Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
V. Controversies with the False Prophets[a]
Chapter 27
Serve Babylon or Perish. 1 In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah,[b] son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 The Lord said to me: Make for yourself thongs and yoke bars and put them on your shoulders. 3 Send them to the kings of Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, Tyre, and Sidon, through the ambassadors who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah, king of Judah,[c] 4 and command them to tell their lords: Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Thus shall you say to your lords: 5 It was I who made the earth, human being and beast on the face of the earth, by my great power, with my outstretched arm; and I can give them to whomever I think fit.(A) 6 Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, my servant; even the wild animals I have given him to serve him.(B) 7 All nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson, until the time comes for him and his land; then many nations and great kings will enslave him.(C) 8 Meanwhile, the nation or the kingdom that will not serve him, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, or bend its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with sword, famine, and pestilence—oracle of the Lord—until I finish them by his hand.(D)
9 You, however, must not listen to your prophets,[d] to your diviners and dreamers, to your soothsayers and sorcerers, who say to you, “Do not serve the king of Babylon.”(E) 10 For they prophesy lies to you, so as to drive you far from your land, making me banish you so that you perish.(F) 11 The people that bends the neck to the yoke of the king of Babylon to serve him, I will leave in peace on its own land—oracle of the Lord—to cultivate it and dwell on it.(G)
16 (A)To the priests and to all the people I said: Thus says the Lord: Do not listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you: “The vessels of the house of the Lord will soon be brought back from Babylon,” for they prophesy lies to you. 17 Do not listen to them! Serve the king of Babylon that you may live. Why should this city become rubble? 18 If they were prophets, if the word of the Lord were with them, then they would intercede with the Lord of hosts, that the vessels remaining in the house of the Lord and in the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem should not also go to Babylon. 19 For thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the pillars, the sea, the stands, and the rest of the vessels remaining in this city, 20 which Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, did not take when he exiled Jeconiah, son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem— 21 thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels remaining in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem:(B) 22 To Babylon they shall go, and there they shall remain, until the day I look for them—oracle of the Lord; then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.
Punishment of Idolaters. 18 [a]The wrath[b] of God[c] is indeed being revealed from heaven against every impiety and wickedness(A) of those who suppress the truth by their wickedness. 19 For what can be known about God is evident to them, because God made it evident to them.(B) 20 Ever since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes of eternal power and divinity have been able to be understood and perceived in what he has made.(C) As a result, they have no excuse; 21 for although they knew God they did not accord him glory as God or give him thanks. Instead, they became vain in their reasoning, and their senseless minds were darkened.(D) 22 While claiming to be wise,(E) they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for the likeness of an image of mortal man or of birds or of four-legged animals or of snakes.(F)
24 Therefore, God handed them over to impurity through the lusts of their hearts[d] for the mutual degradation of their bodies.(G) 25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and revered and worshiped the creature rather than the creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.(H)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.