Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Lamedh.

¹¹ Now when ^(A)Micaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, had heard all the words of the Lord from the book, ¹² he went down to the king’s house, into the scribe’s chamber. And behold, all the officials were sitting there—^(B)Elishama the scribe, and ^(C)Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, and ^(D)Elnathan the son of Achbor, and Gemariah the son of Shaphan, and Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the other officials. ¹³ Micaiah ^(E)declared to them all the words that he had heard when Baruch read from the book to the people. ¹⁴ Then all the officials sent ^(F)Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, “Take in your hand the scroll from which you have read to the people and come.” So Baruch the son of Neriah ^(G)took the scroll in his hand and went to them. ¹⁵ They said to him, “Sit down, please, and read it to us.” So Baruch ^(H)read it to them. ¹⁶ When they had heard all the words, they turned in ^(I)fear one to another and said to Baruch, “We will surely ^(J)report all these words to the king.” ¹⁷ And they asked Baruch, saying, “Tell us, please, ^(K)how did you write all these words? Was it ^[a]at his dictation?” ¹⁸ Then Baruch said to them, “He ^(L)dictated all these words to me, and I wrote them with ink on the book.” ¹⁹ Then the officials said to Baruch, “Go, ^(M)hide yourself, you and Jeremiah, and do not let anyone know where you are.”

The Scroll Is Burned

²⁰ So they went to the ^(N)king in the court, but they had deposited the scroll in the chamber of ^(O)Elishama the scribe, and they reported all the words to the king. ²¹ Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it out of the chamber of Elishama the scribe. And Jehudi ^(P)read it to the king as well as to all the officials who stood beside the king. ²² Now the king was sitting in the ^(Q)winter house in the ^(R)ninth month, with a fire burning in the brazier before him. ²³ When Jehudi had read three or four columns, the king cut it with a scribe’s knife and ^(S)threw it into the fire that was in the brazier, until all the scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the brazier. ²⁴ Yet the king and all his servants who heard all these words were ^(T)not afraid, nor did they ^(U)rend their garments. ²⁵ Even though Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah ^(V)pleaded with the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. ²⁶ And the king commanded Jerahmeel the king’s son, Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel to ^(W)seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet, but the ^(X)Lord hid them.

^2 (A)Make room for us in your hearts; we wronged no one, we corrupted no one, we took advantage of no one. ³ I do not speak to condemn you, for I have said ^(B)before that you are ^(C)in our hearts to die together and to live together. ⁴ Great is my ^(D)confidence ^[a]in you; great is my ^(E)boasting on your behalf. I am filled with ^(F)comfort; I am overflowing with ^(G)joy in all our affliction.

⁵ For even when we came into ^(H)Macedonia our flesh had no rest, but we were ^(I)afflicted on every side: ^(J)conflicts without, fears within. ⁶ But ^(K)God, who comforts the ^[b]depressed, ^(L)comforted us by the coming of ^(M)Titus; ⁷ and not only by his coming, but also by the comfort with which he was comforted in you, as he reported to us your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me; so that I rejoiced even more. ⁸ For though I ^(N)caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it—for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while— ⁹ I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything ^[c]through us. ¹⁰ For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a ^(O)repentance ^[d]without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death. ¹¹ For behold what earnestness this very thing, this ^[e]godly sorrow, has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what ^(P)longing, what zeal, what ^(Q)avenging of wrong! In everything you ^(R)demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter. ¹² So although ^(S)I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of ^(T)the offender nor for the sake of the one offended, but that your earnestness on our behalf might be made known to you in the sight of God.