Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 123[a]
A song of ascents.[b]
123 I look up[c] toward you,
the one enthroned[d] in heaven.
2 Look, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a female servant look to the hand of her mistress,[e]
so our eyes will look to the Lord, our God, until he shows us favor.
3 Show us favor, O Lord, show us favor!
For we have had our fill of humiliation, and then some.[f]
4 We have had our fill[g]
of the taunts of the self-assured,
of the contempt of the proud.
16 “But as for you, Jeremiah,[a] do not pray for these people. Do not raise a cry of prayer[b] for them! Do not plead with me to save them,[c] because I will not listen to you. 17 Do you see[d] what they are doing in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 Children are gathering firewood, fathers are building fires with it, and women are mixing dough to bake cakes to offer to the goddess they call the Queen of Heaven.[e] They are also pouring out drink offerings to other gods. They seem to do all this just[f] to trouble me. 19 But I am not really the one being troubled![g] says the Lord. Rather they are bringing trouble on themselves to their own shame![h] 20 So, the Sovereign Lord[i] says, my raging fury will be poured out on this land.[j] It will be poured out on human beings and animals, on trees and crops.[k] And it will burn like a fire that cannot be extinguished.
21 “The Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel,[l] says to the people of Judah:[m] ‘You might as well go ahead and add the meat of your burnt offerings to that of the other sacrifices and eat it, too![n] 22 Consider this:[o] When I spoke to your ancestors after I brought them out of Egypt, I did not merely give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices. 23 I also explicitly commanded them:[p] “Obey me. If you do, I[q] will be your God and you will be my people. Live exactly the way I tell you[r] and things will go well with you.” 24 But they did not listen to me or pay any attention to me. They followed the stubborn inclinations of their own wicked hearts. They acted worse and worse instead of better.[s] 25 From the time your ancestors departed the land of Egypt until now,[t] I sent my servants the prophets to you again and again,[u] day after day.[v] 26 But your ancestors[w] did not listen to me nor pay attention to me. They became obstinate[x] and were more wicked than even their own forefathers.’”
7 You are looking at outward appearances.[a] If anyone is confident that he belongs to Christ, he should reflect on this again: Just as he himself belongs to Christ, so too do we. 8 For if I boast somewhat more about our authority that the Lord gave us[b] for building you up and not for tearing you down, I will not be ashamed of doing so.[c] 9 I do not want to seem as though I am trying to terrify you with my letters, 10 because some say, “His letters are weighty and forceful, but his physical presence is weak[d] and his speech is of no account.”[e] 11 Let such a person consider this: What we say[f] by letters when we are absent, we also are in actions when we are present.
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