Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Yahweh, Rescue My Soul

For the choir director. With stringed instruments. According to the ^[a]Sheminith. A Psalm of David.

Jeremiah Brought Up from the Cistern

38 And Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, and Jucal the ^(A)son of Shelemiah, and ^(B)Pashhur the son of Malchijah heard the words that Jeremiah was speaking to all the people, saying, ² “Thus says Yahweh, ‘He who ^(C)stays in this city will die by the ^(D)sword and by the famine and by the pestilence, but he who goes out to the Chaldeans will live and have his own ^(E)life as spoil and stay alive.’ ³ Thus says Yahweh, ‘This city will certainly be ^(F)given into the hand of the military force of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it.’” ⁴ Then the ^(G)officials said to the king, “Now let this man be put to death, inasmuch as he is ^(H)making the hands of the men of war who remain in this city as well as the hands of all the people limp, by speaking such words to them; for this man ^(I)is not seeking peace for this people but rather calamity.” ⁵ So King Zedekiah said, “Behold, he is in your ^[a]hands; for the king ^(J)can do nothing against you.” ⁶ Then they took Jeremiah and cast him into the ^[b](K)cistern of Malchijah the king’s son, which was in the court of the guard; and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. Now in the cistern there was no water but only ^(L)mire, and Jeremiah sank into the mire. ⁷ But ^(M)Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, ^[c]a ^(N)eunuch, while he was in the king’s palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern. Now the king was sitting in the ^(O)Gate of Benjamin; ⁸ and Ebed-melech went out from the king’s house and spoke to the king, saying, ⁹ “My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet whom they have cast into the cistern; and he ^[d]will die right where he is because of the famine, for there is ^(P)no more bread in the city.” ¹⁰ Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, “Take in your hand thirty men from here and bring up Jeremiah the prophet from the cistern before he dies.” ¹¹ So Ebed-melech took the men in his hand and went into the king’s palace to a place beneath the storeroom and took from there worn-out clothes and worn-out rags and let them down by ropes into the cistern to Jeremiah. ¹² Then Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Now put these worn-out clothes and rags under your armpits under the ropes”; and Jeremiah did so. ¹³ So they pulled Jeremiah up with the ropes and brought him up from the cistern, and Jeremiah stayed in the ^(Q)court of the guard.

The Twelve Disciples Sent Out

^5 (A)These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them, saying, “Do not ^[a]go ^[b]in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the ^(B)Samaritans; ⁶ but rather go to ^(C)the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ⁷ And as you go, ^[c]preach, saying, ‘^(D)The kingdom of heaven ^[d]is at hand.’ ⁸ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give. ^9 (E)Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts, ¹⁰ or a ^[e]bag for your journey, or even two ^[f]tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for ^(F)the worker is worthy of his ^[g]support. ¹¹ And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay there until you leave. ¹² Now as you enter the ^[h]house, ^(G)give it your ^[i]greeting. ¹³ And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. ¹⁴ And whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you leave that house or that city, ^(H)shake the dust off your feet. ¹⁵ Truly I say to you, ^(I)it will be more tolerable for the land of ^(J)Sodom and Gomorrah in ^(K)the day of judgment than for that city.

The Promise of Persecution

¹⁶ “^(L)Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so ^[j]be ^(M)shrewd as serpents and ^(N)innocent as doves. ¹⁷ But beware of men, for they will deliver you over to the ^(O)courts and flog you ^(P)in their synagogues; ¹⁸ and you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. ^19 (Q)But when they deliver you over, ^(R)do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given to you in that hour what you are to say. ²⁰ For ^(S)it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.

²¹ “^(T)And brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and ^(U)children will rise up against parents and ^[k]cause them to be put to death. ^22 (V)And you will be hated by all because of My name, but ^(W)it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.

²³ “But whenever they ^(X)persecute you in this city, flee to ^[l]the next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel ^(Y)until the Son of Man comes.