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People of Jerusalem, run through your streets! Look around! See for yourselves! Search the marketplaces! Can you find one person who does what is right and tries to be faithful to God? If you can, the LORD will forgive Jerusalem.
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Even though you claim to worship the LORD, you do not mean what you say.
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Surely the LORD looks for faithfulness. He struck you, but you paid no attention; he crushed you, but you refused to learn. You were stubborn and would not turn from your sins.
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Then I thought, "These are only the poor and ignorant. They behave foolishly; they don't know what their God requires, what the LORD wants them to do.
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I will go to the people in power and talk with them. Surely they know what their God requires, what the LORD wants them to do." But all of them have rejected the LORD's authority and refuse to obey him.
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That is why lions from the forest will kill them; wolves from the desert will tear them to pieces, and leopards will prowl through their towns. If those people go out, they will be torn apart because their sins are numerous and time after time they have turned from God.
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The LORD asked, "Why should I forgive the sins of my people? They have abandoned me and have worshiped gods that are not real. I fed my people until they were full, but they committed adultery and spent their time with prostitutes.
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They were like well-fed stallions wild with desire, each lusting for his neighbor's wife.
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Shouldn't I punish them for these things and take revenge on a nation such as this?
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I will send enemies to cut down my people's vineyards, but not to destroy them completely. I will tell them to strip away the branches, because those branches are not mine.
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The people of Israel and Judah have betrayed me completely. I, the LORD, have spoken."
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The LORD's people have denied him and have said, "He won't really do anything. We won't have hard times; we won't have war or famine."
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They have said that the prophets are nothing but windbags and that they have no message from the LORD. The LORD God Almighty said to me, "Jeremiah, because these people have said such things, I will make my words like a fire in your mouth. The people will be like wood, and the fire will burn them up."
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People of Israel, the LORD is bringing a nation from far away to attack you. It is a strong and ancient nation, a nation whose language you do not know.
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Their archers are mighty soldiers who kill without mercy.
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They will devour your crops and your food; they will kill your sons and your daughters. They will slaughter your flocks and your herds and destroy your vines and fig trees. The fortified cities in which you trust will be destroyed by their army.
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The LORD says, "Yet even in those days I will not completely destroy my people.
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When they ask why I did all these things, tell them, Jeremiah, that just as they turned away from me and served foreign gods in their own land, so they will serve strangers in a land that is not theirs."
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The LORD says, "Tell the descendants of Jacob, tell the people of Judah:
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Pay attention, you foolish and stupid people, who have eyes, but cannot see, and have ears, but cannot hear.
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I am the LORD; why don't you fear me? Why don't you tremble before me? I placed the sand as the boundary of the sea, a permanent boundary that it cannot cross. The sea may toss, but it cannot go beyond it; the waves may roar, but they cannot break through.
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But you people! You are stubborn and rebellious; you have turned aside and left me.
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You never thought to honor me, even though I send the autumn rains and the spring rains and give you the harvest season each year.
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Instead, your sins have kept these good things from you.
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"Evildoers live among my people; they lie in wait like those who lay nets to catch birds, but they have set their traps to catch people.
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Just as a hunter fills a cage with birds, they have filled their houses with loot. That is why they are powerful and rich,
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why they are fat and well fed. There is no limit to their evil deeds. They do not give orphans their rights or show justice to the oppressed.
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"But I, the LORD, will punish them for these things; I will take revenge on this nation.
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A terrible and shocking thing has happened in the land:
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prophets speak nothing but lies; priests rule as the prophets command, and my people offer no objections. But what will they do when it all comes to an end?"
1
People of Benjamin, run for safety! Escape from Jerusalem! Sound the trumpet in Tekoa and build a signal fire in Beth Haccherem. Disaster and destruction are about to come from the north.
2
The city of Zion is beautiful, but it will be destroyed;
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kings will camp there with their armies. They will pitch their tents around the city, and each of them will camp wherever they want.
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They will say, "Prepare to attack Jerusalem! Get ready! We'll attack at noon!" But then they will say, "It's too late, the day is almost over, and the evening shadows are growing long.
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We'll attack by night; we'll destroy the city's fortresses."
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The LORD Almighty has ordered these kings to cut down trees and build mounds in order to besiege Jerusalem. He has said, "I will punish this city because it is full of oppression.
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As a well keeps its water fresh, so Jerusalem keeps its evil fresh. I hear violence and destruction in the city; sickness and wounds are all I see.
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People of Jerusalem, let these troubles be a warning to you, or else I will abandon you; I will turn your city into a desert, a place where no one lives."
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The LORD Almighty said to me, "Israel will be stripped clean like a vineyard from which every grape has been picked. So you must rescue everyone you can while there is still time."
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I answered, "Who would listen to me if I spoke to them and warned them? They are stubborn and refuse to listen to your message; they laugh at what you tell me to say.
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Your anger against them burns in me too, LORD, and I can't hold it in any longer." Then the LORD said to me, "Pour out my anger on the children in the streets and on the gatherings of the young people. Husbands and wives will be taken away, and even the very old will not be spared.
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Their houses will be given to others, and so will their fields and their wives. I am going to punish the people of this land.
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Everyone, great and small, tries to make money dishonestly; even prophets and priests cheat the people.
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They act as if my people's wounds were only scratches. 'All is well,' they say, when all is not well.
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Were they ashamed because they did these disgusting things? No, they were not at all ashamed; they don't even know how to blush. And so they will fall as others have fallen; when I punish them, that will be the end of them. I, the LORD, have spoken."
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The LORD said to his people, "Stand at the crossroads and look. Ask for the ancient paths and where the best road is. Walk in it, and you will live in peace." But they said, "No, we will not!"
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Then the LORD appointed sentries to listen for the trumpet's warning. But they said, "We will not listen."
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So the LORD said, "Listen, you nations, and learn what is going to happen to my people.
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Listen, earth! As punishment for all their schemes I am bringing ruin on these people, because they have rejected my teaching and have not obeyed my words.
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What do I care about the incense they bring me from Sheba, or the spices from a distant land? I will not accept their offerings or be pleased with their sacrifices.
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And so I will make these people stumble and fall. Parents and children will die, and so will friends and neighbors."
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The LORD says, "People are coming from a country in the north; a mighty nation far away is preparing for war.
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They have taken up their bows and swords; they are cruel and merciless. They sound like the roaring sea, as they ride their horses. They are ready for battle against Jerusalem."
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"We have heard the news," say the people of Jerusalem, "and our hands hang limp; we are seized by anguish and pain like a woman in labor.
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We don't dare go to the countryside or walk on the roads, because our enemies are armed and terror is all around us."
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The LORD says to his people, "Put on sackcloth and roll in ashes. Mourn with bitter tears as you would for an only child, because the one who comes to destroy you will suddenly attack.
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Jeremiah, test my people, as you would test metal, and find out what they are like.
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They are all stubborn rebels, hard as bronze and iron. They are all corrupt, going around and spreading gossip.
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The furnace burns fiercely, but the waste metals do not melt and run off. It is useless to go on refining my people, because those who are evil are not taken away.
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They will be called worthless dross, because I, the LORD, have rejected them."
1
Six days before the Passover, Jesus went to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, the man he had raised from death.
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They prepared a dinner for him there, which Martha helped serve; Lazarus was one of those who were sitting at the table with Jesus.
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Then Mary took a whole pint of a very expensive perfume made of pure nard, poured it on Jesus' feet, and wiped them with her hair. The sweet smell of the perfume filled the whole house.
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One of Jesus' disciples, Judas Iscariot---the one who was going to betray him---said,
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"Why wasn't this perfume sold for three hundred silver coins and the money given to the poor?"
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He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief. He carried the money bag and would help himself from it.
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But Jesus said, "Leave her alone! Let her keep what she has for the day of my burial.
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You will always have poor people with you, but you will not always have me."
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A large number of people heard that Jesus was in Bethany, so they went there, not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from death.
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So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus too,
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because on his account many Jews were rejecting them and believing in Jesus.
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The next day the large crowd that had come to the Passover Festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.
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So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting, "Praise God! God bless him who comes in the name of the Lord! God bless the King of Israel!"
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Jesus found a donkey and rode on it, just as the scripture says,
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"Do not be afraid, city of Zion! Here comes your king, riding on a young donkey."
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His disciples did not understand this at the time; but when Jesus had been raised to glory, they remembered that the scripture said this about him and that they had done this for him.
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The people who had been with Jesus when he called Lazarus out of the grave and raised him from death had reported what had happened.
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That was why the crowd met him---because they heard that he had performed this miracle.
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The Pharisees then said to one another, "You see, we are not succeeding at all! Look, the whole world is following him!"
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Some Greeks were among those who had gone to Jerusalem to worship during the festival.
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They went to Philip (he was from Bethsaida in Galilee) and said, "Sir, we want to see Jesus."
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Philip went and told Andrew, and the two of them went and told Jesus.
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Jesus answered them, "The hour has now come for the Son of Man to receive great glory.
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I am telling you the truth: a grain of wheat remains no more than a single grain unless it is dropped into the ground and dies. If it does die, then it produces many grains.
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Those who love their own life will lose it; those who hate their own life in this world will keep it for life eternal.
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Whoever wants to serve me must follow me, so that my servant will be with me where I am. And my Father will honor anyone who serves me.
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"Now my heart is troubled---and what shall I say? Shall I say, 'Father, do not let this hour come upon me'? But that is why I came---so that I might go through this hour of suffering.
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Father, bring glory to your name!" Then a voice spoke from heaven, "I have brought glory to it, and I will do so again."
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The crowd standing there heard the voice, and some of them said it was thunder, while others said, "An angel spoke to him!"
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But Jesus said to them, "It was not for my sake that this voice spoke, but for yours.
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Now is the time for this world to be judged; now the ruler of this world will be overthrown.
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When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to me."
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(In saying this he indicated the kind of death he was going to suffer.)
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The crowd answered, "Our Law tells us that the Messiah will live forever. How, then, can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?"
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Jesus answered, "The light will be among you a little longer. Continue on your way while you have the light, so that the darkness will not come upon you; for the one who walks in the dark does not know where he is going.
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Believe in the light, then, while you have it, so that you will be the people of the light." After Jesus said this, he went off and hid himself from them.
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Even though he had performed all these miracles in their presence, they did not believe in him,
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so that what the prophet Isaiah had said might come true: "Lord, who believed the message we told? To whom did the Lord reveal his power?"
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And so they were not able to believe, because Isaiah also said,
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"God has blinded their eyes and closed their minds, so that their eyes would not see, and their minds would not understand, and they would not turn to me, says God, for me to heal them."
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Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus' glory and spoke about him.
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Even then, many Jewish authorities believed in Jesus; but because of the Pharisees they did not talk about it openly, so as not to be expelled from the synagogue.
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They loved human approval rather than the approval of God.
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Jesus said in a loud voice, "Whoever believes in me believes not only in me but also in him who sent me.
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Whoever sees me sees also him who sent me.
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I have come into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness.
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If people hear my message and do not obey it, I will not judge them. I came, not to judge the world, but to save it.
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Those who reject me and do not accept my message have one who will judge them. The words I have spoken will be their judge on the last day!
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This is true, because I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has commanded me what I must say and speak.
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And I know that his command brings eternal life. What I say, then, is what the Father has told me to say."
