Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Prayer for the Lord’s Help.

A Song of Ascents.

Message at the Temple Gate

7 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, ² “^(A)Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house and proclaim there this word and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you of Judah, who enter by these gates to worship the Lord!’” ³ Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “^(B)Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place. ^4 (C)Do not trust in deceptive words, saying, ‘^[a]This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.’ ⁵ For ^(D)if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly ^(E)practice justice between a man and his neighbor, ⁶ if you do not oppress the alien, the ^[b](F)orphan, or the widow, and do not shed ^(G)innocent blood in this place, nor ^(H)walk after other gods to your own ruin, ⁷ then I will let you ^(I)dwell in this place, in the ^(J)land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever.

⁸ “Behold, you are trusting in ^(K)deceptive words to no avail. ⁹ Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery and swear falsely, and ^[c](L)offer sacrifices to Baal and walk after ^(M)other gods that you have not known, ¹⁰ then ^(N)come and stand before Me in ^(O)this house, which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’—that you may do all these abominations? ¹¹ Has ^(P)this house, which is called by My name, become a ^(Q)den of robbers in your sight? Behold, ^(R)I, even I, have seen it,” declares the Lord.

¹² “But go now to My place which was in ^(S)Shiloh, where I ^(T)made My name dwell at the first, and ^(U)see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel. ¹³ And now, because you have done all these things,” declares the Lord, “and I spoke to you, ^(V)rising up early and ^(W)speaking, but you did not hear, and I ^(X)called you but you did not answer, ¹⁴ therefore, I will do to the ^(Y)house which is called by My name, ^(Z)in which you trust, and to the place which I gave you and your fathers, as I ^(AA)did to Shiloh. ¹⁵ I will ^(AB)cast you out of My sight, as I have cast out all your brothers, all the ^[d]offspring of ^(AC)Ephraim.

⁸ You are ^(A)already filled, you have already become rich, you have become kings without us; and indeed, I wish that you had become kings so that we also might reign with you. ⁹ For, I think, God has exhibited us apostles last of all, as men ^(B)condemned to death; because we ^(C)have become a spectacle to the world, ^[a]both to angels and to men. ¹⁰ We are ^(D)fools for Christ’s sake, but ^(E)you are prudent in Christ; ^(F)we are weak, but you are strong; you are distinguished, but we are without honor. ¹¹ To this present hour we are both ^(G)hungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed, and are roughly treated, and are homeless; ¹² and we toil, ^(H)working with our own hands; when we are ^(I)reviled, we bless; when we are ^(J)persecuted, we endure; ¹³ when we are slandered, we try to ^[b]conciliate; we have ^(K)become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now.