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Jeremiah Advises Survivors Not to Migrate

42 Then all the commanders of the forces, and Johanan son of Kareah and Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least to the greatest approached(A) the prophet Jeremiah and said, “Be good enough to listen to our plea, and pray to the Lord your God for us—for all this remnant. For there are only a few of us left out of many, as your eyes can see.(B) Let the Lord your God show us where we should go and what we should do.”(C) The prophet Jeremiah said to them, “Very well: I am going to pray to the Lord your God as you request, and whatever the Lord answers you I will tell you; I will keep nothing back from you.”(D) They in their turn said to Jeremiah, “May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act according to everything that the Lord your God sends us through you. Whether it is good or bad, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God to whom we are sending you, in order that it may go well with us when we obey the voice of the Lord our God.”(E)

At the end of ten days the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah. Then he summoned Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces who were with him and all the people from the least to the greatest and said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your plea before him: 10 If you will only remain in this land, then I will build you up and not pull you down; I will plant you and not pluck you up, for I am sorry for the disaster that I have brought upon you.(F) 11 Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, as you have been; do not be afraid of him, says the Lord, for I am with you, to save you and to rescue you from his hand.(G) 12 I will grant you mercy, and he will have mercy on you and restore you to your native soil. 13 But if you continue to say, ‘We will not stay in this land,’ thus disobeying the voice of the Lord your God(H) 14 and saying, ‘No, we will go to the land of Egypt, where we shall not see war or hear the sound of the trumpet or be hungry for bread, and there we will stay,’(I) 15 then hear the word of the Lord, O remnant of Judah. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: If you are determined to enter Egypt and go to settle there,(J) 16 then the sword that you fear shall overtake you there, in the land of Egypt, and the famine that you dread shall follow close after you into Egypt, and there you shall die. 17 All the people who have determined to go to Egypt to settle there shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; they shall have no remnant or survivor from the disaster that I am bringing upon them.(K)

18 “For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Just 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. You shall become an object of execration and horror, of cursing and ridicule. You shall see this place no more.(L) 19 The Lord has said to you, ‘O remnant of Judah, Do not go to Egypt.’ Be well aware that I have warned you today(M) 20 that you have made a fatal mistake. For you yourselves sent me to the Lord your God, saying, ‘Pray for us to the Lord our God, and whatever the Lord our God says, tell us, and we will do it.’ 21 So I have told you today, but you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord your God in anything that he sent me to tell you.(N) 22 Be well aware, then, that you shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence in the place where you desire to go and settle.”(O)

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.

Exhortations

I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion,[a] help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my coworkers, whose names are in the book of life.(A)

Rejoice[b] in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.[c](B) Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.(C) Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.(D) And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.(E)

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about[d] these things. As for the things that you have learned and received and heard and noticed in me, do them, and the God of peace will be with you.(F)

Acknowledgment of the Philippians’ Gift

10 I rejoice[e] in the Lord greatly that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned for me but had no opportunity to show it.[f](G) 11 Not that I am referring to being in need, for I have learned to be content with whatever I have.(H) 12 I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need.(I) 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.(J) 14 In any case, it was kind of you to share my distress.

15 You Philippians indeed know that in the early days of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving except you alone.(K) 16 For even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me help for my needs more than once. 17 Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the profit[g] that accumulates to your account.(L) 18 I have been paid in full and have more than enough; I am fully satisfied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.(M) 19 And my God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.(N) 20 To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.(O)

Final Greetings and Benediction

21 Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers and sisters who are with me greet you. 22 All the saints greet you, especially those of the emperor’s household.

23 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.[h]

Footnotes

  1. 4.3 Or loyal Syzygus
  2. 4.4 Or Farewell
  3. 4.4 Or Farewell
  4. 4.8 Gk take account of
  5. 4.10 Gk I rejoiced
  6. 4.10 Gk lacks to show it
  7. 4.17 Gk fruit
  8. 4.23 Other ancient authorities add Amen

Taken to Egypt, Jeremiah Warns of Judgment

43 When Jeremiah finished speaking to all the people all the words of the Lord their God, with which the Lord their God had sent him to them, all these words,(A) Azariah son of Hoshaiah and Johanan son of Kareah and all the other insolent men said to Jeremiah, “You are telling a lie. The Lord our God did not send you to say, ‘Do not go to Egypt to settle there,’(B) but Baruch son of Neriah is inciting you against us, to hand us over to the Chaldeans, in order that they may kill us or take us into exile in Babylon.”(C) So Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces and all the people did not obey the voice of the Lord to stay in the land of Judah.(D) But Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces took all the remnant of Judah who had returned to settle in the land of Judah from all the nations to which they had been driven— the men, the women, the children, the princesses, and everyone whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan, also the prophet Jeremiah and Baruch son of Neriah.(E) And they came into the land of Egypt, for they did not obey the voice of the Lord. And they arrived at Tahpanhes.

Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes:(F) Take some large stones in your hands, and bury them in the clay pavement[a] that is at the entrance to Pharaoh’s palace in Tahpanhes. Let the Judeans see you do it, 10 and say to them, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I am going to send and take my servant King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, and I will set his throne above these stones that I have buried, and he will spread his royal canopy over them.(G) 11 He shall come and ravage the land of Egypt, giving

those who are destined for pestilence, to pestilence,
    and those who are destined for captivity, to captivity,
    and those who are destined for the sword, to the sword.(H)

12 “I shall kindle a fire in the temples of the gods of Egypt, and he shall burn them and carry them away captive, and he shall pick clean the land of Egypt as a shepherd picks his cloak clean of vermin, and he shall depart from there safely.(I) 13 He shall break the obelisks of Heliopolis, which is in the land of Egypt, and the temples of the gods of Egypt he shall burn with fire.”

Footnotes

  1. 43.9 Meaning of Heb uncertain

Some Greeks Wish to See Jesus

20 Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks.(A) 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went and told Andrew, then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23 Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.(B) 24 Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain, but if it dies it bears much fruit. 25 Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.(C) 26 Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.(D)

Jesus Speaks about His Death

27 “Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say: ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour.(E) 28 Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”(F) 29 The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” 30 Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out.(G) 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people[a] to myself.”(H) 33 He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die. 34 The crowd answered him, “We have heard from the law that the Messiah[b] remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?”(I) 35 Jesus said to them, “The light is in you[c] for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.”

The Unbelief of the People

After Jesus had said this, he departed and hid from them.(J) 37 Although he had performed so many signs in their presence, they did not believe in him. 38 This was to fulfill the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah:

“Lord, who has believed our message,
    and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”(K)

39 And so they could not believe, because Isaiah also said,

40 “He has blinded their eyes
    and hardened their heart,
so that they might not look with their eyes
    and understand with their heart and turn—
    and I would heal them.”(L)

41 Isaiah said this because[d] he saw his glory and spoke about him.(M) 42 Nevertheless many, even of the authorities, believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they did not confess it, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue,(N) 43 for they loved human glory more than the glory that comes from God.

Summary of Jesus’s Teaching

44 Then Jesus cried aloud: “Whoever believes in me believes not in me but in him who sent me.(O) 45 And whoever sees me sees him who sent me.(P) 46 I have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness.(Q) 47 I do not judge anyone who hears my words and does not keep them, for I came not to judge the world but to save the world.(R) 48 The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; on the last day the word that I have spoken will serve as judge,(S) 49 for I have not spoken on my own, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment about what to say and what to speak. 50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I speak, therefore, I speak just as the Father has told me.”

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Footnotes

  1. 12.32 Other ancient authorities read all things
  2. 12.34 Or the Christ
  3. 12.35 Other ancient authorities read with you
  4. 12.41 Other ancient witnesses read when