15 The woman said to him, “Sir, ngive me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Go, ocall your husband, and come here.” 17 The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” 19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that pyou are qa prophet. 20 rOur fathers worshiped on sthis mountain, but you say that tin Jerusalem is uthe place where people ought to worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, v“Woman, believe me, wthe hour is coming when xneither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 yYou worship what you do not know; zwe worship what we know, for zsalvation is afrom the Jews. 23 But bthe hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father cin spirit and dtruth, for the Father eis seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that fMessiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, ghe will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, h“I who speak to you am he.”
The Prayer of Faith
13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him vsing praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, wanointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And xif he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, yconfess your sins to one another and pray for one another, zthat you may be healed. aThe prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.1 17 Elijah was a man bwith a nature like ours, and che prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for dthree years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 eThen he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.
19 My brothers, fif anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone gbrings him back, 20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering hwill save his soul from death and iwill cover a multitude of sins.
Death Comes to All
1 But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, chow the righteous and the wise and their deeds are din the hand of God. Whether it is love or hate, man does not know; both are before him. 2 eIt is the same for all, since fthe same event happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil,1 to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As the good one is, so is the sinner, and he who gswears is as he who shuns an oath. 3 This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that ethe same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and hmadness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. 4 But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. 5 For the living know that they will die, but ithe dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for jthe memory of them is forgotten. 6 Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished, and forever they have no more share in all that is done under the sun.
Enjoy Life with the One You Love
7 Go, keat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do.
8 lLet your garments be always white. Let not moil be lacking on your head.
9 Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your nvain2 life that he has given you under the sun, because that is your oportion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. 10 Whatever your hand finds to do, pdo it with your might,3 qfor there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.
Wisdom Better Than Folly
11 rAgain I saw that under the sun sthe race is not to the swift, nor tthe battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and uchance vhappen to them all. 12 For man wdoes not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and xlike birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are ysnared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them.
13 I have also seen this example of wisdom under the sun, and it seemed great to me. 14 There was a little city with few men in it, and a great king came against it and besieged it, building great siegeworks against it. 15 But there was found in it za poor, wise man, and he by his awisdom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that poor man. 16 But I say that bwisdom is better than might, though cthe poor man’s wisdom is despised and his words are not heard.
17 The words of the wise heard in dquiet are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools. 18 eWisdom is better than weapons of war, but fone sinner destroys much good.
Restoration for Israel and Judah
1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: eWrite in a book all the words that I have spoken to you. 3 fFor behold, days are coming, declares the Lord, gwhen I will restore hthe fortunes of my people, iIsrael and Judah, says the Lord, jand I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall take possession of it.”
4 These are the words that the Lord spoke concerning iIsrael and Judah:
5 “Thus says the Lord:
We have heard a cry of panic,
of terror, and no peace.
6 Ask now, and see,
can a man bear a child?
kWhy then do I see every man
with his hands on his stomach klike a woman in labor?
lWhy has every face turned pale?
7 Alas! mThat day is so great
nthere is none like it;
it is a time of distress for Jacob;
yet he shall be saved out of it.
8 “And it shall come to pass in that day, declares the Lord of hosts, that I will obreak his pyoke from off your neck, and I will oburst your bonds, qand foreigners shall no more make a servant of him.1 9 But they shall serve the Lord their God and rDavid their king, whom I will raise up for them.
10 s“Then fear not, tO Jacob my servant, declares the Lord,
nor be dismayed, O Israel;
for behold, sI will save you from far away,
uand your offspring from the land of their captivity.
sJacob shall return and have quiet and ease,
and none shall make him afraid.
11 vFor I am with you to save you,
declares the Lord;
vI will make a full end of all the nations
among whom I scattered you,
but of you I will not make a full end.
vI will wdiscipline you in just measure,
and I will by no means leave you unpunished.
12 “For thus says the Lord:
xYour hurt is incurable,
yand your wound is grievous.
13 There is none to uphold your cause,
no medicine for your wound,
zno healing for you.
14 aAll your lovers have forgotten you;
they care nothing for you;
for I have dealt you the blow of ban enemy,
the punishment cof a merciless foe,
because your guilt is great,
dbecause your sins are flagrant.
15 xWhy do you cry out over your hurt?
xYour pain is incurable.
Because your guilt is great,
dbecause your sins are flagrant,
I have done these things to you.
16 eTherefore all who devour you shall be devoured,
and fall your foes, every one of them, shall go into captivity;
gthose who plunder you shall be plundered,
hand all who prey on you I will make a prey.
17 iFor I will restore jhealth to you,
and kyour wounds I will heal,
declares the Lord,
because lthey have called you an outcast:
l‘It is Zion, for whom no one cares!’
18 “Thus says the Lord:
Behold, mI will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob
and have compassion on his dwellings;
the city shall be rebuilt on nits mound,
and the palace shall stand where it used to be.
19 oOut of them shall come songs of thanksgiving,
and the voices of those who celebrate.
pI will multiply them, and they shall not be few;
I will make them honored, and they shall not be small.
20 qTheir children shall be as they were of old,
and their congregation shall be established before me,
and I will punish all who oppress them.
21 rTheir prince shall be one of themselves;
rtheir ruler shall come out from their midst;
sI will make him draw near, and he shall approach me,
tfor who would dare of himself to approach me?
declares the Lord.
22 uAnd you shall be my people,
and I will be your God.”
23 vBehold wthe storm of the Lord!
Wrath has gone forth,
a whirling tempest;
it will burst upon the head of the wicked.
24 xThe fierce anger of the Lord will not turn back
until he has executed and accomplished
the intentions of his mind.
yIn the latter days you will understand this.
The Lord Will Turn Mourning to Joy
1 z“At that time, declares the Lord, aI will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they shall be my people.”
2 Thus says the Lord:
“The people who survived the sword
found grace in the wilderness;
bwhen Israel sought for rest,
3 the Lord appeared to him2 from far away.
cI have loved you with an everlasting love;
therefore dI have continued emy faithfulness to you.
4 fAgain I will build you, and you shall be built,
O virgin Israel!
gAgain you shall adorn yourself with tambourines
and shall go forth in hthe dance of the merrymakers.
5 iAgain you shall plant vineyards
on the mountains of Samaria;
the planters shall plant
and shall enjoy the fruit.
6 For there shall be a day when watchmen will call
in jthe hill country of Ephraim:
k‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion,
to the Lord our God.’”
7 For thus says the Lord:
l“Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,
and raise shouts for mthe chief of the nations;
proclaim, give praise, and say,
n‘O Lord, save your people,
the remnant of Israel.’
8 Behold, I will bring them ofrom the north country
and pgather them from qthe farthest parts of the earth,
among them rthe blind and the lame,
the pregnant woman and she who is in labor, together;
a great company, they shall return here.
9 sWith weeping they shall come,
tand with pleas for mercy I will lead them back,
I will make them uwalk by brooks of water,
vin a straight path in which they shall not stumble,
for wI am a father to Israel,
and Ephraim is xmy firstborn.
10 “Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
and declare it in the coastlands far away;
say, ‘He who scattered Israel will pgather him,
and will keep him yas a shepherd keeps his flock.’
11 zFor the Lord has ransomed Jacob
and has redeemed him from ahands too strong for him.
12 They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,
band they shall be radiant cover the goodness of the Lord,
dover the grain, the wine, and the oil,
and over the young of the flock and the herd;
etheir life shall be like a watered garden,
fand they shall languish no more.
13 gThen shall the young women rejoice in the dance,
and the young men and the old shall be merry.
hI will turn their mourning into joy;
I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.
14 iI will feast the soul of the priests with abundance,
and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness,
declares the Lord.”
15 Thus says the Lord:
lamentation and bitter weeping.
lRachel is weeping for her children;
she refuses to be comforted for her children,
mbecause they are no more.”
16 Thus says the Lord:
“Keep your voice from weeping,
and your eyes from tears,
for there is a reward for your work,
declares the Lord,
and nthey shall come back from the land of the enemy.
17 oThere is hope for your future,
declares the Lord,
and your children shall come back to their own country.
18 I have heard pEphraim grieving,
‘You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined,
like an untrained calf;
qbring me back that I may be restored,
for you are the Lord my God.
19 For after rI had turned away, I relented,
and after I was instructed, sI struck my thigh;
tI was ashamed, and I was confounded,
because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’
20 pIs Ephraim my dear son?
uIs he my darling child?
For as often as I speak against him,
I do remember him still.
vTherefore my heart3 yearns for him;
I will surely have mercy on him,
declares the Lord.
21 w“Set up road markers for yourself;
make yourself guideposts;
xconsider well the highway,
wthe road by which you went.
Return, O virgin Israel,
return to these your cities.
22 yHow long will you waver,
zO faithless daughter?
For the Lord has created a new thing on the earth:
a woman encircles a man.”
23 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Once more they shall use these words in the land of Judah and in its cities, awhen I restore their fortunes:
b“‘The Lord bless you, cO habitation of righteousness,
dO holy hill!’
24 eAnd Judah and all its cities shall dwell there together, and ethe farmers and those who wander with their flocks. 25 For I will fsatisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.”
26 At this I awoke and looked, and my sleep was pleasant to me.
27 g“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when hI will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with ithe seed of man and the seed of beast. 28 And it shall come to pass that jas I have watched over them kto pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring harm, jso I will watch over them lto build and to plant, declares the Lord. 29 In those days they shall no longer say:
m“‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’
30 nBut everyone shall die for his own iniquity. Each man who eats sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.
The New Covenant
31 o“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make pa new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when qI took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, rthough I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33 sFor this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: sI will put my law within them, and I will write it ton their hearts. uAnd I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ vfor they shall all know me, wfrom the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For xI will forgive their iniquity, and yI will remember their sin no more.”
35 Thus says the Lord,
who zgives the sun for light by day
and athe fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night,
who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
bthe Lord of hosts is his name:
36 c“If this fixed order departs
from before me, declares the Lord,
then shall the offspring of Israel cease
from being a nation before me forever.”
37 Thus says the Lord:
“If the heavens above can be measured,
and the foundations of the earth below can be explored,
dthen I will cast off all the offspring of Israel
for all that they have done,
declares the Lord.”
38 e“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when the city shall be rebuilt for the Lord ffrom the Tower of Hananel to gthe Corner Gate. 39 hAnd the measuring line shall go out farther, straight to the hill Gareb, and shall then turn to Goah. 40 iThe whole valley of the dead bodies and the ashes, and all the fields as far as the jbrook Kidron, to the corner of kthe Horse Gate toward the east, lshall be sacred to the Lord. mIt shall not be plucked up or overthrown anymore forever.”
