Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

The Difference between Good and Sinful People

1 Happy is the man who does not walk in the way sinful men tell him to, or stand in the path of sinners, or sit with those who laugh at the truth. ² But he finds joy in the Law of the Lord and thinks about His Law day and night. ³ This man is like a tree planted by rivers of water, which gives its fruit at the right time and its leaf never dries up. Whatever he does will work out well for him.

⁴ Sinful men are not like this. They are like straw blown away by the wind. ⁵ So the sinful will not stand. They will be told they are guilty and have to suffer for it. Sinners will not stand with those who are right with God. ⁶ For the Lord knows the way of those who are right with Him. But the way of the sinful will be lost from God forever.

The Two Baskets of Figs

24 After King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took away Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the leaders of Judah, together with the able workmen from Jerusalem, and brought them to Babylon, the Lord showed me two baskets of figs set in front of the house of the Lord. ² One basket had very good figs, like figs just ready to eat. And 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 figs very bad, so bad that they cannot be eaten.”

⁴ Then the Word of the Lord came to me, saying, ⁵ “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘Like these good figs, so will I think of the people of Judah as being good, whom I have sent away from this place into the land of the Babylonians. ⁶ For I will keep My eyes on them for their good, and I will return them to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down. I will plant them and not pull them up by the roots. ⁷ And I will give them a heart to know Me, for I am the Lord. They will be My people and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole heart.’

⁸ “But the Lord says, ‘Like the bad figs which are so bad they cannot be eaten, so I will give up Zedekiah king of Judah and his captains. And I will give up those left of Jerusalem who stay in this land, and those who live in the land of Egypt. ⁹ I will make them a cause of fear and trouble for all the nations of the earth. They will be a shame and a curse and spoken against in all the places where I will make them go. ¹⁰ And I will send the sword and hunger and disease upon them until they are destroyed from the land which I gave to them and their fathers.’”

Gifts for the Poor

16 I want to tell you what to do about the money you are gathering for the Christians. Do the same as I told the churches in the country of Galatia to do. ² On the first day of every week each of you should put aside some of your money. Give a certain part of what you have earned. Keep it there because I do not want money gathered when I come. ³ When I get there, I will give letters to the men you want to send. They will take your gift to Jerusalem. ⁴ If I can go, they can go with me.

Plans for a Visit

⁵ I want to visit you after I have gone through the country of Macedonia for I am going through there. ⁶ I may be staying with you and even spend the winter with you. Then you can send me on my way to the next place. ⁷ I do not want to stop now. I want to spend some time with you when I can stay longer, if that is what the Lord wants. ⁸ I will stay in the city of Ephesus until the special day to remember how the Holy Spirit came on the church. ⁹ A wide door has been opened to me here to preach the Good News. But there are many who work against me.

¹⁰ If Timothy comes, receive him and help him so he will not be afraid. He is working for the Lord as I am. ¹¹ Everyone should respect him. Send him on his way to me in peace. I expect to see him and some of the other Christians soon. ¹² I wanted brother Apollos to go with the other Christians to visit you. But he is not sure he should go now. He will come when he can.