Jeremiah 23-25
New King James Version
The Branch of Righteousness
23 “Woe (A)to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” says the Lord. 2 Therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel against the shepherds who feed My people: “You have scattered My flock, driven them away, and not attended to them. (B)Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your doings,” says the Lord. 3 “But (C)I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. 4 I will set up (D)shepherds over them who will feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking,” says the Lord.
5 “Behold, (E)the days are coming,” says the Lord,
“That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness;
A King shall reign and [a]prosper,
(F)And execute [b]judgment and righteousness in the [c]earth.
6 (G)In His days Judah will be saved,
And Israel (H)will dwell safely;
Now (I)this is His name by which He will be called:
[d]THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
7 “Therefore, behold, (J)the days are coming,” says the Lord, “that they shall no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ 8 but, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up and led the descendants of the house of Israel from the north country (K)and from all the countries where I had driven them.’ And they shall dwell in their own (L)land.”
False Prophets and Empty Oracles
9 My heart within me is broken
Because of the prophets;
(M)All my bones shake.
I am like a drunken man,
And like a man whom wine has overcome,
Because of the Lord,
And because of His holy words.
10 For (N)the land is full of adulterers;
For (O)because of a curse the land mourns.
(P)The pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up.
Their course of life is evil,
And their might is not right.
11 “For (Q)both prophet and priest are profane;
Yes, (R)in My house I have found their wickedness,” says the Lord.
12 “Therefore(S) their way shall be to them
Like slippery ways;
In the darkness they shall be driven on
And fall in them;
For I (T)will bring disaster on them,
The year of their punishment,” says the Lord.
13 “And I have seen [e]folly in the prophets of Samaria:
(U)They prophesied by Baal
And (V)caused My people Israel to err.
14 Also I have seen a horrible thing in the prophets of Jerusalem:
(W)They commit adultery and walk in lies;
They also (X)strengthen the hands of evildoers,
So that no one turns back from his wickedness.
All of them are like (Y)Sodom to Me,
And her inhabitants like Gomorrah.
15 “Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets:
‘Behold, I will feed them with (Z)wormwood,
And make them drink the water of gall;
For from the prophets of Jerusalem
[f]Profaneness has gone out into all the land.’ ”
16 Thus says the Lord of hosts:
“Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you.
They make you worthless;
(AA)They speak a vision of their own heart,
Not from the mouth of the Lord.
17 They continually say to those who despise Me,
‘The Lord has said, (AB)“You shall have peace” ’;
And to everyone who (AC)walks according to the [g]dictates of his own heart, they say,
(AD)‘No evil shall come upon you.’ ”
18 For (AE)who has stood in the counsel of the Lord,
And has perceived and heard His word?
Who has marked His word and heard it?
19 Behold, a (AF)whirlwind of the Lord has gone forth in fury—
A violent whirlwind!
It will fall violently on the head of the wicked.
20 The (AG)anger of the Lord will not turn back
Until He has executed and performed the thoughts of His heart.
(AH)In the latter days you will understand it perfectly.
21 “I(AI) have not sent these prophets, yet they ran.
I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.
22 But if they had stood in My counsel,
And had caused My people to hear My words,
Then they would have (AJ)turned them from their evil way
And from the evil of their doings.
23 “Am I a God near at hand,” says the Lord,
“And not a God afar off?
24 Can anyone (AK)hide himself in secret places,
So I shall not see him?” says the Lord;
(AL)“Do I not fill heaven and earth?” says the Lord.
25 “I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in My name, saying, ‘I have dreamed, I have dreamed!’ 26 How long will this be in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies? Indeed they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart, 27 who try to make My people forget My name by their dreams which everyone tells his neighbor, (AM)as their fathers forgot My name for Baal.
28 “The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream;
And he who has My word, let him speak My word faithfully.
What is the chaff to the wheat?” says the Lord.
29 “Is not My word like a (AN)fire?” says the Lord,
“And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?
30 “Therefore behold, (AO)I am against the prophets,” says the Lord, “who steal My words every one from his neighbor. 31 Behold, I am (AP)against the prophets,” says the Lord, “who use their tongues and say, ‘He says.’ 32 Behold, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,” says the Lord, “and tell them, and cause My people to err by their (AQ)lies and by (AR)their recklessness. Yet I did not send them or command them; therefore they shall not (AS)profit this people at all,” says the Lord.
33 “So when these people or the prophet or the priest ask you, saying, ‘What is (AT)the [h]oracle of the Lord?’ you shall then say to them, [i]‘What oracle?’ I will even forsake you,” says the Lord. 34 “And as for the prophet and the priest and the people who say, ‘The [j]oracle of the Lord!’ I will even punish that man and his house. 35 Thus every one of you shall say to his neighbor, and every one to his brother, ‘What has the Lord answered?’ and, ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ 36 And the [k]oracle of the Lord you shall mention no more. For every man’s word will be his oracle, for you have (AU)perverted the words of the living God, the Lord of hosts, our God. 37 Thus you shall say to the prophet, ‘What has the Lord answered you?’ and, ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ 38 But since you say, ‘The [l]oracle of the Lord!’ therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Because you say this word, “The oracle of the Lord!” and I have sent to you, saying, “Do not say, ‘The oracle of the Lord!’ ” 39 therefore behold, I, even I, (AV)will utterly forget you and forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, and will cast you out of My presence. 40 And I will bring (AW)an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual (AX)shame, which shall not be forgotten.’ ”
The Sign of Two Baskets of Figs
24 The (AY)Lord showed me, and there were two baskets of figs set before the temple of the Lord, after Nebuchadnezzar (AZ)king of Babylon had carried away captive (BA)Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the princes of Judah with the craftsmen and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon. 2 One basket had very good figs, like the figs that are first ripe; and the other basket had very bad figs which could not be eaten, they were so (BB)bad. 3 Then the Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?”
And I said, “Figs, the good figs, very good; and the bad, very bad, which cannot be eaten, they are so bad.”
4 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 5 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Like these good figs, so will I [m]acknowledge those who are carried away captive from Judah, whom I have sent out of this place for their own good, into the land of the Chaldeans. 6 For I will set My eyes on them for good, and (BC)I will bring them back to this land; (BD)I will build them and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up. 7 Then I will give them (BE)a heart to know Me, that I am the Lord; and they shall be (BF)My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me (BG)with their whole heart.
8 ‘And as the bad (BH)figs which cannot be eaten, they are so bad’—surely thus says the Lord—‘so will I give up Zedekiah the king of Judah, his princes, the (BI)residue of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and (BJ)those who dwell in the land of Egypt. 9 I will deliver them to (BK)trouble into all the kingdoms of the earth, for their harm, (BL)to be a reproach and a byword, a taunt and a curse, in all places where I shall drive them. 10 And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence among them, till they are [n]consumed from the land that I gave to them and their fathers.’ ”
Seventy Years of Desolation
25 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, (BM)in the fourth year of (BN)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), 2 which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying: 3 (BO)“From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, this is the twenty-third year in which the word of the Lord has come to me; and I have spoken to you, rising early and speaking, (BP)but you have not listened. 4 And the Lord has sent to you all His servants the prophets, (BQ)rising early and sending them, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear. 5 They said, (BR)‘Repent now everyone of his evil way and his evil doings, and dwell in the land that the Lord has given to you and your fathers forever and ever. 6 Do not go after other gods to serve them and worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands; and I will not harm you.’ 7 Yet you have not listened to Me,” says the Lord, “that you might (BS)provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt.
8 “Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Because you have not heard My words, 9 behold, I will send and take (BT)all the families of the north,’ says the Lord, ‘and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, (BU)My servant, and will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, and against these nations all around, and will utterly destroy them, and (BV)make them an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations. 10 Moreover I will [o]take from them the (BW)voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, (BX)the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. 11 And this whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy (BY)years.
12 ‘Then it will come to pass, (BZ)when [p]seventy years are completed, that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity,’ says the Lord; (CA)‘and I will make it a perpetual desolation. 13 So I will bring on that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah has prophesied concerning all the nations. 14 (CB)(For many nations (CC)and great kings shall (CD)be served by them also; (CE)and I will repay them according to their deeds and according to the works of their own hands.)’ ”
Judgment on the Nations
15 For thus says the Lord God of Israel to me: “Take this (CF)wine cup of [q]fury from My hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send you, to drink it. 16 And (CG)they will drink and stagger and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them.”
17 Then I took the cup from the Lord’s hand, and made all the nations drink, to whom the Lord had sent me: 18 Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and its princes, to make them (CH)a desolation, an astonishment, a hissing, and (CI)a curse, as it is this day; 19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his princes, and all his people; 20 all the mixed multitude, all the kings of (CJ)the land of Uz, all the kings of the land of the (CK)Philistines (namely, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and (CL)the remnant of Ashdod); 21 (CM)Edom, Moab, and the people of Ammon; 22 all the kings of (CN)Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the coastlands which are across the (CO)sea; 23 (CP)Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all who are in the farthest corners; 24 all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the (CQ)mixed multitude who dwell in the desert; 25 all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of (CR)Elam, and all the kings of the (CS)Medes; 26 (CT)all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another; and all the kingdoms of the world which are on the face of the earth. Also the king of [r]Sheshach shall drink after them.
27 “Therefore you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: (CU)“Drink, (CV)be drunk, and vomit! Fall and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.” ’ 28 And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “You shall certainly drink! 29 For behold, (CW)I begin to bring calamity on the city (CX)which is called by My name, and should you be utterly unpunished? You shall not be unpunished, for (CY)I will call for a sword on all the inhabitants of the earth,” says the Lord of hosts.’
30 “Therefore prophesy against them all these words, and say to them:
‘The Lord will (CZ)roar from on high,
And utter His voice from (DA)His holy habitation;
He will roar mightily against (DB)His fold.
He will give (DC)a shout, as those who tread the grapes,
Against all the inhabitants of the earth.
31 A noise will come to the ends of the earth—
For the Lord has (DD)a controversy with the nations;
(DE)He will plead His case with all flesh.
He will give those who are wicked to the sword,’ says the Lord.”
32 Thus says the Lord of hosts:
“Behold, disaster shall go forth
From nation to nation,
And (DF)a great whirlwind shall be raised up
From the farthest parts of the earth.
33 (DG)And at that day the slain of the Lord shall be from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth. They shall not be (DH)lamented, (DI)or gathered, or buried; they shall become refuse on the ground.
34 “Wail,(DJ) shepherds, and cry!
Roll about in the ashes,
You leaders of the flock!
For the days of your slaughter and your dispersions are fulfilled;
You shall fall like a precious vessel.
35 And the shepherds will have no [s]way to flee,
Nor the leaders of the flock to escape.
36 A voice of the cry of the shepherds,
And a wailing of the leaders to the flock will be heard.
For the Lord has plundered their pasture,
37 And the peaceful dwellings are cut down
Because of the fierce anger of the Lord.
38 He has left His lair like the lion;
For their land is desolate
Because of the fierceness of the Oppressor,
And because of His fierce anger.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 23:5 act wisely
- Jeremiah 23:5 justice
- Jeremiah 23:5 land
- Jeremiah 23:6 Heb. YHWH Tsidkenu
- Jeremiah 23:13 Lit. distastefulness
- Jeremiah 23:15 Or Pollution
- Jeremiah 23:17 stubbornness or imagination
- Jeremiah 23:33 burden, prophecy
- Jeremiah 23:33 LXX, Tg., Vg. ‘You are the burden.’
- Jeremiah 23:34 burden, prophecy
- Jeremiah 23:36 burden, prophecy
- Jeremiah 23:38 burden, prophecy
- Jeremiah 24:5 regard
- Jeremiah 24:10 destroyed
- Jeremiah 25:10 Lit. cause to perish from them
- Jeremiah 25:12 Beginning circa 605 b.c. (2 Kin. 24:1) and ending circa 536 b.c. (Ezra 1:1)
- Jeremiah 25:15 wrath
- Jeremiah 25:26 A code word for Babylon, Jer. 51:41
- Jeremiah 25:35 Or refuge
John 19
New King James Version
The Soldiers Mock Jesus(A)
19 So then (B)Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him. 2 And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe. 3 [a]Then they said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they (C)struck Him with their hands.
4 Pilate then went out again, and said to them, “Behold, I am bringing Him out to you, (D)that you may know that I find no fault in Him.”
Pilate’s Decision
5 Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, “Behold the Man!”
6 (E)Therefore, when the chief priests and officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!”
Pilate said to them, “You take Him and crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him.”
7 The Jews answered him, (F)“We have a law, and according to [b]our law He ought to die, because (G)He made Himself the Son of God.”
8 Therefore, when Pilate heard that saying, he was the more afraid, 9 and went again into the Praetorium, and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” (H)But Jesus gave him no answer.
10 Then Pilate said to Him, “Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have [c]power to crucify You, and power to release You?”
11 Jesus answered, (I)“You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore (J)the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”
12 From then on Pilate sought to release Him, but the Jews cried out, saying, “If you let this Man go, you are not Caesar’s friend. (K)Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar.”
13 (L)When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus out and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. 14 Now (M)it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, “Behold your King!”
15 But they cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!”
Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?”
The chief priests answered, (N)“We have no king but Caesar!”
16 (O)Then he delivered Him to them to be crucified. Then they took Jesus [d]and led Him away.
The King on a Cross(P)
17 (Q)And He, bearing His cross, (R)went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, 18 where they crucified Him, and (S)two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center. 19 (T)Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was:
JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
20 Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.
21 Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but, ‘He said, “I am the King of the Jews.” ’ ”
22 Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
23 (U)Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece. 24 They said therefore among themselves, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be,” that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says:
(V)“They divided My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots.”
Therefore the soldiers did these things.
Behold Your Mother
25 (W)Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of (X)Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and (Y)the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, (Z)“Woman, behold your son!” 27 Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her (AA)to his own home.
It Is Finished
28 After this, Jesus, [e]knowing that all things were now accomplished, (AB)that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!” 29 Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and (AC)they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. 30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, (AD)“It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.
Jesus’ Side Is Pierced
31 (AE)Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, (AF)that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a (AG)high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. 32 Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately (AH)blood and water came out. 35 And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is (AI)true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may (AJ)believe. 36 For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, (AK)“Not one of His bones shall be broken.” 37 And again another Scripture says, (AL)“They shall look on Him whom they pierced.”
Jesus Buried in Joseph’s Tomb(AM)
38 (AN)After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, (AO)for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus. 39 And (AP)Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of (AQ)myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. 40 Then they took the body of Jesus, and (AR)bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury. 41 Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. 42 So (AS)there they laid Jesus, (AT)because of the Jews’ Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby.
Footnotes
- John 19:3 NU And they came up to Him and said
- John 19:7 NU the law
- John 19:10 authority
- John 19:16 NU omits and led Him away
- John 19:28 M seeing
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Bible Gateway Recommends
