Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
7 O God of Heaven’s Armies,[a] restore us.
Smile on us.[b] Then we will be delivered.[c]
8 You uprooted a vine[d] from Egypt;
you drove out nations and transplanted it.
9 You cleared the ground for it;[e]
it took root,[f]
and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered by its shadow,
the highest cedars[g] by its branches.
11 Its branches reached the Mediterranean Sea,[h]
and its shoots the Euphrates River.[i]
12 Why did you break down its walls,[j]
so that all who pass by pluck its fruit?[k]
13 The wild boars of the forest ruin it;[l]
the insects[m] of the field feed on it.
14 O God of Heaven’s Armies,[n] come back.
Look down from heaven and take notice.
Take care of this vine,
15 the root[o] your right hand planted,
the shoot you made to grow.[p]
The Destruction of Jerusalem Depicted
6 “Run for safety, people of Benjamin!
Get out of Jerusalem![a]
Sound the trumpet[b] in Tekoa!
Light the signal fires at Beth Hakkerem!
For disaster lurks[c] out of the north;
it will bring great destruction.[d]
2 I will destroy[e] Daughter Zion,[f]
who is as delicate and defenseless as a young maiden.[g]
3 Kings will attack her with their armies.[h]
They will encamp in siege all around her.[i]
Each of them will devastate the portion assigned to him.[j]
4 They will say,[k] ‘Prepare to do battle[l] against it!
Come on! Let’s attack it at noon!’
But later they will say,[m] ‘Woe to us![n]
For the day is almost over,
and the shadows of evening are getting long.
5 So come on, let’s go ahead and attack it by night
and destroy all its fortified buildings.’
6 All this is because[o] the Lord of Heaven’s Armies[p] has said:
‘Cut down the trees around Jerusalem
and build up a siege ramp against its walls.[q]
This is the city that is to be punished.[r]
Nothing but oppression happens in it.[s]
7 As a well continually pours out fresh water
so it continually pours out wicked deeds.[t]
Sounds of violence and destruction echo throughout it.[u]
All I see are sick and wounded people.’[v]
8 So[w] take warning, Jerusalem,
or I will abandon you in disgust[x]
and make you desolate,
a place where no one can live.”
9 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies[y] said to me:[z]
“Those who remain in Israel will be
like the grapes thoroughly gleaned[aa] from a vine.
So go over them again, as though you were a grape harvester
passing your hand over the branches one last time.”[ab]
10 I answered,[ac]
Differing Opinions About Jesus
40 When they heard these words, some of the crowd[a] began to say, “This really[b] is the Prophet!”[c] 41 Others said, “This is the Christ!”[d] But still others said, “No,[e] for the Christ doesn’t come from Galilee, does he?[f] 42 Don’t the scriptures say that the Christ is a descendant[g] of David[h] and comes from Bethlehem,[i] the village where David lived?”[j] 43 So there was a division in the crowd[k] because of Jesus.[l] 44 Some of them were wanting to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.[m]
Lack of Belief
45 Then the officers[n] returned[o] to the chief priests and Pharisees,[p] who said to them, “Why didn’t you bring him back with you?”[q] 46 The officers replied, “No one ever spoke like this man!” 47 Then the Pharisees answered,[r] “You haven’t been deceived too, have you?[s] 48 None of the members of the ruling council[t] or the Pharisees have believed in him, have they?[u] 49 But this rabble[v] who do not know the law are accursed!”
50 Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus[w] before and who was one of the rulers,[x] said,[y] 51 “Our law doesn’t condemn[z] a man unless it first hears from him and learns[aa] what he is doing, does it?”[ab] 52 They replied,[ac] “You aren’t from Galilee too, are you?[ad] Investigate carefully and you will see that no prophet[ae] comes from Galilee!”
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