Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Restore Our Fortunes, O Lord

A Song of ^(A)Ascents.

¹² Then Jeremiah spoke to all the officials and all the people, saying, “The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and this city all the words you have heard. ¹³ Now therefore ^(A)mend your ways and your deeds, ^(B)and obey the voice of the Lord your God, ^(C)and the Lord will relent of the disaster that he has pronounced against you. ^14 (D)But as for me, behold, I am in your hands. Do with me as seems good and right to you. ¹⁵ Only know for certain that if you put me to death, ^(E)you will bring innocent blood upon yourselves and upon this city and its inhabitants, for in truth the Lord sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears.”

Jeremiah Spared from Death

^16 (F)Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, ^(G)“This man does not deserve the sentence of death, for he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.” ^17 (H)And certain of ^(I)the elders of the land arose and spoke to all the assembled people, saying, ¹⁸ “Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and said to all the people of Judah: ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts,

¹⁹ Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? ^(K)Did he not fear the Lord and entreat the favor of the Lord, ^(L)and did not the Lord relent of the disaster that he had pronounced against them? ^(M)But we are about to bring great disaster upon ourselves.”

²⁰ There was another man who prophesied in the name of the Lord, Uriah the son of Shemaiah from ^(N)Kiriath-jearim. He prophesied against this city and against this land in words like those of Jeremiah. ²¹ And when ^(O)King Jehoiakim, with all his warriors and all the officials, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death. But when Uriah heard of it, he was afraid and fled and escaped to Egypt. ²² Then ^(P)King Jehoiakim sent to Egypt certain men, ^(Q)Elnathan the son of ^(R)Achbor and others with him, ²³ and they took Uriah from Egypt and brought him to King Jehoiakim, ^(S)who struck him down with the sword and dumped his dead body into the burial place of the common people.

²⁴ But the hand of ^(T)Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah so that he was not given over to the people to be put to death.

Jesus Compared to Melchizedek

^11 (A)Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron? ¹² For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well. ¹³ For the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar. ¹⁴ For it is evident that our Lord was descended ^(B)from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.

¹⁵ This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, ¹⁶ who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. ¹⁷ For it is witnessed of him,

¹⁸ For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside ^(D)because of its weakness and uselessness ¹⁹ (for ^(E)the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, ^(F)a better hope is introduced, through which ^(G)we draw near to God.

²⁰ And it was not without an oath. For those who formerly became priests were made such without an oath, ²¹ but this one was made a priest with an oath by the one who said to him:

²² This makes Jesus the guarantor of ^(I)a better covenant.