Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Prayer for Rescue from Enemies.

A Psalm of David.

Message to the Exiles

29 Now these are the words of the ^(A)letter which Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the rest of the elders of the exile, the priests, the prophets and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. ² (This was after King ^(B)Jeconiah and the ^(C)queen mother, the court officials, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen and the smiths had departed from Jerusalem.) ³ The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of ^(D)Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, saying, ⁴ “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have ^(E)sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, ⁵ ‘^(F)Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their ^[a]produce. ⁶ Take ^(G)wives and ^[b]become the fathers of sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there and do not decrease. ^7 (H)Seek the ^[c]welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and ^(I)pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its ^[d]welfare you will have ^[e]welfare.’ ⁸ For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Do not let your ^(J)prophets who are in your midst and your diviners ^(K)deceive you, and do not listen to ^[f](L)the dreams which ^[g]they dream. ⁹ For they ^(M)prophesy falsely to you in My name; ^(N)I have not sent them,’ declares the Lord.

¹⁰ “For thus says the Lord, ‘When ^(O)seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My ^(P)good word to you, to bring you back to this place. ¹¹ For I know the ^(Q)plans that I ^[h]have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for ^(R)welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a ^(S)hope. ¹² Then you will ^(T)call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will ^(U)listen to you. ¹³ You will ^(V)seek Me and find Me when you ^(W)search for Me with all your heart. ¹⁴ I will be ^(X)found by you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will ^(Y)restore your ^[i]fortunes and will ^(Z)gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will ^(AA)bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’

The Gerasene Demoniac

5 ^(A)They came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes. ² When He got out of ^(B)the boat, immediately a man from the tombs ^(C)with an unclean spirit met Him, ³ and he had his dwelling among the tombs. And no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain; ⁴ because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. ⁵ Constantly, night and day, he was screaming among the tombs and in the mountains, and gashing himself with stones. ⁶ Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him; ⁷ and shouting with a loud voice, he *said, “^[a](D)What business do we have with each other, Jesus, ^(E)Son of ^(F)the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!” ⁸ For He had been saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” ⁹ And He was asking him, “What is your name?” And he *said to Him, “My name is ^(G)Legion; for we are many.” ¹⁰ And he began to implore Him earnestly not to send them out of the country. ¹¹ Now there was a large herd of swine feeding ^[b]nearby on the mountain. ¹² The demons implored Him, saying, “Send us into the swine so that we may enter them.” ¹³ Jesus gave them permission. And coming out, the unclean spirits entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, about two thousand of them; and they were drowned in the sea.

¹⁴ Their herdsmen ran away and reported it in the city and in the country. And the people came to see what it was that had happened. ¹⁵ They *came to Jesus and *observed the man who had been ^(H)demon-possessed sitting down, ^(I)clothed and ^(J)in his right mind, the very man who had had the “^(K)legion”; and they became frightened. ¹⁶ Those who had seen it described to them how it had happened to the ^(L)demon-possessed man, and all about the swine. ¹⁷ And they began to ^(M)implore Him to leave their region. ^18 (N)As He was getting into the boat, the man who had been ^(O)demon-possessed was imploring Him that he might ^[c]accompany Him. ¹⁹ And He did not let him, but He *said to him, “^(P)Go home to your people and report to them ^[d]what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.” ²⁰ And he went away and began to ^(Q)proclaim in ^(R)Decapolis ^[e]what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.