Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
150 Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his Temple!
Praise him in heaven, his strong fortress!
2 Praise him for the great things he does!
Praise him for all his greatness!
3 Praise him with trumpets and horns!
Praise him with harps and lyres!
4 Praise him with tambourines and dancing!
Praise him with stringed instruments and flutes!
5 Praise him with loud cymbals!
Praise him with crashing cymbals!
6 Everything that breathes, praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!
Promises of Hope
30 This is the message that came to Jeremiah from the Lord. 2 The Lord, the God of the people of Israel, said, “Jeremiah, write in a book the words I have spoken to you. Write this book for yourself. 3 Do this because the days will come”—this message is from the Lord—“when I will bring my people, Israel and Judah, back from exile.” This message is from the Lord. “I will put the people back in the land that I gave to their ancestors. Then my people will own that land again.”
4 The Lord spoke this message about the people of Israel and Judah. 5 This is what the Lord said:
“We hear people crying from fear.
There is fear, not peace.
6 “Ask this question and consider it:
Can a man have a baby? Of course not!
Then why do I see every strong man holding his stomach
like a woman having labor pains?
Why is everyone’s face turning white
like a dead man?
7 “This is a very important time for Jacob.
This is a time of great trouble.
There will never be another time like this,
but Jacob will be saved.
8 “At that time,” says the Lord All-Powerful, “I will break the yoke from the necks of the people of Israel and Judah, and I will break the ropes holding you. People from foreign countries will never again force my people to be slaves. 9 The people of Israel and Judah will not serve foreign countries. No, they will serve the Lord their God. I will send them David their king,[a] and they will serve him.
10 “So Jacob, my servant, don’t be afraid!”
This message is from the Lord.
“Israel, don’t be afraid.
I will save you from that faraway place.
You are captives[b] in that faraway land,
but I will save your descendants.
I will bring them back from that land.
Jacob will have peace again.
People will not bother Jacob.
There will be no enemy to frighten my people.
11 People of Israel and Judah, I am with you.”
This message is from the Lord.
“I will save you.
I sent you to those nations,
but I will completely destroy all of them.
It is true; I will destroy those nations,
but I will not destroy you.
You must be punished for the bad things you did,
but I will discipline you fairly.”
10 So we can see who God’s children are and who the devil’s children are. These are the ones who are not God’s children: those who don’t do what is right and those who do not love their brothers and sisters in God’s family.
We Must Love One Another
11 This is the teaching you have heard from the beginning: We must love each other. 12 Don’t be like Cain. He belonged to the Evil One. Cain killed his brother. But why did he kill him? Because what Cain did was evil, and what his brother did was good.
13 Brothers and sisters, don’t be surprised when the people of this world hate you. 14 We know that we have left death and have come into life. We know this because we love each other as brothers and sisters. Anyone who does not love is still in death. 15 Anyone who hates a fellow believer is a murderer.[a] And you know that no murderer has eternal life.
16 This is how we know what real love is: Jesus gave his life for us. So we should give our lives for each other as brothers and sisters.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International