Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Prayer for the Lord’s Help.

A Song of ^[a]Ascents.

¹⁶ “Therefore, do not pray for this people [of Judah] or lift up a cry or entreaty for them or make intercession to Me, for I do not hear you. ¹⁷ Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? ¹⁸ The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead the dough to make cakes for the ^[a]queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods that they may offend and provoke Me to anger. ¹⁹ Do they offend and provoke Me to anger?” says the Lord. “Is it not themselves [they offend], to their own shame?” ²⁰ Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, My anger and My wrath will be poured out on this place, on man and beast, on the trees of the field and the fruit of the ground; and it will burn and [the fire will] not be quenched.”

²¹ Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat the meat. ²² For in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to your fathers or command them concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices. ²³ But this thing I did command them: ‘Listen to and obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people; and you will walk in all the way which I command you, so that it may be well with you.’ ²⁴ But they did not obey Me or bend their ear [to hear Me], but followed the counsels and the stubbornness of their [own] evil heart (mind), and [they turned and] went backward instead of forward. ²⁵ Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have [persistently] sent you all My servants the prophets, sending them daily, early [and late]. ²⁶ Yet they did not listen to Me and obey Me or bend their ear [to hear Me], but stiffened their neck; they did more evil and behaved worse than their fathers.

⁷ You are looking [only] at the outward appearance of things. If anyone is confident that he is Christ’s, he should reflect and consider this, that just as he is Christ’s, so too are we. ⁸ For even though I boast rather freely about the authority the Lord gave us for building you up and not for destroying you, I will not be ashamed [of the truth], ⁹ nor do I want to seem to be trying to frighten you with my letters; ¹⁰ for they say, “His letters are weighty and forceful and impressive, but his ^[a]personal presence is unimpressive and his speech contemptible [of no account].” ¹¹ Let such people realize that what we say by word in letters when we are absent, is the same as what we are in action when present.