Jeremiah Remains in Judah

40 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord ^(A)after Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had let him go from ^(B)Ramah, when he took him ^(C)bound in chains along with all the captives of Jerusalem and Judah who were being exiled to Babylon. ² The captain of the guard took Jeremiah and said to him, ^(D)“The Lord your God pronounced this disaster against this place. ³ The Lord has brought it about, and has done as he said. ^(E)Because you sinned against the Lord and did not obey his voice, this thing has come upon you. ⁴ Now, behold, I release you today from ^(F)the chains on your hands. ^(G)If it seems good to you to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will look after you well, ^(H)but if it seems wrong to you to come with me to Babylon, do not come. ^(I)See, the whole land is before you; go wherever you think it good and right to go. ⁵ If you remain,^[a] then return to ^(J)Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, ^(K)whom the king of Babylon appointed governor of the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people. Or go wherever you think it right to go.” So the captain of the guard gave him an allowance of food and a present, and let him go. ⁶ Then Jeremiah went to ^(L)Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, at ^(M)Mizpah, and lived with him ^(N)among the people ^(O)who were left in the land.

^7 (P)When all the captains of the forces in the open country and their men heard that ^(Q)the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam governor in the land and had committed to him men, women, and children, those of ^(R)the poorest of the land who had not been taken into exile to Babylon, ⁸ they went to Gedaliah at ^(S)Mizpah—^(T)Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, ^(U)Johanan the son of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, ^(V)Jezaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men. ⁹ Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, swore to them and their men, saying, “Do not be afraid to serve the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, ^(W)and it shall be well with you. ¹⁰ As for me, I will dwell at ^(X)Mizpah, to represent you before the Chaldeans who will come to us. But as for you, ^(Y)gather wine and summer fruits and oil, and store them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities that you have taken.” ¹¹ Likewise, when all the Judeans who were in ^(Z)Moab and among ^(AA)the Ammonites and in ^(AB)Edom and in other lands heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, as governor over them, ^12 (AC)then all the Judeans returned from all the places to which they had been driven and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah. And they ^(AD)gathered wine and summer fruits in great abundance.

¹³ Now ^(AE)Johanan the son of Kareah and ^(AF)all the leaders of the forces in the open country came to Gedaliah at Mizpah ¹⁴ and said to him, “Do you know that Baalis the king of ^(AG)the Ammonites has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to take your life?” But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam would not believe them. ¹⁵ Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke secretly to Gedaliah at Mizpah, “Please let me go and strike down Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no one will know it. Why should he take your life, so that all the Judeans who are gathered about you would be scattered, ^(AH)and the remnant of Judah would perish?” ¹⁶ But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, “You shall not do this thing, for you are speaking falsely of Ishmael.”

Righteousness Through Faith in Christ

3 Finally, my brothers,^{[a] (A)}rejoice in the Lord. ^(B)To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.

² Look out for ^(C)the dogs, look out for ^(D)the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. ³ For ^(E)we are the circumcision, ^(F)who worship ^(G)by the Spirit of God^[b] and ^(H)glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— ^4 (I)though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: ^5 (J)circumcised on the eighth day, ^(K)of the people of Israel, ^(L)of the tribe of Benjamin, ^(M)a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, ^(N)a Pharisee; ^6 (O)as to zeal, ^(P)a persecutor of the church; ^(Q)as to righteousness under the law,^[c] blameless. ⁷ But ^(R)whatever gain I had, ^(S)I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸ Indeed, I count everything as loss because of ^(T)the surpassing worth of ^(U)knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I ^(V)have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having ^(W)a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but ^(X)that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— ^10 (Y)that I may know him and ^(Z)the power of his resurrection, and ^(AA)may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ that by any means possible I may ^(AB)attain the resurrection from the dead.

Straining Toward the Goal

¹² Not that I have already ^(AC)obtained this or ^(AD)am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. ¹³ Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: ^(AE)forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal for ^(AF)the prize of the upward ^(AG)call of God in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ Let those of us who are ^(AH)mature think this way, and if in anything ^(AI)you think otherwise, ^(AJ)God will reveal that also to you. ¹⁶ Only ^(AK)let us hold true to what we have attained.

¹⁷ Brothers, ^(AL)join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk ^(AM)according to the example you have in us. ¹⁸ For ^(AN)many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you ^(AO)even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. ^19 (AP)Their end is destruction, ^(AQ)their god is their belly, and ^(AR)they glory in their shame, with ^(AS)minds set on earthly things. ²⁰ But ^(AT)our citizenship is in heaven, and ^(AU)from it we ^(AV)await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹ who will transform ^(AW)our lowly body ^(AX)to be like his glorious body, ^(AY)by the power that enables him even ^(AZ)to subject all things to himself.

Gedaliah Murdered

41 ^(A)In the seventh month, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family, one of the chief officers of the king, came with ten men to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, at ^(B)Mizpah. As they ^(C)ate bread together there at Mizpah, ^2 (D)Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the ten men with him rose up and struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, with the sword, and killed him, ^(E)whom the king of Babylon had appointed governor in the land. ³ Ishmael also struck down all the Judeans who were with Gedaliah at ^(F)Mizpah, and the Chaldean soldiers who happened to be there.

⁴ On the day after the murder of Gedaliah, before anyone knew of it, ⁵ eighty men arrived from ^(G)Shechem and ^(H)Shiloh and ^(I)Samaria, with ^(J)their beards shaved and ^(K)their clothes torn, and ^(L)their bodies gashed, ^(M)bringing grain offerings and incense to present at the temple of the Lord. ⁶ And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah came out from ^(N)Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he came. As he met them, he said to them, “Come in to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam.” ⁷ When they came into the city, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the men with him slaughtered them and cast them into a cistern. ⁸ But there were ten men among them who said to Ishmael, “Do not put us to death, for we have ^(O)stores of wheat, barley, oil, and honey hidden in the fields.” So he refrained and did not put them to death with their companions.

⁹ Now the cistern into which Ishmael had thrown all the bodies of the men whom he had struck down along with^[a] Gedaliah was the large cistern that ^(P)King Asa had made for defense against ^(Q)Baasha king of Israel; Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain. ¹⁰ Then Ishmael took captive all the rest of the people who were in Mizpah, ^(R)the king's daughters and all the people who were left at Mizpah, whom ^(S)Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. Ishmael the son of Nethaniah took them captive and set out to cross over to ^(T)the Ammonites.

¹¹ But when ^(U)Johanan the son of Kareah and ^(V)all the leaders of the forces with him heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done, ¹² they took all their men and went to fight against Ishmael the son of Nethaniah. They came upon him at ^(W)the great pool that is in ^(X)Gibeon. ¹³ And when all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah and ^(Y)all the leaders of the forces with him, they rejoiced. ^14 (Z)So all the people whom Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah turned around and came back, and went to Johanan the son of Kareah. ¹⁵ But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men, and went to ^(AA)the Ammonites. ¹⁶ Then Johanan the son of Kareah and ^(AB)all the leaders of the forces with him took from Mizpah all the rest of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, after he had struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam—soldiers, ^(AC)women, children, and eunuchs, whom Johanan brought back from ^(AD)Gibeon. ¹⁷ And they went and stayed at Geruth ^(AE)Chimham near ^(AF)Bethlehem, intending to go to Egypt ¹⁸ because of the Chaldeans. For they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, ^(AG)whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land.

Mary Anoints Jesus at Bethany

12 Six days before ^(A)the Passover, ^(B)Jesus therefore came to Bethany, ^(C)where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. ² So they gave a dinner for him there. ^(D)Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. ^3 (E)Mary therefore took a pound^[a] of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. ⁴ But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, ⁵ “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii^[b] and ^(F)given to the poor?” ⁶ He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and ^(G)having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. ⁷ Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it^[c] for the day of my burial. ⁸ For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”

The Plot to Kill Lazarus

⁹ When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus^[d] was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, ^(H)whom he had raised from the dead. ^10 (I)So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, ¹¹ because ^(J)on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.

The Triumphal Entry

¹² The next day ^(K)the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. ¹³ So they took branches of ^(L)palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, ^(M)“Hosanna! Blessed is ^(N)he who comes in the name of the Lord, even ^(O)the King of Israel!” ¹⁴ And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,

^16 (Q)His disciples did not understand these things at first, but ^(R)when Jesus was glorified, then ^(S)they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. ^17 (T)The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. ¹⁸ The reason why the crowd went to meet him ^(U)was that they heard he had done this sign. ¹⁹ So the Pharisees said to one another, ^(V)“You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, ^(W)the world has gone after him.”