Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Unbelieving Fool
For the director of music. Of David.
14 A wicked fool says to himself,
“There is no God.”
Fools are evil. They do terrible things.
None of them does anything good.
2 The Lord looked down from heaven at all the people.
He looked to see if anyone was wise,
if anyone was looking to God for help.
3 But all have turned away.
Together, everyone has become evil.
None of them does anything good.
4 Don’t the wicked understand?
They destroy my people as if they were eating bread.
They do not ask the Lord for help.
5 But the wicked are filled with terror
because God is with those who do what is right.
6 The wicked upset the plans of the poor.
But the Lord will protect the poor.
7 I pray that victory will come to Israel from Mount Zion!
May the Lord give them back their riches.
Then the people of Jacob will rejoice.
And the people of Israel will be glad.
4 “If you will come back, Israel,
then come back to me,” says the Lord.
“Throw away your idols that I hate.
Don’t wander away from me.
2 Then you may say when you make a promise,
‘As surely as the Lord lives.’
And you can say it in a truthful, honest and right way.
Then the nations will be blessed by the Lord.
And they will praise the Lord for what he has done.”
3 This is what the Lord says to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:
“Plow your unplowed fields.
Don’t plant seeds among the thorns.
4 Give yourselves to the service of the Lord.
Decide to obey him.
Do this, men of Judah and people of Jerusalem.
If you don’t, my anger will spread among you like a fire.
No one will be able to put it out
because of the evil you have done.
Trouble from the North
5 “Announce this message to Judah and say it in Jerusalem:
‘Blow the trumpet throughout the country!’
Shout out loud and say,
‘Come together!
Let’s all escape to the strong, walled cities!’
6 Raise the signal flag toward Jerusalem!
Run for your lives! And don’t wait!
Do this because I am bringing disaster from the north.
It will be terrible destruction.”
7 A lion has come out of his den.
A destroyer of nations has begun to march.
He has left his home
to destroy your land.
Your towns will be destroyed.
There will be no people left to live in them.
8 So put on rough cloth,
show how sad you are and cry loudly.
The terrible anger of the Lord
has not turned away from us.
9 “When this happens,” says the Lord,
“the king and officers will lose their courage.
The priests will be terribly afraid.
And the prophets will be shocked!”
10 Then I, Jeremiah, said, “Lord God, you have tricked the people of Judah and Jerusalem. You said, ‘You will have peace.’ But now the sword is pointing at our throats!”
False Teachers
2 There used to be false prophets among God’s people, just as there are now. And you will have some false teachers in your group. They will secretly teach things that are wrong—teachings that will cause people to be lost. They will even refuse to accept the Master, Jesus, who bought their freedom. And so they will quickly destroy themselves. 2 Many will follow their evil ways and say evil things about the Way of truth. 3 Those false teachers only want your money. So they will use you by telling you what is not true. But God has already judged them guilty. And they will not escape the One who will destroy them.
4 When angels sinned, God did not let them go free without punishment. God sent them to hell and put them in caves[a] of darkness. They are being held there to be judged. 5 And God punished the evil people who lived long ago. He brought a flood to the world that was full of people who were against him. But God saved Noah and seven other people with him. Noah was a man who preached about being right with God. 6 And God also punished the evil cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.[b] He burned those cities until there was nothing left but ashes. He made those cities an example to show what will happen to those who are against God. 7 But God saved Lot from those cities. Lot, a good man, was troubled because of the sinful behavior of evil people. 8 (Lot was a good man, but he lived with evil people every day. His good heart was hurt by the evil things that he saw and heard.) 9 And so the Lord knows how to save those who serve him. He will save them when troubles come. And the Lord will hold evil people and punish them, while waiting for the Judgment Day. 10 That punishment is especially for those who live by doing the evil things their sinful selves want, and for those who hate the Lord’s authority.
These false teachers do anything they want and brag about it. They are not afraid to say bad things about the glorious angels.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.