Jeremiah with Gedaliah the Governor^(A)

40 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord ^(B)after Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had let him go from Ramah, when he had taken him bound in chains among all who were carried away captive from Jerusalem and Judah, who were carried away captive to Babylon.

² And the captain of the guard took Jeremiah and ^(C)said to him: “The Lord your God has pronounced this doom on this place. ³ Now the Lord has brought it, and has done just as He said. ^(D)Because you people have sinned against the Lord, and not obeyed His voice, therefore this thing has come upon you. ⁴ And now look, I free you this day from the chains that ^[a]were on your hand. ^(E)If it seems good to you to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will look after you. But if it seems wrong for you to come with me to Babylon, remain here. See, ^(F)all the land is before you; wherever it seems good and convenient for you to go, go there.”

⁵ Now while Jeremiah had not yet gone back, Nebuzaradan said, “Go back to ^(G)Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, ^(H)whom the king of Babylon has made governor over the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people. Or go wherever it seems convenient for you to go.” So the captain of the guard gave him rations and a gift and let him go. ^6 (I)Then Jeremiah went to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, to ^(J)Mizpah, and dwelt with him among the people who were left in the land.

^7 (K)And when all the captains of the armies who were in the fields, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam governor in the land, and had committed to him men, women, children, and ^(L)the poorest of the land who had not been carried away captive to Babylon, ⁸ then they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—^(M)Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, ^(N)Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and ^(O)Jezaniah^[b] the son of a ^(P)Maachathite, they and their men. ⁹ And Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, took an oath before them and their men, saying, “Do not be afraid to serve the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be ^(Q)well with you. ¹⁰ As for me, I will indeed dwell at Mizpah and serve the Chaldeans who come to us. But you, gather wine and summer fruit and oil, put them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities that you have taken.” ¹¹ Likewise, when all the Jews who were in Moab, among the Ammonites, in Edom, and who were in all the countries, heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant of Judah, and that he had set over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, ¹² then all the Jews ^(R)returned out of all places where they had been driven, and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and gathered wine and summer fruit in abundance.

¹³ Moreover Johanan the son of Kareah and all the captains of the forces that were in the fields came to Gedaliah at Mizpah, ¹⁴ and said to him, ^[c]“Do you certainly know that ^(S)Baalis the king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to murder you?” But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam did not believe them.

¹⁵ Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke secretly to Gedaliah in Mizpah, saying, “Let me go, please, and I will kill Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no one will know it. Why should he murder you, so that all the Jews who are gathered to you would be scattered, and the ^(T)remnant in Judah perish?”

¹⁶ But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, “You shall not do this thing, for you speak falsely concerning Ishmael.”

All for Christ

3 Finally, my brethren, ^(A)rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe.

^2 (B)Beware of dogs, beware of ^(C)evil workers, ^(D)beware of the mutilation! ³ For we are ^(E)the circumcision, ^(F)who worship ^[a]God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh, ⁴ though ^(G)I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I ^(H)more so: ⁵ circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, ^(I)of the tribe of Benjamin, ^(J)a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, ^(K)a Pharisee; ⁶ concerning zeal, ^(L)persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

⁷ But ^(M)what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. ⁸ Yet indeed I also count all things loss ^(N)for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in Him, not having ^(O)my own righteousness, which is from the law, but ^(P)that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; ¹⁰ that I may know Him and the ^(Q)power of His resurrection, and ^(R)the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, ¹¹ if, by any means, I may ^(S)attain^[b] to the resurrection from the dead.

Pressing Toward the Goal

¹² Not that I have already ^(T)attained,^[c] or am already ^(U)perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. ¹³ Brethren, I do not count myself to have ^[d]apprehended; but one thing I do, ^(V)forgetting those things which are behind and ^(W)reaching forward to those things which are ahead, ^14 (X)I press toward the goal for the prize of ^(Y)the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

¹⁵ Therefore let us, as many as are ^(Z)mature, ^(AA)have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, ^(AB)God will reveal even this to you. ¹⁶ Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already ^[e]attained, ^(AC)let us walk ^(AD)by the same ^[f]rule, let us be of the same mind.

Our Citizenship in Heaven

¹⁷ Brethren, ^(AE)join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as ^(AF)you have us for a pattern. ¹⁸ For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are ^(AG)the enemies of the cross of Christ: ^19 (AH)whose end is destruction, ^(AI)whose god is their belly, and ^(AJ)whose glory is in their shame—^(AK)who set their mind on earthly things. ²⁰ For ^(AL)our citizenship is in heaven, ^(AM)from which we also ^(AN)eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, ^21 (AO)who will transform our lowly body that it may be ^(AP)conformed to His glorious body, ^(AQ)according to the working by which He is able even to ^(AR)subdue all things to Himself.

Insurrection Against Gedaliah

41 Now it came to pass in the seventh month ^(A)that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal ^[a]family and of the officers of the king, came with ten men to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, at ^(B)Mizpah. And there they ate bread together in Mizpah. ² Then Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men who were with him, arose and ^(C)struck Gedaliah the son of ^(D)Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword, and killed him whom the king of Babylon had made ^(E)governor over the land. ³ Ishmael also struck down all the Jews who were with him, that is, with Gedaliah at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans who were found there, the men of war.

⁴ And it happened, on the second day after he had killed Gedaliah, when as yet no one knew it, ⁵ that certain men came from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, eighty men ^(F)with their beards shaved and their clothes torn, having cut themselves, with offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to ^(G)the house of the Lord. ⁶ Now Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went out from Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he went along; and it happened as he met them that he said to them, “Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam!” ⁷ So it was, when they came into the midst of the city, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah ^(H)killed them and cast them into the midst of a ^[b]pit, he and the men who were with him. ⁸ But ten men were found among them who said to Ishmael, “Do not kill us, for we have treasures of wheat, barley, oil, and honey in the field.” So he desisted and did not kill them among their brethren. ⁹ Now the ^[c]pit into which Ishmael had cast all the dead bodies of the men whom he had slain, because of Gedaliah, was ^(I)the same one Asa the king had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel. Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain. ¹⁰ Then Ishmael carried away captive all the ^(J)rest of the people who were in Mizpah, ^(K)the king’s daughters and all the people who remained in Mizpah, ^(L)whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah carried them away captive and departed to go over to ^(M)the Ammonites.

¹¹ But when ^(N)Johanan the son of Kareah and all the captains of the forces that were with him heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done, ¹² they took all the men and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah; and they found him by ^(O)the great pool that is in Gibeon. ¹³ So it was, when all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces who were with him, that they were glad. ¹⁴ Then 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 the Ammonites.

¹⁶ Then Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, took from Mizpah all the ^(P)rest of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah after he had murdered Gedaliah the son of Ahikam—the mighty men of war and the women and the children and the eunuchs, whom he had brought back from Gibeon. ¹⁷ And they departed and dwelt in the habitation of ^(Q)Chimham, which is near Bethlehem, as they went on their way to ^(R)Egypt, ¹⁸ because of the Chaldeans; for they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had murdered Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, ^(S)whom the king of Babylon had made governor in the land.

The Anointing at Bethany^(A)

12 Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, ^(B)where Lazarus was ^[a]who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. ^2 (C)There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. ³ Then ^(D)Mary took a pound of very costly oil of ^(E)spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.

⁴ But one of His disciples, ^(F)Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said, ⁵ “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for ^[b]three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” ⁶ This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and ^(G)had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.

⁷ But Jesus said, “Let her alone; ^[c]she has kept this for the day of My burial. ⁸ For ^(H)the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always.”

The Plot to Kill Lazarus

⁹ Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, ^(I)whom He had raised from the dead. ^10 (J)But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, ^11 (K)because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.

The Triumphal Entry^(L)

^12 (M)The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, ¹³ took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out:

^14 (O)Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written:

^16 (Q)His disciples did not understand these things at first; ^(R)but when Jesus was glorified, ^(S)then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.

¹⁷ Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness. ^18 (T)For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign. ¹⁹ The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, ^(U)“You see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look, the world has gone after Him!”