The Righteous Branch

1 ^u“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord. 2 Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning ^uthe shepherds who care for my people: “You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. ^vBehold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the Lord. 3 ^wThen I will gather the remnant of my flock ^xout of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, ^yand they shall be fruitful and multiply. 4 ^zI will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the Lord.

5 ^a“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous ^bBranch, and ^che shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved, and ^dIsrael will ^edwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ^f‘The Lord is our righteousness.’

7 ^g“Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when they shall no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ 8 but ‘As the Lord lives who brought up and led the offspring of the house of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he¹ had driven them.’ Then they shall dwell in their own land.”

28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together ^hfor good,¹ for ⁱthose who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he ^jforeknew he also ^kpredestined ^lto be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be ^mthe firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also ⁿjustified, and those whom he justified he also ^oglorified.

God’s Everlasting Love

31 What then shall we say to these things? ^pIf God is for us, who can be² against us? 32 ^qHe who did not spare his own Son but ^rgave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? ^sIt is God who justifies. 34 ^tWho is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—^uwho is at the right hand of God, ^vwho indeed is interceding for us.³ 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written,

37 No, in all these things we are more than ^yconquerors through ^zhim who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

52 The Jews then ^hdisputed among themselves, saying, ⁱ“How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of ^jthe Son of Man and drink his blood, you ^khave no life in you. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood ^lhas eternal life, and ^mI will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood ⁿabides in me, and I in him. 57 As ^othe living Father ^psent me, and ^qI live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. 58 ^rThis is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread¹ the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59 Jesus² said these things in the synagogue, as he taught ^sat Capernaum.