Chapter 45

A Message to Baruch

1 When Baruch son of Neriah wrote on a scroll the words Jeremiah the prophet dictated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, Jeremiah said this to Baruch: 2 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to you, Baruch: 3 You said, ‘Woe to me! The Lord has added sorrow to my pain; I am worn out with groaning and find no rest.’

4 But the Lord has told me to say to you, ‘This is what the Lord says: I will overthrow what I have built and uproot what I have planted, throughout the earth. 5 Should you then seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them. For I will bring disaster on all people, declares the Lord, but wherever you go I will let you escape with your life.’ ”

 Chapter 46

A Message About Egypt

1 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations:

2 Concerning Egypt:

This is the message against the army of Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt, which was defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates River by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah:

3 “Prepare your shields, both large and small,

and march out for battle!

4 Harness the horses,

mount the steeds!

Take your positions

with helmets on!

Polish your spears,

put on your armor!

5 What do I see?

They are terrified,

they are retreating,

their warriors are defeated.

They flee in haste

without looking back,

and there is terror on every side,”

declares the Lord.

6 “The swift cannot flee

nor the strong escape.

In the north by the River Euphrates

they stumble and fall.

7 “Who is this that rises like the Nile,

like rivers of surging waters?

8 Egypt rises like the Nile,

like rivers of surging waters.

She says, ‘I will rise and cover the earth;

I will destroy cities and their people.’

9 Charge, you horses!

Drive furiously, you charioteers!

March on, you warriors—men of Cush and Put who carry shields,

men of Lydia who draw the bow.

10 But that day belongs to the Lord, the Lord Almighty—

a day of vengeance, for vengeance on his foes.

The sword will devour till it is satisfied,

till it has quenched its thirst with blood.

For the Lord, the Lord Almighty, will offer sacrifice

in the land of the north by the River Euphrates.

11 “Go up to Gilead and get balm,

Virgin Daughter Egypt.

But you try many medicines in vain;

there is no healing for you.

12 The nations will hear of your shame;

your cries will fill the earth.

One warrior will stumble over another;

both will fall down together.”

13 This is the message the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to attack Egypt:

14 “Announce this in Egypt, and proclaim it in Migdol;

proclaim it also in Memphis and Tahpanhes:

‘Take your positions and get ready,

for the sword devours those around you.’

15 Why will your warriors be laid low?

They cannot stand, for the Lord will push them down.

16 They will stumble repeatedly;

they will fall over each other.

They will say, ‘Get up, let us go back

to our own people and our native lands,

away from the sword of the oppressor.’

17 There they will exclaim,

‘Pharaoh king of Egypt is only a loud noise;

he has missed his opportunity.’

18 “As surely as I live,” declares the King,

whose name is the Lord Almighty,

“one will come who is like Tabor among the mountains,

like Carmel by the sea.

19 Pack your belongings for exile,

you who live in Egypt,

for Memphis will be laid waste

and lie in ruins without inhabitant.

20 “Egypt is a beautiful heifer,

but a gadfly is coming

against her from the north.

21 The mercenaries in her ranks

are like fattened calves.

They too will turn and flee together,

they will not stand their ground,

for the day of disaster is coming upon them,

the time for them to be punished.

22 Egypt will hiss like a fleeing serpent

as the enemy advances in force;

they will come against her with axes,

like men who cut down trees.

23 They will chop down her forest,”

declares the Lord,

“dense though it be.

They are more numerous than locusts,

they cannot be counted.

24 Daughter Egypt will be put to shame,

given into the hands of the people of the north.”

25 The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “I am about to bring punishment on Amon god of Thebes, on Pharaoh, on Egypt and her gods and her kings, and on those who rely on Pharaoh. 26 I will give them into the hands of those who want to kill them—Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. Later, however, Egypt will be inhabited as in times past,” declares the Lord.

27 “Do not be afraid, Jacob my servant;

do not be dismayed, Israel.

I will surely save you out of a distant place,

your descendants from the land of their exile.

Jacob will again have peace and security,

and no one will make him afraid.

28 Do not be afraid, Jacob my servant,

for I am with you,” declares the Lord.

“Though I completely destroy all the nations

among which I scatter you,

I will not completely destroy you.

I will discipline you but only in due measure;

I will not let you go entirely unpunished.”

Chapter 47

A Message About the Philistines

1 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines before Pharaoh attacked Gaza:

2 This is what the Lord says:

“See how the waters are rising in the north;

they will become an overflowing torrent.

They will overflow the land and everything in it,

the towns and those who live in them.

The people will cry out;

all who dwell in the land will wail

3 at the sound of the hooves of galloping steeds,

at the noise of enemy chariots

and the rumble of their wheels.

Parents will not turn to help their children;

their hands will hang limp.

4 For the day has come

to destroy all the Philistines

and to remove all survivors

who could help Tyre and Sidon.

The Lord is about to destroy the Philistines,

the remnant from the coasts of Caphtor.

5 Gaza will shave her head in mourning;

Ashkelon will be silenced.

You remnant on the plain,

how long will you cut yourselves?

6 “ ‘Alas, sword of the Lord,

how long till you rest?

Return to your sheath;

cease and be still.’

7 But how can it rest

when the Lord has commanded it,

when he has ordered it

to attack Ashkelon and the coast?”

Psalm 105

1 Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;

make known among the nations what he has done.

2 Sing to him, sing praise to him;

tell of all his wonderful acts.

3 Glory in his holy name;

let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

4 Look to the Lord and his strength;

seek his face always.

5 Remember the wonders he has done,

his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,

6 you his servants, the descendants of Abraham,

his chosen ones, the children of Jacob.

7 He is the Lord our God;

his judgments are in all the earth.

8 He remembers his covenant forever,

the promise he made, for a thousand generations,

9 the covenant he made with Abraham,

the oath he swore to Isaac.

10 He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree,

to Israel as an everlasting covenant:

11 “To you I will give the land of Canaan

as the portion you will inherit.”

12 When they were but few in number,

few indeed, and strangers in it,

13 they wandered from nation to nation,

from one kingdom to another.

14 He allowed no one to oppress them;

for their sake he rebuked kings:

15 “Do not touch my anointed ones;

do my prophets no harm.”

16 He called down famine on the land

and destroyed all their supplies of food;

17 and he sent a man before them—

Joseph, sold as a slave.

18 They bruised his feet with shackles,

his neck was put in irons,

19 till what he foretold came to pass,

till the word of the Lord proved him true.

20 The king sent and released him,

the ruler of peoples set him free.

21 He made him master of his household,

ruler over all he possessed,

22 to instruct his princes as he pleased

and teach his elders wisdom.

23 Then Israel entered Egypt;

Jacob resided as a foreigner in the land of Ham.

24 The Lord made his people very fruitful;

he made them too numerous for their foes,

25 whose hearts he turned to hate his people,

to conspire against his servants.

26 He sent Moses his servant,

and Aaron, whom he had chosen.

27 They performed his signs among them,

his wonders in the land of Ham.

28 He sent darkness and made the land dark—

for had they not rebelled against his words?

29 He turned their waters into blood,

causing their fish to die.

30 Their land teemed with frogs,

which went up into the bedrooms of their rulers.

31 He spoke, and there came swarms of flies,

and gnats throughout their country.

32 He turned their rain into hail,

with lightning throughout their land;

33 he struck down their vines and fig trees

and shattered the trees of their country.

34 He spoke, and the locusts came,

grasshoppers without number;

35 they ate up every green thing in their land,

ate up the produce of their soil.

36 Then he struck down all the firstborn in their land,

the firstfruits of all their manhood.

37 He brought out Israel, laden with silver and gold,

and from among their tribes no one faltered.

38 Egypt was glad when they left,

because dread of Israel had fallen on them.

39 He spread out a cloud as a covering,

and a fire to give light at night.

40 They asked, and he brought them quail;

he fed them well with the bread of heaven.

41 He opened the rock, and water gushed out;

it flowed like a river in the desert.

42 For he remembered his holy promise

given to his servant Abraham.

43 He brought out his people with rejoicing,

his chosen ones with shouts of joy;

44 he gave them the lands of the nations,

and they fell heir to what others had toiled for—

45 that they might keep his precepts

and observe his laws.

Praise the Lord.

John 21

Jesus and the Miraculous Catch of Fish

1 Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3 “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.

5 He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”

“No,” they answered.

6 He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.

7 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. 8 The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. 9 When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.

10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” 11 So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14 This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

Jesus Reinstates Peter

15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

17 The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.

18 Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” 19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”

20 Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) 21 When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?”

22 Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” 23 Because of this, the rumor spread among the believers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”

24 This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.

25 Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.