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Job Replies: The Wicked Often Go Unpunished

21 Then Job answered:

“Listen carefully to my words,
    and let this be your consolation.
Bear with me, and I will speak;
    then after I have spoken, mock on.
As for me, is my complaint addressed to mortals?
    Why should I not be impatient?
Look at me, and be appalled,
    and lay your hand upon your mouth.
When I think of it I am dismayed,
    and shuddering seizes my flesh.
Why do the wicked live on,
    reach old age, and grow mighty in power?
Their children are established in their presence,
    and their offspring before their eyes.
Their houses are safe from fear,
    and no rod of God is upon them.
10 Their bull breeds without fail;
    their cow calves and never miscarries.
11 They send out their little ones like a flock,
    and their children dance around.
12 They sing to the tambourine and the lyre,
    and rejoice to the sound of the pipe.
13 They spend their days in prosperity,
    and in peace they go down to Sheol.
14 They say to God, ‘Leave us alone!
    We do not desire to know your ways.
15 What is the Almighty,[a] that we should serve him?
    And what profit do we get if we pray to him?’
16 Is not their prosperity indeed their own achievement?[b]
    The plans of the wicked are repugnant to me.

17 “How often is the lamp of the wicked put out?
    How often does calamity come upon them?
    How often does God[c] distribute pains in his anger?
18 How often are they like straw before the wind,
    and like chaff that the storm carries away?
19 You say, ‘God stores up their iniquity for their children.’
    Let it be paid back to them, so that they may know it.
20 Let their own eyes see their destruction,
    and let them drink of the wrath of the Almighty.[d]
21 For what do they care for their household after them,
    when the number of their months is cut off?
22 Will any teach God knowledge,
    seeing that he judges those that are on high?
23 One dies in full prosperity,
    being wholly at ease and secure,
24 his loins full of milk
    and the marrow of his bones moist.
25 Another dies in bitterness of soul,
    never having tasted of good.
26 They lie down alike in the dust,
    and the worms cover them.

27 “Oh, I know your thoughts,
    and your schemes to wrong me.
28 For you say, ‘Where is the house of the prince?
    Where is the tent in which the wicked lived?’
29 Have you not asked those who travel the roads,
    and do you not accept their testimony,
30 that the wicked are spared in the day of calamity,
    and are rescued in the day of wrath?
31 Who declares their way to their face,
    and who repays them for what they have done?
32 When they are carried to the grave,
    a watch is kept over their tomb.
33 The clods of the valley are sweet to them;
    everyone will follow after,
    and those who went before are innumerable.
34 How then will you comfort me with empty nothings?
    There is nothing left of your answers but falsehood.”

Eliphaz Speaks: Job’s Wickedness Is Great

22 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:

“Can a mortal be of use to God?
    Can even the wisest be of service to him?
Is it any pleasure to the Almighty[e] if you are righteous,
    or is it gain to him if you make your ways blameless?
Is it for your piety that he reproves you,
    and enters into judgment with you?
Is not your wickedness great?
    There is no end to your iniquities.
For you have exacted pledges from your family for no reason,
    and stripped the naked of their clothing.
You have given no water to the weary to drink,
    and you have withheld bread from the hungry.
The powerful possess the land,
    and the favored live in it.
You have sent widows away empty-handed,
    and the arms of the orphans you have crushed.[f]
10 Therefore snares are around you,
    and sudden terror overwhelms you,
11 or darkness so that you cannot see;
    a flood of water covers you.

12 “Is not God high in the heavens?
    See the highest stars, how lofty they are!
13 Therefore you say, ‘What does God know?
    Can he judge through the deep darkness?
14 Thick clouds enwrap him, so that he does not see,
    and he walks on the dome of heaven.’
15 Will you keep to the old way
    that the wicked have trod?
16 They were snatched away before their time;
    their foundation was washed away by a flood.
17 They said to God, ‘Leave us alone,’
    and ‘What can the Almighty[g] do to us?’[h]
18 Yet he filled their houses with good things—
    but the plans of the wicked are repugnant to me.
19 The righteous see it and are glad;
    the innocent laugh them to scorn,
20 saying, ‘Surely our adversaries are cut off,
    and what they left, the fire has consumed.’

21 “Agree with God,[i] and be at peace;
    in this way good will come to you.
22 Receive instruction from his mouth,
    and lay up his words in your heart.
23 If you return to the Almighty,[j] you will be restored,
    if you remove unrighteousness from your tents,
24 if you treat gold like dust,
    and gold of Ophir like the stones of the torrent-bed,
25 and if the Almighty[k] is your gold
    and your precious silver,
26 then you will delight yourself in the Almighty,[l]
    and lift up your face to God.
27 You will pray to him, and he will hear you,
    and you will pay your vows.
28 You will decide on a matter, and it will be established for you,
    and light will shine on your ways.
29 When others are humiliated, you say it is pride;
    for he saves the humble.
30 He will deliver even those who are guilty;
    they will escape because of the cleanness of your hands.”[m]

Job Replies: My Complaint Is Bitter

23 Then Job answered:

“Today also my complaint is bitter;[n]
    his[o] hand is heavy despite my groaning.
Oh, that I knew where I might find him,
    that I might come even to his dwelling!
I would lay my case before him,
    and fill my mouth with arguments.
I would learn what he would answer me,
    and understand what he would say to me.
Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power?
    No; but he would give heed to me.
There an upright person could reason with him,
    and I should be acquitted forever by my judge.

“If I go forward, he is not there;
    or backward, I cannot perceive him;
on the left he hides, and I cannot behold him;
    I turn[p] to the right, but I cannot see him.
10 But he knows the way that I take;
    when he has tested me, I shall come out like gold.
11 My foot has held fast to his steps;
    I have kept his way and have not turned aside.
12 I have not departed from the commandment of his lips;
    I have treasured in[q] my bosom the words of his mouth.
13 But he stands alone and who can dissuade him?
    What he desires, that he does.
14 For he will complete what he appoints for me;
    and many such things are in his mind.
15 Therefore I am terrified at his presence;
    when I consider, I am in dread of him.
16 God has made my heart faint;
    the Almighty[r] has terrified me;
17 If only I could vanish in darkness,
    and thick darkness would cover my face![s]

Job Complains of Violence on the Earth

24 “Why are times not kept by the Almighty,[t]
    and why do those who know him never see his days?
The wicked[u] remove landmarks;
    they seize flocks and pasture them.
They drive away the donkey of the orphan;
    they take the widow’s ox for a pledge.
They thrust the needy off the road;
    the poor of the earth all hide themselves.
Like wild asses in the desert
    they go out to their toil,
scavenging in the wasteland
    food for their young.
They reap in a field not their own
    and they glean in the vineyard of the wicked.
They lie all night naked, without clothing,
    and have no covering in the cold.
They are wet with the rain of the mountains,
    and cling to the rock for want of shelter.

“There are those who snatch the orphan child from the breast,
    and take as a pledge the infant of the poor.
10 They go about naked, without clothing;
    though hungry, they carry the sheaves;
11 between their terraces[v] they press out oil;
    they tread the wine presses, but suffer thirst.
12 From the city the dying groan,
    and the throat of the wounded cries for help;
    yet God pays no attention to their prayer.

13 “There are those who rebel against the light,
    who are not acquainted with its ways,
    and do not stay in its paths.
14 The murderer rises at dusk
    to kill the poor and needy,
    and in the night is like a thief.
15 The eye of the adulterer also waits for the twilight,
    saying, ‘No eye will see me’;
    and he disguises his face.
16 In the dark they dig through houses;
    by day they shut themselves up;
    they do not know the light.
17 For deep darkness is morning to all of them;
    for they are friends with the terrors of deep darkness.

18 “Swift are they on the face of the waters;
    their portion in the land is cursed;
    no treader turns toward their vineyards.
19 Drought and heat snatch away the snow waters;
    so does Sheol those who have sinned.
20 The womb forgets them;
    the worm finds them sweet;
they are no longer remembered;
    so wickedness is broken like a tree.

21 “They harm[w] the childless woman,
    and do no good to the widow.
22 Yet God[x] prolongs the life of the mighty by his power;
    they rise up when they despair of life.
23 He gives them security, and they are supported;
    his eyes are upon their ways.
24 They are exalted a little while, and then are gone;
    they wither and fade like the mallow;[y]
    they are cut off like the heads of grain.
25 If it is not so, who will prove me a liar,
    and show that there is nothing in what I say?”

Footnotes

  1. Job 21:15 Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai
  2. Job 21:16 Heb in their hand
  3. Job 21:17 Heb he
  4. Job 21:20 Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai
  5. Job 22:3 Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai
  6. Job 22:9 Gk Syr Tg Vg: Heb were crushed
  7. Job 22:17 Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai
  8. Job 22:17 Gk Syr: Heb them
  9. Job 22:21 Heb him
  10. Job 22:23 Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai
  11. Job 22:25 Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai
  12. Job 22:26 Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai
  13. Job 22:30 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  14. Job 23:2 Syr Vg Tg: Heb rebellious
  15. Job 23:2 Gk Syr: Heb my
  16. Job 23:9 Syr Vg: Heb he turns
  17. Job 23:12 Gk Vg: Heb from
  18. Job 23:16 Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai
  19. Job 23:17 Or But I am not destroyed by the darkness; he has concealed the thick darkness from me
  20. Job 24:1 Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai
  21. Job 24:2 Gk: Heb they
  22. Job 24:11 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  23. Job 24:21 Gk Tg: Heb feed on or associate with
  24. Job 24:22 Heb he
  25. Job 24:24 Gk: Heb like all others

Job

21 Then Job replied:

“Listen carefully to my words;(A)
    let this be the consolation you give me.(B)
Bear with me while I speak,
    and after I have spoken, mock on.(C)

“Is my complaint(D) directed to a human being?
    Why should I not be impatient?(E)
Look at me and be appalled;
    clap your hand over your mouth.(F)
When I think about this, I am terrified;(G)
    trembling seizes my body.(H)
Why do the wicked live on,
    growing old and increasing in power?(I)
They see their children established around them,
    their offspring before their eyes.(J)
Their homes are safe and free from fear;(K)
    the rod of God is not on them.(L)
10 Their bulls never fail to breed;
    their cows calve and do not miscarry.(M)
11 They send forth their children as a flock;(N)
    their little ones dance about.
12 They sing to the music of timbrel and lyre;(O)
    they make merry to the sound of the pipe.(P)
13 They spend their years in prosperity(Q)
    and go down to the grave(R) in peace.[a](S)
14 Yet they say to God, ‘Leave us alone!(T)
    We have no desire to know your ways.(U)
15 Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him?
    What would we gain by praying to him?’(V)
16 But their prosperity is not in their own hands,
    so I stand aloof from the plans of the wicked.(W)

17 “Yet how often is the lamp of the wicked snuffed out?(X)
    How often does calamity(Y) come upon them,
    the fate God allots in his anger?(Z)
18 How often are they like straw before the wind,
    like chaff(AA) swept away(AB) by a gale?(AC)
19 It is said, ‘God stores up the punishment of the wicked for their children.’(AD)
    Let him repay the wicked, so that they themselves will experience it!(AE)
20 Let their own eyes see their destruction;(AF)
    let them drink(AG) the cup of the wrath of the Almighty.(AH)
21 For what do they care about the families they leave behind(AI)
    when their allotted months(AJ) come to an end?(AK)

22 “Can anyone teach knowledge to God,(AL)
    since he judges even the highest?(AM)
23 One person dies in full vigor,(AN)
    completely secure and at ease,(AO)
24 well nourished(AP) in body,[b]
    bones(AQ) rich with marrow.(AR)
25 Another dies in bitterness of soul,(AS)
    never having enjoyed anything good.
26 Side by side they lie in the dust,(AT)
    and worms(AU) cover them both.(AV)

27 “I know full well what you are thinking,
    the schemes by which you would wrong me.
28 You say, ‘Where now is the house of the great,(AW)
    the tents where the wicked lived?’(AX)
29 Have you never questioned those who travel?
    Have you paid no regard to their accounts—
30 that the wicked are spared from the day of calamity,(AY)
    that they are delivered from[c] the day of wrath?(AZ)
31 Who denounces their conduct to their face?
    Who repays them for what they have done?(BA)
32 They are carried to the grave,
    and watch is kept over their tombs.(BB)
33 The soil in the valley is sweet to them;(BC)
    everyone follows after them,
    and a countless throng goes[d] before them.(BD)

34 “So how can you console me(BE) with your nonsense?
    Nothing is left of your answers but falsehood!”(BF)

Eliphaz

22 Then Eliphaz the Temanite(BG) replied:

“Can a man be of benefit to God?(BH)
    Can even a wise person benefit him?(BI)
What pleasure(BJ) would it give the Almighty if you were righteous?(BK)
    What would he gain if your ways were blameless?(BL)

“Is it for your piety that he rebukes you
    and brings charges against you?(BM)
Is not your wickedness great?
    Are not your sins(BN) endless?(BO)
You demanded security(BP) from your relatives for no reason;(BQ)
    you stripped people of their clothing, leaving them naked.(BR)
You gave no water(BS) to the weary
    and you withheld food from the hungry,(BT)
though you were a powerful man, owning land(BU)
    an honored man,(BV) living on it.(BW)
And you sent widows(BX) away empty-handed(BY)
    and broke the strength of the fatherless.(BZ)
10 That is why snares(CA) are all around you,(CB)
    why sudden peril terrifies you,(CC)
11 why it is so dark(CD) you cannot see,
    and why a flood of water covers you.(CE)

12 “Is not God in the heights of heaven?(CF)
    And see how lofty are the highest stars!
13 Yet you say, ‘What does God know?(CG)
    Does he judge through such darkness?(CH)
14 Thick clouds(CI) veil him, so he does not see us(CJ)
    as he goes about in the vaulted heavens.’(CK)
15 Will you keep to the old path
    that the wicked(CL) have trod?(CM)
16 They were carried off before their time,(CN)
    their foundations(CO) washed away by a flood.(CP)
17 They said to God, ‘Leave us alone!
    What can the Almighty do to us?’(CQ)
18 Yet it was he who filled their houses with good things,(CR)
    so I stand aloof from the plans of the wicked.(CS)
19 The righteous see their ruin and rejoice;(CT)
    the innocent mock(CU) them, saying,
20 ‘Surely our foes are destroyed,(CV)
    and fire(CW) devours their wealth.’

21 “Submit to God and be at peace(CX) with him;(CY)
    in this way prosperity will come to you.(CZ)
22 Accept instruction from his mouth(DA)
    and lay up his words(DB) in your heart.(DC)
23 If you return(DD) to the Almighty, you will be restored:(DE)
    If you remove wickedness far from your tent(DF)
24 and assign your nuggets(DG) to the dust,
    your gold(DH) of Ophir(DI) to the rocks in the ravines,(DJ)
25 then the Almighty will be your gold,(DK)
    the choicest silver for you.(DL)
26 Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty(DM)
    and will lift up your face(DN) to God.(DO)
27 You will pray to him,(DP) and he will hear you,(DQ)
    and you will fulfill your vows.(DR)
28 What you decide on will be done,(DS)
    and light(DT) will shine on your ways.(DU)
29 When people are brought low(DV) and you say, ‘Lift them up!’
    then he will save the downcast.(DW)
30 He will deliver even one who is not innocent,(DX)
    who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.”(DY)

Job

23 Then Job replied:

“Even today my complaint(DZ) is bitter;(EA)
    his hand[e] is heavy in spite of[f] my groaning.(EB)
If only I knew where to find him;
    if only I could go to his dwelling!(EC)
I would state my case(ED) before him
    and fill my mouth with arguments.(EE)
I would find out what he would answer me,(EF)
    and consider what he would say to me.
Would he vigorously oppose me?(EG)
    No, he would not press charges against me.(EH)
There the upright(EI) can establish their innocence before him,(EJ)
    and there I would be delivered forever from my judge.(EK)

“But if I go to the east, he is not there;
    if I go to the west, I do not find him.
When he is at work in the north, I do not see him;
    when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him.(EL)
10 But he knows the way that I take;(EM)
    when he has tested me,(EN) I will come forth as gold.(EO)
11 My feet have closely followed his steps;(EP)
    I have kept to his way without turning aside.(EQ)
12 I have not departed from the commands of his lips;(ER)
    I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.(ES)

13 “But he stands alone, and who can oppose him?(ET)
    He does whatever he pleases.(EU)
14 He carries out his decree against me,
    and many such plans he still has in store.(EV)
15 That is why I am terrified before him;(EW)
    when I think of all this, I fear him.(EX)
16 God has made my heart faint;(EY)
    the Almighty(EZ) has terrified me.(FA)
17 Yet I am not silenced by the darkness,(FB)
    by the thick darkness that covers my face.

24 “Why does the Almighty not set times(FC) for judgment?(FD)
    Why must those who know him look in vain for such days?(FE)
There are those who move boundary stones;(FF)
    they pasture flocks they have stolen.(FG)
They drive away the orphan’s donkey
    and take the widow’s ox in pledge.(FH)
They thrust the needy(FI) from the path
    and force all the poor(FJ) of the land into hiding.(FK)
Like wild donkeys(FL) in the desert,
    the poor go about their labor(FM) of foraging food;
    the wasteland(FN) provides food for their children.
They gather fodder(FO) in the fields
    and glean in the vineyards(FP) of the wicked.(FQ)
Lacking clothes, they spend the night naked;
    they have nothing to cover themselves in the cold.(FR)
They are drenched(FS) by mountain rains
    and hug(FT) the rocks for lack of shelter.(FU)
The fatherless(FV) child is snatched(FW) from the breast;
    the infant of the poor is seized(FX) for a debt.(FY)
10 Lacking clothes, they go about naked;(FZ)
    they carry the sheaves,(GA) but still go hungry.
11 They crush olives among the terraces[g];
    they tread the winepresses,(GB) yet suffer thirst.(GC)
12 The groans of the dying rise from the city,
    and the souls of the wounded cry out for help.(GD)
    But God charges no one with wrongdoing.(GE)

13 “There are those who rebel against the light,(GF)
    who do not know its ways
    or stay in its paths.(GG)
14 When daylight is gone, the murderer rises up,
    kills(GH) the poor and needy,(GI)
    and in the night steals forth like a thief.(GJ)
15 The eye of the adulterer(GK) watches for dusk;(GL)
    he thinks, ‘No eye will see me,’(GM)
    and he keeps his face concealed.
16 In the dark, thieves break into houses,(GN)
    but by day they shut themselves in;
    they want nothing to do with the light.(GO)
17 For all of them, midnight is their morning;
    they make friends with the terrors(GP) of darkness.(GQ)

18 “Yet they are foam(GR) on the surface of the water;(GS)
    their portion of the land is cursed,(GT)
    so that no one goes to the vineyards.(GU)
19 As heat and drought snatch away the melted snow,(GV)
    so the grave(GW) snatches away those who have sinned.
20 The womb forgets them,
    the worm(GX) feasts on them;(GY)
the wicked are no longer remembered(GZ)
    but are broken like a tree.(HA)
21 They prey on the barren and childless woman,
    and to the widow they show no kindness.(HB)
22 But God drags away the mighty by his power;(HC)
    though they become established,(HD) they have no assurance of life.(HE)
23 He may let them rest in a feeling of security,(HF)
    but his eyes(HG) are on their ways.(HH)
24 For a little while they are exalted, and then they are gone;(HI)
    they are brought low and gathered up like all others;(HJ)
    they are cut off like heads of grain.(HK)

25 “If this is not so, who can prove me false
    and reduce my words to nothing?”(HL)

Footnotes

  1. Job 21:13 Or in an instant
  2. Job 21:24 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  3. Job 21:30 Or wicked are reserved for the day of calamity, / that they are brought forth to
  4. Job 21:33 Or them, / as a countless throng went
  5. Job 23:2 Septuagint and Syriac; Hebrew / the hand on me
  6. Job 23:2 Or heavy on me in
  7. Job 24:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.

Solomon’s Prayer for Wisdom

“O God of my ancestors and Lord of mercy,
who have made all things by your word,
and by your wisdom have formed humankind
to have dominion over the creatures you have made,
and rule the world in holiness and righteousness,
and pronounce judgment in uprightness of soul,
give me the wisdom that sits by your throne,
and do not reject me from among your servants.
For I am your servant[a] the son of your serving girl,
a man who is weak and short-lived,
with little understanding of judgment and laws;
for even one who is perfect among human beings
will be regarded as nothing without the wisdom that comes from you.
You have chosen me to be king of your people
and to be judge over your sons and daughters.
You have given command to build a temple on your holy mountain,
and an altar in the city of your habitation,
a copy of the holy tent that you prepared from the beginning.
With you is wisdom, she who knows your works
and was present when you made the world;
she understands what is pleasing in your sight
and what is right according to your commandments.
10 Send her forth from the holy heavens,
and from the throne of your glory send her,
that she may labor at my side,
and that I may learn what is pleasing to you.
11 For she knows and understands all things,
and she will guide me wisely in my actions
and guard me with her glory.
12 Then my works will be acceptable,
and I shall judge your people justly,
and shall be worthy of the throne[b] of my father.
13 For who can learn the counsel of God?
Or who can discern what the Lord wills?
14 For the reasoning of mortals is worthless,
and our designs are likely to fail;
15 for a perishable body weighs down the soul,
and this earthy tent burdens the thoughtful[c] mind.
16 We can hardly guess at what is on earth,
and what is at hand we find with labor;
but who has traced out what is in the heavens?
17 Who has learned your counsel,
unless you have given wisdom
and sent your holy spirit from on high?
18 And thus the paths of those on earth were set right,
and people were taught what pleases you,
and were saved by wisdom.”

Footnotes

  1. Wisdom 9:5 Gk slave
  2. Wisdom 9:12 Gk thrones
  3. Wisdom 9:15 Or anxious
'Wisdom 9 ' not found for the version: New International Version.

The Plot to Kill Jesus

22 Now the festival of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was near. The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to put Jesus[a] to death, for they were afraid of the people.

Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was one of the twelve; he went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers of the temple police about how he might betray him to them. They were greatly pleased and agreed to give him money. So he consented and began to look for an opportunity to betray him to them when no crowd was present.

The Preparation of the Passover

Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. So Jesus[b] sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover meal for us that we may eat it.” They asked him, “Where do you want us to make preparations for it?” 10 “Listen,” he said to them, “when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him into the house he enters 11 and say to the owner of the house, ‘The teacher asks you, “Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?”’ 12 He will show you a large room upstairs, already furnished. Make preparations for us there.” 13 So they went and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal.

The Institution of the Lord’s Supper

14 When the hour came, he took his place at the table, and the apostles with him. 15 He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; 16 for I tell you, I will not eat it[c] until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” 17 Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; 18 for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” 19 Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.[d] 21 But see, the one who betrays me is with me, and his hand is on the table. 22 For the Son of Man is going as it has been determined, but woe to that one by whom he is betrayed!” 23 Then they began to ask one another which one of them it could be who would do this.

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 22:2 Gk him
  2. Luke 22:8 Gk he
  3. Luke 22:16 Other ancient authorities read never eat it again
  4. Luke 22:20 Other ancient authorities lack, in whole or in part, verses 19b-20 (which is given . . . in my blood)

Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus(A)

22 Now the Festival of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching,(B) and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus,(C) for they were afraid of the people. Then Satan(D) entered Judas, called Iscariot,(E) one of the Twelve. And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard(F) and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. They were delighted and agreed to give him money.(G) He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.

The Last Supper(H)(I)(J)(K)(L)

Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.(M) Jesus sent Peter and John,(N) saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.”

“Where do you want us to prepare for it?” they asked.

10 He replied, “As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, 11 and say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ 12 He will show you a large room upstairs, all furnished. Make preparations there.”

13 They left and found things just as Jesus had told them.(O) So they prepared the Passover.

14 When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles(P) reclined at the table.(Q) 15 And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.(R) 16 For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”(S)

17 After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. 18 For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”

19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it,(T) and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant(U) in my blood, which is poured out for you.[a] 21 But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table.(V) 22 The Son of Man(W) will go as it has been decreed.(X) But woe to that man who betrays him!” 23 They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this.

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 22:20 Some manuscripts do not have given for you … poured out for you.