Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God Calls Jeremiah
4 The Lord’s message came to me:
5 “Before I made you in your mother’s womb,
I knew you.
Before you were born,
I chose you for a special work.
I chose you to be a prophet to the nations.”
6 Then I said, “But, Lord God, I don’t know how to speak. I am only a boy.”
7 But the Lord said to me,
“Don’t say, ‘I am only a boy.’
You must go everywhere I send you
and say everything I tell you to say.
8 Don’t be afraid of anyone.
I am with you, and I will protect you.”
This message is from the Lord.
9 Then the Lord reached out with his hand and touched my mouth. He said to me,
“Jeremiah, I am putting my words in your mouth.
10 Today I have put you in charge of nations and kingdoms.
You will pull up and tear down.
You will destroy and overthrow.
You will build up and plant.”
71 Lord, I depend on you for protection.
Don’t let me be disappointed.
2 You always do what is right, so come and save me.
Listen to me and save me.
3 Be my Rock, my place of safety.
Be my fortress, and protect me!
You are my Rock and my protection.
4 My God, save me from wicked people.
Save me from cruel, evil people.
5 Lord God, you are my hope.
I have trusted you since I was a young boy.
6 I depended on you even before I was born.
I relied on you even in my mother’s womb.
I have always prayed to you.[a]
18 You have not come to a place that can be seen and touched, like the mountain the people of Israel saw, which was burning with fire and covered with darkness, gloom, and storms. 19 There is no sound of a trumpet or a voice speaking words like those they heard. When they heard the voice, they begged never to hear another word. 20 They did not want to hear the command: “If anything, even an animal, touches the mountain, it must be killed with stones.”[a] 21 What they saw was so terrible that Moses said, “I am shaking with fear.”[b][c]
22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.[d] You have come to a place where thousands of angels have gathered to celebrate. 23 You have come to the meeting of God’s firstborn[e] children. Their names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all people. And you have come to the spirits of good people who have been made perfect. 24 You have come to Jesus—the one who brought the new agreement from God to his people. You have come to the sprinkled blood[f] that tells us about better things than the blood of Abel.
25 Be careful and don’t refuse to listen when God speaks. Those people refused to listen to him when he warned them on earth. And they did not escape. Now God is speaking from heaven. So now it will be worse for those who refuse to listen to him. 26 When he spoke before, his voice shook the earth. But now he has promised, “Once again I will shake the earth, but I will also shake heaven.”[g] 27 The words “once again” clearly show us that everything that was created will be destroyed—that is, the things that can be shaken. And only what cannot be shaken will remain.
28 So we should be thankful because we have a kingdom that cannot be shaken. And because we are thankful, we should worship God in a way that will please him. We should do this with respect and fear, 29 because our God is like a fire that can destroy us.
Jesus Heals a Woman on the Sabbath
10 Jesus taught in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath day. 11 A woman was there who had an evil spirit inside her. It had made the woman crippled for 18 years. Her back was always bent; she could not stand up straight. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called to her, “Woman, you have been made free from your sickness!” 13 He laid his hands on her, and immediately she was able to stand up straight. She began praising God.
14 The synagogue leader was angry because Jesus healed on the Sabbath day. He said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come to be healed on one of those days. Don’t come for healing on the Sabbath day.”
15 The Lord answered, “You people are hypocrites! All of you untie your work animals and lead them to drink water every day—even on the Sabbath day. 16 This woman that I healed is a true descendant of Abraham.[a] But Satan has held her for 18 years. Surely it is not wrong for her to be made free from her sickness on a Sabbath day!” 17 When Jesus said this, all those who were criticizing him felt ashamed of themselves. And all the people were happy for the wonderful things he was doing.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International