Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

The Futility of Idols and the Trustworthiness of God

⁵ At the evening sacrifice I arose from my fasting; and having torn my garment and my robe, I fell on my knees and ^(A)spread out my hands to the Lord my God. ⁶ And I said: “O my God, I am too ^(B)ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God; for ^(C)our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has ^(D)grown up to the heavens. ⁷ Since the days of our fathers to this day ^(E)we have been very guilty, and for our iniquities ^(F)we, our kings, and our priests have been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the ^(G)sword, to captivity, to plunder, and to ^(H)humiliation,^[a] as it is this day. ⁸ And now for a little while grace has been shown from the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may ^(I)enlighten our eyes and give us a measure of revival in our bondage. ^9 (J)For we were slaves. ^(K)Yet our God did not forsake us in our bondage; but ^(L)He extended mercy to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to revive us, to repair the house of our God, to rebuild its ruins, and to give us ^(M)a wall in Judah and Jerusalem. ¹⁰ And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken Your commandments, ¹¹ which You commanded by Your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land which you are entering to possess is an unclean land, with the ^(N)uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations which have filled it from one end to another with their impurity. ¹² Now therefore, ^(O)do not give your daughters as wives for their sons, nor take their daughters to your sons; and ^(P)never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land, and ^(Q)leave it as an inheritance to your children forever.’ ¹³ And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, since You our God ^(R)have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us such deliverance as this, ¹⁴ should we ^(S)again break Your commandments, and ^(T)join in marriage with the people committing these abominations? Would You not be ^(U)angry with us until You had ^[b]consumed us, so that there would be no remnant or survivor? ¹⁵ O Lord God of Israel, ^(V)You are righteous, for we are left as a remnant, as it is this day. ^(W)Here we are before You, ^(X)in our guilt, though no one can stand before You because of this!”

Sorrow Will Turn to Joy

¹⁶ “A ^(A)little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me, ^(B)because I go to the Father.”

¹⁷ Then some of His disciples said among themselves, “What is this that He says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’; and, ‘because I go to the Father’?” ¹⁸ They said therefore, “What is this that He says, ‘A little while’? We do not ^[a]know what He is saying.”

¹⁹ Now Jesus knew that they desired to ask Him, and He said to them, “Are you inquiring among yourselves about what I said, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’? ²⁰ Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and ^(C)lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into ^(D)joy. ^21 (E)A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. ²² Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and ^(F)your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.

²³ “And in that day you will ask Me nothing. ^(G)Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. ²⁴ Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, ^(H)that your joy may be ^(I)full.