Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

A song by David for going up to worship.

The Yoke of Babylon Will Be on Judah

27 When Zedekiah, son of King Josiah of Judah, began to rule, the Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah.

² This is what the Lord said to me: Make ⌞leather⌟ straps and a wooden yoke,^[a] and strap the yoke on your neck. ³ Then send messages to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon, with messengers who have come to King Zedekiah of Judah in Jerusalem. ⁴ Give them an order for their masters: “This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Say this to your masters, ⁵ ‘I used my great strength and my powerful arm to make the earth along with the people and the animals on it. I give it to anyone I please. ⁶ Now I have handed all these countries over to my servant King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I have even made wild animals serve him. ⁷ All nations will serve him, his son, and his grandson until Babylon is defeated. Then many nations and great kings will make him their slave.

⁸ “ ‘Suppose nations or kingdoms won’t serve or surrender to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I will punish those nations by wars, famines, and plagues, until I have put an end to them by Nebuchadnezzar’s power, declares the Lord. ⁹ Don’t listen to prophets, mediums, interpreters of dreams, fortunetellers, or sorcerers who tell you that you’ll never serve the king of Babylon. ¹⁰ They are prophesying lies to you. They will cause you to be taken far from your lands. I’ll scatter you, and you will die. ¹¹ But suppose a nation surrenders to the king of Babylon and serves him. I will let it stay in its own land. People will farm the land and live on it,’ ” declares the Lord.

¹⁶ I also spoke this message to the priests and all the people. “This is what the Lord said to me: Don’t listen to the prophets who tell you that the utensils of the Lord’s temple will be brought back from Babylon soon. They are prophesying lies to you. ¹⁷ Don’t listen to them. Instead, serve the king of Babylon, and live. Why should this city be turned into rubble? ¹⁸ If they are prophets and the Lord is speaking to them, they should beg the Lord of Armies not to allow the utensils that are left in the Lord’s temple, in the royal palace of Judah, and in Jerusalem to be taken away to Babylon.

^19-20 “Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiakin,^[a] son of King Jehoiakim of Judah, into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon along with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem. But he didn’t take the pillars, the bronze pool, the stands, and the rest of the utensils that are left in this city. ²¹ This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says about the utensils that are left in the Lord’s temple, in the royal palace of Judah, and in Jerusalem: ²² They will be taken to Babylon and stay there until I come for them, declares the Lord. I will take them from there and bring them back to this place.”

God’s Anger against Sinful Humanity

¹⁸ God’s anger is revealed from heaven against every ungodly and immoral thing people do as they try to suppress the truth by their immoral living. ¹⁹ What can be known about God is clear to them because he has made it clear to them. ²⁰ From the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly observed in what he made. As a result, people have no excuse. ²¹ They knew God but did not praise and thank him for being God. Instead, their thoughts were pointless, and their misguided minds were plunged into darkness. ²² While claiming to be wise, they became fools. ²³ They exchanged the glory of the immortal God for statues that looked like mortal humans, birds, animals, and snakes.

²⁴ For this reason God allowed their lusts to control them. As a result, they dishonor their bodies by sexual perversion with each other. ²⁵ These people have exchanged God’s truth for a lie. So they have become ungodly and serve what is created rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen!