Judgment for Idolatry

44 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Judeans who lived in the land of Egypt, at ^(A)Migdol, at ^(B)Tahpanhes, at Memphis, and in the land of ^(C)Pathros, ² “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: You have seen all the disaster that I brought upon Jerusalem and upon all the cities of Judah. Behold, this day ^(D)they are a desolation, and no one dwells in them, ³ because of the evil that they committed, ^(E)provoking me to anger, ^(F)in that they went to make offerings ^(G)and serve other gods that they knew not, neither they, nor you, nor your fathers. ^4 (H)Yet I persistently sent to you all my servants the prophets, saying, ‘Oh, do not do this abomination that I hate!’ ^5 (I)But they did not listen ^(J)or incline their ear, to turn from their evil and make no offerings to other gods. ^6 (K)Therefore my wrath and my anger were poured out and kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, ^(L)and they became a waste and a desolation, as at this day. ⁷ And now thus says the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel: Why do you commit this great evil ^(M)against yourselves, to cut off from you ^(N)man and woman, ^(O)infant and child, from the midst of Judah, leaving you no remnant? ^8 (P)Why do you provoke me to anger with the works of your hands, ^(Q)making offerings to other gods in the land of Egypt where you have come to live, so that you may be cut off and become ^(R)a curse and a taunt among all the nations of the earth? ⁹ Have you forgotten the evil of your fathers, ^(S)the evil of the kings of Judah, ^(T)the evil of their^[a] wives, your own evil, ^(U)and the evil of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? ¹⁰ They have not humbled themselves even to this day, ^(V)nor have they feared, nor walked in my law and my statutes that I set before you and before your fathers.

¹¹ “Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ^(W)Behold, I will set my face against you for harm, to cut off all Judah. ¹² I will take the remnant of Judah who have ^(X)set their faces to come to the land of Egypt to live, and they shall all be consumed. ^(Y)In the land of Egypt they shall fall; by the sword and by famine ^(Z)they shall be consumed. ^(AA)From the least to the greatest, they shall die by the sword and by famine, ^(AB)and they shall become an oath, a horror, ^(AC)a curse, and a taunt. ^13 (AD)I will punish those who dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, ^14 (AE)so that none of the remnant of Judah who have come to live in the land of Egypt shall escape or survive ^(AF)or return to the land of Judah, to which they desire to return to dwell there. For they shall not return, ^(AG)except some fugitives.”

Greeting

1 Paul, ^(A)an apostle of Christ Jesus ^(B)by the will of God, and Timothy ^(C)our brother,

² To the ^(D)saints and faithful brothers^[a] in Christ at Colossae:

^(E)Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

Thanksgiving and Prayer

^3 (F)We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, ⁴ since we heard of ^(G)your faith in Christ Jesus and of ^(H)the love that you have for all the saints, ⁵ because of ^(I)the hope ^(J)laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in ^(K)the word of the truth, the gospel, ⁶ which has come to you, as indeed ^(L)in the whole world it is ^(M)bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you ^(N)heard it and understood ^(O)the grace of God in truth, ⁷ just as you learned it from ^(P)Epaphras our beloved ^(Q)fellow servant.^[b] He is ^(R)a faithful minister of Christ on your^[c] behalf ⁸ and has made known to us your ^(S)love in the Spirit.

⁹ And so, ^(T)from the day we heard, ^(U)we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that ^(V)you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all ^(W)spiritual wisdom and understanding, ¹⁰ so as ^(X)to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, ^(Y)fully pleasing to him: ^(Z)bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; ^11 (AA)being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for ^(AB)all endurance and patience ^(AC)with joy; ^12 (AD)giving thanks^[d] to the Father, who has qualified you^[e] to share in ^(AE)the inheritance of the saints in light. ¹³ He ^(AF)has delivered us from ^(AG)the domain of darkness and transferred us to ^(AH)the kingdom of ^(AI)his beloved Son, ^14 (AJ)in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

The Preeminence of Christ

^15 (AK)He is the image of ^(AL)the invisible God, ^(AM)the firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶ For by^[f] him all things were created, ^(AN)in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether ^(AO)thrones or ^(AP)dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created ^(AQ)through him and for him. ¹⁷ And ^(AR)he is before all things, and in him all things ^(AS)hold together. ¹⁸ And ^(AT)he is the head of the body, the church. He is ^(AU)the beginning, ^(AV)the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. ¹⁹ For ^(AW)in him all the ^(AX)fullness of God was pleased to dwell, ²⁰ and ^(AY)through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, ^(AZ)making peace ^(BA)by the blood of his cross.

¹⁵ Then all the men who knew that ^(A)their wives had made offerings to other gods, and all the women who stood by, a great assembly, all the people who lived in ^(B)Pathros in the land of Egypt, answered Jeremiah: ¹⁶ “As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord, ^(C)we will not listen to you. ^17 (D)But we will do everything that we have vowed, make offerings to ^(E)the queen of heaven ^(F)and pour out drink offerings to her, ^(G)as we did, both we and our fathers, our kings and our officials, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, and prospered, and saw no disaster. ¹⁸ But since we left off making offerings to ^(H)the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything ^(I)and have been consumed by the sword and by famine.” ¹⁹ And the women said,^[a] “When we made offerings to the queen of heaven ^(J)and poured out drink offerings to her, was it ^(K)without our husbands' approval that we made cakes for her bearing her image and poured out drink offerings to her?”

²⁰ Then Jeremiah said to all the people, ^(L)men and women, all the people who had given him this answer: ^21 (M)“As for the offerings that you offered in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your fathers, your kings and your officials, and the people of the land, ^(N)did not the Lord remember them? Did it not come into his mind? ^22 (O)The Lord could no longer bear your evil deeds and ^(P)the abominations that you committed. ^(Q)Therefore your land has become ^(R)a desolation and a waste and a curse, ^(S)without inhabitant, as it is this day. ²³ It is because you made offerings ^(T)and because you sinned against the Lord and did not obey the voice of the Lord or walk in his law and in his statutes and in his testimonies ^(U)that this disaster has happened to you, as at this day.”

²⁴ Jeremiah said to all the people and all the women, “Hear the word of the Lord, ^(V)all you of Judah who are in the land of Egypt. ²⁵ Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ^(W)You and your wives have declared with your mouths, and have fulfilled it with your hands, saying, ‘We will surely perform our vows that we have made, ^(X)to make offerings to the queen of heaven and to pour out drink offerings to her.’ Then confirm your vows and perform your vows! ²⁶ Therefore hear the word of the Lord, ^(Y)all you of Judah who dwell in the land of Egypt: ^(Z)Behold, I have sworn by my great name, says the Lord, ^(AA)that my name shall no more be invoked by the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, ^(AB)saying, ‘As the Lord God lives.’ ^27 (AC)Behold, I am watching over them for disaster and not for good. ^(AD)All the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, until there is an end of them. ^28 (AE)And those who escape the sword shall return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah, ^(AF)few in number; and all the remnant of Judah, who came to the land of Egypt to live, ^(AG)shall know whose word will stand, mine or theirs. ²⁹ This shall be the sign to you, declares the Lord, that I will punish you in this place, in order that you may know that ^(AH)my words will surely stand against you for harm: ³⁰ Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will give ^(AI)Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies ^(AJ)and into the hand of those who seek his life, as I gave ^(AK)Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who was his enemy and sought his life.”

Jesus Washes the Disciples' Feet

13 Now ^(A)before ^(B)the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that ^(C)his hour had come ^(D)to depart out of this world to the Father, ^(E)having loved ^(F)his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. ² During supper, when ^(G)the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, ³ Jesus, knowing ^(H)that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that ^(I)he had come from God and ^(J)was going back to God, ⁴ rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, ^(K)tied it around his waist. ⁵ Then he ^(L)poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. ⁶ He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” ^7 (M)Jesus answered him, “What I am doing ^(N)you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” ^8 (O)Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, ^(P)“If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” ⁹ Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” ¹⁰ Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, ^(Q)except for his feet,^[a] but is completely clean. And ^(R)you^[b] are clean, ^(S)but not every one of you.” ^11 (T)For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

¹² When he had washed their feet and ^(U)put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, ^(V)“Do you understand what I have done to you? ^13 (W)You call me ^(X)Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. ¹⁴ If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, ^(Y)you also ought to wash one another's feet. ¹⁵ For I have given you an example, ^(Z)that you also should do just as I have done to you. ¹⁶ Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(AA)a servant^[c] is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷ If you know these things, ^(AB)blessed are you if you do them. ^18 (AC)I am not speaking of all of you; I know ^(AD)whom I have chosen. But ^(AE)the Scripture will be fulfilled,^{[d] (AF)}‘He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.’ ^19 (AG)I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he. ²⁰ Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(AH)whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.”

One of You Will Betray Me

²¹ After saying these things, ^(AI)Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, ^(AJ)“Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(AK)one of you will betray me.” ^22 (AL)The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. ^23 (AM)One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table ^(AN)at Jesus' side,^{[e] 24} so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus^[f] of whom he was speaking. ^25 (AO)So that disciple, ^(AP)leaning back against Jesus, said to him, “Lord, who is it?” ²⁶ Jesus answered, ^(AQ)“It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread ^(AR)when I have dipped it.” So when he had dipped the morsel, ^(AS)he gave it to Judas, ^(AT)the son of Simon Iscariot. ²⁷ Then after he had taken the morsel, ^(AU)Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, ^(AV)“What you are going to do, do quickly.” ²⁸ Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. ²⁹ Some thought that, ^(AW)because Judas had the moneybag, Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need ^(AX)for the feast,” or that he should ^(AY)give something to the poor. ³⁰ So, after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out. ^(AZ)And it was night.

A New Commandment

³¹ When he had gone out, Jesus said, ^(BA)“Now is the Son of Man glorified, and ^(BB)God is glorified in him. ³² If God is glorified in him, ^(BC)God will also glorify him in himself, and ^(BD)glorify him at once. ³³ Little children, ^(BE)yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just ^(BF)as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’ ^34 (BG)A new commandment ^(BH)I give to you, ^(BI)that you love one another: ^(BJ)just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. ^35 (BK)By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Jesus Foretells Peter's Denial

³⁶ Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” ^(BL)Jesus answered him, “Where I am going ^(BM)you cannot follow me now, ^(BN)but you will follow afterward.” ^37 (BO)Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” ³⁸ Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(BP)the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.