Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 2
The Nations Conspire, But God’s King Rules Securely
The Futile Rebellion of the Nations
1 Why do the nations rage?
Why do the peoples grumble in vain?
2 The kings of the earth take a stand,
and the rulers join together
against the Lord
and against his Anointed One.[a]
3 “Let us tear off their chains
and throw off their ropes from us.”
The Reaction of the Lord
4 The one who is seated in heaven laughs.
The Lord scoffs at them.
5 Then he speaks to them in his anger,
and in his wrath he terrifies them.
6 “I have installed my King on Zion, my holy mountain.”
The Powerful Rule of God’s King
7 I will proclaim the decree of the Lord.
He said to me:
“You are my Son.
Today I have begotten you.[b]
8 Ask me,
and I will give you the nations as your inheritance
and the ends of the earth as your possession.
9 You will smash them with an iron rod.
You will break them to pieces like pottery.”
The Lesson to Be Learned
10 So now, you kings, do what is wise.
Accept discipline,[c] you judges of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with fear,
and rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son,
or he will be angry,
and you will be destroyed in your way,
for his wrath can flare up in a moment.
How blessed are all who take refuge in him.
Jeremiah and Pashhur
20 When Pashhur the priest, the son of Immer, who served as the chief officer in the House of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying about these things, 2 Pashhur ordered them to beat Jeremiah the prophet, and he put him in the stocks at the Upper Benjamin Gate in the House of the Lord.
3 The next day, when Pashhur released him from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord does not call you Pashhur, but Magor Missabib,[a] 4 for this is what the Lord says: I will certainly make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends. They will fall by the sword of their enemies before your very eyes. I will hand Judah over to the king of Babylon. He will carry the people captive to Babylon, and he will strike them with the sword. 5 Also, the riches of this city, all its property, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah—I will give it all away into the hands of their enemies. They will plunder them, seize them, and carry them off to Babylon. 6 As for you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house, you will go into captivity. You will go to Babylon! You will die there, and you will be buried there, you and all your friends to whom you have prophesied falsely.”
Jeremiah’s Confession
7 You persuaded me, Lord, and I agreed to it.[b]
You are stronger than I am, and you won out.
I have become a laughingstock all day long,
and everyone is mocking me.
8 Whenever I speak, I cry out.
I cry out, “Violence and destruction!”
But the word of the Lord has brought scorn on me.
I am mocked all day long.
9 If I say, “I will not mention him
or speak in his name anymore,”
then there is a burning fire in my heart,
shut up in my bones,
and I am weary of holding it in.
I cannot!
10 I hear many whispering,
“Terror on every side!”
All my close friends,
those who are watching for my fall, say,
“Denounce him! Let’s denounce him.
Perhaps he can be pressured into making a mistake.
Then we will have the upper hand against him,
and we will take our revenge on him.”
11 But the Lord is with me like a terrifying warrior.
So my persecutors will stumble,
and they will not gain the upper hand.
They will be put to shame completely,
because they have not been successful.
Their eternal disgrace will never be forgotten.
12 Lord of Armies, you test the righteous.
You see the heart and the mind.
Let me see your vengeance on them,
for I have laid out my case before you.
13 Sing to the Lord!
Praise the Lord,
for he has delivered the life of the needy
from the hand of the wicked.
A Curse
14 May the day I was born be cursed.
Do not let the day my mother gave birth to me be blessed.
15 May the man be cursed who brought news to my father,
“A son is born to you,”
the man who brought him great joy.
16 Let that man be like the cities the Lord overthrew without pity.
Let him hear a cry in the morning,
an alarm for war at noon,
17 because he did not put me to death in the womb,
so that my mother would have been my grave,
and her womb would have been pregnant forever.
18 Why did I emerge from that womb
to see trouble and sorrow,
to finish my days in shame?
The Rich Young Ruler
18 A certain ruler asked Jesus, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
19 Jesus asked him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good, except one—God. 20 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery. You shall not murder. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony. Honor your father and mother.’”[a]
21 “I have kept all these since I was a child,” he said.
22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
23 But when the ruler heard these words, he became very sad, because he was very rich.
24 When Jesus saw that the man became very sad, he said, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! 25 In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
26 Those who heard this said, “Then who can be saved?”
27 He replied, “What is impossible for people is possible for God.”
28 And Peter said, “Look, we have left our possessions[b] and followed you.”
29 He said to them, “Amen I tell you: Anyone who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God 30 will most certainly receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come, eternal life.”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.