Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

118 Oh, thank the Lord, for he’s so good! His loving-kindness is forever.

² Let the congregation of Israel praise him with these same words: “His loving-kindness is forever.”

¹⁹ Open the gates of the Temple^[a]—I will go in and give him my thanks. ²⁰ Those gates are the way into the presence of the Lord, and the godly enter there. ²¹ O Lord, thank you so much for answering my prayer and saving me.

²² The stone rejected by the builders has now become the capstone of the arch!^{[b] 23} This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous to see! ²⁴ This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. ²⁵ O Lord, please help us. Save us. Give us success. ²⁶ Blessed is the one who is coming, the one sent by the Lord.^[c] We bless you from the Temple.

^27-28 Jehovah God is our light. I present to him my sacrifice upon the altar, for you are my God, and I shall give you this thanks and this praise. ²⁹ Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is so good! For his loving-kindness is forever.

33 While Jeremiah was still in jail, the Lord sent him this second message:

² The Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth—Jehovah is his name—says this: ³ Ask me and I will tell you some remarkable secrets about what is going to happen here. ⁴ For though you have torn down the houses of this city, and the king’s palace too, for materials to strengthen the walls against the siege weapons of the enemy, ⁵ yet the Babylonians will enter, and the men of this city are already as good as dead, for I have determined to destroy them in my furious anger. I have abandoned them because of all their wickedness, and I will not pity them when they cry for help.

⁶ Nevertheless the time will come when I will heal Jerusalem’s damage and give her prosperity and peace. ⁷ I will rebuild the cities of both Judah and Israel and restore their fortunes. ⁸ And I will cleanse away all their sins against me and pardon them. ⁹ Then this city will be an honor to me, and it will give me joy and be a source of praise and glory to me before all the nations of the earth! The people of the world will see the good I do for my people and will tremble with awe!

¹² Dearest friends, when I was there with you, you were always so careful to follow my instructions. And now that I am away you must be even more careful to do the good things that result from being saved, obeying God with deep reverence, shrinking back from all that might displease him. ¹³ For God is at work within you, helping you want to obey him, and then helping you do what he wants.

¹⁴ In everything you do, stay away from complaining and arguing ¹⁵ so that no one can speak a word of blame against you. You are to live clean, innocent lives as children of God in a dark world full of people who are crooked and stubborn. Shine out among them like beacon lights, ¹⁶ holding out to them the Word of Life.

Then when Christ returns, how glad I will be that my work among you was so worthwhile. ¹⁷ And if my lifeblood is, so to speak, to be poured out over your faith, which I am offering up to God as a sacrifice—that is, if I am to die for you—even then I will be glad and will share my joy with each of you. ¹⁸ For you should be happy about this, too, and rejoice with me for having this privilege of dying for you.