Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
7 It is for your sake that I bear scorn.
Shame covers my face.
8 I have become a stranger to my brothers,
a foreigner to my mother’s sons.
9 Yes, zeal for your house consumes me.
The scorn of those who scorn you falls on me.
10 I wept as I fasted,
but this only brought insults to me.
11 When I wore sackcloth as my clothing,
I was a joke to them.
12 Those who sit in the gatehouse gossip about me,
and the songs of the drunks are about me.
An Interlude of Prayer
13 But I direct my prayer to you, O Lord, for a time of favor.
God, in the greatness of your mercy,
answer me with the certainty of salvation from you.
14 Rescue me from the mud, so I do not sink.
Let me escape from those who hate me and from the deep waters.
15 Do not let the rapids rush over me.
Do not let the deep swallow me up.
Do not let the pit close its mouth over me.
16 Answer me, Lord, for your mercy is good.
According to your great compassion, turn to me.
17 Do not hide your face from your servant.
Because I am in distress, hurry, answer me.
18 Come near. Redeem my soul.
Ransom me because of my enemies.
A Plot Against Jeremiah
18 Some people said, “Come on! Let’s make plans against Jeremiah, because the law will not vanish from the priest, nor guidance from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come on, let’s attack him with words and pay no attention to anything he says.”
19 Listen to me, Lord.
Listen to what my opponents are saying.
20 Should good be repaid with evil?
Yet they have dug a pit for me.
Remember how I stood before you to speak on their behalf,
to turn your anger from them.
21 Therefore, hand their children over to famine,
and hand them over to the power of the sword.
Let their wives become childless widows.
Let their men be put to death,
and their young men be struck in battle by the sword.
22 Let a cry be heard from their houses
when you suddenly bring marauders against them,
because they have dug a pit to capture me
and have hidden snares for my feet.
23 But you, Lord, are aware of all their plots to kill me.
Do not forgive their guilt.
Do not blot out their sin from your sight.
Let them be overthrown in your presence.
Deal with them in the time of your anger.
On Trial Before the Sanhedrin
17 The high priest rose up, along with his associates (that is, the party of the Sadducees), because they were filled with envy. 18 They arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. 19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the prison, brought them out, and said, 20 “Go, stand in the temple and keep on telling the people the whole message about this life.” 21 After they heard this, they entered the temple courts at daybreak and began to teach.
When the high priest and his associates arrived, they called together the Sanhedrin (that is, the whole council of elders of the people of Israel). Then they sent orders to the jail to have the apostles brought in. 22 But when the officers arrived, they did not find them in the prison. They returned and reported, 23 “We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them, we found no one inside!” 24 When the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard these words, they were puzzled about them, wondering what could have happened.
25 Then someone came and reported to them, “Look! The men you put in prison are standing in the temple courts and teaching the people.”
26 Then the captain went with the officers and brought the apostles in without force, because they were afraid that the people might stone them.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.