The Good Figs and the Bad Figs

24 ^(A)After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken into exile from Jerusalem ^(B)Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, together with ^(C)the officials of Judah, the craftsmen, and the metal workers, and had brought them to Babylon, the Lord showed me this vision: behold, ^(D)two baskets of figs placed before the temple of the Lord. ² One basket had very good figs, ^(E)like first-ripe figs, but the other basket had ^(F)very bad figs, so bad that they could not be eaten. ³ And the Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” I said, “Figs, the good figs very good, and the bad figs very bad, so bad that they cannot be eaten.”

⁴ Then the word of the Lord came to me: ⁵ “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Like these good figs, so I will regard as good the exiles from Judah, ^(G)whom I have sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans. ^6 (H)I will set my eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land. ^(I)I will build them up, and not tear them down; ^(J)I will plant them, and not pluck them up. ^7 (K)I will give them a heart to know that I am the Lord, ^(L)and they shall be my people ^(M)and I will be their God, ^(N)for they shall return to me with their whole heart.

⁸ “But thus says the Lord: Like ^(O)the bad figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten, so will I treat ^(P)Zedekiah the king of Judah, his officials, the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and those who ^(Q)dwell in the land of Egypt. ⁹ I will make them ^(R)a horror^[a] to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be ^(S)a reproach, ^(T)a byword, ^(U)a taunt, and ^(V)a curse in all the places where I shall drive them. ¹⁰ And I will send ^(W)sword, famine, and pestilence upon them, until they shall be utterly destroyed from the land that I gave to them and their fathers.”

Seventy Years of Captivity

25 ^(X)The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (that was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), ² which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem: ³ “For twenty-three years, ^(Y)from the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, to this day, the word of the Lord has come to me, and I have spoken ^(Z)persistently to you, ^(AA)but you have not listened. ^4 (AB)You have neither listened nor inclined your ears to hear, although the Lord ^(AC)persistently sent to you all his servants the prophets, ⁵ saying, ^(AD)‘Turn now, every one of you, ^(AE)from his evil way and evil deeds, and ^(AF)dwell upon the land that the Lord has given to you and your fathers from of old and forever. ^6 (AG)Do not go after other gods to serve and worship them, ^(AH)or provoke me to anger ^(AI)with the work of your hands. Then I will do you no harm.’ ^7 (AJ)Yet you have not listened to me, declares the Lord, ^(AK)that you might provoke me to anger ^(AL)with the work of your hands to your own harm.

⁸ “Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: Because you have not obeyed my words, ^9 (AM)behold, I will send for all the tribes of the north, declares the Lord, and for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, ^(AN)my servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all these surrounding nations. I will devote them to destruction, ^(AO)and make them a horror, a hissing, and an everlasting desolation. ¹⁰ Moreover, ^(AP)I will banish from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, ^(AQ)the grinding of the millstones and ^(AR)the light of the lamp. ^11 (AS)This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and ^(AT)these nations shall serve the king of Babylon ^(AU)seventy years. ¹² Then after ^(AV)seventy years are completed, ^(AW)I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, ^(AX)the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, declares the Lord, ^(AY)making the land an everlasting waste. ¹³ I will bring upon that land all the words that I have uttered against it, everything written ^(AZ)in this book, which Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations. ^14 (BA)For many nations ^(BB)and great kings shall make slaves even of them, ^(BC)and I will recompense them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.”

The Cup of the Lord's Wrath

¹⁵ Thus the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: ^(BD)“Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. ¹⁶ They shall drink and stagger and be crazed because of ^(BE)the sword that I am sending among them.”

¹⁷ So I took the cup from the Lord's hand, ^(BF)and made all the nations to whom the Lord sent me drink it: ^18 (BG)Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and officials, ^(BH)to make them a desolation and a waste, a hissing and a curse, as at this day; ^19 (BI)Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his officials, all his people, ²⁰ and ^(BJ)all the mixed tribes among them; all the kings of ^(BK)the land of Uz and all the kings of ^(BL)the land of the Philistines (^(BM)Ashkelon, ^(BN)Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of ^(BO)Ashdod); ^21 (BP)Edom, ^(BQ)Moab, and the sons of ^(BR)Ammon; ²² all the kings of ^(BS)Tyre, all the kings of ^(BT)Sidon, and the kings of the coastland across ^(BU)the sea; ^23 (BV)Dedan, ^(BW)Tema, ^(BX)Buz, and all who cut ^(BY)the corners of their hair; ²⁴ all the ^(BZ)kings of Arabia and all the kings of ^(CA)the mixed tribes who dwell in the desert; ²⁵ all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of ^(CB)Elam, and all the kings of ^(CC)Media; ²⁶ all the kings of ^(CD)the north, far and near, one after another, and all the kingdoms of the world that are on the face of the earth. And after them the king of ^(CE)Babylon^[b] shall drink.

²⁷ “Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ^(CF)Drink, be drunk and vomit, fall and rise no more, because of ^(CG)the sword that I am sending among you.’

²⁸ “And if they refuse to accept the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(CH)You must drink! ²⁹ For behold, ^(CI)I begin to work disaster at the city that is called by my name, and shall you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, ^(CJ)for I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth, declares the Lord of hosts.’

³⁰ “You, therefore, shall prophesy against them all these words, and say to them:

^33 (CQ)“And those pierced by the Lord on that day shall extend from one end of the earth to the other. ^(CR)They shall not be lamented, ^(CS)or gathered, or buried; ^(CT)they shall be dung on the surface of the ground.

Jeremiah Threatened with Death

26 ^(DF)In the beginning of the reign of ^(DG)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the Lord: ² “Thus says the Lord: ^(DH)Stand in the court of the Lord's house, and speak to all the cities of Judah that come to worship in the house of the Lord ^(DI)all the words that I command you to speak to them; ^(DJ)do not hold back a word. ^3 (DK)It may be they will listen, and every one turn from his evil way, ^(DL)that I may relent of the disaster that I intend to do to them ^(DM)because of their evil deeds. ⁴ You shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord: ^(DN)If you will not listen to me, to walk in my law that I have set before you, ^5 (DO)and to listen to the words of my servants the prophets whom I send to you ^(DP)urgently, ^(DQ)though you have not listened, ⁶ then I will make this house ^(DR)like Shiloh, and I will make this city ^(DS)a curse for all the nations of the earth.’”

^7 (DT)The priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord. ⁸ And when Jeremiah had finished speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, then ^(DU)the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold of him, saying, “You shall die! ⁹ Why have you prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘This house shall be ^(DV)like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate, ^(DW)without inhabitant’?” And all the people gathered around Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.

¹⁰ When ^(DX)the officials of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king's house to the house of the Lord and took their seat in the ^(DY)entry of the New Gate of the house of the Lord. ¹¹ Then ^(DZ)the priests and the prophets said to the officials and to all the people, ^(EA)“This man deserves the sentence of death, because he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your own ears.”

¹² Then Jeremiah spoke to all the officials and all the people, saying, “The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and this city all the words you have heard. ¹³ Now therefore ^(EB)mend your ways and your deeds, ^(EC)and obey the voice of the Lord your God, ^(ED)and the Lord will relent of the disaster that he has pronounced against you. ^14 (EE)But as for me, behold, I am in your hands. Do with me as seems good and right to you. ¹⁵ Only know for certain that if you put me to death, ^(EF)you will bring innocent blood upon yourselves and upon this city and its inhabitants, for in truth the Lord sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears.”

Jeremiah Spared from Death

^16 (EG)Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, ^(EH)“This man does not deserve the sentence of death, for he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.” ^17 (EI)And certain of ^(EJ)the elders of the land arose and spoke to all the assembled people, saying, ¹⁸ “Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and said to all the people of Judah: ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts,

¹⁹ Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? ^(EL)Did he not fear the Lord and entreat the favor of the Lord, ^(EM)and did not the Lord relent of the disaster that he had pronounced against them? ^(EN)But we are about to bring great disaster upon ourselves.”

²⁰ There was another man who prophesied in the name of the Lord, Uriah the son of Shemaiah from ^(EO)Kiriath-jearim. He prophesied against this city and against this land in words like those of Jeremiah. ²¹ And when ^(EP)King Jehoiakim, with all his warriors and all the officials, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death. But when Uriah heard of it, he was afraid and fled and escaped to Egypt. ²² Then ^(EQ)King Jehoiakim sent to Egypt certain men, ^(ER)Elnathan the son of ^(ES)Achbor and others with him, ²³ and they took Uriah from Egypt and brought him to King Jehoiakim, ^(ET)who struck him down with the sword and dumped his dead body into the burial place of the common people.

²⁴ But the hand of ^(EU)Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah so that he was not given over to the people to be put to death.

Mary Anoints Jesus at Bethany

12 Six days before ^(A)the Passover, ^(B)Jesus therefore came to Bethany, ^(C)where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. ² So they gave a dinner for him there. ^(D)Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. ^3 (E)Mary therefore took a pound^[a] of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. ⁴ But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, ⁵ “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii^[b] and ^(F)given to the poor?” ⁶ He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and ^(G)having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. ⁷ Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it^[c] for the day of my burial. ⁸ For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”

The Plot to Kill Lazarus

⁹ When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus^[d] was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, ^(H)whom he had raised from the dead. ^10 (I)So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, ¹¹ because ^(J)on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.

The Triumphal Entry

¹² The next day ^(K)the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. ¹³ So they took branches of ^(L)palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, ^(M)“Hosanna! Blessed is ^(N)he who comes in the name of the Lord, even ^(O)the King of Israel!” ¹⁴ And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,

^16 (Q)His disciples did not understand these things at first, but ^(R)when Jesus was glorified, then ^(S)they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. ^17 (T)The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. ¹⁸ The reason why the crowd went to meet him ^(U)was that they heard he had done this sign. ¹⁹ So the Pharisees said to one another, ^(V)“You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, ^(W)the world has gone after him.”

Some Greeks Seek Jesus

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

The Son of Man Must Be Lifted Up

^27 (AL)“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, ^(AM)save me from ^(AN)this hour’? But ^(AO)for this purpose I have come to ^(AP)this hour. ²⁸ Father, glorify your name.” Then ^(AQ)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, ^(AR)“An angel has spoken to him.” ³⁰ Jesus answered, ^(AS)“This voice has come for your sake, not mine. ^31 (AT)Now is the judgment of this world; now will ^(AU)the ruler of this world ^(AV)be cast out. ³² And I, ^(AW)when I am lifted up from the earth, ^(AX)will draw ^(AY)all people to myself.” ³³ He said this ^(AZ)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 ^(BA)the Christ remains forever. How can you say that ^(BB)the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” ³⁵ So Jesus said to them, ^(BC)“The light is among you ^(BD)for a little while longer. ^(BE)Walk while you have the light, lest darkness ^(BF)overtake you. ^(BG)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 ^(BH)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 (BI)so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

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

⁴¹ Isaiah said these things because ^(BN)he saw his glory and ^(BO)spoke of him. ⁴² Nevertheless, ^(BP)many even of the authorities believed in him, but ^(BQ)for fear of the Pharisees they did not ^(BR)confess it, so that they would not be ^(BS)put out of the synagogue; ^43 (BT)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, ^(BU)“Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but ^(BV)in him who sent me. ⁴⁵ And ^(BW)whoever ^(BX)sees me sees him who sent me. ^46 (BY)I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. ⁴⁷ If anyone ^(BZ)hears my words and does not keep them, ^(CA)I do not judge him; for ^(CB)I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. ^48 (CC)The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; ^(CD)the word that I have spoken will judge him ^(CE)on the last day. ⁴⁹ For ^(CF)I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father ^(CG)who sent me has himself given me ^(CH)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.”