Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Book One

Psalm 1^[a]

¹ Blessed (happy, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable) is the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly [following their advice, their plans and purposes], nor stands [submissive and inactive] in the path where sinners walk, nor sits down [to relax and rest] where the scornful [and the mockers] gather.

² But his delight and desire are in the law of the Lord, and on His law (the precepts, the instructions, the teachings of God) he habitually meditates (ponders and studies) by day and by night.^(A)

³ And he shall be like a tree firmly planted [and tended] by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper [and come to maturity].^(B)

⁴ Not so the wicked [those disobedient and living without God are not so]. But they are like the chaff [worthless, dead, without substance] which the wind drives away.

⁵ Therefore the wicked [those disobedient and living without God] shall not stand [justified] in the judgment, nor ^[b]sinners in the congregation of the righteous [those who are upright and in right standing with God].

⁶ For the Lord knows and is fully acquainted with the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly [those living outside God’s will] shall perish (end in ruin and come to nought).

24 After Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had taken into exile Jeconiah [also called Coniah and Jehoiachin] son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and the princes of Judah, with the craftsmen and smiths from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon, the Lord showed me [in a vision] two baskets of figs set before the temple of the Lord.

² One basket had very good figs, like the figs that are first ripe; but the other basket had very bad figs, so bad that they could not be eaten.

³ Then the Lord said to me, What do you see, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs—the good figs very good, and the bad very bad, so bad that they cannot be eaten.

⁴ Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

⁵ Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Like these good figs, so will I regard the captives of Judah whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good.

⁶ For I will set My eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land; and I will build them up and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up.

⁷ And I will give them a heart to know (recognize, understand, and be acquainted with) Me, that I am the Lord; and they will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole heart.

⁸ And as for the bad figs, which are so bad that they cannot be eaten, surely thus says the Lord, So will I give up Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes and the residue of Jerusalem who remains in this land and those who dwell in the land of Egypt.

⁹ I will even give them up to be a dismay and a horror and to be tossed to and fro among all the kingdoms of the earth for evil, to be a reproach, a byword or proverb, a taunt, and a curse in all places where I will drive them.

¹⁰ And I will send the sword, famine, and pestilence among them until they are consumed from off the land that I gave to them and to their fathers.

16 Now concerning the money contributed for [the relief of] the saints (God’s people): you are to do the same as I directed the churches of Galatia to do.

² On the first [day] of each week, let each one of you [personally] put aside something and save it up as he has prospered [in proportion to what he is given], so that no collections will need to be taken after I come.

³ And when I arrive, I will send on those whom you approve and authorize with credentials to carry your gift [of charity] to Jerusalem.

⁴ If it seems worthwhile that I should go too, they will accompany me.

⁵ After passing through Macedonia, I will visit you, for I intend [only] to pass through Macedonia;

⁶ But it may be that I will stay with you [for a while], perhaps even spend the winter, so that you may bring me forward [on my journey] to wherever I may go.

⁷ For I am unwilling to see you right now [just] in passing, but I hope later to remain for some time with you, if the Lord permits.

⁸ I will remain in Ephesus [however] until Pentecost,

⁹ For a wide door of opportunity for effectual [service] has opened to me [there, a great and promising one], and [there are] many adversaries.

¹⁰ When Timothy arrives, see to it that [you put him at ease, so that] he may be fearless among you, for he is [devotedly] doing the Lord’s work, just as I am.

¹¹ So [see to it that] no one despises him or treats him as if he were of no account or slights him. But send him off [cordially, speed him on his way] in peace, that he may come to me, for I am expecting him [to come along] with the other brethren.

¹² As for our brother Apollos, I have urgently encouraged him to visit you with the other brethren, but it was not at all his will or ^[a]God’s will that he should go now. He will come when he has opportunity.