Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
7 God of the Heavenly Armies, restore us
and show your favor,[a]
so we may be delivered.
8 You uprooted a vine from Egypt,
and drove out nations to transplant it.
9 You cleared the ground[b] so that its roots grew
and filled the land.
10 Mountains were covered by its shadows,
and the mighty cedars by its branches.
11 Its branches spread out to the Mediterranean[c] Sea
and its shoots to the Euphrates[d] River.
12 Why did you break down its walls
so that those who pass by pluck its fruits?[e]
13 Wild boars of the forest gnaw at it,
and creatures of the field feed on it.
The Enemy Besieges Jerusalem
6 “Flee to safety, you people of Benjamin,
leave Jerusalem.
Sound the trumpet in Tekoa,
and raise a signal over Beth-haccerem!
For calamity and terrible destruction
are turning toward you[a] from the north.
2 I’ll destroy the lovely and delicate
Daughter of Zion.[b]
3 Shepherds and their flocks will come against her.
They’ll pitch their tents all around her,
and every one will tend his flock in his own place.
4 Prepare for war against her.
Get ready, let’s attack at noon!
How terrible for us that the day is coming to an end,[c]
and that the evening shadows are lengthening.
5 Get ready, let’s attack at night,
and destroy her fortresses.”[d]
Instructions for the Attackers
6 For this is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says:
“Cut down trees and
set up siege works against Jerusalem.
It is the city to be judged,
and there is oppression throughout the entire city.[e]
7 As a well keeps its waters fresh,[f]
so the city[g] keeps her wickedness fresh.[h]
Violence and destruction are heard in her,
sickness and wounds are always before me.
8 Be warned, Jerusalem,
or I’ll be alienated from you.
I’ll make you desolate,
a land not inhabited.”
9 This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says:
“Let them glean the remnant of Israel
as thoroughly as they would the vine.
Pass your hand over them like grape gatherers
over the branches.
10 To whom will I speak and give a warning
so they’ll listen?
Look, their ears are closed,[i]
and they cannot hear.
Look, this message from the Lord is contemptible to them;
they don’t delight in it.
Division among the People
40 When they heard these words, some in the crowd were saying, “This really is the Prophet,” 41 while others were saying, “This is the Messiah!”[a]
But some were saying, “The Messiah[b] doesn’t come from Galilee, does he? 42 Doesn’t the Scripture say that the Messiah[c] is from David’s family and from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?” 43 So there was a division in the crowd because of him. 44 Some of them were wanting to seize him, but no one laid hands on him.
The Unbelief of the Authorities
45 Then the officers returned to the high priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him?”
46 The officers answered, “No man ever spoke like that!”
47 Then the Pharisees replied to them, “You haven’t been deceived, too, have you? 48 None of the authorities or Pharisees has believed in him, have they? 49 But this mob that does not know the Law—they’re under a curse!”
50 One of their own, Nicodemus (the man who had previously met with Jesus),[d] asked them, 51 “Surely our Law does not condemn[e] a person without first hearing from him and finding out what he is doing, does it?”
52 They answered him, “You aren’t from Galilee, too, are you? Search and see that no prophet comes from Galilee.”
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