Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Song of Ascents[a]
A Prayer for Deliverance
120 I cried to the Lord in my distress,
and he responded to me.
2 “Lord, deliver me[b] from lips that lie
and tongues that deceive.”
3 What will be given to you,
and what will be done to you,
you treacherous tongue?
4 Like a[c] sharp arrow from a warrior,
along with fiery coals from juniper trees!
5 How terrible for me,
that I am an alien in Meshech,
that I reside among the tents of Kedar!
6 I have resided too long
with those who hate peace.
7 I am in favor of peace;
but when I speak,
they are in favor of war.
18 Zedekiah was 21 years old when he became king. He reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother was named Hamutal. She was the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 19 Zedekiah practiced what the Lord considered to be evil, just as Jehoiakim had done, 20 because through the Lord’s anger these things happened[a] to Jerusalem and Judah until he threw them from his presence.
Nebuchadnezzar Captures Jerusalem
20 Zedekiah then rebelled against the king of Babylon, 25 1 so on the tenth day of the tenth month of the ninth year of Zedekiah’s[b] reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and his entire army approached Jerusalem, attacked it, encamped against it, and built a siege wall that surrounded the city. 2 The city remained under siege until the eleventh year of the reign of[c] King Zedekiah. 3 By the ninth day of the fourth[d] month, the resulting[e] famine had become so severe in the city that no food remained for the people who lived in the land. 4 The city was breached, and the entire army left during the night through the gate that stood between the two walls beside the royal garden, even though the Chaldeans had surrounded the city. They escaped through the Arabah, 5 but the Chaldean army pursued the king and overtook him in the Jericho plains, where his entire army was scattered. 6 The Chaldeans captured the king and brought him to Riblah, where the king of Babylon determined his sentence. 7 They executed Zedekiah’s sons in his presence, blinded Zedekiah, bound him with bronze chains, and transported him to Babylon.
Jerusalem is Burned and the Temple Demolished
8 On the seventh[f] day of the fifth month, which was during the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar’s reign as king of Babylon, captain of the guard Nebuzaradan, a servant of the king of Babylon, arrived in Jerusalem 9 and set fire to the Lord’s Temple, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem. He even incinerated the lavish[g] homes. 10 The Chaldean army that accompanied the captain of the guard demolished the walls that surrounded Jerusalem. 11 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, carried the survivors of the people who remained in the city, those who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the multitude into exile. 12 However, the captain of the guard left some of the poor people of the land to work as vinedressers and farmers.
13 The Chaldeans also broke into pieces and carried back to Babylon the bronze pillars that stood in the Lord’s Temple, along with the stands and the bronze sea[h] that used to be in the Lord’s Temple. 14 They also confiscated[i] the pots, shovels, snuffers, spoons, and the rest of the bronze vessels that were used in ministry. 15 The captain of the guard also confiscated[j] the fire pans, basins, and whatever had been crafted of pure gold and pure silver. 16 The bronze contained in the two pillars, the one sea, and the stands that Solomon had crafted for the Lord’s Temple could not be inventoried for weight. 17 The height of one of the pillars was eighteen cubits,[k] and the capital on top of it was three cubits[l] high.[m] A latticework carved in the form of pomegranates encircled the capital, crafted completely out of brass. The second pillar was identical to the first.[n]
Judah’s Leaders are Executed
18 The captain of the guard arrested Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the second priest, three temple officials,[o] 19 one overseer from the city who supervised the soldiers, five of the king’s advisors who had been discovered in the city, the scribe who served the army captain who mustered the army of the land, and 60 men of the land who were discovered in the city. 20 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took them to the king of Babylon at Riblah, 21 where the king of Babylon executed them in the land of Hamath. And so Judah was transported into exile from the land.
20 But at this moment the Messiah[a] stands risen from the dead, the first one offered in the harvest[b] of those who have died.[c] 21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also came through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in the Messiah[d] will all be made alive. 23 However, this will happen to each person in the proper order: first the Messiah,[e] then those who belong to the Messiah[f] when he comes. 24 Then the end will come, when after he has done away with every ruler and every authority and power, the Messiah[g] hands over the kingdom to God the Father. 25 For he must rule until God[h] puts all the Messiah’s[i] enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be done away with is death, 27 for “God[j] has put everything under his feet.”[k] Now when he says, “Everything has been put under him,” this clearly excludes the one who put everything under him. 28 But when everything has been put under him, then the Son himself will also become subject to the one who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.
29 Otherwise, what will those people do who are being baptized because of those who have died? If the dead are not raised at all, why are they being baptized because of them? 30 And why in fact are we being endangered every hour? 31 I face death every day! That is as certain, brothers,[l] as it is that I am proud of you in the Messiah,[m] Jesus our Lord. 32 If I have fought with wild animals in Ephesus from merely human motives, what do I get out of it? If the dead are not raised,
“Let’s eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”[n]
33 Stop being deceived:
“Wicked friends lead to evil ends.”[o]
34 Come back to your senses as you should, and stop sinning! For some of you—I say this to your shame—don’t fully know God.
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