Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
89 Lord, your word is everlasting.
It continues forever in heaven.
90 Your loyalty will continue from now on.
You made the earth, and it still stands.
91 All things continue to this day because of your laws.
All things serve you.
92 If I had not loved your teachings,
I would have died from my sufferings.
93 I will never forget your orders
because you have given me life by them.
94 I am yours. Save me.
I have wanted to know your orders.
95 Wicked people are waiting to destroy me.
But I will think about your rules.
96 Everything I see has its limits.
But your commands have none.
11 A man named Micaiah son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the messages from the Lord. Baruch read them from the scroll. 12 Micaiah went down to the royal assistant’s room in the king’s palace. All of the officers were sitting there: Elishama the royal assistant; Delaiah son of Shemaiah; Elnathan son of Acbor; Gemariah son of Shaphan; Zedekiah son of Hananiah; and all the other officers. 13 Micaiah told those officers everything he had heard Baruch read from the scroll.
14 Then the officers sent a man named Jehudi son of Nethaniah to Baruch. (Nethaniah was the son of Shelemiah, who was the son of Cushi.) Jehudi said to Baruch, “Bring the scroll that you read to the people and come with me.”
So Baruch son of Neriah took the scroll and went with Jehudi to the officers. 15 Then the officers said to Baruch, “Sit down and read the scroll to us.”
So Baruch read the scroll to them. 16 When the officers heard all the words, they became afraid. And they looked at one another. They said to Baruch, “We must certainly tell the king about these words.” 17 Then the officers asked Baruch, “Tell us, Baruch, where did you get these words you wrote on the scroll? Did you write down what Jeremiah said to you?”
18 “Yes,” Baruch answered. “Jeremiah spoke, and I wrote down all the words with ink on this scroll.”
19 Then the officers said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah must go and hide. Don’t tell anyone where you are hiding.”
20 Then the officers put the scroll in the room of Elishama the royal assistant. Then they went to the king in the courtyard and told him all about the scroll. 21 So King Jehoiakim sent Jehudi to get the scroll. Jehudi brought the scroll from the room of Elishama the royal assistant. Then Jehudi read the scroll to the king. And he read it to all the officers who stood around the king. 22 This happened in the ninth month of the year. So King Jehoiakim was sitting in the winter apartment. There was a fire burning in a small firepot in front of him. 23 Jehudi began to read from the scroll. But after he had read three or four columns, the king cut those columns off of the scroll with a pen knife. And he threw them into the firepot. Finally, the whole scroll was burned in the fire. 24 King Jehoiakim and his servants heard the message from the scroll. But they were not frightened! They did not tear their clothes to show their sorrow. 25 Elnathan, Delaiah and Gemariah tried to talk King Jehoiakim into not burning the scroll. But the king would not listen to them. 26 Instead, the king ordered some men to arrest Baruch the secretary and Jeremiah the prophet. Those men were Jerahmeel son of the king, Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel. But the Lord had hidden Baruch and Jeremiah.
Paul’s Joy
2 Open your hearts to us. We have not done wrong to anyone. We have not ruined the faith of any person, and we have cheated no one. 3 I do not say this to blame you. I told you before that we love you so much that we would live or die with you. 4 I feel very sure of you. I am very proud of you. You give me much comfort. And in all of our troubles I have great joy.
5 When we came into Macedonia, we had no rest. We found trouble all around us. We had fighting on the outside and fear on the inside. 6 But God comforts those who are troubled. And God comforted us when Titus came. 7 We were comforted by his coming and also by the comfort that you gave him. Titus told us about your wish to see me. He told us that you are very sorry for what you did. And he told me about your great care for me. When I heard this, I was much happier.
8 Even if the letter I wrote you made you sad, I am not sorry I wrote it. I know it made you sad, and I was sorry for that. But it made you sad only for a short time. 9 Now I am happy, but not because you were made sad. I am happy because your sorrow made you change your hearts. You became sad in the way God wanted you to. So you were not hurt by us in any way. 10 Being sorry in the way God wants makes a person change his heart and life. This leads to salvation, and we cannot be sorry for that. But the kind of sorrow the world has will bring death. 11 You had the kind of sorrow God wanted you to have. Now see what this sorrow has brought you: It has made you very serious. It made you want to prove that you were not wrong. It made you angry and afraid. It made you want to see me. It made you care. It made you want the right thing to be done. You proved that you were not guilty in any part of the problem. 12 I wrote that letter, but not because of the one who did the wrong. And it was not written because of the person who was hurt. But I wrote the letter so that you could see, before God, the great care that you have for us.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.