In those days, all the princes of Judah, the priests, and the people added infidelity to infidelity, practicing all the abominations of the nations and polluting the LORD’s temple which he had consecrated in Jerusalem. Early and often did the LORD, the God of their fathers, send his messengers to them, for he had compassion on his people and his dwelling place. But they mocked the messengers of God, despised his warnings, and scoffed at his prophets, until the anger of the LORD against his people was so inflamed that there was no remedy. Their enemies burnt the house of God, tore down the walls of Jerusalem, set all its palaces afire, and destroyed all its precious objects. Those who escaped the sword were carried captive to Babylon, where they became servants of the king of the Chaldeans and his sons until the kingdom of the Persians came to power. All this was to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah: “Until the land has retrieved its lost sabbaths, during all the time it lies waste it shall have rest while seventy years are fulfilled.” In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD inspired King Cyrus of Persia to issue this proclamation throughout his kingdom, both by word of mouth and in writing: “Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the LORD, the God of heaven, has given to me, and he has also charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever, therefore, among you belongs to any part of his people, let him go up, and may his God be with him!”

Brothers and sisters: God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ — by grace you have been saved —, raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so no one may boast. For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them.

Jesus said to Nicodemus: “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.

那时候，所有的司祭、首长和百姓，都罪上加罪，仿效了异族所做的一切丑恶之事，污辱了上主在耶路撒冷祝圣的圣殿。上主、他们祖先的天主，由于爱惜自己的百姓和自己的居所，时常不断派遣使者警戒他们。无奈，他们都嘲笑了天主的使者，轻视了天主的劝言，讥笑了天主的先知，致使上主的怒火，发泄在他的百姓身上，直到无法救治。敌人焚毁了上主的殿宇，拆毁了耶路撒冷的城墙，烧了城中所有的宫殿，毁坏了城内一切珍贵的器皿；凡没有死于刀下的人，都被掳到巴比伦去，作巴比伦王及他子孙的奴仆，直到波斯帝国兴起。这样，就应验了上主借耶肋米亚的口，所说的话：「为填补没有遵守的安息年，这块土地要一直荒凉七十年。」 波斯王居鲁士元年，为应验上主借耶肋米亚的口，所说的话，上主感动了波斯王居鲁士的心，叫他出一道号令，通告全国，说：「波斯王居鲁士这样说：上天的神：『上主』，将地上万国交给了我，嘱咐我在犹大的耶路撒冷，为他建筑一座殿宇；你们中间凡做他子民的，都可以上去耶路撒冷；愿他的神与他同在！」

富于慈悲的天主，因着他爱我们的大爱，竟在我们因犯罪而丧亡的时候，使我们同基督一起生活；可见你们的得救，是由于恩宠。天主使我们同基督一起复活，并使我们在基督耶稣内，和他一同坐在天上，为将自己无限丰富的恩宠，即他在基督耶稣内，对我们所怀有的慈惠，显示给未来的世代。因为你们得救是由于恩宠，借着信德，所以得救并不是出于你们自己，而是天主的恩惠；不是出于功行，免得有人自夸。原来我们是他的化工，是在基督耶稣内受造的，为行天主所预备的各种善工，叫我们在这些善工中度日。

那时候，耶稣向尼苛德摩说：「梅瑟曾在旷野里高举了蛇，人子也应照样，被举起来，使凡信的人，在他内获得永生。」 天主竟这样爱了世界，甚至赐下了自己的独生子，使凡信他的人，不至丧亡，反而获得永生。因为天主没有派遣子到世界上来，审判世界，而是为叫世界，借着他而获救。那信从他的，不受审判；那不信的，已受到了审判，因为他没有信从天主独生子的名字。审判就在于此：光明来到了世界，世人却爱黑暗甚于光明，因为他们的行为是邪恶的。的确，凡作恶的，都憎恶光明，也不来接近光明，怕自己的行为暴露出来；然而履行真理的，却来接近光明，为显示出他的行为，是在天主内完成的。