Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

39 I said to myself, I’m going to quit complaining! I’ll keep quiet, especially when the ungodly are around me. ^2-3 But as I stood there silently the turmoil within me grew to the bursting point. The more I mused, the hotter the fires inside. Then at last I spoke and pled with God: ⁴ Lord, help me to realize how brief my time on earth will be. Help me to know that I am here for but a moment more. ^5-6 My life is no longer than my hand! My whole lifetime is but a moment to you. Proud man! Frail as breath! A shadow! And all his busy rushing ends in nothing. He heaps up riches for someone else to spend. ⁷ And so, Lord, my only hope is in you.

⁸ Save me from being overpowered by my sins, for even fools will mock me then.

⁹ Lord, I am speechless before you. I will not open my mouth to speak one word of complaint, for my punishment is from you.^[a]

¹⁰ Lord, don’t hit me anymore—I am exhausted beneath your hand. ¹¹ When you punish a man for his sins, he is destroyed, for he is as fragile as a moth-infested cloth; yes, man is frail as breath.

¹² Hear my prayer, O Lord; listen to my cry! Don’t sit back, unmindful of my tears. For I am your guest. I am a traveler passing through the earth, as all my fathers were.

¹³ Spare me, Lord! Let me recover and be filled with happiness again before my death.

11 ^1-3 Then the Lord spoke to Jeremiah once again and said:

Remind the men of Judah and all the people of Jerusalem that I made a contract with their fathers—and cursed is the man who does not heed it! ⁴ For I told them at the time I brought them out of slavery in Egypt that if they would obey me and do whatever I commanded them, then they and all their children would be mine and I would be their God. ⁵ And now, Israel, obey me, says the Lord, so that I can do for you the wonderful things I swore I would if you obeyed. I want to give you a land that “flows with milk and honey,” as it is today.

Then I replied, “So be it, Lord!”

⁶ Then the Lord said: Broadcast this message in Jerusalem’s streets—go from city to city throughout the land and say, Remember this agreement that your fathers made with God, and do all the things they promised him they would. ⁷ For I solemnly said to your fathers when I brought them out of Egypt—and have kept on saying it over and over again until this day: Obey my every command! ⁸ But your fathers didn’t do it. They wouldn’t even listen. Each followed his own stubborn will and his proud heart. Because they refused to obey, I did to them all the evils stated in the contract.

⁹ Again the Lord spoke to me and said: I have discovered a conspiracy against me among the men of Judah and Jerusalem. ¹⁰ They have returned to the sins of their fathers, refusing to listen to me and worshiping idols. The agreement I made with their fathers is broken and canceled. ¹¹ Therefore, the Lord says, I am going to bring calamity down upon them, and they shall not escape. Though they cry for mercy, I will not listen to their pleas. ¹² Then they will pray to their idols and burn incense before them, but that cannot save them from their time of anguish and despair. ¹³ O my people, you have as many gods as there are cities, and your altars of shame (your altars to burn incense to Baal) are along every street in Jerusalem.

¹⁴ Therefore, Jeremiah, pray no longer for this people, neither weep nor plead for them; for I will not listen to them when they are finally desperate enough to beg me for help. ¹⁵ What right do my beloved people have to come anymore to my Temple? For you have been unfaithful and worshiped other gods. Can promises and sacrifices now avert your doom and give you life and joy again?

¹⁶ The Lord used to call you his green olive tree, beautiful to see and full of good fruit; but now he has sent the fury of your enemies to burn you up and leave you broken and charred. ¹⁷ It is because of the wickedness of Israel and Judah in offering incense to Baal that the Lord Almighty who planted the tree has ordered it destroyed.

2 “Well,” you may be saying, “what terrible people you have been talking about!” But wait a minute! You are just as bad. When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are talking about yourselves, for you do these very same things. ² And we know that God, in justice, will punish anyone who does such things as these. ³ Do you think that God will judge and condemn others for doing them and overlook you when you do them, too? ⁴ Don’t you realize how patient he is being with you? Or don’t you care? Can’t you see that he has been waiting all this time without punishing you, to give you time to turn from your sin? His kindness is meant to lead you to repentance.

⁵ But no, you won’t listen; and so you are saving up terrible punishment for yourselves because of your stubbornness in refusing to turn from your sin; for there is going to come a day of wrath when God will be the just Judge of all the world. ⁶ He will give each one whatever his deeds deserve. ⁷ He will give eternal life to those who patiently do the will of God,^[a] seeking for the unseen glory and honor and eternal life that he offers. ⁸ But he will terribly punish those who fight against the truth of God and walk in evil ways—God’s anger will be poured out upon them. ⁹ There will be sorrow and suffering for Jews and Gentiles alike who keep on sinning. ¹⁰ But there will be glory and honor and peace from God for all who obey him,^[b] whether they are Jews or Gentiles. ¹¹ For God treats everyone the same.