21 “Fear not, O land;
    be glad and rejoice,
    for (A)the Lord has done great things!
22 Fear not, (B)you beasts of the field,
    for (C)the pastures of the wilderness are green;
(D)the tree bears its fruit;
    the fig tree and (E)vine give their full yield.

23 (F)“Be glad, O children of Zion,
    and (G)rejoice in the Lord your God,
for he has given (H)the early rain for your vindication;
    he has poured down for you abundant rain,
    (I)the early and (J)the latter rain, as before.

24 “The threshing floors shall be full of grain;
    the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
25 I will restore[a] to you the years
    that (K)the swarming locust has eaten,
(L)the hopper, (M)the destroyer, and (N)the cutter,
    (O)my great army, which I sent among you.

26 (P)“You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,
    and praise the name of the Lord your God,
    who has dealt wondrously with you.
And my people (Q)shall never again be put to shame.
27 (R)You shall know that I am (S)in the midst of Israel,
    and that (T)I am the Lord your God (U)and there is none else.
And my people (V)shall never again be put to shame.

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Footnotes

  1. Joel 2:25 Or pay back

21     Do not be afraid,(A) land of Judah;
    be glad and rejoice.(B)
Surely the Lord has done great things!(C)
22     Do not be afraid, you wild animals,
    for the pastures in the wilderness are becoming green.(D)
The trees are bearing their fruit;
    the fig tree(E) and the vine(F) yield their riches.(G)
23 Be glad, people of Zion,
    rejoice(H) in the Lord your God,
for he has given you the autumn rains
    because he is faithful.(I)
He sends you abundant showers,(J)
    both autumn(K) and spring rains,(L) as before.
24 The threshing floors will be filled with grain;
    the vats will overflow(M) with new wine(N) and oil.

25 “I will repay you for the years the locusts(O) have eaten(P)
    the great locust and the young locust,
    the other locusts and the locust swarm[a]
my great army(Q) that I sent among you.
26 You will have plenty to eat, until you are full,(R)
    and you will praise(S) the name of the Lord your God,
    who has worked wonders(T) for you;
never again will my people be shamed.(U)
27 Then you will know(V) that I am in Israel,
    that I am the Lord(W) your God,
    and that there is no other;
never again will my people be shamed.(X)

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Footnotes

  1. Joel 2:25 The precise meaning of the four Hebrew words used here for locusts is uncertain.

I Am the Bread of Life

22 On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only (A)one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. 23 Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord (B)had given thanks. 24 (C)So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and (D)went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.

25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, (E)“Rabbi, when did you come here?” 26 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, (F)you are seeking me, not because you saw (G)signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 (H)Do not work for the food that perishes, but for (I)the food that endures to eternal life, which (J)the Son of Man will give to you. For on (K)him God the Father has (L)set his seal.” 28 Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing (M)the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, (N)that you believe in him whom (O)he has sent.” 30 So they said to him, (P)“Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? 31 (Q)Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, (R)‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is (S)he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, (T)“Sir, give us this bread always.”

35 Jesus said to them, (U)“I am the bread of life; (V)whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37 (W)All that (X)the Father gives me will come to me, and (Y)whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38 For (Z)I have come down from heaven, not to do (AA)my own will but (AB)the will of him (AC)who sent me. 39 And (AD)this is the will of him who sent me, (AE)that I should lose nothing of (AF)all that he has given me, but (AG)raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who (AH)looks on the Son and (AI)believes in him (AJ)should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

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22 The next day the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake(A) realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone.(B) 23 Then some boats from Tiberias(C) landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.(D) 24 Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.

Jesus the Bread of Life

25 When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi,(E) when did you get here?”

26 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me,(F) not because you saw the signs(G) I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures(H) to eternal life,(I) which the Son of Man(J) will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal(K) of approval.”

28 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”

29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe(L) in the one he has sent.”(M)

30 So they asked him, “What sign(N) then will you give that we may see it and believe you?(O) What will you do? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna(P) in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’[a](Q)

32 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven(R) and gives life to the world.”

34 “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”(S)

35 Then Jesus declared, “I am(T) the bread of life.(U) Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes(V) in me will never be thirsty.(W) 36 But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37 All those the Father gives me(X) will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38 For I have come down from heaven(Y) not to do my will but to do the will(Z) of him who sent me.(AA) 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me,(AB) but raise them up at the last day.(AC) 40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son(AD) and believes in him shall have eternal life,(AE) and I will raise them up at the last day.”

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Footnotes

  1. John 6:31 Exodus 16:4; Neh. 9:15; Psalm 78:24,25

The Great Commission

16 Now the eleven disciples (A)went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they (B)worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, (C)“All authority (D)in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 (E)Go therefore and (F)make disciples of (G)all nations, (H)baptizing them (I)in[a] (J)the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them (K)to observe all that (L)I have commanded you. And behold, (M)I am with you always, to (N)the end of the age.”

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 28:19 Or into

The Great Commission

16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.(A) 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.(B) 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,(C) baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,(D) 20 and teaching(E) them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you(F) always, to the very end of the age.”(G)

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