God’s Grace to Unfaithful Jerusalem

16 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, ^(A)make known to Jerusalem her abominations, ³ and say, ‘This is what the Lord ^[a]God says to Jerusalem: “Your origin and your birth are from the land of the Canaanite; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. ⁴ As for your birth, ^(B)on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water for cleansing; you were not rubbed with salt or even wrapped in cloths. ⁵ No eye looked with pity on you to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you. Rather you were thrown out into the ^[b](C)open field, ^[c]for you were abhorred on the day you were born.

⁶ “When I passed by you and saw you squirming in your blood, I said to you while you were in your blood, ‘Live!’ Yes, I said to you while you were in your blood, ‘Live!’ ⁷ I ^(D)made you ^[d]very numerous, like plants of the field. Then you grew up, became tall and reached the age for fine jewelry; your breasts were formed and your hair had grown. Yet you were naked and bare.

⁸ “Then I passed by you and saw you, and behold, ^[e]you were at the time for love; so I ^(E)spread My ^[f]garment over you and covered your nakedness. I also ^(F)swore an oath to you and ^(G)entered into a covenant with you so that you ^(H)became Mine,” declares the Lord God. ⁹ “Then I bathed you with water, washed off your blood from you, and ^(I)anointed you with oil. ¹⁰ I also clothed you with ^(J)colorfully woven cloth and put sandals of ^[g]fine leather on your feet; and I wrapped you with fine linen and covered you with silk. ¹¹ I adorned you with jewelry, put ^(K)bracelets on your wrists, and a ^(L)necklace around your neck. ¹² I also put a ^(M)ring in your nose, earrings in your ears, and a ^(N)beautiful crown on your head. ¹³ So you were adorned with ^(O)gold and silver, and your dress was of fine linen, silk, and colorfully woven cloth. You ate fine flour, honey, and oil; so you were exceedingly beautiful and advanced to ^(P)royalty. ¹⁴ Then your ^(Q)fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was ^(R)perfect because of My splendor which I bestowed on you,” declares the Lord God.

¹⁵ “But you ^(S)trusted in your beauty and ^(T)became unfaithful because of your fame, and you poured out your ^[h]obscene practices on every passer-by to whom it might be tempting. ¹⁶ You took some of your clothes, made for yourself ^[i]high places of various colors, and committed prostitution on them, which should not come about nor happen. ¹⁷ You also took your beautiful ^[j](U)jewels made of My gold and of My silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself male images so that you might commit prostitution with them. ¹⁸ Then you took your colorfully woven cloth and covered them, and offered My oil and My incense before them. ¹⁹ Also ^(V)My bread which I gave you, fine flour, oil, and honey with which I fed you, ^[k]you would offer before them for a soothing aroma; so it happened,” declares the Lord God. ²⁰ “Furthermore, you took your sons and daughters whom you had borne to ^(W)Me and ^(X)sacrificed them to ^[l]idols to be devoured. Were your obscene practices a trivial matter? ²¹ You slaughtered ^(Y)My children and offered them to ^[m]idols by ^(Z)making them pass through the fire. ²² And besides all your abominations and obscene practices, you did not remember the days of ^(AA)your youth, when you were naked and bare and squirming in your blood.

²³ “Then it came about after all your wickedness (‘Woe, woe to you!’ declares the Lord God), ²⁴ that you built yourself a ^(AB)shrine and made yourself a ^(AC)high place in every public square. ²⁵ You built yourself a high place at the beginning of ^(AD)every street and made your beauty abominable, and you spread your legs to every passer-by and multiplied your obscene practice. ²⁶ You also committed prostitution with the Egyptians, your ^[n]lustful neighbors, and multiplied your obscene practice to ^(AE)provoke Me to anger. ²⁷ So behold, I have stretched out My hand against you and cut back your rations. And I turned you over to the desire of those who hate you, the ^(AF)daughters of the Philistines, who are ashamed of your outrageous conduct. ²⁸ Moreover, you committed prostitution with the ^(AG)Assyrians because you were not satisfied; you committed prostitution with them and still were not satisfied. ²⁹ You also multiplied your obscene practice with the land of merchants, Chaldea; yet even with this you were not satisfied.”’”

³⁰ “How ^(AH)feverish is your heart,” declares the Lord God, “while you do all these things, the action of a ^[o](AI)bold prostitute! ³¹ When you built your shrine at the beginning of every street and made your high place in every public square, in ^(AJ)spurning a prostitute’s fee, you were not like a prostitute. ³² You adulteress wife, who takes strangers instead of her husband! ³³ Men give gifts to all prostitutes, but you ^(AK)give your gifts to all your lovers and lavish favors on them so that they will come to you from every direction for your obscene practices. ³⁴ So it is the opposite for you from those women in your obscene practices, in that you are not approached for prostitution, and in the fact that you pay a prostitute’s fee, and no fee is paid to you; so you are the opposite.”

³⁵ Therefore, you prostitute, hear the word of the Lord. ³⁶ This is what the Lord God says: “Because your lewdness was poured out and your nakedness uncovered through your obscene practices with your lovers and with all your detestable ^(AL)idols, and because of the blood of your sons that you gave to ^[p]idols, ³⁷ therefore, behold, I am going to ^(AM)gather all your lovers whom you pleased, all those whom you loved as well as all those whom you ^(AN)hated. So I will gather them against you from every direction and ^(AO)expose your nakedness to them so that they may see all your nakedness. ³⁸ So I will ^(AP)judge you as women who commit adultery or shed blood are judged; and I will bring on you the blood of ^(AQ)wrath and jealousy. ³⁹ I will also hand you over to ^[q]your lovers, and they will tear down your shrines, demolish your high places, ^(AR)strip you of your clothing, take away your ^[r]jewels, and will leave you naked and bare. ⁴⁰ They will ^[s]incite a ^(AS)crowd against you, and they will stone you and cut you to pieces with their swords. ⁴¹ And they will ^(AT)burn your houses with fire and execute judgments against you in the sight of many women. Then I will ^(AU)put an end to your prostitution, and you will also no longer pay ^[t]your lovers. ⁴² So I ^(AV)will satisfy My fury against you and My jealousy will leave you, and I will be pacified and ^(AW)no longer be angry. ⁴³ Since you have ^(AX)not remembered the days of your youth but ^[u]have ^(AY)caused Me unrest by all these things, behold, I in turn will ^(AZ)bring your conduct down on your own head,” declares the Lord God, “so that you will not commit this outrageous sin in addition to all your other abominations.

⁴⁴ “Behold, everyone who quotes ^(BA)proverbs will quote this proverb about you, saying, ‘Like ^[v]mother, like daughter.’ ⁴⁵ You are the daughter of your mother, who loathed her husband and children. You are also the ^(BB)sister of your sisters, who ^(BC)loathed their husbands and children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite. ⁴⁶ Now your ^(BD)older sister is Samaria, who lives ^[w]north of you with her ^[x]daughters; and your younger sister, who lives ^[y]south of you, is ^(BE)Sodom with her ^[z]daughters. ⁴⁷ Yet you have not merely walked in their ways and ^[aa]committed their abominations; but, as if that were ^(BF)too little, you also acted ^(BG)more corruptly in all your conduct than they. ⁴⁸ As I live,” declares the Lord God, “Sodom, your sister and her daughters have ^(BH)not done as you and your daughters have done! ⁴⁹ Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had ^(BI)arrogance, ^(BJ)plenty of food, and ^(BK)carefree ease, but she did not ^[ab]help the ^(BL)poor and needy. ⁵⁰ So they were haughty and committed ^(BM)abominations before Me. Therefore I ^(BN)removed them ^[ac]when I saw it. ⁵¹ Furthermore, Samaria did not commit half of your sins, for you have multiplied your abominations more than they. So you have made your sisters appear ^(BO)innocent by all your abominations which you have committed. ⁵² Also, bear your disgrace in that you have ^[ad]made judgment favorable for your sisters. Because of your sins in which you acted ^(BP)more abominably than they, they are more in the right than you. Yes, be also ashamed and bear your disgrace, in that you made your sisters appear innocent.

⁵³ “Nevertheless, I will restore their fortunes, the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters, and ^[ae]along with them your own fortunes, ⁵⁴ so that you will bear your disgrace and feel ^(BQ)ashamed for all that you have done when you become ^(BR)a consolation to them. ⁵⁵ Your sisters, Sodom with her daughters and Samaria with her daughters, ^[af]will return to their former state, and you with your daughters will also return to your former state. ⁵⁶ As the name of your sister Sodom was not heard from your lips in your day of pride, ⁵⁷ before your ^(BS)wickedness was uncovered, ^[ag]so now you have become the ^(BT)disgrace of the daughters of ^[ah]Edom and of all who are around her, of the daughters of the Philistines—those surrounding you who despise you. ⁵⁸ You have ^(BU)suffered the penalty of your outrageous sin and abominations,” the Lord declares. ⁵⁹ For this is what the Lord God says: “I will also do with you as you have done, you who have ^(BV)despised the oath by breaking the covenant.

The Covenant Remembered

⁶⁰ “Nevertheless, I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an ^(BW)everlasting covenant with you. ⁶¹ Then you will ^(BX)remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your sisters, both your older and your younger; and I will give them to you as daughters, but not because of your covenant. ⁶² So I will ^(BY)establish My covenant with you, and you shall ^(BZ)know that I am the Lord, ⁶³ so that you may ^(CA)remember and be ashamed, and ^(CB)not open your mouth again because of your disgrace, when I have ^[ai](CC)forgiven you for all that you have done,” the Lord God declares.

Parable of Two Eagles and a Vine

17 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, ask a riddle and present a ^(CD)parable to the house of Israel, ^3 [aj]saying, ‘This is what the Lord ^[ak]God says: “A great ^[al](CE)eagle with ^(CF)great wings, long pinions, and a full plumage of many colors came to ^[am](CG)Lebanon and took away the top of the ^[an]cedar. ⁴ He broke off the ^[ao]topmost of its young twigs and brought it to a land of merchants; he set it in a ^[ap]city of traders. ⁵ He also took ^[aq]from the seed of the land and planted ^[ar]it in ^[as](CH)fertile soil, a ^[at]meadow beside abundant waters; he set it like a ^(CI)willow. ⁶ Then it sprouted and became a low, spreading vine with its branches turned toward him, but its roots remained under it. So it became a vine and produced shoots and sent out branches.

⁷ “But there was ^[au]another great eagle with great wings and much plumage; and behold, this vine turned its roots toward him and sent out its branches toward him from the beds where it was ^(CJ)planted, so that he might water it. ⁸ It was planted in good ^[av]soil beside abundant waters, so that it would produce branches and bear fruit, and become a splendid vine.”’ ⁹ Say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Will it thrive? Will he not pull up its roots and cut off its fruit, so that it withers—so that all its sprouting shoots wither? And neither by great ^[aw]strength nor by many people can it be raised from its roots again. ¹⁰ Behold, though it is planted, will it thrive? Will it not ^(CK)completely wither as soon as the east wind strikes it—wither on the beds where it grew?”’”

Zedekiah’s Rebellion

¹¹ Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹² “Say now to the ^(CL)rebellious house, ‘Do you not ^(CM)know what these things mean?’ Say, ‘Behold, the ^(CN)king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, took its king and leaders, and brought them to him in Babylon. ¹³ Then he took one of the royal ^[ax](CO)family and made a covenant with him, ^[ay]putting him under ^(CP)oath. He also took away the ^(CQ)mighty of the land, ¹⁴ so that the kingdom would ^(CR)be humbled, not exalting itself, but keeping his covenant so that it might continue. ¹⁵ But ^[az]he ^(CS)revolted against ^[ba]him by sending his messengers to Egypt so that they might give him horses and many ^[bb]troops. Will he succeed? Will he who does these things ^(CT)escape? Can he indeed break the covenant and escape? ¹⁶ As I live,’ declares the Lord God, ‘In the ^[bc]country of the king who ^[bd]put him on the throne, whose oath he ^(CU)despised and whose covenant he broke, ^[be](CV)in Babylon he shall certainly die. ^17 (CW)Pharaoh with his mighty army and great contingent will not ^[bf]help him in the war, when they pile up assault ramps and build siege walls to eliminate many lives. ¹⁸ Now he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, and behold, he ^[bg](CX)pledged his allegiance, yet did all these things; he shall not escape.’” ¹⁹ Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: “As I live, My oath which he despised and My covenant which he broke, I will certainly ^[bh]inflict on his head. ²⁰ And I will spread My ^(CY)net over him, and he will be ^(CZ)caught in My net. Then I will bring him to Babylon and ^(DA)enter into judgment with him there regarding the unfaithful act which he has committed against Me. ²¹ All the ^[bi](DB)choice men in all his troops will fall by the sword, and the survivors will be scattered to every wind; and you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken.”

²² This is what the Lord God says: “I will also take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and ^[bj]set it out; I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I will plant it on a ^(DC)high and lofty mountain. ²³ On the high mountain of Israel I will plant it, so that it may bring forth branches and bear fruit, and become a stately ^(DD)cedar. And ^[bk]birds of every ^[bl]kind will ^[bm]nest under it; they will ^[bn]nest in the shade of its branches. ²⁴ All the ^(DE)trees of the field will know that I am the Lord; I bring down the high tree, exalt the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree ^(DF)flourish. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will perform it.”

God Deals Justly with Individuals

18 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “^(DG)What do you people mean by using this proverb about the land of Israel, saying,

³ As I live,” declares the Lord ^[bp]God, “you certainly are not going to use this proverb in Israel anymore. ⁴ Behold, ^(DI)all ^[bq]souls are Mine; the ^[br]soul of the father as well as the ^[bs]soul of the son is Mine. The ^[bt]soul who ^(DJ)sins will die.

⁵ “But if a man is righteous and practices justice and righteousness, ⁶ if he does not ^(DK)eat at the mountain shrines or ^(DL)raise his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, or ^(DM)defile his neighbor’s wife or approach a woman during her menstrual period— ⁷ and if a man does not oppress anyone, but ^(DN)restores to the debtor his pledge, ^(DO)does not commit robbery, but ^(DP)gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing, ⁸ and if he does not ^[bu]lend money at ^(DQ)interest or take ^[bv](DR)interest, if he keeps his hand from injustice and ^(DS)executes true justice between one person and another, ⁹ if he walks in ^(DT)My statutes and keeps My ordinances so as to deal faithfully—^(DU)he is righteous and will certainly ^(DV)live,” declares the Lord God.

¹⁰ “However, he may father a violent son who sheds blood, and does any one of these things to a brother ¹¹ (though he himself did not do any of these things), that is, he even eats at the mountain shrines, and ^(DW)defiles his neighbor’s wife, ¹² oppresses the ^(DX)poor and needy, ^(DY)commits robbery, does not restore a pledge, but raises his eyes to the idols and ^(DZ)commits abomination, ^13 (EA)lends money at interest and takes ^[bw]interest; will he live? He will not live! He has committed all these abominations, he shall certainly be put to death; his ^(EB)blood will be on himself.

¹⁴ “Now behold, he has fathered a son who saw all his father’s sins which he committed, but he has ^(EC)seen them and does not do likewise. ¹⁵ He does not eat at the mountain shrines or raise his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel; he has not defiled his neighbor’s wife, ¹⁶ nor oppressed anyone, nor retained a pledge, nor committed robbery; instead, he ^(ED)gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing, ¹⁷ he keeps his hand from ^[bx]the poor, does not take any kind of interest on loans, but executes My ordinances, and walks in My statutes; ^(EE)he will not die for his father’s guilt, he will certainly live. ¹⁸ As for his father, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother, and did what was not good among his people, behold, he will die for his guilt.

¹⁹ “Yet you say, ‘^(EF)Why should the son not suffer the punishment for the father’s guilt?’ When the son has practiced ^(EG)justice and righteousness and has kept all My statutes and done them, he shall certainly live. ²⁰ The person who ^(EH)sins will die. A ^(EI)son will not suffer the punishment for the father’s guilt, nor will a father suffer the punishment for the son’s guilt; the ^(EJ)righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself.

²¹ “But if the ^(EK)wicked person turns from all his sins which he has committed and keeps all My statutes and practices justice and righteousness, he shall certainly live; he shall not die. ^22 (EL)All his offenses which he has committed will not be remembered against him; because of his ^(EM)righteousness which he has practiced, he will live. ^23 (EN)Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked,” declares the Lord God, “^[by]rather than that he would ^(EO)turn from his ways and live?

²⁴ “But when a righteous person ^(EP)turns away from his righteousness, commits injustice and does according to all the abominations that the wicked person does, will he live? ^(EQ)All his righteous deeds which he has done will not be remembered for his ^(ER)treachery which he has committed and his sin which he has committed; for them he will die. ²⁵ Yet you say, ‘^(ES)The way of the Lord is not right.’ Hear now, house of Israel! Is ^(ET)My way not right? Is it not your ways that are not right? ²⁶ When a righteous person turns away from his righteousness, commits injustice and dies because of it, for his injustice which he has committed he dies. ²⁷ But when a wicked person turns away ^(EU)from his wickedness which he has committed and practices justice and righteousness, he will save his life. ²⁸ Since he understood and turned away from all his offenses which he had committed, he shall certainly live; he shall not die. ²⁹ But the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not right.’ Are My ways not right, house of Israel? Is it not your ways that are not right?

³⁰ “Therefore I will judge you, house of Israel, each according to his conduct,” declares the Lord God. “^(EV)Repent and turn away from all your offenses, so that wrongdoing does not become a stumbling block to you. ^31 (EW)Hurl away from you all your offenses which you have committed and make yourselves a ^(EX)new heart and a new spirit! For why should you die, house of Israel? ³² For I take ^(EY)no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,” declares the Lord God. “Therefore, repent and live!”

Five Thousand Men Fed

6 After these things ^(A)Jesus went away to the other side of ^(B)the Sea of Galilee (or ^(C)Tiberias). ² A large crowd was following Him, because they were watching the ^[a](D)signs which He was performing on those who were sick. ³ But ^(E)Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples. ⁴ Now ^(F)the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near. ⁵ So Jesus, after raising His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, *said to ^(G)Philip, “Where are we to buy bread so that these people may eat?” ⁶ But He was saying this only to ^(H)test him, for He Himself knew what He intended to do. ^7 (I)Philip answered Him, “^(J)Two hundred ^[b]denarii worth of bread is not enough for them, for each to receive just a little!” ⁸ One of His ^(K)disciples, ^(L)Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, *said to Him, ⁹ “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two ^(M)fish; but what are these for so many people?” ¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people recline to eat.” Now there was ^(N)plenty of grass in the place. So the men reclined, about ^[c](O)five thousand in number. ¹¹ Jesus then took the loaves, and ^(P)after giving thanks He distributed them to those who were reclining; likewise also of the ^(Q)fish, as much as they wanted. ¹² And when they had eaten their fill, He *said to His ^(R)disciples, “Gather up the leftover pieces so that nothing will be lost.” ¹³ So they gathered them up, and filled twelve ^(S)baskets with pieces from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. ¹⁴ Therefore when the people saw the ^[d]sign which He had performed, they said, “This is truly the ^(T)Prophet who is to come into the world.”

Jesus Walks on the Water

¹⁵ So Jesus, aware that they ^[e]intended to come and take Him by force ^(U)to make Him king, ^(V)withdrew again to ^(W)the mountain by Himself, alone.

¹⁶ Now when evening came, His ^(X)disciples went down to the sea, ¹⁷ and after getting into a boat, they started to cross the sea ^(Y)to Capernaum. It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. ¹⁸ In addition, the sea began getting rough, because a strong wind was blowing. ¹⁹ Then, when they had rowed about ^[f]twenty-five or thirty stadia, they *saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat; and they were frightened. ²⁰ But He *said to them, “It is I; ^[g](Z)do not be afraid.” ²¹ So they were willing to take Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

²² The next day ^(AA)the crowd that stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other small boat there except one, and that Jesus ^(AB)had not gotten into the boat with His disciples, but that His disciples had departed alone. ²³ Other small boats came from ^(AC)Tiberias near to the place where they ate the bread after the ^(AD)Lord ^(AE)had given thanks. ²⁴ So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves got into the small boats and ^(AF)came to Capernaum, looking for Jesus. ²⁵ And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “^(AG)Rabbi, when did You get here?”

Words to the People

²⁶ Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you ^(AH)seek Me, not because you saw ^[h](AI)signs, but because you ate some of the loaves and were filled. ²⁷ Do not ^(AJ)work for the food that perishes, but for the food that lasts for ^(AK)eternal life, which ^(AL)the Son of Man will give you, for on Him the Father, God, ^(AM)has set His ^[i]seal.” ²⁸ Therefore they said to Him, “What are we to do, so that we may accomplish the works of God?” ²⁹ Jesus answered and said to them, “This is ^(AN)the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He ^(AO)has sent.” ³⁰ So they said to Him, “^(AP)What then are You doing as a ^(AQ)sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work are You performing? ^31 (AR)Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘^(AS)He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.’” ³² Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. ³³ For the bread of God is ^[j]that which ^(AT)comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world.” ³⁴ Then they said to Him, “Lord, always ^(AU)give us this bread.”

³⁵ Jesus said to them, “^(AV)I am the bread of life; the one who comes to Me will not be hungry, and the one who believes in Me ^(AW)will never be thirsty. ³⁶ But ^(AX)I said to you that you have indeed seen Me, and yet you do not believe. ^37 (AY)Everything that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I certainly will not cast out. ³⁸ For ^(AZ)I have come down from heaven, ^(BA)not to do My own will, but ^(BB)the will of Him who ^(BC)sent Me. ³⁹ And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of ^(BD)everything that He has given Me I will ^(BE)lose nothing, but will ^(BF)raise it up on the last day. ⁴⁰ For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who ^(BG)sees the Son and ^(BH)believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will ^(BI)raise him up on the last day.”

Words to the Jews

^41 (BJ)So then the Jews were complaining about Him because He said, “I am the bread that ^(BK)came down out of heaven.” ⁴² And they were saying, “^(BL)Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother ^(BM)we know? How does He now say, ‘^(BN)I have come down out of heaven’?” ⁴³ Jesus answered and said to them, “Stop complaining among yourselves. ⁴⁴ No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me ^(BO)draws him; and I will ^(BP)raise him up on the last day. ⁴⁵ It is written ^(BQ)in the Prophets: ‘^(BR)And they shall all be ^(BS)taught of God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me. ^46 (BT)Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father. ⁴⁷ Truly, truly, I say to you, the one who believes ^(BU)has eternal life. ^48 (BV)I am the bread of life. ^49 (BW)Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. ⁵⁰ This is the bread that ^(BX)comes down out of heaven, so that anyone may eat from it and ^(BY)not die. ^51 (BZ)I am the living bread that ^(CA)came down out of heaven; if anyone eats from this bread, ^(CB)he will live forever; and the bread which I will give ^(CC)for the life of the world also is ^(CD)My flesh.”

^52 (CE)Then the Jews ^(CF)began to argue with one another, saying, “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 ^(CG)the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. ⁵⁴ The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will ^(CH)raise him up on the last day. ⁵⁵ For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. ⁵⁶ The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood ^(CI)remains in Me, and I in him. ⁵⁷ Just as the ^(CJ)living Father ^(CK)sent Me, and I live because of the Father, the one who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. ⁵⁸ This is the bread that ^(CL)came down out of heaven, not as ^(CM)the fathers ate and died; the one who eats this bread ^(CN)will live forever.”

Words to the Disciples

⁵⁹ These things He said ^(CO)in the synagogue as He taught ^(CP)in Capernaum.

⁶⁰ So then many of His ^(CQ)disciples, when they heard this, said, “^(CR)This statement is very ^[k]unpleasant; who can listen to it?” ⁶¹ But Jesus, ^(CS)aware that His disciples were complaining about this, said to them, “Is this ^[l](CT)offensive to you? ⁶² What then if you see ^(CU)the Son of Man ^(CV)ascending to where He was before? ^63 (CW)It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh provides no benefit; ^(CX)the words that I have spoken to you are spirit, and are life. ⁶⁴ But there are ^(CY)some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus ^(CZ)knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and ^(DA)who it was who would ^[m]betray Him. ⁶⁵ And He was saying, “For this reason I have ^(DB)told you that no one can come to Me unless ^(DC)it has been granted him from the Father.”

Peter’s Confession of Faith

⁶⁶ As a result of this many of His ^(DD)disciples ^(DE)left, and would no longer walk with Him. ⁶⁷ So Jesus said to ^(DF)the twelve, “You do not want to leave also, do you?” ^68 (DG)Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have ^(DH)words of eternal life. ⁶⁹ And we have already believed and have come to know that You are ^(DI)the Holy One of God.” ⁷⁰ Jesus answered them, “^(DJ)Did I Myself not choose you, ^(DK)the twelve? And yet one of you is ^(DL)a devil.” ⁷¹ Now He meant Judas ^(DM)the son of Simon Iscariot; for he, ^(DN)one of ^(DO)the twelve, ^[n]was going to betray Him.