Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Davidic Song of Ascents
Hope in the Lord
131 Lord, my heart is not arrogant,
nor do I look haughty.
I do not aspire[a] to great things,
nor concern myself with things beyond my ability.
2 Instead, I have composed and quieted myself
like a weaned child with its mother;
I am like a weaned child.
3 Place your hope in the Lord, Israel,
both now and forever.
Jeremiah Tells the Nations to Submit to Babylon
27 At the beginning of the reign of Josiah’s son Jehoiakim, king of Judah, this message came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 this is what the Lord says to me: “Make restraints and yokes for yourself and put them on your neck. 3 Then send messengers[a] to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the Ammonites, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon through the envoys[b] who come to Jerusalem to king Zedekiah of Judah. 4 Give them this order for their masters: ‘This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says, and this is what you are to say to your masters, 5 “By my great power and outstretched arm I made the earth, mankind, and the animals that are on the face of the earth, and I give it to whomever I see fit.[c] 6 Now I’ve given all these lands to my servant, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I’ve even given him the wild animals to serve him. 7 All the nations will serve him, his son, and his grandson until his country’s time also comes, and then many nations and great kings will use him as a slave. 8 If a nation and kingdom does not serve him—King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon—and does not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I’ll judge that nation with the sword, with famine, and with plague,” declares the Lord, “until I’ve completely destroyed it by his hand. 9 You aren’t to listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers,[d] your soothsayers, and your sorcerers who say to you, ‘Don’t serve the king of Babylon.’ 10 They’re prophesying a lie to you in order to remove you far away from your land. I’ll drive you out and you will perish. 11 But I’ll let the nation that brings its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serves him remain in its own land,” declares the Lord, “and they’ll work it and remain in it.”’”
The People and Priests Told to Submit to Babylon
16 Then I spoke to the priests and all of the people: “This is what the Lord says: ‘Don’t listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you: “The vessels from the Temple are about to be returned from Babylon very soon now.” Indeed, they’re prophesying a lie to you. 17 Don’t listen to them! Serve the king of Babylon and you’ll live. Why should this city become a ruin? 18 If they’re prophets, and if they have a message from the Lord, let them plead with the Lord of the Heavenly Armies so that the utensils that remain in the Lord’s Temple, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem might not be taken to Babylon. 19 For this is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says about the pillars, the bronze sea, the stands, and the rest of the vessels that remain in this city 20 that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon didn’t take when he took Jehoiakim’s son Jeconiah, king of Judah, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem from Jerusalem into exile to Babylon— 21 For this is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel says about the vessels that remain in the Lord’s Temple, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem, 22 “They’ll go into Babylon and there they’ll remain until the time I take note of them,” declares the Lord. “Then I’ll bring them up and return them to this place.”’”
God’s Wrath against Sinful Humanity
18 For God’s wrath is being revealed from heaven against all the ungodliness and wickedness of those who in their wickedness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God himself has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s[a] invisible attributes—his eternal power and divine nature—have been understood and observed by what he made, so that people[b] are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him. Instead, their thoughts turned to worthless things,[c] and their senseless hearts were darkened. 22 Though claiming to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images that looked like mortal human beings, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles.
24 For this reason, God delivered them to sexual impurity as they followed the lusts[d] of their hearts and dishonored their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged God’s truth for a lie and worshipped and served the creation rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
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