Cities of Judah Warned

26 In the beginning of the reign of ^(A)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the Lord, saying, ² “This is what the Lord says: ‘^(B)Stand in the courtyard of the Lord’s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah who have ^(C)come to worship in the Lord’s house ^(D)all the words that I have commanded you to speak to them. ^(E)Do not omit a word! ^3 (F)Perhaps they will listen and everyone will turn from his evil way, and ^(G)I will relent of the disaster which I am planning to inflict on them because of the evil of their deeds.’ ⁴ And you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says: “^(H)If you do not listen to Me, to ^(I)walk in My Law which I have set before you, ⁵ to listen to the words of ^(J)My servants the prophets, whom I have been sending to you again and again, but you have not listened; ⁶ then I will make this house like ^(K)Shiloh, and I will make this city a ^(L)curse to all the nations of the earth.”’”

A Plot to Murder Jeremiah

⁷ The ^(M)priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord. ⁸ Yet when Jeremiah finished speaking everything that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, “^(N)You must die! ⁹ Why have you prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘This house will be like Shiloh and this city will be ^(O)in ruins, without inhabitant’?” And ^(P)all the people gathered to Jeremiah at the house of the Lord.

¹⁰ When the ^(Q)officials of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to the house of the Lord and sat at the ^(R)entrance of the New Gate of the Lord’s house. ¹¹ Then the priests and the prophets ^(S)spoke to the officials and to all the people, saying, “A ^(T)death sentence for this man! For he has prophesied ^(U)against this city, just as you have heard with your own ears!”

¹² Then Jeremiah spoke to all the officials and to all the people, saying, “^(V)The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that you have heard. ¹³ Now then, ^(W)reform your ways and your deeds and obey the voice of the Lord your God; and the Lord will relent of the disaster which He has pronounced against you. ¹⁴ But as for me, behold, ^(X)I am in your hands; do with me as is good and right in your sight. ¹⁵ Only know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring ^(Y)innocent blood on yourselves, and on this city and its inhabitants; for truly the Lord has sent me to you to speak all these words ^[a]so that you hear them.”

Jeremiah Is Spared

¹⁶ Then the officials and all the people ^(Z)said to the priests and the prophets, “No ^(AA)death sentence for this man! For he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.” ¹⁷ Then ^(AB)some of the elders of the land rose up and spoke to all the assembly of the people, saying, ¹⁸ “^[b](AC)Micah of Moresheth used to prophesy in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah; and he spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, ‘This is what the Lord of armies has said:

¹⁹ Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah actually put him to death? Did he not ^(AF)fear the Lord and plead for the favor of the Lord, and ^(AG)the Lord relented of the disaster which He had pronounced against them? But we are ^(AH)committing a great evil against our own lives!”

²⁰ Indeed, there was also a man who used to prophesy in the name of the Lord, Uriah the son of Shemaiah from ^(AI)Kiriath-jearim; and he prophesied against this city and against this land words similar to all those of Jeremiah. ²¹ When King Jehoiakim and all his warriors and all the officials heard his words, then the ^(AJ)king sought to put him to death; but Uriah heard about it, and he was afraid, so he ^(AK)fled and went to Egypt. ²² Then King Jehoiakim sent men to Egypt: ^(AL)Elnathan the son of Achbor and certain men with him, to Egypt. ²³ And they brought Uriah from Egypt and led him to King Jehoiakim, who ^(AM)killed him with a sword and threw his dead body into the ^[d]burial place of the ^[e]common people.

²⁴ But the hand of ^(AN)Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, so that he was ^(AO)not handed over to the people to put him to death.

The Rechabites’ Obedience

35 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the days of ^(A)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying, ² “Go to the house of the ^(B)Rechabites and speak to them, and bring them into the house of the Lord, into one of the ^(C)chambers, and give them wine to drink.” ³ So I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons, and all the household of the Rechabites, ⁴ and I brought them into the house of the Lord, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, the ^(D)man of God, which was next to the chamber of the officials, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, ^(E)the doorkeeper. ⁵ Then I set before the ^[a]men of the house of the Rechabites pitchers full of wine, and cups; and I said to them, “^(F)Drink wine!” ⁶ But they said, “We will not drink wine, for ^(G)Jonadab the son of ^(H)Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying, ‘You shall ^(I)not drink wine, you or your sons, forever. ⁷ You shall not build a house, and you shall not sow seed nor plant a vineyard, nor ^[b]own one; but you shall live in ^(J)tents all your days, so that you may live ^(K)many days ^[c]in the land where you ^(L)live as strangers.’ ⁸ And we have ^(M)obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, not to drink wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, or our daughters, ⁹ nor to build ourselves houses to live in; and we ^(N)do not have a vineyard, a field, or seed. ¹⁰ But we have ^(O)lived only in tents, and have obeyed and have done according to all that our father ^(P)Jonadab commanded us. ¹¹ However, when ^(Q)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against the land, we said, ‘Come, and let’s ^(R)go to Jerusalem away from the army of the Chaldeans and the army of the Arameans.’ So we have lived in Jerusalem.”

Judah Rebuked

¹² Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, ¹³ “This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Go and say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, “^(S)Will you not accept instruction by listening to My words?” declares the Lord. ¹⁴ “The ^(T)words of Jonadab the son of Rechab have been followed, which he commanded his sons: not to drink wine. And they do not drink wine to this day, for they have obeyed their father’s command. But I have spoken to you ^(U)again and again, yet you have ^(V)not listened to Me. ¹⁵ Also I have sent to you all My ^(W)servants the prophets, sending them again and again, saying: ‘^(X)Turn now every person from his evil way and amend your deeds, and ^(Y)do not follow other gods to worship them. Then you will ^(Z)live in the land which I have given to you and to your forefathers; but you have not ^(AA)inclined your ear or listened to Me. ¹⁶ Indeed, the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have ^(AB)followed the command of their father which he commanded them, but this people has not listened to Me.’”’ ¹⁷ Therefore this is what the Lord says, the God of armies, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, ^(AC)I am bringing on Judah and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the disaster that I have pronounced against them; because I ^(AD)spoke to them but they did not listen, and I have called them but they did not answer.’”

¹⁸ Then Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites, “This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Because you have ^(AE)obeyed the command of Jonadab your father, kept all his commands, and done according to all that he commanded you, ¹⁹ therefore this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “Jonadab the son of Rechab ^(AF)will not lack a man to ^(AG)stand before Me ^[d]always.”’”

Jeremiah’s Scroll Read in the Temple

36 In the ^(A)fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, ² “Take a ^[a](B)scroll and write on it all the ^(C)words which I have spoken to you concerning ^(D)Israel, Judah, and all the ^(E)nations, from the ^(F)day I first spoke to you, from the days of Josiah, even to this day. ^3 (G)Perhaps the house of Judah will listen to all the disaster which I plan to carry out against them, so that every person will ^(H)turn from his evil way; then I will ^(I)forgive their wrongdoing and their sin.”

⁴ Then Jeremiah called ^(J)Baruch the son of Neriah, and Baruch wrote on a ^[b](K)scroll ^[c]at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the Lord which He had spoken to him. ⁵ Jeremiah then commanded Baruch, saying, “I am ^[d](L)restricted; I cannot go into the house of the Lord. ⁶ So you go and ^(M)read from the scroll, which you have ^(N)written ^[e]at my dictation, the words of the Lord ^[f]to the people at the Lord’s house on a day of ^(O)fasting. And you shall also read them ^[g]to all the people of Judah who come from their cities. ^7 (P)Perhaps their pleading will ^[h]come before the Lord, and everyone will turn from his evil way; for ^(Q)great is the anger and the wrath that the Lord has pronounced against this people.” ⁸ So Baruch the son of Neriah acted in accordance with all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, ^(R)reading from the book the words of the Lord in the Lord’s house.

⁹ Now in the ^(S)fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ^(T)ninth month, all the people in Jerusalem and all the people who ^(U)came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem proclaimed a ^(V)fast before the Lord. ¹⁰ Then Baruch read to all the people from the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the Lord in the ^(W)chamber of ^(X)Gemariah the son of Shaphan the ^(Y)scribe, in the upper courtyard, at the ^(Z)entry of the New Gate of the Lord’s house.

¹¹ Now when ^(AA)Micaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, had heard all the words of the Lord from the book, ¹² he went down to the king’s house, into the scribe’s chamber. And behold, all the officials were sitting there—^(AB)Elishama the scribe, ^(AC)Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, ^(AD)Elnathan the son of Achbor, Gemariah the son of Shaphan, Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the other officials. ¹³ And Micaiah ^(AE)declared to them all the words that he had heard when Baruch read from the book to the people. ¹⁴ Then all the officials sent ^(AF)Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, who was the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, “Take in your hand the scroll from which you have read to the people and come.” So Baruch the son of Neriah ^(AG)took the scroll in his hand and came to them. ¹⁵ And they said to him, “Sit down, please, and read it to us.” So Baruch ^(AH)read it to them. ¹⁶ When they had heard all the words, they turned in ^(AI)fear one to another. And they said to Baruch, “We will certainly ^(AJ)report all these words to the king.” ¹⁷ Then they asked Baruch, saying, “Tell us, please, ^(AK)how did you write all these words? Was it ^[i]at Jeremiah’s dictation?” ¹⁸ And Baruch said to them, “He ^(AL)dictated all these words to me, and I wrote them with ink on the book.” ¹⁹ Then the officials said to Baruch, “Go, ^(AM)hide yourself, you and Jeremiah, and do not let anyone know where you are.”

The Scroll Is Burned

²⁰ So they came to the ^(AN)king in the courtyard, but they had deposited the scroll in the chamber of ^(AO)Elishama the scribe; and they reported all the words to the king. ²¹ Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it out of the chamber of Elishama the scribe. And Jehudi ^(AP)read it to the king as well as to all the officials who were standing beside the king. ²² Now the king was sitting in the ^(AQ)winter house in the ^(AR)ninth month, with a fire burning in the brazier before him. ²³ And when Jehudi had read three or four columns, the king cut it with a scribe’s knife and ^(AS)threw it into the fire that was in the brazier, until all of the scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the brazier. ²⁴ Yet the king and all his servants who heard all these words did ^(AT)not tremble in fear, nor did they ^(AU)tear their garments. ²⁵ Even though Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah ^(AV)urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. ²⁶ And the king commanded Jerahmeel the king’s son, Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel to ^(AW)seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet, but the ^(AX)Lord hid them.

The Scroll Is Replaced

²⁷ Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah after the king had ^(AY)burned the scroll and the words which ^(AZ)Baruch had written ^[j]at the dictation of Jeremiah, saying, ²⁸ “^(BA)Take again another scroll and write on it all the previous words that were ^(BB)on the first scroll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah burned. ²⁹ And concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah you shall say, ‘This is what the Lord says: “You have ^(BC)burned this scroll, saying, ‘^(BD)Why have you written on it ^[k]that the ^(BE)king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land, and will make mankind and animals disappear from it?’” ³⁰ Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: “He shall have ^(BF)no one to sit on the throne of David, and his ^(BG)dead body shall be thrown out to the heat of the day and the frost of the night. ³¹ I will also ^(BH)punish him, his ^[l]descendants, and his servants for their wrongdoing, and I will ^(BI)bring on them and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the people of Judah all the disaster that I have declared to them—but they did not listen.”’”

³² Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch the son of Neriah, and he ^(BJ)wrote on it at the ^[m]dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire; and many ^[n]similar words were added to them.

The Empty Tomb

20 ^(A)Now on the first day of the week ^(B)Mary Magdalene *came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and *saw ^(C)the stone already removed from the tomb. ² So she *ran and *came to Simon Peter and to the other ^(D)disciple whom Jesus loved, and *said to them, “^(E)They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we do not know where they have put Him.” ^3 (F)So Peter and the other disciple left, and they were going to the tomb. ⁴ The two were running together; and the other disciple ran ahead, faster than Peter, and came to the tomb first; ⁵ and he ^(G)stooped to look in, and *saw the ^(H)linen wrappings lying there; however he did not go in. ⁶ So Simon Peter also *came, following him, and he entered the tomb; and he *looked at the linen wrappings lying there, ⁷ and ^(I)the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the ^(J)linen wrappings but folded up in a place by itself. ⁸ So the other disciple who ^(K)had first come to the tomb also entered then, and he saw and believed. ⁹ For ^(L)they did not yet understand the Scripture, ^(M)that He must rise from the dead. ¹⁰ So the disciples went away again ^(N)to their own homes.

^11 (O)But Mary was standing outside the tomb, weeping; so as she wept, she ^(P)stooped to look into the tomb; ¹² and she *saw ^(Q)two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying. ¹³ And they *said to her, “^(R)Woman, why are you weeping?” She *said to them, “Because ^(S)they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they put Him.” ¹⁴ When she had said this, she turned around and *^(T)saw Jesus standing there, and yet she ^(U)did not know that it was Jesus. ¹⁵ Jesus *said to her, “^(V)Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Thinking that He was the gardener, she *said to Him, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you put Him, and I will take Him away.” ¹⁶ Jesus *said to her, “Mary!” She turned and *said to Him ^(W)in ^[a]Hebrew, “^(X)Rabboni!” (which means, Teacher). ¹⁷ Jesus *said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to ^(Y)My brothers and say to them, ‘I am ^(Z)ascending to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’” ^18 (AA)Mary Magdalene *came and ^(AB)announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and that He had said these things to her.

Jesus among His Disciples

¹⁹ Now when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were ^[b]shut where the disciples were together due to ^(AC)fear of the ^[c]Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst, and *said to them, “^(AD)Peace be to you.” ²⁰ And when He had said this, ^(AE)He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then ^(AF)rejoiced when they saw the Lord. ²¹ So Jesus said to them again, “^(AG)Peace be to you; ^(AH)just as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” ²² And when He had said this, He breathed on them and *said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ^23 (AI)If you forgive the sins of any, their sins ^[d]have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.”

²⁴ But ^(AJ)Thomas, one of ^(AK)the twelve, who was called ^[e](AL)Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples were saying to him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see in ^(AM)His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, ^(AN)I will not believe.”

^26 [f]Eight days later His disciples were again inside, and Thomas was with them. Jesus *came, the doors having been ^[g]shut, and stood in their midst and said, “^(AO)Peace be to you.” ²⁷ Then He *said to Thomas, “^(AP)Place your finger here, and see My hands; and take your hand and put it into My side; and do not continue in disbelief, but be a believer.” ²⁸ Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” ²⁹ Jesus *said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you now believed? ^(AQ)Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”

Why This Gospel Was Written

^30 (AR)So then, many other ^[h](AS)signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; ³¹ but these have been written ^(AT)so that you may believe that Jesus is the ^[i]Christ, ^(AU)the Son of God; and that by ^(AV)believing you may have life in His name.