Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Safe in the Lord
91 Those who go to God Most High for safety
will be protected by God All-Powerful.
2 I will say to the Lord, “You are my place of safety and protection.
You are my God, and I trust you.”
3 God will save you from hidden traps
and from deadly diseases.
4 He will protect you like a bird
spreading its wings over its young.
His truth will be like your armor and shield.
5 You will not fear any danger by night
or an arrow during the day.
6 You will not be afraid of diseases that come in the dark
or sickness that strikes at noon.
14 The Lord says, “If someone loves me, I will save him.
I will protect those who know me.
15 They will call to me, and I will answer them.
I will be with them in trouble.
I will rescue them and honor them.
16 I will give them a long, full life.
They will see how I can save.”
The Good and Bad Figs
24 I saw a vision after Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim as a prisoner. Jehoiachin king of Judah and his officers were taken away from Jerusalem. They were taken to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar also took away all the craftsmen and metalworkers of Judah. It was then that the Lord showed me these things: I saw two baskets of figs. They were arranged in front of the Temple of the Lord. 2 One of the baskets had very good figs in it. They were like figs that ripen early in the season. But the other basket had rotten figs. They were too rotten to eat.
3 The Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?”
I answered, “I see figs. The good figs are very good. But the rotten figs are too rotten to eat.”
4 Then the Lord spoke his word to me. 5 This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, said: “I sent the people of Judah out of their country into Babylon. Those people will be like these good figs. I think of them as good. 6 I will look after them. I will bring them back to the land of Judah. I will not tear them down. I will build them up. I will not pull them up. I will plant them so they can grow. 7 I will make them want to know me. They will know that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God. This is because they will return to me with their whole hearts.
8 “But the bad figs are too rotten to eat,” says the Lord. “Zedekiah king of Judah and his officers will be like those rotten figs. All the people from Jerusalem who are left alive will be like that. This will be true even if those people now live in Egypt. 9 I will make those people hated as an evil people by all the kingdoms of the earth. People will make fun of the people from Judah and tell jokes about them. People will point fingers at them. They will curse them everywhere I scatter them. 10 I will send war, hunger and disease against them. I will attack them until they have all been killed. Then they will no longer be in the land I gave to them and their ancestors.”
43 All the people were amazed at the great power of God.
Jesus Talks About His Death
The people were all wondering about the things Jesus did. But he said to his followers, 44 “Don’t forget the things I tell you now: The Son of Man will be handed over into the control of men.” 45 But the followers did not understand what Jesus meant. The meaning was hidden from them so that they could not understand it. But they were afraid to ask Jesus about what he said.
The Most Important Person
46 Jesus’ followers began to have an argument about which one of them was the greatest. 47 Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he took a little child and stood the child beside him. 48 Then Jesus said, “If anyone accepts a little child like this in my name, then he accepts me. And when he accepts me, he accepts the One who sent me. He who is least among you all—he is the greatest.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.