¹¹ The word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see a branch of an almond tree.”^{(A) 12} Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching^[a] over my word to perform it.” ¹³ The word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling pot, tilted away from the north.”^(B)

¹⁴ Then the Lord said to me: “Out of the north disaster shall break out on all the inhabitants of the land.^{(C) 15} For now I am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, says the Lord, and they shall come, and all of them shall set their thrones at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its surrounding walls and against all the cities of Judah.^{(D) 16} And I will utter my judgments against them for all their wickedness in forsaking me; they have made offerings to other gods and worshiped the works of their own hands.^{(E) 17} But you, gird up your loins; stand up and tell them everything that I command you. Do not break down before them, or I will break you before them.^{(F) 18} And I for my part have made you today a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land.^{(G) 19} They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, says the Lord, to deliver you.”^(H)

Salutation

1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, ² which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures,^{(A) 3} the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh^{(B) 4} and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit^[a] of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,^{(C) 5} through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the gentiles for the sake of his name,^{(D) 6} including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,

⁷ To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.^(E)

Prayer of Thanksgiving

⁸ First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed throughout the world.^{(F) 9} For God, whom I serve with my spirit by announcing the gospel^[b] of his Son, is my witness that without ceasing I remember you always in my prayers,^{(G) 10} asking that by God’s will I may somehow at last succeed in coming to you. ¹¹ For I long to see you so that I may share with you some spiritual gift so that you may be strengthened— ¹² or rather so that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. ¹³ I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you, as I have among the rest of the gentiles. ¹⁴ I am obligated both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish, ¹⁵ hence my eagerness to proclaim the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

²⁷ Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you want?” or, “Why are you speaking with her?” ²⁸ Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, ²⁹ “Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah,^[a] can he?”^{(A) 30} They left the city and were on their way to him.

³¹ Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.” ³² But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” ³³ So the disciples said to one another, “Surely no one has brought him something to eat?” ³⁴ Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work.^{(B) 35} Do you not say, ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest’? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting.^{(C) 36} The reaper is already receiving^[b] wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together.^{(D) 37} For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’^{(E) 38} I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

³⁹ Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I have ever done.”^{(F) 40} So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. ⁴¹ And many more believed because of his word. ⁴² They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world.”^(G)