Jeremiah Warns Zedekiah

37 ^(A)Zedekiah the son of Josiah, ^(B)whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah, reigned instead of ^(C)Coniah the son of Jehoiakim. ^2 (D)But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the Lord that he spoke through Jeremiah the prophet.

³ King Zedekiah sent ^(E)Jehucal the son of ^(F)Shelemiah, and ^(G)Zephaniah the priest, the son of ^(H)Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “Please ^(I)pray for us to the Lord our God.” ^4 (J)Now Jeremiah was still going in and out among the people, ^(K)for he had not yet been put in prison. ^5 (L)The army of Pharaoh had come out of Egypt. And when ^(M)the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news about them, ^(N)they withdrew from Jerusalem.

⁶ Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet: ⁷ “Thus says the Lord, God of Israel: Thus shall you say to the king of Judah who ^(O)sent you to me to inquire of me, ‘Behold, ^(P)Pharaoh's army that came to help you is about to ^(Q)return to Egypt, to its own land. ⁸ And ^(R)the Chaldeans shall come back and fight against this city. ^(S)They shall capture it and burn it with fire. ⁹ Thus says the Lord, Do not deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will surely go away from us,” for they will not go away. ^10 (T)For even if you should defeat the whole army of Chaldeans who are fighting against you, and there remained of them only wounded men, every man in his tent, they would rise up and ^(U)burn this city with fire.’”

Jeremiah Imprisoned

¹¹ Now when ^(V)the Chaldean army had withdrawn from Jerusalem at the approach of Pharaoh's army, ¹² Jeremiah set out from Jerusalem to go to ^(W)the land of Benjamin ^(X)to receive his portion there ^(Y)among the people. ¹³ When he was at ^(Z)the Benjamin Gate, a sentry there named Irijah the son of ^(AA)Shelemiah, son of Hananiah, seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, ^(AB)“You are deserting to the Chaldeans.” ¹⁴ And Jeremiah said, “It is a lie; I am not deserting to the Chaldeans.” But Irijah would not listen to him, and seized Jeremiah and brought him to ^(AC)the officials. ¹⁵ And the officials were enraged at Jeremiah, and they beat him ^(AD)and imprisoned him in the house of Jonathan the secretary, for it had been made a prison.

^16 (AE)When Jeremiah had come to the dungeon cells and remained there many days, ¹⁷ King Zedekiah sent for him and received him. The king questioned him ^(AF)secretly in his house and said, “Is there any word from the Lord?” Jeremiah said, “There is.” Then he said, ^(AG)“You shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.” ¹⁸ Jeremiah also said to King Zedekiah, “What wrong have I done to you or your servants or this people, ^(AH)that you have put me in prison? ^19 (AI)Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you and against this land’? ²⁰ Now hear, please, O my lord the king: ^(AJ)let my humble plea come before you and ^(AK)do not send me back to the house of Jonathan the secretary, lest I die there.” ²¹ So King Zedekiah gave orders, and they committed Jeremiah to ^(AL)the court of the guard. And a loaf of bread was given him daily from the bakers' street, ^(AM)until all the bread of the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in ^(AN)the court of the guard.

Christ's Example of Humility

2 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from ^(A)love, any ^(B)participation in the Spirit, any ^(C)affection and sympathy, ^2 (D)complete my joy by being ^(E)of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. ³ Do nothing from ^(F)selfish ambition or ^(G)conceit, but in ^(H)humility count others more significant than yourselves. ⁴ Let each of you ^(I)look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. ^5 (J)Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,^{[a] 6 (K)}who, though he was in ^(L)the form of God, did not count equality with God ^(M)a thing to be grasped,^{[b] 7} but ^(N)emptied himself, by taking the form of a ^(O)servant,^{[c] (P)}being born in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself by ^(Q)becoming obedient to the point of death, ^(R)even death on a cross. ^9 (S)Therefore ^(T)God has ^(U)highly exalted him and bestowed on him ^(V)the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus ^(W)every knee should bow, ^(X)in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and ^(Y)every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is ^(Z)Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Jeremiah Cast into the Cistern

38 Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, ^(A)Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and ^(B)Pashhur the son of Malchiah heard the words that Jeremiah was saying to all the people: ² “Thus says the Lord: ^(C)He who stays in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, ^(D)but he who goes out to the Chaldeans shall live. He shall have his life as a prize of war, and live. ³ Thus says the Lord: ^(E)This city shall surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon and be taken.” ⁴ Then the officials said to the king, ^(F)“Let this man be put to death, ^(G)for he is weakening the hands of the soldiers who are left in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking ^(H)the welfare of this people, but their harm.” ⁵ King Zedekiah said, “Behold, he is in your hands, ^(I)for the king can do nothing against you.” ⁶ So they took Jeremiah ^(J)and cast him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king's son, which was in ^(K)the court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down ^(L)by ropes. ^(M)And there was no water in the cistern, but only mud, and ^(N)Jeremiah sank in the mud.

Jeremiah Rescued from the Cistern

⁷ When ^(O)Ebed-melech ^(P)the Ethiopian, ^(Q)a eunuch who was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern—the king was sitting ^(R)in the Benjamin Gate— ^8 (S)Ebed-melech went from the king's house and said to the king, ⁹ “My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they did to Jeremiah the prophet by casting him into the cistern, and he will die there of ^(T)hunger, ^(U)for there is no bread left in the city.” ¹⁰ Then the king commanded ^(V)Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, “Take thirty men with you from here, and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.” ¹¹ So ^(W)Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to the house of the king, to a wardrobe in the storehouse, and took from there old rags and worn-out clothes, which he let down to Jeremiah in the cistern ^(X)by ropes. ¹² Then ^(Y)Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Put the rags and clothes between your armpits and ^(Z)the ropes.” Jeremiah did so. ¹³ Then they drew Jeremiah up with ^(AA)ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the ^(AB)court of the guard.

The Death of Lazarus

11 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of ^(A)Mary and her sister Martha. ^2 (B)It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. ³ So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, ^(C)he whom you love is ill.” ⁴ But when Jesus heard it he said, ^(D)“This illness does not lead to death. It is for ^(E)the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

⁵ Now ^(F)Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. ⁶ So, when he heard that Lazarus^[a] was ill, ^(G)he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. ⁷ Then after this he said to the disciples, ^(H)“Let us go to Judea again.” ⁸ The disciples said to him, ^(I)“Rabbi, ^(J)the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” ⁹ Jesus answered, ^(K)“Are there not twelve hours in the day? ^(L)If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. ¹⁰ But ^(M)if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not ^(N)in him.” ¹¹ After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus ^(O)has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” ¹² The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” ¹³ Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. ¹⁴ Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, ¹⁵ and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” ^16 (P)So Thomas, called the Twin,^[b] said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, ^(Q)that we may die with him.”

I Am the Resurrection and the Life

¹⁷ Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb ^(R)four days. ¹⁸ Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles^[c] off, ¹⁹ and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary ^(S)to console them concerning their brother. ^20 (T)So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. ²¹ Martha said to ^(U)Jesus, “Lord, ^(V)if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²² But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, ^(W)God will give you.” ²³ Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” ^24 (X)Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in ^(Y)the resurrection on the last day.” ²⁵ Jesus said to her, ^(Z)“I am the resurrection and ^(AA)the life.^[d] Whoever believes in me, ^(AB)though he die, ^(AC)yet shall he live, ²⁶ and everyone who lives and believes in me ^(AD)shall never die. Do you believe this?” ²⁷ She said to him, “Yes, Lord; ^(AE)I believe that ^(AF)you are the Christ, the Son of God, ^(AG)who is coming into the world.”

Jesus Weeps

²⁸ When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, ^(AH)“The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” ²⁹ And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. ³⁰ Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. ³¹ When the Jews ^(AI)who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. ³² Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, ^(AJ)“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” ³³ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he ^(AK)was deeply moved^[e] in his spirit and ^(AL)greatly troubled. ³⁴ And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” ^35 (AM)Jesus wept. ³⁶ So the Jews said, “See ^(AN)how he loved him!” ³⁷ But some of them said, “Could not he ^(AO)who opened the eyes of the blind man ^(AP)also have kept this man from dying?”

Jesus Raises Lazarus

³⁸ Then Jesus, ^(AQ)deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was ^(AR)a cave, and ^(AS)a stone lay against it. ³⁹ Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for ^(AT)he has been dead four days.” ⁴⁰ Jesus said to her, ^(AU)“Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see ^(AV)the glory of God?” ⁴¹ So they took away the stone. And Jesus ^(AW)lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. ^42 (AX)I knew that you always hear me, but I said this ^(AY)on account of the people standing around, ^(AZ)that they may believe that you sent me.” ⁴³ When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” ^44 (BA)The man who had died came out, ^(BB)his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and ^(BC)his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”