Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Prayer for Rescue from Enemies.

A Psalm of David.

Message to the Exiles

29 Now these are the words of the ^(A)letter which Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the rest of the elders of the exile, the priests, the prophets, and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. ² (This was after King ^(B)Jeconiah and the ^(C)queen mother, the high officials, the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metalworkers had departed from Jerusalem.) ³ The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan and Gemariah the son of ^(D)Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, saying, ⁴ “This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, says to all the exiles whom I have ^(E)sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: ⁵ ‘^(F)Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their ^[a]produce. ⁶ Take ^(G)wives and father sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may give birth to sons and daughters; and grow in numbers there and do not decrease. ^7 (H)Seek the ^[b]prosperity of the city where I have sent you into exile, and ^(I)pray to the Lord in its behalf; for ^[c]in its ^[d]prosperity will be your ^[e]prosperity.’ ⁸ For this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Do not let your ^(J)prophets who are in your midst or your diviners ^(K)deceive you, and do not listen to their interpretations of ^(L)your dreams which you dream. ⁹ For they ^(M)prophesy falsely to you in My name; ^(N)I have not sent them,’ declares the Lord.

¹⁰ “For this is what the Lord says: ‘When ^(O)seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My ^(P)good word to you, to bring you back to this place. ¹¹ For I know the ^(Q)plans that I ^[f]have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for ^[g](R)prosperity and not for disaster, to give you a future and a ^(S)hope. ¹² Then you will ^(T)call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will ^(U)listen to you. ¹³ And you will ^(V)seek Me and find Me when you ^(W)search for Me with all your heart. ¹⁴ I will let Myself be ^(X)found by you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will ^(Y)restore your fortunes and ^(Z)gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will ^(AA)bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’

The Demon-possessed Man Cured

5 ^(A)They came to the other side of the sea, into the region of the Gerasenes. ² When He got out of ^(B)the boat, immediately a man from the tombs ^(C)with an unclean spirit met Him. ³ He lived among the tombs; and no one was able to bind him anymore, not even with a chain, ⁴ because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces; and no one was strong enough to subdue him. ⁵ Constantly, night and day, he was screaming among the tombs and in the mountains, and cutting himself with stones. ⁶ Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him; ⁷ and shouting with a loud voice, he *said, “^[a](D)What business do You have with me, Jesus, ^(E)Son of ^(F)the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!” ⁸ For He had already been saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” ⁹ And He was asking him, “What is your name?” And he *said to Him, “My name is ^(G)Legion, for we are many.” ¹⁰ And he begged Him earnestly not to send them out of the region. ¹¹ Now there was a large herd of pigs feeding ^[b]nearby on the mountain. ¹² And the demons begged Him, saying, “Send us into the pigs so that we may enter them.” ¹³ Jesus gave them permission. And coming out, the unclean spirits entered the pigs; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, about two thousand of them; and they were drowned in the sea.

¹⁴ Their herdsmen ran away and reported it in the city and in the countryside. And the people came to see what it was that had happened. ¹⁵ And then they *came to Jesus and *saw the man who had been ^(H)demon-possessed sitting down, ^(I)clothed and ^(J)in his right mind, the very man who had previously had the “^(K)legion”; and they became frightened. ¹⁶ Those who had seen it described to them how it had happened to the ^(L)demon-possessed man, and all about the pigs. ¹⁷ And they began to ^(M)beg Him to leave their region. ^18 (N)And as He was getting into the boat, the man who had been ^(O)demon-possessed was begging Him that he might ^[c]accompany Him. ¹⁹ And He did not let him, but He *said to him, “^(P)Go home to your people and report to them ^[d]what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.” ²⁰ And he went away and began to ^(Q)proclaim in ^(R)Decapolis ^[e]what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.