Jeremiah’s Message for Zedekiah

21 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord when ^(A)King Zedekiah sent to him ^(B)Pashhur the son of Malchijah and ^(C)Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, saying, ² “Please ^(D)inquire of the Lord in our behalf, because ^(E)Nebuchadnezzar king of ^(F)Babylon is making war against us; perhaps the Lord will deal with us ^(G)in accordance with all His ^[a]wonderful acts, so that the enemy will withdraw from us.”

³ But Jeremiah said to them, “You shall say to Zedekiah as follows: ⁴ ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: “Behold, I am going to ^(H)turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, with which you are making war against the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the wall; and I will ^(I)gather them into the middle of this city. ⁵ And I ^(J)Myself will make war against you with an ^(K)outstretched hand and a mighty arm, and in ^(L)anger, wrath, and great indignation. ⁶ I will also strike the inhabitants of this city, both the people and the animals; they will die of a great ^(M)plague. ⁷ Then afterward,” declares the Lord, “^(N)I will hand Zedekiah king of Judah, his servants, and the people, that is, those who survive in this city from the plague, the sword, and the famine, over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, to their enemies, and to those who seek their lives; and he will strike and kill them with the edge of the sword. He ^(O)will not spare them nor have pity nor compassion.”’

⁸ “You shall also say to this people, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Behold, I am ^(P)setting before you the way of life and the way of death. ⁹ Anyone who ^(Q)stays in this city will die by the ^(R)sword, by famine, or by plague; but anyone who leaves and goes over to the Chaldeans who are besieging you will live, and he will have his own life as plunder. ¹⁰ For I have ^(S)set My face against this city for harm and not for good,” declares the Lord. “It will be ^(T)handed over to the king of Babylon and he will ^(U)burn it with fire.”’

¹¹ “Then say to the household of the ^(V)king of Judah, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, ^12 (W)house of David, this is what the Lord says:

Baskets of Figs and the Returnees

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

⁴ Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ⁵ “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Like these good figs, so I will regard ^(F)as good the captives of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans. ⁶ For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will ^(G)bring them back to this land; and I will ^(H)build them up and not overthrow them, and I will ^(I)plant them and not uproot them. ⁷ I will also give them a ^(J)heart to know Me, for I am the Lord; and they will be ^(K)My people, and I will be their God, for they will ^(L)return to Me wholeheartedly.

⁸ ‘But like the ^(M)bad figs which cannot be eaten due to rottenness,’ indeed, this is what the Lord says, ‘so will I give up ^(N)Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials, and the ^(O)remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and the ones who live in the land of ^(P)Egypt. ⁹ I will ^(Q)make them an object of terror and an evil for all the kingdoms of the earth, as a ^(R)disgrace and a proverb, a taunt and a ^(S)curse in all the places where I will scatter them. ¹⁰ And I will send the ^(T)sword, the famine, and the plague upon them until they are eliminated from the land which I gave to them and their forefathers.’”

The Nations to Submit to Nebuchadnezzar

27 In the beginning of the reign of ^[a](A)Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying— ² this is what the Lord has said to me: “Make for yourself ^(B)restraints and ^(C)yokes and put them on your neck, ³ and send ^[b]word to the king of ^(D)Edom, the king of ^(E)Moab, the king of the sons of ^(F)Ammon, the king of ^(G)Tyre, and to the king of ^(H)Sidon ^[c]by the messengers who come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. ⁴ Order them to go to their masters, saying, ‘This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “This is what you shall say to your masters: ⁵ ‘^(I)I have made the earth, mankind, and the animals which are on the face of the earth ^(J)by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and I will ^(K)give it to the one who is ^[d]pleasing in My sight. ⁶ And now I ^(L)have handed all these lands over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, ^(M)My servant, and I have also given him the ^(N)animals of the field to serve him. ^7 (O)All the nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson ^(P)until the time of his own land comes; then ^(Q)many nations and great kings will ^[e]make him their servant.

⁸ ‘And it will be that the nation or the kingdom which ^(R)will not serve him, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and will not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with the ^(S)sword, with famine, and with plague,’ declares the Lord, ‘until I have eliminated ^[f]it by his hand. ⁹ And as for you, ^(T)do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your ^[g]dreamers, your soothsayers, or your sorcerers who talk to you, saying, “You will not serve the king of Babylon.” ¹⁰ For they are prophesying a ^(U)lie to you in order to ^(V)remove you far from your land; and I will drive you away and you will perish. ¹¹ But the nation that will ^(W)bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will ^(X)let remain on its land,’ declares the Lord, ‘and they will cultivate it and live in it.’”’”

¹² I spoke words like all these to ^(Y)Zedekiah king of Judah, saying, “Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him and his people, and live! ¹³ Why should you ^(Z)die, you and your people, by the sword, famine, and plague, as the Lord has spoken to the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? ¹⁴ So ^(AA)do not listen to the words of the prophets who talk to you, saying, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they are prophesying a ^(AB)lie to you; ¹⁵ for ^(AC)I have not sent them,” declares the Lord, “but they are ^(AD)prophesying falsely in My name, so that I will ^(AE)drive you away and that you will perish, ^(AF)you and the prophets who prophesy to you.”

¹⁶ Then I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying: “This is what the Lord says: ‘Do not listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying, “Behold, the ^(AG)vessels of the Lord’s house will now shortly be brought back from Babylon”; for they are prophesying a ^(AH)lie to you. ¹⁷ Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon, and live! Why should this city ^(AI)become a place of ruins? ¹⁸ But ^(AJ)if they are prophets, and if the word of the Lord is with them, have them now ^(AK)plead with the Lord of armies that the vessels which are left in the house of the Lord and the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem do not go to Babylon. ¹⁹ For this is what the Lord of armies says concerning the ^(AL)pillars, concerning the ^[h]sea, concerning the kettle stands, and concerning the rest of the vessels that are left in this city, ²⁰ which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take when he ^(AM)led into exile Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem— ²¹ Yes, this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, says concerning the vessels that are left in the house of the Lord and in the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem: ²² “They will be ^(AN)brought to Babylon and will be there until the ^(AO)day I visit them,” declares the Lord. “Then I will ^(AP)bring them ^[i]back and restore them to this place.”’”

Thanksgiving for the Lord’s Saving Goodness.

Christ Is Our Advocate

2 ^(A)My little children, I am ^(B)writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, ^(C)we have an ^[a](D)Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; ² and He Himself is ^(E)the ^[b]propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also ^(F)for the sins of the whole world.

^3 (G)By this we know that we have come to ^(H)know Him, if we ^(I)keep His commandments. ⁴ The one who says, “^(J)I have come to ^(K)know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a ^(L)liar, and ^(M)the truth is not in him; ⁵ but whoever ^(N)follows His word, in him the ^(O)love of God has truly been perfected. ^(P)By this we know that we are in Him: ⁶ the one who says that he ^(Q)remains in Him ^(R)ought, himself also, walk just as He walked.

^7 (S)Beloved, I am ^(T)not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had ^(U)from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard. ^8 [c]On the other hand, I am writing ^(V)a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because ^(W)the darkness is passing away and ^(X)the true Light is already shining. ⁹ The one who says that he is in the Light and yet ^(Y)hates his ^(Z)brother or sister is in the darkness until now. ^10 (AA)The one who loves his brother and sister remains in the Light, and there is nothing in him to cause stumbling. ¹¹ But the one who ^(AB)hates his brother or sister is in the darkness and ^(AC)walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has ^(AD)blinded his eyes.

¹² I am writing to you, ^(AE)little children, because ^(AF)your sins have been forgiven you on account of His name. ¹³ I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him ^(AG)who has been from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because ^(AH)you have overcome ^(AI)the evil one. I have written to you, children, because ^(AJ)you know the Father. ¹⁴ I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him ^(AK)who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are ^(AL)strong, and the ^(AM)word of God remains in you, and ^(AN)you have overcome the evil one.

Do Not Love the World

¹⁵ Do not love ^(AO)the world nor the things in the world. ^(AP)If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world, ^(AQ)the lust of the flesh and ^(AR)the lust of the eyes and ^(AS)the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. ^17 (AT)The world is passing away and also its lusts; but the one who ^(AU)does the will of God continues to live forever.

¹⁸ Children, ^(AV)it is the last hour; and just as you heard that ^(AW)antichrist is coming, ^(AX)even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. ^19 (AY)They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, ^(AZ)so that ^[d]it would be evident that they all are not of us. ^20 [e]But you have an ^(BA)anointing from ^(BB)the Holy One, and ^(BC)you all know. ²¹ I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but ^(BD)because you do know it, and ^[f]because no lie is ^(BE)of the truth. ²² Who is the liar except ^(BF)the one who denies that Jesus is the ^[g]Christ? This is ^(BG)the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. ^23 (BH)Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also. ²⁴ As for you, see that what you heard ^(BI)from the beginning remains in you. If what you heard from the beginning remains in you, you also ^(BJ)will remain in the Son and in the Father.

The Promise Is Eternal Life

^25 (BK)This is the promise which He Himself ^[h]made to us: eternal life.

²⁶ These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to ^(BL)deceive you. ²⁷ And as for you, the ^(BM)anointing which you received from Him remains in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing ^(BN)teaches you about all things, and is ^(BO)true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, ^[i]you remain in Him.

²⁸ Now, ^(BP)little children, remain in Him, so that when He ^(BQ)appears, we may have ^(BR)confidence and ^(BS)not ^[j]draw back from Him in shame ^[k]at His ^(BT)coming. ²⁹ If you know that ^(BU)He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness also ^(BV)has been born of Him.