rejoicing for me may be more abundant in Jesus Christ by my coming to you again.

Striving and Suffering for Christ

²⁷ Only ^(H)let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, ^(I)with one mind ^(J)striving together for the faith of the gospel, ²⁸ and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but ^[e]to you of salvation, and that from God. ²⁹ For to you ^(K)it has been granted on behalf of Christ, ^(L)not only to believe in Him, but also to ^(M)suffer for His sake, ^30 (N)having the same conflict ^(O)which you saw in me and now hear is in me.

Treacherous Treatment of Slaves

⁸ This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people who were at Jerusalem to proclaim ^(A)liberty to them: ^9 (B)that every man should set free his male and female slave—a Hebrew man or woman—^(C)that no one should keep a Jewish brother in bondage. ¹⁰ Now when all the princes and all the people, who had entered into the covenant, heard that everyone should set free his male and female slaves, that no one should keep them in bondage anymore, they obeyed and let them go. ¹¹ But afterward they changed their minds and made the male and female slaves return, whom they had set free, and brought them into subjection as male and female slaves.

¹² Therefore the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, ¹³ “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘I made a ^(D)covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, saying, ¹⁴ “At the end of ^(E)seven years let every man set free his Hebrew brother, who ^[a]has been sold to him; and when he has served you six years, you shall let him go free from you.” But your fathers did not obey Me nor incline their ear. ¹⁵ Then you ^[b]recently turned and did what was right in My sight—every man proclaiming liberty to his neighbor; and you ^(F)made a covenant before Me ^(G)in the house which is called by My name. ¹⁶ Then you turned around and ^(H)profaned My name, and every one of you brought back his male and female slaves, whom you had set at liberty, at their pleasure, and brought them back into subjection, to be your male and female slaves.’

¹⁷ “Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘You have not obeyed Me in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother and every one to his neighbor. ^(I)Behold, I proclaim liberty to you,’ says the Lord—^(J)‘to the sword, to pestilence, and to famine! And I will deliver you to ^(K)trouble among all the kingdoms of the earth. ¹⁸ And I will give the men who have transgressed My covenant, who have not performed the words of the covenant which they made before Me, when ^(L)they cut the calf in two and passed between the parts of it— ¹⁹ the princes of Judah, the princes of Jerusalem, the ^[c]eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf— ²⁰ I will ^(M)give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their life. Their ^(N)dead bodies shall be for meat for the birds of the heaven and the beasts of the earth. ²¹ And I will give Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes into the hand of their enemies, into the hand of those who seek their life, and into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army ^(O)which has gone back from you. ^22 (P)Behold, I will command,’ says the Lord, ‘and cause them to return to this city. They will fight against it ^(Q)and take it and burn it with fire; and ^(R)I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without inhabitant.’ ”

The Shepherd Knows His Sheep

²² Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. ²³ And Jesus walked in the temple, ^(A)in Solomon’s porch. ²⁴ Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, “How long do You keep us in ^[a]doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.”

²⁵ Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. ^(B)The works that I do in My Father’s name, they ^(C)bear witness of Me. ²⁶ But ^(D)you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, ^[b]as I said to you. ^27 (E)My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. ²⁸ And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. ^29 (F)My Father, ^(G)who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. ^30 (H)I and My Father are one.”

Renewed Efforts to Stone Jesus

³¹ Then ^(I)the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. ³² Jesus answered them, “Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?”

³³ The Jews answered Him, saying, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for ^(J)blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, ^(K)make Yourself God.”

³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ^(L)‘I said, “You are gods” ’? ³⁵ If He called them gods, ^(M)to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture ^(N)cannot be broken), ³⁶ do you say of Him ^(O)whom the Father sanctified and ^(P)sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ ^(Q)because I said, ‘I am ^(R)the Son of God’? ^37 (S)If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; ³⁸ but if I do, though you do not believe Me, ^(T)believe the works, that you may know and ^[c]believe ^(U)that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.” ^39 (V)Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.

The Believers Beyond Jordan

⁴⁰ And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place ^(W)where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed. ⁴¹ Then many came to Him and said, “John performed no sign, ^(X)but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true.” ⁴² And many believed in Him there.