Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
89 Lord, your word is everlasting;
it continues forever in heaven.
90 Your loyalty will go on and on;
you made the earth, and it still stands.
91 All things continue to this day because of your laws,
because all things serve you.
92 If I had not loved your teachings,
I would have died from my sufferings.
93 I will never forget your orders,
because you have given me life by them.
94 I am yours. Save me.
I want to obey your orders.
95 Wicked people are waiting to destroy me,
but I will think about your rules.
96 Everything I see has its limits,
but your commands have none.
Jehoiakim Burns Jeremiah’s Scroll
36 The Lord spoke this word to Jeremiah during the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah: 2 “Get a scroll. Write on it all the words I have spoken to you about Israel and Judah and all the nations. Write everything from when I first spoke to you, when Josiah was king, until now. 3 Maybe the family of Judah will hear what disasters I am planning to bring on them and will stop doing wicked things. Then I would forgive them for the sins and the evil things they have done.”
4 So Jeremiah called for Baruch son of Neriah. Jeremiah spoke the messages the Lord had given him, and Baruch wrote those messages on the scroll. 5 Then Jeremiah commanded Baruch, “I cannot go to the Temple of the Lord. I must stay here. 6 So I want you to go to the Temple of the Lord on a day when the people are fasting. Read from the scroll to all the people of Judah who come into Jerusalem from their towns. Read the messages from the Lord, which are the words you wrote on the scroll as I spoke them to you. 7 Perhaps they will ask the Lord to help them. Perhaps each one will stop doing wicked things, because the Lord has announced that he is very angry with them.” 8 So Baruch son of Neriah did everything Jeremiah the prophet told him to do. In the Lord’s Temple he read aloud the scroll that had the Lord’s messages written on it.
9 In the ninth month of the fifth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king, a fast was announced. All the people of Jerusalem and everyone who had come into Jerusalem from the towns of Judah were supposed to give up eating to honor the Lord. 10 At that time Baruch read to all the people there the scroll containing Jeremiah’s words. He read the scroll in the Temple of the Lord in the room of Gemariah son of Shaphan, a royal secretary. That room was in the upper courtyard at the entrance of the New Gate of the Temple.
Desire Spiritual Gifts
14 You should seek after love, and you should truly want to have the spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. 2 I will explain why. Those who have the gift of speaking in different languages[a] are not speaking to people; they are speaking to God. No one understands them; they are speaking secret things through the Spirit. 3 But those who prophesy are speaking to people to give them strength, encouragement, and comfort. 4 The ones who speak in different languages are helping only themselves, but those who prophesy are helping the whole church. 5 I wish all of you had the gift of speaking in different kinds of languages, but more, I wish you would prophesy. Those who prophesy are greater than those who can only speak in different languages—unless someone is there who can explain what is said so that the whole church can be helped.
6 Brothers and sisters, will it help you if I come to you speaking in different languages? No! It will help you only if I bring you a new truth or some new knowledge, or prophecy, or teaching. 7 It is the same as with lifeless things that make sounds—like a flute or a harp. If they do not make clear musical notes, you will not know what is being played. 8 And in a war, if the trumpet does not give a clear sound, who will prepare for battle? 9 It is the same with you. Unless you speak clearly with your tongue, no one can understand what you are saying. You will be talking into the air! 10 It may be true that there are all kinds of sounds in the world, and none is without meaning. 11 But unless I understand the meaning of what someone says to me, we will be like foreigners to each other. 12 It is the same with you. Since you want spiritual gifts very much, seek most of all to have the gifts that help the church grow stronger.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.