Jeremiah with Gedaliah the Governor

40 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord after Nebu′zarad′an the captain of the guard had let him go from Ramah, when he took him 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, “The Lord your God pronounced this evil against this place; ³ the Lord has brought it about, and has done as he said. 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 the chains on your hands. If it seems good to you to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will look after you well; but if it seems wrong to you to come with me to Babylon, do not come. 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 Gedali′ah the son of Ahi′kam, son of Shaphan, 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 Gedali′ah the son of Ahi′kam, at Mizpah, and dwelt with him among the people who were left in the land.

⁷ When all the captains of the forces in the open country and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedali′ah the son of Ahi′kam governor in the land, and had committed to him men, women, and children, those of the poorest of the land who had not been taken into exile to Babylon, ⁸ they went to Gedali′ah at Mizpah—Ish′mael the son of Nethani′ah, Joha′nan the son of Kare′ah, Serai′ah the son of Tanhu′meth, the sons of Ephai the Netoph′athite, Jezani′ah the son of the Ma-ac′athite, they and their men. ⁹ Gedali′ah the son of Ahi′kam, son of Shaphan, swore to them and their men, saying, “Do not be afraid to serve the Chalde′ans. Dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you. ¹⁰ As for me, I will dwell at Mizpah, to stand for you before the Chalde′ans who will come to us; but as for you, 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 Jews who were in Moab and among the Ammonites and in Edom and in other lands heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judah and had appointed Gedali′ah the son of Ahi′kam, son of Shaphan, as governor over them, ¹² then all the Jews returned from all the places to which they had been driven and came to the land of Judah, to Gedali′ah at Mizpah; and they gathered wine and summer fruits in great abundance.

¹³ Now Joha′nan the son of Kare′ah and all the leaders of the forces in the open country came to Gedali′ah at Mizpah ¹⁴ and said to him, “Do you know that Ba′alis the king of the Ammonites has sent Ish′mael the son of Nethani′ah to take your life?” But Gedali′ah the son of Ahi′kam would not believe them. ¹⁵ Then Joha′nan the son of Kare′ah spoke secretly to Gedali′ah at Mizpah, “Let me go and slay Ish′mael the son of Nethani′ah, and no one will know it. Why should he take your life, so that all the Jews who are gathered about you would be scattered, and the remnant of Judah would perish?” ¹⁶ But Gedali′ah the son of Ahi′kam said to Joha′nan the son of Kare′ah, “You shall not do this thing, for you are speaking falsely of Ish′mael.”

Breaking with the Past

3 Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is not irksome to me, and is safe for you.

² Look out for the dogs, look out for the evil-workers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. ³ For we are the true circumcision, who worship God in spirit,^[a] and glory in Christ Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh. ⁴ Though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If any other man thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: ⁵ circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law a Pharisee, ⁶ as to zeal a persecutor of the church, as to righteousness under the law blameless. ⁷ But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸ Indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, based on law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith; ¹⁰ that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ that if possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Pressing toward the Goal

¹² Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. ¹³ Brethren, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ Let those of us who are mature be thus minded; and if in anything you are otherwise minded, God will reveal that also to you. ¹⁶ Only let us hold true to what we have attained.

¹⁷ Brethren, join in imitating me, and mark those who so live as you have an example in us. ¹⁸ For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, live as enemies of the cross of Christ. ¹⁹ Their end is destruction, their god is the belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. ²⁰ But our commonwealth is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹ who will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power which enables him even to subject all things to himself.

Insurrection against Gedaliah

41 In the seventh month, Ish′mael the son of Nethani′ah, son of Elish′ama, of the royal family, one of the chief officers of the king, came with ten men to Gedali′ah the son of Ahi′kam, at Mizpah. As they ate bread together there at Mizpah, ² Ish′mael the son of Nethani′ah and the ten men with him rose up and struck down Gedali′ah the son of Ahi′kam, son of Shaphan, with the sword, and killed him, whom the king of Babylon had appointed governor in the land. ³ Ish′mael also slew all the Jews who were with Gedali′ah at Mizpah, and the Chalde′an soldiers who happened to be there.

⁴ On the day after the murder of Gedali′ah, before any one knew of it, ⁵ eighty men arrived from Shechem and Shiloh and Samar′ia, with their beards shaved and their clothes torn, and their bodies gashed, bringing cereal offerings and incense to present at the temple of the Lord. ⁶ And Ish′mael the son of Nethani′ah came out from Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he came. As he met them, he said to them, “Come in to Gedali′ah the son of Ahi′kam.” ⁷ When they came into the city, Ish′mael the son of Nethani′ah and the men with him slew them, and cast them into a cistern. ⁸ But there were ten men among them who said to Ish′mael, “Do not kill us, for we have stores of wheat, barley, oil, and honey hidden in the fields.” So he refrained and did not kill them with their companions.

⁹ Now the cistern into which Ish′mael cast all the bodies of the men whom he had slain was the large cistern^[a] which King Asa had made for defense against Ba′asha king of Israel; Ish′mael the son of Nethani′ah filled it with the slain. ¹⁰ Then Ish′mael took captive all the rest of the people who were in Mizpah, the king’s daughters and all the people who were left at Mizpah, whom Nebu′zarad′an, the captain of the guard, had committed to Gedali′ah the son of Ahi′kam. Ish′mael the son of Nethani′ah took them captive and set out to cross over to the Ammonites.

¹¹ But when Joha′nan the son of Kare′ah and all the leaders of the forces with him heard of all the evil which Ish′mael the son of Nethani′ah had done, ¹² they took all their men and went to fight against Ish′mael the son of Nethani′ah. They came upon him at the great pool which is in Gib′eon. ¹³ And when all the people who were with Ish′mael saw Joha′nan the son of Kare′ah and all the leaders of the forces with him, they rejoiced. ¹⁴ So all the people whom Ish′mael had carried away captive from Mizpah turned about and came back, and went to Joha′nan the son of Kare′ah. ¹⁵ But Ish′mael the son of Nethani′ah escaped from Joha′nan with eight men, and went to the Ammonites. ¹⁶ Then Joha′nan the son of Kare′ah and all the leaders of the forces with him took all the rest of the people whom Ish′mael the son of Nethani′ah had carried away captive^[b] from Mizpah after he had slain Gedali′ah the son of Ahi′kam—soldiers, women, children, and eunuchs, whom Joha′nan brought back from Gib′eon. ¹⁷ And they went and stayed at Geruth Chimham near Bethlehem, intending to go to Egypt ¹⁸ because of the Chalde′ans; for they were afraid of them, because Ish′mael the son of Nethani′ah had slain Gedali′ah the son of Ahi′kam, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land.

Mary Anoints Jesus

12 Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Laz′arus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. ² There they made him a supper; Martha served, and Laz′arus was one of those at table with him. ³ Mary took a pound of costly ointment of pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment. ⁴ But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was to betray him), said, ⁵ “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii^[a] and given to the poor?” ⁶ This he said, not that he cared for the poor but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box he used to take what was put into it. ⁷ Jesus said, “Let her alone, let her keep it for the day of my burial. ⁸ The poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”

The Plot to Kill Lazarus

⁹ When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came, not only on account of Jesus but also to see Laz′arus, whom he had raised from the dead. ¹⁰ So the chief priests planned to put Laz′arus also to death, ¹¹ because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.

Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem

¹² The next day a great crowd who had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. ¹³ So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” ¹⁴ And Jesus found a young ass and sat upon it; as it is written,

¹⁶ His disciples did not understand this at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that this had been written of him and had been done to him. ¹⁷ The crowd that had been with him when he called Laz′arus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead bore witness. ¹⁸ The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign. ¹⁹ The Pharisees then said to one another, “You see that you can do nothing; look, the world has gone after him.”