Denunciation of Persistent Idolatry

44 The word that came to Jeremiah for all the Judeans living in the land of Egypt, at Migdol, at Tahpanhes, at Memphis, and in the land of Pathros:^{(A) 2} Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: You yourselves have seen all the disaster that I have brought on Jerusalem and on all the towns of Judah. Look at them; today they are a desolation, without an inhabitant in them,^{(B) 3} because of the wickedness that they committed, provoking me to anger, in that they went to make offerings to and serve other gods that they had not known, neither they, nor you, nor your ancestors.^{(C) 4} Yet I persistently sent to you all my servants the prophets, saying, “I beg you not to do this abominable thing that I hate!”^{(D) 5} But they did not listen or incline their ear, to turn from their wickedness and make no offerings to other gods. ⁶ So my wrath and my anger were poured out and kindled in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, and they became a waste and a desolation, as they still are today.^{(E) 7} And now thus says the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel: Why are you doing such great harm to yourselves, to cut off man and woman, child and infant, from the midst of Judah, leaving yourselves without a remnant?^{(F) 8} Why do you provoke me to anger with the works of your hands, making offerings to other gods in the land of Egypt, where you have come to settle? Will you be cut off and become an object of cursing and ridicule among all the nations of the earth?^{(G) 9} Have you forgotten the crimes of your ancestors, of the kings of Judah, of their^[a] wives, your own crimes and those of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?^{(H) 10} They have shown no contrition or fear to this day, nor have they walked in my law and my statutes that I set before you and before your ancestors.^(I)

¹¹ Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I am determined to bring disaster on you, to bring all Judah to an end.^{(J) 12} I will take the remnant of Judah who are determined to come to the land of Egypt to settle, and they shall perish, everyone; in the land of Egypt they shall fall; by the sword and by famine they shall perish; from the least to the greatest, they shall die by the sword and by famine; and they shall become an object of execration and horror, of cursing and ridicule.^{(K) 13} I will punish those who live in the land of Egypt as I have punished Jerusalem, with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, ¹⁴ so that none of the remnant of Judah who have come to settle in the land of Egypt shall escape or survive or return to the land of Judah. Although they long to go back to live there, they shall not go back, except some fugitives.^(L)

Salutation

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

² To the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in Colossae:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father.^[a]

Paul Thanks God for the Colossians

³ In our prayers for you we always thank God, the^[b] Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,^{(A) 4} for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints,^{(B) 5} because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth, the gospel^{(C) 6} that has come to you. Just as it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world, so it has been bearing fruit among yourselves from the day you heard it and truly comprehended the grace of God.^{(D) 7} This you learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on our^[c] behalf,^{(E) 8} and he has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

⁹ For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s^[d] will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,^{(F) 10} so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God.^{(G) 11} May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, so that you may have all endurance and patience, joyfully^{(H) 12} giving thanks to the Father,^[e] who has enabled^[f] you^[g] to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. ¹³ He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son,^{(I) 14} in whom we have redemption,^[h] the forgiveness of sins.

The Supremacy of Christ

¹⁵ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation,^{(J) 16} for in^[i] him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. ¹⁷ He himself is before all things, and in^[j] him all things hold together. ¹⁸ He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything.^{(K) 19} For in him all the fullness of God^[k] was pleased to dwell, ²⁰ and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.^(L)

¹⁵ Then all the men who were aware that their wives had been making offerings to other gods and all the women who stood by, a great assembly, all the people who lived in Pathros in the land of Egypt, answered Jeremiah:^{(A) 16} “As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord, we are not going to listen to you.^{(B) 17} Instead, we will do everything that we have vowed, make offerings to the queen of heaven and pour out libations to her, just as we and our ancestors, our kings and our officials, used to do in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. We used to have plenty of food and prospered and saw no misfortune.^{(C) 18} But from the time we stopped making offerings to the queen of heaven and pouring out libations to her, we have lacked everything and have perished by the sword and by famine.”^{(D) 19} And the women said,^[a] “Indeed we will go on making offerings to the queen of heaven and pouring out libations to her; do you think that we made cakes for her, marked with her image, and poured out libations to her without our husbands’ being involved?”^(E)

²⁰ Then Jeremiah said to all the people, men and women, all the people who were giving him this answer: ²¹ “As for the offerings that you made in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your ancestors, your kings and your officials, and the people of the land, did not the Lord remember them? Did it not come into his mind?^{(F) 22} The Lord could no longer bear the sight of your evil doings, the abominations that you committed; therefore your land became a desolation and a waste and a curse, without inhabitant, as it is to this day.^{(G) 23} It is because you burned offerings 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 decrees that this disaster has befallen you, as is still evident today.”^(H)

²⁴ Jeremiah said to all the people and all the women, “Hear the word of the Lord, all you Judeans who are in the land of Egypt,^{(I) 25} Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: You and your wives have accomplished in deeds what you declared in words, saying, ‘We are determined to perform the vows that we have made, to make offerings to the queen of heaven and to pour out libations to her.’ By all means, keep your vows and make your libations!^{(J) 26} Therefore hear the word of the Lord, all you Judeans who live in the land of Egypt: I swear by my great name, says the Lord, that my name shall no longer be pronounced on the lips of any of the people of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, ‘As the Lord God lives.’^{(K) 27} I am going to watch over them for harm and not for good; all the people of Judah who are in the land of Egypt shall perish by the sword and by famine until not one is left.^{(L) 28} And those who escape the sword shall return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah, few in number, and all the remnant of Judah who have come to the land of Egypt to settle shall know whose words will stand, mine or theirs!^{(M) 29} This shall be the sign to you, says the Lord, that I am going to punish you in this place, in order that you may know that my words of disaster against you will surely be carried out:^{(N) 30} Thus says the Lord, I am going to give Pharaoh Hophra, king of Egypt, into the hands of his enemies, those who seek his life, just as I gave King Zedekiah of Judah into the hand of King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, his enemy who sought his life.”^(O)

Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet

13 Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.^{(A) 2} The devil had already decided^[a] that Judas son of Simon Iscariot would betray Jesus. And during supper^{(B) 3} Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands and that he had come from God and was going to God,^{(C) 4} got up from supper, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself.^{(D) 5} Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. ⁶ He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” ⁷ Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” ⁸ Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.”^{(E) 9} Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” ¹⁰ Jesus said to him, “One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet,^[b] but is entirely clean. And you^[c] are clean, though not all of you.” ¹¹ For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, “Not all of you are clean.”^(F)

¹² After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had reclined again, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? ¹³ You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for that is what I am.^{(G) 14} So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.^{(H) 15} For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.^{(I) 16} Very truly, I tell you, slaves are not greater than their master, nor are messengers^[d] greater than the one who sent them.^{(J) 17} If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. ¹⁸ I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But it is to fulfill the scripture, ‘The one who ate my bread^[e] has lifted his heel against me.’^{(K) 19} I tell you this now, before it occurs, so that when it does occur you may believe that I am he.^{[f](L) 20} Very truly, I tell you, whoever receives one whom I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.”^(M)

Jesus Foretells His Betrayal

²¹ After saying this Jesus was troubled in spirit and declared, “Very truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me.”^{(N) 22} The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he was speaking. ²³ One of his disciples—the one whom Jesus loved—was reclining close to his heart;^{[g](O) 24} Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. ²⁵ So while reclining next to Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?”^{(P) 26} Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.”^[h] So when he had dipped the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot.^{[i](Q) 27} After he received the piece of bread, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “Do quickly what you are going to do.”^{(R) 28} Now no one knew why he said this to him. ²⁹ Some thought that, because Judas had the common purse, Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need for the festival,” or that he should give something to the poor. ³⁰ So, after receiving the piece of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night.

The New Commandment

³¹ When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him.^{(S) 32} If God has been glorified in him,^[j] God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. ³³ Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’^{(T) 34} I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.^{(U) 35} By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”^(V)

Jesus Foretells Peter’s Denial

³⁶ Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered, “Where I am going, you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.”^{(W) 37} Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”^{(X) 38} Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Very truly, I tell you, before the cock crows, you will have denied me three times.