Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Tell the music leader to use flutes.
This is a song that David wrote.
Pray about your enemies[a]
5 Lord, listen to what I say to you.
I am upset, so think about what I am saying.
2 My King and my God, listen to my voice.
I am asking you to help me.
I am praying to you!
3 Lord, every morning you listen to my voice.
At sunrise I will turn to you for help,
and I will wait for you to answer.[b]
4 My God, you do not like anything that is bad.
Evil people cannot live near you.
5 Proud people cannot stand in front of you.
God, you hate everyone who does evil things.
6 You destroy those who tell lies.
The Lord hates murderers,
and those who deceive others.[c]
7 But I will come into your house,
because of your faithful love.
I will bend low in your holy temple,
and I will worship you.
8 Lord, help me to follow your right way.
My enemies are waiting to attack me.
Show the right way clearly to me,
so that I do not go the wrong way.
9 My enemies never speak what is true.
They only want to destroy people.
Their mouth has the smell of an open grave.[d]
Their tongues say nice things,
but they are all lies!
10 God, say that they are guilty!
Let their own wicked ideas bring punishment to them.
Send them away because they do so many bad things.
Yes, they have turned against you.
11 Please make people who turn to you happy.
Make them always sing with joy,
because you keep them safe.
Take care of those who are faithful to you.
Then they will be really happy.
12 Lord, you bless those who live in a right way.
Your love is like a shield that keeps them safe.
18 But the Lord says this: ‘Even at that time, I will not destroy you completely. 19 So, Jeremiah, the people may ask you, “Why has the Lord our God done this to us?” Then tell them, “It is because you have turned away from me. You have chosen to serve foreign gods in your own land. So now you will have to serve foreign people and their gods in a land that is not your own land.”
20 Tell this message to the descendants of Jacob.
Shout it everywhere in Judah.
21 Tell them, “Hear this message,
you foolish and stupid people.
You have eyes, but you do not see properly.
You have ears, but you do not hear properly.” ’
22 The Lord says, ‘You should respect me and obey me.
You should shake with fear when you come to me.
I made the sand as an edge for the sea.
It is like a wall that the sea cannot cross.
The sea's waves may attack the shore,
but it cannot go further than that edge.
23 But these people do not obey me, as the waves do.
They have turned away from me.
They have chosen to go their own way.
24 They do not say to themselves,
“We should respect the Lord our God.
He sends rain for us in the autumn and in the spring.
He makes sure that we have a harvest from our crops.”
25 But instead, your sins have stopped these good things.
You have not received God's blessing.
26 There are wicked men among my people.
They like to catch people and rob them.
They hide like someone who wants to catch a bird.
They put out their traps to kill what they want.
27 Their houses are full of valuable things,
like a trap that is full of beautiful birds.
They have cheated people
and they have robbed them.
That is how they have become rich and powerful.
28 They are very fat and healthy.
They will never stop doing evil things.
They do not help poor people or children who have no family.
They do not try to get justice for them.’
29 The Lord says,
‘I will certainly punish them for what they have done.
I will pay back this wicked nation for their sins.
30 A terrible thing is happening in the land of Judah.
31 The prophets speak messages that are not true.
The priests make their own rules for people to obey.
And my people love to live like this!
But when all this comes to an end,
my people will be helpless!’
13 There is another reason why we always continue to thank God for you. When we told God's message to you, you knew that it was not human ideas. You accepted it as God's own message, and that is what it certainly is. You continue to grow as believers because of God's message that you heard.
14 Our Christian friends, you have received the same kind of trouble that the people in the churches of Judea received.[a] People in your own country have caused you to have trouble and pain. The same thing happened to the people in Judea who believed in Christ Jesus. They received trouble from their own Jewish people.
15 People like that even killed the Lord Jesus. They killed God's prophets, too. They also did bad things against us, so that we had to leave their towns. They make God become angry. They are enemies of all people, 16 because they try to stop us speaking to Gentiles. They do not want God to save anyone from another nation. In this way, they continue to do more and more bad things. When their sins become too many, God has to stop them. He has become so angry that he has punished them completely.
Paul wants to return to Thessalonica
17 Our friends, we have had to go away from you for a short time. But we have not stopped thinking about you. We have wanted more and more to come to see you again. 18 Yes, we really wanted to return to you. Certainly, I, Paul, tried again and again to come to you, but Satan stopped us.
19 You are the people that make us very happy! We know that you will continue to trust God. So, when our Lord Jesus returns, we will be proud of you. You will be like a crown that he gives us when we stand in front of him. 20 You show the great results of our work. Yes, it is because of you that we are very happy.
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