Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Prayer for Mercy in Time of Trouble.
For the choir director; with stringed instruments, [a]upon an eight-string lyre. A Psalm of David.
6 O Lord, (A)do not rebuke me in Your anger,
Nor chasten me in Your wrath.
2 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am (B)pining away;
(C)Heal me, O Lord, for (D)my bones are dismayed.
3 And my (E)soul is greatly dismayed;
But You, O Lord—(F)how long?
4 Return, O Lord, (G)rescue my [b]soul;
Save me because of Your lovingkindness.
5 For (H)there is no [c]mention of You in death;
In [d]Sheol who will give You thanks?
Jeremiah Thrown into the Cistern
38 Now 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 the Lord, ‘He who (C)stays in this city will die by the (D)sword and by famine and by pestilence, but he who goes out to the Chaldeans will live and have his own (E)life as booty and stay alive.’ 3 Thus says the Lord, ‘This city will certainly be (F)given into the hand of the army 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 [a](H)discouraging the men of war who are left in this city and [b]all the people, by speaking such words to them; for this man (I)is not seeking the well-being of this people but rather their harm.” 5 So King Zedekiah said, “Behold, he is in your [c]hands; for the king (J)can do nothing against you.” 6 Then they took Jeremiah and cast him into the (K)cistern of Malchijah the king’s son, which was in the court of the guardhouse; and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. Now in the cistern there was no water but only (L)mud, and Jeremiah sank into the mud. 7 But (M)Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, [d]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 palace and spoke to the king, saying, 9 “My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet whom they have cast into the cistern; and he [e]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 thirty men from here [f]under your authority and bring up Jeremiah the prophet from the cistern before he dies.” 11 So Ebed-melech took the men under his [g]authority 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 lifted him out of the cistern, and Jeremiah stayed in the (Q)court of the guardhouse.
5 (A)These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them: “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]coats, 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 [h]at his house until you leave that city. 12 As you enter the [i]house, (G)give it your [j]greeting. 13 If the house is worthy, [k]give it your blessing of peace. But if it is not worthy, [l]take back your blessing of peace. 14 Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of 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.
A Hard Road before Them
16 “(L)Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so [m]be (M)shrewd as serpents and (N)innocent as doves. 17 But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the (O)courts and scourge 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 hand you over, (R)do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say. 20 For (S)it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.
21 “(T)Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and (U)children will rise up against parents and [n]cause them to be put to death. 22 (V)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 [o]one city, flee to [p]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.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.