Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
5 Patiently wait for God alone, my soul![a]
For he is the one who gives me hope.[b]
6 He alone is my protector[c] and deliverer.
He is my refuge;[d] I will not be shaken.
7 God delivers me and exalts me;
God is my strong protector and my shelter.[e]
8 Trust in him at all times, you people!
Pour out your hearts before him.[f]
God is our shelter. (Selah)
9 Men are nothing but a mere breath;
human beings are unreliable.[g]
When they are weighed in the scales,
all of them together are lighter than air.[h]
10 Do not trust in what you can gain by oppression.[i]
Do not put false confidence in what you can gain by robbery.[j]
If wealth increases, do not become attached to it.[k]
11 God has declared one principle;
two principles I have heard:[l]
God is strong,[m]
12 and you, O Lord, demonstrate loyal love.[n]
For you repay men for what they do.[o]
An Object Lesson from a Broken Clay Jar
19 The Lord told Jeremiah,[a] “Go and buy a clay jar from a potter.[b] Take with you[c] some of the leaders of the people and some of the leaders[d] of the priests. 2 Go out to the part of the Hinnom Valley that is near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate.[e] Announce there what I tell you.[f] 3 Say, ‘Listen to the Lord’s message, you kings of Judah and citizens of Jerusalem! This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,[g] the God of Israel, has said, “Look here! I am about to bring a disaster on this place[h] that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it ring.[i] 4 I will do so because these people[j] have rejected me and have defiled[k] this place. They have offered sacrifices in it to other gods that neither they nor their ancestors[l] nor the kings of Judah knew anything about. They have filled it with the blood of innocent children.[m] 5 They have built places here[n] for worship of the god Baal so that they could sacrifice their children as burnt offerings to him in the fire. Such sacrifices[o] are something I never commanded them to make. They are something I never told them to do! Indeed, such a thing never even entered my mind. 6 So I, the Lord, say:[p] “The time will soon come that people will no longer call this place Topheth or the Hinnom Valley. But they will call this valley[q] the Valley of Slaughter! 7 In this place I will thwart[r] the plans of the people of Judah and Jerusalem. I will deliver them over to the power of their enemies who are seeking to kill them. They will die by the sword[s] at the hands of their enemies.[t] I will make their dead bodies food for the birds and wild beasts to eat. 8 I will make this city an object of horror, a thing to be hissed at. All who pass by it will be filled with horror and will hiss out their scorn[u] because of all the disasters that have happened to it.[v] 9 I will reduce the people of this city to desperate straits during the siege imposed on it by their enemies who are seeking to kill them. I will make them so desperate that they will eat the flesh of their own sons and daughters and the flesh of one another.”’”[w]
10 The Lord continued,[x] “Now break the jar in front of those who have come here with you. 11 Tell them the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says,[y] ‘I will do just as Jeremiah has done.[z] I will smash this nation and this city as though it were a potter’s vessel that is broken beyond repair.[aa] The dead will be buried here in Topheth until there is no more room to bury them.’[ab] 12 I, the Lord, say:[ac] ‘That is how I will deal with this city and its citizens. I will make it like Topheth. 13 The houses in Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be defiled by dead bodies[ad] just like this place, Topheth. For they offered sacrifice to the stars[ae] and poured out drink offerings to other gods on the roofs of those houses.’”
14 Then Jeremiah left Topheth where the Lord had sent him to give that prophecy. He went to the Lord’s temple and stood[af] in its courtyard and called out to all the people. 15 “The Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel,[ag] says, ‘I will soon bring on this city and all the towns surrounding it[ah] all the disaster I threatened to do to it. I will do so because they have stubbornly refused[ai] to pay any attention to what I have said!’”
11 Then[a] the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn for her because no one buys their cargo[b] any longer— 12 cargo such as gold, silver,[c] precious stones, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk,[d] scarlet cloth,[e] all sorts of things made of citron wood,[f] all sorts of objects made of ivory, all sorts of things made of expensive wood, bronze, iron and marble, 13 cinnamon, spice,[g] incense, perfumed ointment,[h] frankincense,[i] wine, olive oil and costly flour,[j] wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and four-wheeled carriages,[k] slaves and human lives.[l]
14 (The ripe fruit[m] you greatly desired[n]
has gone from you,
and all your luxury[o] and splendor[p]
have gone from you—
they will never ever be found again!)[q]
15 The merchants who sold[r] these things, who got rich from her, will stand a long way off because they are afraid of her torment. They will weep[s] and mourn, 16 saying,
“Woe, woe, O great city—
dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet clothing,[t]
and adorned with gold,[u] precious stones, and pearls—
17 because in a single hour such great wealth has been destroyed!”[v]
And every ship’s captain,[w] and all who sail along the coast[x]—seamen, and all who[y] make their living from the sea, stood a long way off 18 and began to shout[z] when they saw the smoke from the fire that burned her up,[aa] “Who is like the great city?” 19 And they threw dust on their heads and were shouting with weeping and mourning,[ab]
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