Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Prayer for Mercy in Troubled Times
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. Upon the ·sheminith [L eighth; C a reference to an eight-stringed instrument or possibly the manner of singing]. A psalm of David.
6 Lord, don’t ·correct [rebuke; reprove] me when you are angry;
don’t ·punish [discipline] me when you are ·very angry [enraged].
2 Lord, ·have mercy on [be gracious to] me because I ·am weak [languish; faint].
Heal me, Lord, because my bones ·ache [are in agony].
3 I ·am very upset [ache; am in agony].
Lord, how long will it be?
4 Lord, return and save me;
·save [rescue; T deliver] me because of your ·kindness [loyalty; covenant love].
5 Dead people don’t remember you;
those in ·the grave [or the underworld; L Sheol] don’t praise you.
6 I am ·tired [weary] ·of crying to you [L because of my moaning].
Every night ·my bed is wet [L I flood my pillow] with tears;
my bed is soaked from my crying.
7 My eyes are weak ·from so much crying [L because of my grief];
they are weak ·from crying about [L because of] my enemies.
8 Get away from me, all you who do evil,
because the Lord has heard my ·crying [supplication].
9 The Lord has heard my cry for help;
the Lord will ·answer [accept] my prayer.
10 All my enemies will be ashamed and ·troubled [in agony; vv. 2–3].
They will turn and suddenly leave in shame.
Jeremiah Is Thrown into a Well
38 Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, ·Jehucal [L Jucal; 37:3] son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malkijah [21:1] heard what Jeremiah was telling all the people. He said: 2 “This is what the Lord says: ‘Everyone who stays in this city [C Jerusalem] will die ·from war [L by sword], or ·hunger [famine], or ·terrible diseases [plague; pestilence]. But everyone who ·surrenders [L goes out] to the ·Babylonian army [L Chaldeans] will live; ·they will escape with their lives and [L their lives will be plunder and they will] live.’ 3 And this is what the Lord says: ‘This city will surely be handed over to the army of the king of Babylon. He will capture this city!’”
4 Then the officers said to the king, “This man [C Jeremiah] must be put to death! He is ·discouraging [demoralizing; L weakening the hands of] the soldiers who are still in the city, and all the people, by what he is saying to them. He ·does not want good to happen to us [L is not seeking our welfare/peace]; ·he wants to ruin us [L …only harm/trouble/evil].”
5 King Zedekiah said to them, “·Jeremiah is in your control [L He is in your hands]. ·I cannot do anything [L The king is powerless] to stop you.”
6 So they [C the officers] took Jeremiah and put him into the ·well [cistern; pit] of Malkijah, the king’s son, which was in the courtyard of the guards. The officers used ropes to lower Jeremiah into the ·well [cistern; pit], which did not have any water in it, only mud. And Jeremiah sank down into the mud.
7 But Ebed-Melech, a Cushite [C an Ethiopian] and a ·servant [or eunuch] in the ·palace [L house of the king], heard that the officers had put Jeremiah into the ·well [cistern; pit]. As King Zedekiah was sitting at the Benjamin Gate, 8 Ebed-Melech left the ·palace [L house of the king] and went to the king. Ebed-Melech said to him, 9 “My master and king, these rulers have acted in an evil way. They have treated Jeremiah the prophet badly. They have thrown him into a ·well [cistern; pit] and left him there to die! ·When there [or There] is no more bread in the city, he will starve to death.”
10 Then King Zedekiah commanded Ebed-Melech the Cushite, “Take thirty men from the palace and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the ·well [cistern; pit] before he dies.”
11 So Ebed-Melech took the men with him and went to a room under the storeroom in the palace. He took some ·old rags [tattered] and worn-out clothes from that room. Then he let those rags down with some ropes to Jeremiah in the ·well [cistern; well]. 12 Ebed-Melech the Cushite said to Jeremiah, “Put these ·old rags [tattered] and worn-out clothes under your arms to be pads for the ropes.” So Jeremiah did as Ebed-Melech said. 13 The men pulled Jeremiah up with the ropes and lifted him out of the ·well [cistern; pit; Ps. 30:1–3]. And Jeremiah stayed under guard in the courtyard of the guard [39:15–18].
5 Jesus sent out these twelve men with the following ·order [instructions]: “Don’t go ·to [L on the way/road of] the ·Gentiles [non-Jewish people] or ·to [L enter] any town where the Samaritans live. 6 But go to the ·people of Israel, who are like lost sheep [L lost sheep of the house of Israel]. 7 When you go, ·preach [announce; proclaim] this: ‘The kingdom of heaven is ·near [at hand].’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead to life again, ·heal [L cleanse] ·those who have skin diseases [T the lepers; see 8:2], and ·force demons out of people [L cast out demons]. ·I give you these powers freely, so help other people freely [L Freely you have received, freely give]. 9 Don’t ·carry [or acquire] any money ·with you [L in your belts]—gold or silver or copper. 10 Don’t carry a ·bag [traveler’s bag; or beggar’s purse] or ·extra clothes [L two tunics] or sandals or a ·walking stick [staff]. Workers ·should be given what they need [deserve to be supported; L deserve their food/sustenance].
11 “When you enter a city or town, ·find [seek out] some ·worthy [honorable; respected] person there and stay in that home until you leave. 12 When you enter that home, ·give it your blessing [L greet it; C typically, “Peace be with you”; see Luke 10:5]. 13 If the ·people there welcome you [L house is worthy], let your peace ·stay there [L come upon it]. But if ·they don’t welcome you [L it is not worthy], ·take back the peace you wished for them [L let your peace return to you]. 14 And if ·a home or town [L anyone] refuses to welcome you or ·listen to you [heed your words/message], leave that ·place [L home or town] and shake its dust off your feet [C in protest and as a warning of judgment]. 15 I tell you the truth, on the judgment day it will be ·better [more bearable/tolerable] for the ·towns [L land] of Sodom and Gomorrah [C evil cities destroyed by God; Gen. 19] than for the people of that town.
Jesus Warns His Apostles(A)
16 “·Listen [L Look; T Behold], I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. So be as ·clever [wise; shrewd; cunning] as ·snakes [serpents] and as ·innocent [harmless] as doves. 17 ·Be careful of [Beware of; Watch out for] people, because they will ·arrest you and take you to court [hand you over to the courts/councils; C local councils associated with Jewish synagogues] and ·whip [flog; scourge] you in their synagogues. 18 ·Because of me [On my account; For my sake] you will be taken to stand before governors and kings, ·and you will tell them and the Gentiles about me [L as a witness/testimony to them and to the Gentiles]. 19 When you are arrested, don’t worry about what to say or how to say it. [L For] At that time you will be given the things to say. 20 It will not really be you speaking but the Spirit of your Father speaking ·through [in] you.
21 “Brothers will ·give [betray; hand over] their own brothers to ·be killed [death], and fathers will give their own children to ·be killed [death]. Children will ·fight [rebel; rise up] against their own parents and have them put to death. 22 All people will hate you because ·you follow me [L of my name], but those people who ·keep their faith [endure; stand firm; persevere] until the end will be saved. 23 When you are ·treated badly [persecuted] in one city, ·run [flee] to ·another city [the next]. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through all the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes [Dan. 7:13–14].
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