Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Prayer of Faith in Time of Distress
To the Chief Musician. With stringed instruments. (A)On [a]an eight-stringed harp. A Psalm of David.
6 O Lord, (B)do not rebuke me in Your anger,
Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure.
2 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak;
O Lord, (C)heal me, for my bones are troubled.
3 My soul also is greatly (D)troubled;
But You, O Lord—how long?
4 Return, O Lord, deliver me!
Oh, save me for Your mercies’ sake!
5 (E)For in death there is no remembrance of You;
In the grave who will give You thanks?
Jeremiah in the Dungeon
38 Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, (A)Jucal[a] the son of Shelemiah, and (B)Pashhur the son of Malchiah (C)heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken to all the people, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord: (D)‘He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he who goes over to the Chaldeans shall live; his life shall be as a prize to him, and he shall live.’ 3 Thus says the Lord: (E)‘This city shall surely be (F)given into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, which shall take it.’ ”
4 Therefore the princes said to the king, “Please, (G)let this man be put to death, for thus he [b]weakens the hands of the men of war who remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man does not seek the [c]welfare of this people, but their harm.”
5 Then Zedekiah the king said, “Look, he is in your hand. For the king can do nothing against you.” 6 (H)So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah [d]the king’s son, which was in the court of the prison, and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire. So Jeremiah sank in the mire.
7 (I)Now Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, one of the [e]eunuchs, who was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon. When the king was sitting at the Gate of Benjamin, 8 Ebed-Melech went out of the king’s house and spoke to the king, saying: 9 “My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon, and he is likely to die from hunger in the place where he is. For there is (J)no more bread in the city.” 10 Then the king commanded Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, saying, “Take from here thirty men with you, and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon before he dies.” 11 So Ebed-Melech took the men with him and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took from there old clothes and old rags, and let them down by ropes into the dungeon to Jeremiah. 12 Then Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Please put these old clothes and rags under your armpits, under the ropes.” And Jeremiah did so. 13 So they pulled Jeremiah up with ropes and lifted him out of the dungeon. And Jeremiah remained (K)in the court of the prison.
Sending Out the Twelve(A)
5 These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: (B)“Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of (C)the Samaritans. 6 (D)But go rather to the (E)lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 (F)And as you go, preach, saying, (G)‘The kingdom of heaven [a]is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, [b]cleanse the lepers, [c]raise the dead, cast out demons. (H)Freely you have received, freely give. 9 (I)Provide neither gold nor silver nor (J)copper in your money belts, 10 nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; (K)for a worker is worthy of his food.
11 (L)“Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. 12 And when you go into a household, greet it. 13 (M)If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. (N)But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 (O)And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, (P)shake off the dust from your feet. 15 Assuredly, I say to you, (Q)it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!
Persecutions Are Coming(R)
16 (S)“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. (T)Therefore be wise as serpents and (U)harmless[d] as doves. 17 But beware of men, for (V)they will deliver you up to councils and (W)scourge you in their synagogues. 18 (X)You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. 19 (Y)But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For (Z)it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; 20 (AA)for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.
21 (AB)“Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. 22 And (AC)you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. (AD)But he who endures to the end will be saved. 23 (AE)When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have (AF)gone through the cities of Israel (AG)before the Son of Man comes.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.