Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

⁵ But I stand silently before the Lord, waiting for him to rescue me. For salvation comes from him alone. ⁶ Yes, he alone is my Rock, my rescuer, defense, and fortress—why then should I be tense with fear when troubles come?

⁷ My protection and success^[a] come from God alone. He is my refuge, a Rock where no enemy can reach me. ⁸ O my people, trust him all the time. Pour out your longings before him, for he can help! ⁹ The greatest of men or the lowest—both alike are nothing in his sight. They weigh less than air on scales.

¹⁰ Don’t become rich by extortion and robbery; if your riches increase, don’t be proud. ^11-12 God has said it many times, that power belongs to him (and also, O Lord, steadfast love belongs to you). He rewards each one of us according to what our works deserve.

19 ^1-2 The Lord said, Buy a clay jar and take it out into the valley of Ben-hinnom by the east gate of the city. Take some of the elders of the people and some of the older priests with you, and speak to them whatever words I give you.

³ Then the Lord spoke to them and said: Listen to the word of the Lord, kings of Judah and citizens of Jerusalem! The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I will bring terrible evil upon this place, so terrible that the ears of those who hear it will prickle. ⁴ For Israel has forsaken me and turned this valley into a place of shame and wickedness. The people burn incense to idols—idols that neither this generation nor their forefathers nor the kings of Judah have worshiped before—and they have filled this place with the blood of innocent children. ⁵ They have built high altars to Baal, and there they burn their sons in sacrifice—a thing I never commanded them nor even thought of!

⁶ The day is coming, says the Lord, when this valley shall no longer be called Topheth or Ben-hinnom Valley, but the Valley of Slaughter. ⁷ For I will upset the battle plans of Judah and Jerusalem, and I will let invading armies kill you here and leave your dead bodies for vultures and wild animals to feed upon. ⁸ And I will wipe Jerusalem off the earth, so that everyone going by will gasp with astonishment at all that I have done to her. ⁹ I will see to it that your enemies lay siege to the city until all food is gone and those trapped inside begin to eat their own children and friends.

¹⁰ And now, Jeremiah, as these men watch, smash the jar you brought with you, ¹¹ and say to them, This is the message to you from the Lord Almighty: As this jar lies shattered, so I will shatter the people of Jerusalem; and as this jar cannot be mended, neither can they. The slaughter shall be so great that there won’t be room enough for decent burial anywhere, and their bodies shall be heaped in this valley. ¹² And as it will be in this valley, so it will be in Jerusalem. For I will fill Jerusalem with dead bodies too. ¹³ And I will defile all the homes in Jerusalem, including the palace of the kings of Judah—wherever incense has been burned upon the roofs to your star gods, and libations poured out to them.

¹⁴ As Jeremiah returned from Topheth where he had delivered this message, he stopped in front of the Temple of the Lord and said to all the people, ¹⁵ The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I will bring upon this city and her surrounding towns all the evil I have promised because you have stubbornly refused to listen to the Lord.

¹¹ The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn for her, for there is no one left to buy their goods. ¹² She was their biggest customer for gold and silver, precious stones, pearls, finest linens, purple silks, and scarlet; and every kind of perfumed wood, and ivory goods, and most expensive wooden carvings, and brass, and iron, and marble; ¹³ and spices, and perfumes, and incense, ointment, and frankincense, wine, olive oil, and fine flour; wheat, cattle, sheep, horses, chariots, and slaves—and even the souls of men.

¹⁴ “All the fancy things you loved so much are gone,” they cry. “The dainty luxuries and splendor that you prized so much will never be yours again. They are gone forever.”

¹⁵ And so the merchants who have become wealthy by selling her these things shall stand at a distance, fearing danger to themselves, weeping and crying, ¹⁶ “Alas, that great city, so beautiful—like a woman clothed in finest purple and scarlet linens, decked out with gold and precious stones and pearls! ¹⁷ In one moment, all the wealth of the city is gone!”

And all the shipowners and captains of the merchant ships and crews will stand a long way off, ¹⁸ crying as they watch the smoke ascend, and saying, “Where in all the world is there another city such as this?” ¹⁹ And they will throw dust on their heads in their sorrow and say, “Alas, alas, for that great city! She made us all rich from her great wealth. And now in a single hour all is gone. . . . ”

²⁰ But you, O heaven, rejoice over her fate; and you, O children of God and the prophets and the apostles! For at last God has given judgment against her for you.