Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

The Destruction of the Temple

¹² In the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month—it was the nineteenth year of the reign of^[a] King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon—Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard who served^[b] the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem. ¹³ He burned the Lord’s Temple, the king’s house, and all the houses in Jerusalem. He also burned every public building^[c] with fire. ¹⁴ All the Chaldean troops who were with the captain of the guard tore down all the walls around Jerusalem. ¹⁵ Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried into exile some of the poorest of the people, the rest of the people left in the city, the deserters who had defected to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the craftsmen. ¹⁶ But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poorest people of the land to be vinedressers and farmers.^[d]

¹⁷ The Chaldeans broke in pieces the bronze pillars that were in the Lord’s Temple and the stands and the bronze sea that were in the Lord’s Temple, and they carried all the^[e] bronze to Babylon. ¹⁸ They took away the pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the basins, the pans, and all the bronze utensils that were used in the temple service. ¹⁹ The captain of the guard took away the bowls, the fire pans, the basins, the pots, the lamp stands, the pans, and the bowls for libations, both those made of gold and those made of silver. ²⁰ There was too much bronze to weigh in the two pillars, the one sea, the twelve bronze oxen that were under the sea,^[f] and the stands which King Solomon had made for the Lord’s Temple. ²¹ Each of the pillars was twelve cubits^[g] high and its circumference twelve cubits.^[h] It was hollow and about a handbreadth^[i] thick. ²² On each pillar^[j] was a capital of bronze, and the height of each capital was five cubits.^[k] Latticework and pomegranates, all of bronze, were all around the capital. And the second pillar was like this, including the pomegranates. ²³ There were 96 pomegranates open to view.^[l] In all, there were 100 pomegranates all around the latticework.

Executions and Deportations to Babylon

²⁴ The captain of the guard arrested Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the next ranking priest,^[m] and the three guards of the gate.^{[n] 25} From the city he arrested one of the officers who had been in charge of the troops, seven men from the king’s personal advisors who were found in the city, the secretary of the commander of the army who mustered the people of the land, and 60 men of the people of the land who were found inside the city. ²⁶ Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard arrested them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. ²⁷ The king of Babylon struck them down and killed them at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah went into exile from the land.

²⁸ These are the people Nebuchadnezzar took into exile: in the seventh year, 3,023 Judeans; ²⁹ in Nebuchadnezzar’s eighteenth year, 832 people from Jerusalem; ³⁰ in Nebuchadnezzar’s twenty-third year, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took 745 people from Judah into exile. All the people taken into exile^[o] numbered 4,600.

The Letter to the Church in Pergamum

¹² “To the messenger^[a] of the church in Pergamum, write:

‘The one who holds the sharp, two-edged sword, says this:

¹³ ‘I know where you live. Satan’s throne is there. Yet you hold on to my name and have not denied your faith in me,^[b] even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was killed in your presence, where Satan lives. ¹⁴ But I have a few things against you: You have there some who hold to the teaching of Balaam, the one who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the people of Israel so that they would eat food sacrificed to idols and practice immorality. ¹⁵ You also have some who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. ¹⁶ So repent. If you don’t, I will come to you quickly and wage war against them with the sword of my mouth.

¹⁷ ‘Let everyone^[c] listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. I will give some of the hidden manna to everyone who overcomes.’”^[d] I will also give him a white stone. On the white stone is written a new name that no one knows except the person who receives it.’”

The Letter to the Church in Thyatira

¹⁸ “To the messenger^[e] of the church in Thyatira, write:

‘The Son of God, whose eyes are like flaming fire and whose feet are like glowing bronze, says this:

¹⁹ ‘I know what you’ve been doing—your love, faithfulness,^[f] service, and endurance—and that your last actions are greater than the first. ²⁰ But I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet and who teaches and leads my servants to practice immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. ²¹ I gave her time to repent, but she refused to repent of her immorality. ²² Look! I am going to strike her with illness.^[g] Those who commit adultery with her will also suffer greatly, unless they repent from acting like her. ²³ I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts. I will reward each of you as your actions deserve.

²⁴ ‘But as for the rest of you in Thyatira—you who do not hold to this teaching and who have not learned what some people call the deep things of Satan—I won’t burden you with anything else. ²⁵ Just hold on to what you have until I come. ²⁶ I will give authority over the nations to the person who overcomes^[h] and continues to do what I’ve commanded^[i] to the end, and

²⁸ ‘Just as I have received authority from my Father, I will also give him the morning star.

²⁹ ‘Let everyone^[k] listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.’”