Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Kaph

Distresses Foretold

16 The word of the Lord also came to me, saying, ² “You shall not take a wife for yourself nor have sons or daughters in this place.” ³ For this is what the Lord says concerning the sons and daughters born in this place, and concerning their ^(A)mothers who give birth to them, and their ^(B)fathers who father them in this land: ⁴ “They will ^(C)die of deadly diseases, they ^(D)will not be mourned or buried; they will be like ^(E)dung on the surface of the ground. And they will perish by sword and famine, and their dead bodies will become food for the ^(F)birds of the sky and for the animals of the earth.”

⁵ For this is what the Lord says: “Do not enter a house of ^(G)mourning, or go to mourn or to console them; for I have ^(H)withdrawn My peace from this people,” declares the Lord, “and My ^(I)favor and compassion. ⁶ Both ^(J)great people and small will die in this land; they will not be buried, people will not mourn for them, nor will anyone ^(K)make cuts on himself or have his head ^(L)shaved for them. ⁷ People will not ^(M)break bread in mourning for them, to comfort anyone for the dead, nor give them a cup of consolation to drink for anyone’s father or mother. ⁸ Moreover, you shall ^(N)not go into a house of feasting to sit with them to eat and drink.” ⁹ For this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “Behold, I am going to ^(O)eliminate from this place, before your eyes and in your time, the voice of rejoicing and the voice of joy, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride.

¹⁰ “Now it will happen that, when you tell this people all these words, they will say to you, ‘^(P)For what reason has the Lord declared all this great disaster against us? And what is our wrongdoing, or what is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?’ ¹¹ Then you are to say to them, ‘It is ^(Q)because your forefathers have abandoned Me,’ declares the Lord, ‘and have followed ^(R)other gods, and served and worshiped them; but they have abandoned Me and have not kept My Law. ¹² You too have done evil, even ^(S)more than your forefathers; for behold, each one of you is following the ^(T)stubbornness of his own ^(U)evil heart, without listening to Me. ¹³ So I will ^(V)hurl you off this land to the ^(W)land which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers; and there you will ^(X)serve other gods day and night, because I will show you no compassion.’

Exhortation

⁷ Therefore be patient, ^(A)brothers and sisters, ^(B)until the coming of the Lord. ^(C)The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until ^[a]it gets ^(D)the early and late rains. ^8 (E)You too be patient; ^(F)strengthen your hearts, for ^(G)the coming of the Lord is ^(H)near. ^9 (I)Do not ^[b]complain, ^(J)brothers and sisters, against one another, so that you may not be judged; behold, ^(K)the Judge is standing ^[c](L)right at the ^[d]door. ¹⁰ As an example, ^(M)brothers and sisters, of suffering and patience, take ^(N)the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. ¹¹ We count those ^(O)blessed who endured. You have heard of ^(P)the ^[e]endurance of Job and have seen ^(Q)the ^[f]outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that ^(R)the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.

¹² But above all, ^(S)my brothers and sisters, ^(T)do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but ^[g]your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you do not fall under judgment.