Warning Against Going to Egypt

42 Then ^(A)all the commanders of the forces, and ^(B)Johanan the son of Kareah and Jezaniah the son of ^(C)Hoshaiah, and all the people ^(D)from the least to the greatest, came near ² and said to Jeremiah the prophet, “Let ^(E)our plea for mercy come before you, and ^(F)pray to the Lord your God for us, for all ^(G)this remnant—^(H)because we are left with but a few, as your eyes see us— ³ that ^(I)the Lord your God may show us the way we should go, and the thing that we should do.” ⁴ Jeremiah the prophet said to them, “I have heard you. Behold, I will pray to the Lord your God according to your request, and ^(J)whatever the Lord answers you I will tell you. ^(K)I will keep nothing back from you.” ⁵ Then they said to Jeremiah, ^(L)“May the Lord be a true and ^(M)faithful witness against us ^(N)if we do not act according to all the word ^(O)with which the Lord your God sends you to us. ⁶ Whether it is good or bad, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God to whom we are sending you, ^(P)that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of the Lord our God.”

^7 (Q)At the end of ten days the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah. ⁸ Then he summoned ^(R)Johanan the son of Kareah and ^(S)all the commanders of the forces who were with him, and all the people ^(T)from the least to the greatest, ⁹ and said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ^(U)to whom you sent me to present your plea for mercy before him: ¹⁰ If you will remain in this land, ^(V)then I will build you up and not pull you down; I will plant you, and not pluck you up; ^(W)for I relent of the disaster that I did to you. ^11 (X)Do not fear the king of Babylon, ^(Y)of whom you are afraid. ^(Z)Do not fear him, declares the Lord, ^(AA)for I am with you, to save you and to deliver you from his hand. ^12 (AB)I will grant you mercy, that he may have mercy on you and let you remain in your own land. ^13 (AC)But if you say, ‘We will not remain in this land,’ disobeying the voice of the Lord your God ¹⁴ and saying, ‘No, ^(AD)we will go to the land of Egypt, where we shall not see war or ^(AE)hear the sound of the trumpet or ^(AF)be hungry for bread, and we will dwell there,’ ¹⁵ then hear the word of the Lord, O remnant of Judah. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ^(AG)If you set your faces to enter Egypt ^(AH)and go to live there, ¹⁶ then the sword ^(AI)that you fear shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine of which you are afraid shall follow close after you to Egypt, ^(AJ)and there you shall die. ¹⁷ All the men who set their faces to go to Egypt to live there shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. They shall have ^(AK)no remnant or survivor from the disaster that I will bring upon them.

¹⁸ “For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ^(AL)As my anger and my wrath were poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so my wrath will be poured out on you when you go to Egypt. ^(AM)You shall become an execration, a horror, a curse, and a taunt. You shall see this place no more. ¹⁹ The Lord has said to you, O remnant of Judah, ^(AN)‘Do not go to Egypt.’ ^(AO)Know for a certainty that I have warned you this day ²⁰ that you have gone astray at the cost of your lives. ^(AP)For you sent me to the Lord your God, saying, ^(AQ)‘Pray for us to the Lord our God, and ^(AR)whatever the Lord our God says, declare to us and we will do it.’ ²¹ And I have this day declared it to you, but you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord your God in anything ^(AS)that he sent me to tell you. ^22 (AT)Now therefore know for a certainty that you shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence in the place where you desire to go to live.”

4 Therefore, my brothers,^[a] whom I love and ^(A)long for, ^(B)my joy and ^(C)crown, ^(D)stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.

Exhortation, Encouragement, and Prayer

² I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to ^(E)agree in the Lord. ³ Yes, I ask you also, true companion,^[b] help these women, who have labored^[c] side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, ^(F)whose names are in the book of life.

^4 (G)Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. ⁵ Let your reasonableness^[d] be known to everyone. ^(H)The Lord is at hand; ^6 (I)do not be anxious about anything, ^(J)but in everything by prayer and supplication ^(K)with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷ And ^(L)the peace of God, ^(M)which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸ Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. ⁹ What you have learned^[e] and ^(N)received and heard and seen ^(O)in me—practice these things, and ^(P)the God of peace will be with you.

God's Provision

¹⁰ I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length ^(Q)you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. ¹¹ Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be ^(R)content. ¹² I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and ^(S)hunger, abundance and ^(T)need. ¹³ I can do all things ^(U)through him who strengthens me.

¹⁴ Yet it was kind of you ^(V)to share^[f] my trouble. ¹⁵ And you Philippians yourselves know that ^(W)in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, ^(X)no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. ¹⁶ Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again. ^17 (Y)Not that I seek the gift, but I seek ^(Z)the fruit that increases to your credit.^{[g] 18} I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, ^(AA)having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, ^(AB)a fragrant offering, ^(AC)a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. ¹⁹ And my God ^(AD)will supply every need of yours ^(AE)according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. ²⁰ To ^(AF)our God and Father be ^(AG)glory forever and ever. Amen.

Final Greetings

²¹ Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. ^(AH)The brothers who are with me greet you. ^22 (AI)All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar's household.

^23 (AJ)The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

Jeremiah Taken to Egypt

43 When Jeremiah finished speaking to all the people all these words of the Lord their God, with which the Lord their God had sent him to them, ² Azariah the son of ^(A)Hoshaiah and ^(B)Johanan the son of Kareah and ^(C)all the insolent men said to Jeremiah, “You are telling a lie. The Lord our God did not send you to say, ^(D)‘Do not go to Egypt to live there,’ ³ but ^(E)Baruch the son of Neriah ^(F)has set you against us, ^(G)to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they may kill us or take us into exile in Babylon.” ⁴ So ^(H)Johanan the son of Kareah and all ^(I)the commanders of the forces and all the people did not obey the voice of the Lord, to remain in the land of Judah. ⁵ But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces took ^(J)all the remnant of Judah who had returned to live in the land of Judah from all the nations to which they had been driven— ^6 (K)the men, the women, the children, ^(L)the princesses, and every person whom ^(M)Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with ^(N)Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan; also Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch the son of Neriah. ⁷ And they came into the land of Egypt, for they did not obey the voice of the Lord. And they arrived at ^(O)Tahpanhes.

⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah in ^(P)Tahpanhes: ⁹ “Take in your hands large stones and hide them in the mortar in the pavement that is at the entrance to Pharaoh's palace in ^(Q)Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of Judah, ¹⁰ and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, ^(R)my servant, ^(S)and I will set his throne above these stones that I have hidden, and he will spread his royal canopy over them. ¹¹ He shall come ^(T)and strike the land of Egypt, ^(U)giving over to the pestilence those who are doomed to the pestilence, to captivity those who are doomed to captivity, and to the sword those who are doomed to the sword. ^12 (V)I shall kindle a fire ^(W)in the temples of the gods of Egypt, and he shall burn them ^(X)and carry them away captive. ^(Y)And he shall clean the land of Egypt ^(Z)as a shepherd cleans his cloak of vermin, and he shall go away from there in peace. ¹³ He shall break the ^(AA)obelisks of Heliopolis, which is in the land of Egypt, ^(AB)and the temples of the gods of Egypt he shall burn with fire.’”

Some Greeks Seek Jesus

²⁰ Now ^(A)among those who went up to worship at the feast were some ^(B)Greeks. ²¹ So these came to ^(C)Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” ²² Philip went and told ^(D)Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. ²³ And Jesus answered them, ^(E)“The hour has come ^(F)for the Son of Man to be glorified. ²⁴ Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(G)unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. ^25 (H)Whoever loves his life loses it, and ^(I)whoever ^(J)hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶ If anyone serves me, he must ^(K)follow me; and ^(L)where I am, there will my servant be also. ^(M)If anyone serves me, ^(N)the Father will honor him.

The Son of Man Must Be Lifted Up

^27 (O)“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, ^(P)save me from ^(Q)this hour’? But ^(R)for this purpose I have come to ^(S)this hour. ²⁸ Father, glorify your name.” Then ^(T)a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” ²⁹ The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, ^(U)“An angel has spoken to him.” ³⁰ Jesus answered, ^(V)“This voice has come for your sake, not mine. ^31 (W)Now is the judgment of this world; now will ^(X)the ruler of this world ^(Y)be cast out. ³² And I, ^(Z)when I am lifted up from the earth, ^(AA)will draw ^(AB)all people to myself.” ³³ He said this ^(AC)to show by what kind of death he was going to die. ³⁴ So the crowd answered him, “We have heard from the Law that ^(AD)the Christ remains forever. How can you say that ^(AE)the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” ³⁵ So Jesus said to them, ^(AF)“The light is among you ^(AG)for a little while longer. ^(AH)Walk while you have the light, lest darkness ^(AI)overtake you. ^(AJ)The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. ³⁶ While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become ^(AK)sons of light.”

The Unbelief of the People

When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them. ³⁷ Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, ^38 (AL)so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

³⁹ Therefore they ^(AN)could not believe. For again Isaiah said,

⁴¹ Isaiah said these things because ^(AQ)he saw his glory and ^(AR)spoke of him. ⁴² Nevertheless, ^(AS)many even of the authorities believed in him, but ^(AT)for fear of the Pharisees they did not ^(AU)confess it, so that they would not be ^(AV)put out of the synagogue; ^43 (AW)for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.

Jesus Came to Save the World

⁴⁴ And Jesus cried out and said, ^(AX)“Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but ^(AY)in him who sent me. ⁴⁵ And ^(AZ)whoever ^(BA)sees me sees him who sent me. ^46 (BB)I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. ⁴⁷ If anyone ^(BC)hears my words and does not keep them, ^(BD)I do not judge him; for ^(BE)I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. ^48 (BF)The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; ^(BG)the word that I have spoken will judge him ^(BH)on the last day. ⁴⁹ For ^(BI)I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father ^(BJ)who sent me has himself given me ^(BK)a commandment—what to say and what to speak. ⁵⁰ And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.”