Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Lamed
Pay Attention to God’s Word
89 Your word is forever, Lord;
it is firmly established in heaven.
90 Your faithfulness continues from generation to generation.
You established the earth, and it stands firm.
91 To this day they stand by means of your rulings,
for all things serve you.
92 Had your instruction[a] not been my pleasure,
I would have died in my affliction.
93 I will never forget your precepts,
for you have revived me with them.
94 I am yours, so save me,
since I have sought your precepts.
95 The wicked lay in wait to destroy me,
while I ponder your decrees.
96 I have observed that all things have their limit,
but your commandment is very broad.
Jeremiah’s Scroll Read in the Palace
11 When Gemariah’s son Micaiah, the grandson of Shaphan, heard all the words of the Lord from the scroll, 12 he went down to the palace, to the scribe’s office, where all the officials were sitting. Elishama the scribe, Shemaiah’s son Delaiah, Achbor’s son Elnathan, Shaphan’s son Gemariah, Hananiah’s son Zedekiah, and all the other officials were there. 13 Micaiah told them all the things that he had heard when Baruch read from the scroll to the people. 14 Then all the officials sent Nethaniah’s son Jehudi, (who was also the grandson of Shelemiah and Cushi’s great-grandson), to Baruch, who said, “Take the scroll that you read to[a] the people and come.” Neriah’s son Baruch took the scroll with him and went to them.
15 They told him, “Please sit down and read it to us.”[b] So Baruch read it to them. 16 When they heard all the words, they turned to one another in fear, saying to Baruch, “We must report all these things to the king.” 17 Then they asked Baruch, “Please tell us how you wrote all the words. Did Jeremiah dictate them all?”[c]
18 Baruch answered them, “Yes, Jeremiah dictated all these words to me, and I wrote them in the scroll with ink.”
19 Then the officials told Baruch, “Go, hide yourself, both you and Jeremiah, and don’t let anyone know where you are.”
The King Burns Jeremiah’s Scroll
20 The officials[d] went to the king in the courtyard, but they deposited the scroll in the office of Elishama the scribe. Then they reported everything written on the scroll[e] to the king. 21 The king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it from the office of Elishama the scribe. Jehudi read it to the king[f] and to all the officials who were standing beside the king. 22 The king was sitting in the winter palace in the ninth month and a stove[g] was burning in front of him.[h] 23 As Jehudi would read three or four columns, the king[i] would cut it with a scribe’s knife and throw it into the fire which was in the stove, until all the scroll was burned[j] in the fire in the stove. 24 The king and all his officials[k] who were listening to these words were not afraid, nor did they tear their garments. 25 Even though Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. 26 The king ordered his[l] son Jerahmeel, Azriel’s son Seraiah, and Abdeel’s son Shelemiah to get Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet, but the Lord had hidden them.
Encouraged by the Corinthians
2 Make room for us in your hearts![a] We have not treated anyone unjustly, harmed anyone, or cheated anyone. 3 I am not saying this to condemn you. I told you before that you are in our hearts to die together and to live together. 4 I have great confidence in you. I am very proud of you. I am very much encouraged. I am overjoyed in all our troubles.
5 For even when we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest. We suffered in a number of ways. Outwardly there were conflicts, inwardly there were fears. 6 Yet God, who comforts those who feel miserable, comforted us by the arrival of Titus, 7 and not only by his arrival but also by the comfort he had received from you. He told us about your longing for me, your sorrow, and your eagerness to take my side, and this made me even happier.
8 If I made you sad with my letter, I do not regret it, although I did regret it then. I see that the letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while. 9 Now I am happy, not because you had such sorrow, but because your sorrow led you to repent. For you were sorry in a godly way, and so you were not hurt by us in any way. 10 For having sorrow in a godly way results in repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regrets. But the sorrow of the world produces death.
11 See what great earnestness godly sorrow has produced in you! How ready you are to clear yourselves, how indignant, how alarmed, how full of longing and enthusiasm, how eager to seek justice! In every way you have demonstrated that you are innocent in this matter. 12 So, even though I wrote to you, it wasn’t because of the man who did the wrong or because of the man who was hurt. Instead, I wrote to you so that your devotion to us might be made perfectly clear to you before God.
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