Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Childlike Trust in the Lord.

A Song of Ascents, of David.

The Nations to Submit to Nebuchadnezzar

27 In the beginning of the reign of ^[a](A)Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying— ² thus says the Lord to me—“Make for yourself ^(B)bonds and ^(C)yokes and put them on your neck, ³ and send ^[b]word to the king of ^(D)Edom, to the king of ^(E)Moab, to the king of the sons of ^(F)Ammon, to the king of ^(G)Tyre and to the king of ^(H)Sidon ^[c]by the messengers who come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. ⁴ Command them to go to their masters, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, thus you shall say to your masters, ⁵ “^(I)I have made the earth, the men and the beasts which are on the face of the earth ^(J)by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and I will ^(K)give it to the one who is ^[d]pleasing in My sight. ⁶ Now I ^(L)have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, ^(M)My servant, and I have given him also the ^(N)wild animals of the field to serve him. ^7 (O)All the nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson ^(P)until the time of his own land comes; then ^(Q)many nations and great kings will ^[e]make him their servant.

⁸ “It will be, that the nation or the kingdom which ^(R)will not serve him, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and which will not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with the ^(S)sword, with famine and with pestilence,” declares the Lord, “until I have destroyed ^[f]it by his hand. ⁹ But as for you, ^(T)do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your ^[g]dreamers, your soothsayers or your sorcerers who speak to you, saying, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon.’ ¹⁰ For they prophesy a ^(U)lie to you in order to ^(V)remove you far from your land; and I will drive you out and you will perish. ¹¹ But the nation which will ^(W)bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will ^(X)let remain on its land,” declares the Lord, “and they will till it and dwell in it.”’”

¹⁶ Then I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: Do not listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying, ‘Behold, the ^(A)vessels of the Lord’s house will now shortly be brought again from Babylon’; for they are prophesying a ^(B)lie to you. ¹⁷ Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon, and live! Why should this city ^(C)become a ruin? ¹⁸ But ^(D)if they are prophets, and if the word of the Lord is with them, let them now ^(E)entreat the Lord of hosts that the vessels which are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem may not go to Babylon. ¹⁹ For thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the ^(F)pillars, concerning the sea, concerning the stands and concerning the rest of the vessels that are left in this city, ²⁰ which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take when he ^(G)carried into exile Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem. ²¹ Yes, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that are left in the house of the Lord and in the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem, ²² ‘They will be ^(H)carried to Babylon and they will be there until the ^(I)day I visit them,’ declares the Lord. ‘Then I will ^(J)bring them ^[a]back and restore them to this place.’”

Unbelief and Its Consequences

¹⁸ For ^(A)the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who ^(B)suppress the truth ^[a]in unrighteousness, ¹⁹ because ^(C)that which is known about God is evident ^[b]within them; for God made it evident to them. ²⁰ For ^(D)since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, ^(E)being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. ²¹ For even though they knew God, they did not ^[c]honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became ^(F)futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. ^22 (G)Professing to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and ^(H)exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and ^[d]crawling creatures.

²⁴ Therefore ^(I)God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be ^(J)dishonored among them. ²⁵ For they exchanged the truth of God for ^[e]a ^(K)lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, ^(L)who is blessed ^[f]forever. Amen.