Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

This is a special song that Ethan the Ezrahite wrote.

God's special love^[a]

⁸ The Lord Almighty says, “You have not listened to my messages. ⁹ So I, the Lord, tell you that I will call the nations in the north to come. I will call my servant, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, to come. I will bring them to attack this land and the people who live here. They will also attack all the nations that are around you. I will completely destroy this land, its people and all the nations around it. Their houses will become heaps of stones for ever. The land will become a terrible place. People will always see how foolish my people are. ¹⁰ Everywhere, I will stop people's happy songs and their marriage parties. Nobody will make flour any more. Nobody will light lamps in their homes. ¹¹ This whole place will be as empty as a desert. Nobody will live here. The people of Judah and these other nations will serve the king of Babylon for 70 years.”

¹² The Lord also says, “But after the 70 years have finished, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation. I will punish them for their sins. I will destroy the land of the Babylonians. It will be a heap of stones for ever. ¹³ I will certainly do to them all the terrible things that I have spoken about. I will do to them everything that is written in this book. I will cause them to have all the trouble that Jeremiah prophesies against all the nations.^{[a] 14} Many nations and great kings will have power over the king of Babylon and his people. The Babylonians will become their slaves. In that way, I will punish the Babylonians for all the bad things that they did to my people.” ’

⁷ Like good runners, you were doing very well! You should not have let anyone turn you away from God's true message. ⁸ It is not God who has caused you to change what you believe. No! God is the one who has chosen you to serve him. ⁹ People say this: ‘Only a small amount of yeast in the flour will cause a loaf of bread to grow big.’^{[a] 10} But I feel sure about you, because we belong to the Lord. I know that you will agree with what I say about this. But as for the man who is confusing you, God will punish him. It does not matter who he is, God will punish him.

¹¹ My Christian friends, do you think that I still teach that someone must circumcise believers? If I really taught that, then I would not still receive trouble from people. What I teach about Christ's death on the cross would not cause anyone to become angry. ¹² Those people who are causing trouble and want to circumcise you should cut their own bodies! Yes, that is what they should do!