Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
7 My face is covered with shame.
I carry this shame for you.
8 My own brothers treat me like a stranger.
They act as if I came from a foreign land.
9 My strong devotion to your Temple is destroying me.
Those who insult you are also insulting me.
10 When I spend time crying and fasting,
they make fun of me.
11 When I wear sackcloth to show my sorrow,
they tell jokes about me.
12 They talk about me in public places.
The beer drinkers make up songs about me.
13 As for me, Lord, this is my prayer to you:
Please accept me!
God, I want you to answer me with love.
I know I can trust you to save me.
14 Pull me from the mud,
and don’t let me sink down deeper.
Save me from those who hate me.
Save me from this deep water.
15 Don’t let the waves drown me.
Don’t let the deep sea swallow me
or the grave close its mouth on me.
16 Answer me, Lord, from the goodness of your faithful love.
Out of your great kindness turn to me and help me!
17 Don’t turn away from your servant.
I am in trouble, so hurry and help me!
18 Come save my soul.
Rescue me from my enemies.
The People Plan Evil and Jeremiah Prays
18 Then the enemies of Jeremiah said, “Come, let us make plans against Jeremiah. We will always have a priest to tell us what the law says. We will still have wise men to advise us and prophets to tell us a message from God. So who needs Jeremiah? Let’s tell lies to ruin him and stop listening to what he says.”
19 Lord, listen to me!
Listen to what my enemies are saying.
20 I have done only good to them.
It is not right for them to pay me back with evil.
But they are preparing a death trap for me!
Remember that I prayed to you for them.
I asked only good for them.
I tried to keep you from punishing them in anger.
21 So now make their children starve to death!
Let their enemies kill them with swords.
Let their wives lose their children and husbands.
Let their men die from disease,
and let their young men be killed in battle.
22 Let them cry out in their houses,
when you suddenly bring an enemy against them.
Let it happen because they prepared a death trap for me.
They hid traps for me to step in.
23 Lord, you know about their plans to kill me.
So don’t forgive their crimes or erase their sins.
Make them fall down in defeat.
Punish them in your anger!
The Apostles Are Arrested
17 The high priest and all his friends, a group called the Sadducees, became very jealous. 18 They grabbed the apostles and put them in jail. 19 But during the night, an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail. The angel led the apostles outside and said, 20 “Go and stand in the Temple area. Tell the people everything about this new life.” 21 When the apostles heard this, they did what they were told. They went into the Temple area about sunrise and began to teach the people.
The high priest and his friends came together and called a meeting of the high council and all the older Jewish leaders. They sent some men to the jail to bring the apostles to them. 22 When the men went to the jail, they could not find the apostles there. So they went back and told the Jewish leaders about this. 23 They said, “The jail was closed and locked. The guards were standing at the doors. But when we opened the doors, the jail was empty!” 24 The captain of the Temple guards and the leading priests heard this. They were confused and wondered what it all meant.
25 Then another man came and told them, “Listen! The men you put in jail are standing in the Temple area teaching the people.” 26 The captain and his men went out and brought the apostles back. But the soldiers did not use force, because they were afraid of the people. They were afraid the people would stone them to death.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International