Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
One of Asaph’s songs of praise.
79 God, some people from other nations came to fight your people.
They ruined your holy Temple.
They left Jerusalem in ruins.
2 They left the bodies of your servants for the wild birds to eat.
They let wild animals eat the bodies of your followers.
3 Blood flowed like water all over Jerusalem.
No one is left to bury the bodies.
4 The countries around us insult us.
The people around us laugh at us and make fun of us.
5 Lord, will you be angry with us forever?
Will your strong feelings[a] continue to burn like a fire?
6 Turn your anger against the nations that do not know you,
against the people who do not honor you as God.
7 Those nations killed Jacob’s family
and destroyed their land.
8 Please don’t punish us for the sins of our ancestors.
Hurry, show us your mercy!
We need you so much!
9 Our God and Savior, help us!
That will bring glory to your name.
Save us and forgive our sins
for the good of your name.
14 “They will say, ‘Why are we just sitting here?
Come, let’s run to the strong cities.
If the Lord our God is going to make us die,
then let’s die there.
We have sinned against the Lord,
so he has given us poisoned water to drink.
15 We hoped to have peace,
but nothing good has come.
We hoped that he would forgive us,
but only disaster has come.
16 From the land of the tribe of Dan,
we hear the snorting[a] of the enemy’s horses.
The ground shakes from the pounding of their hooves.
They have come to destroy the land
and everything in it.
They have come to destroy the city
and all the people who live there.’”
17 “People of Judah, I am sending poisonous snakes[b] to attack you.
These snakes cannot be controlled.
They will bite you.”
This message is from the Lord.
2 If only I had a place in the desert—
a house where travelers spend the night—
so I could leave my people.
I could go away from them,
because they are all unfaithful to God.
They have all turned against him.
3 “They use their tongues like a bow;
lies fly from their mouths like arrows.
Lies, not truth,
have grown strong in this land.
They go from one sin to another.
They don’t know me.”
This is what the Lord said.
4 “Watch your neighbors!
Don’t trust your own brothers,
because every brother is a cheat.
Every neighbor talks behind your back.
5 Everyone lies to their neighbor.
No one speaks the truth.
The people of Judah have taught
their tongues to lie.
They sinned until they were too tired
to come back.
6 One bad thing followed another,
and lies followed lies.
The people refused to know me.”
This is what the Lord said.
7 So the Lord All-Powerful says,
“A worker heats metal in a fire to test it and see if it is pure.
I will test the people of Judah like that.
I have no other choice.
My people have sinned.
8 The people of Judah have tongues as sharp as arrows.
Their mouths speak lies.
They all speak kindly to their neighbors,
but they are secretly planning ways to attack them.
9 Should I punish the people of Judah for doing these things?”
This message is from the Lord.
“You know I should punish a nation such as this.
I should give it the punishment it deserves.”
10 I, Jeremiah, will cry for the mountains.
I will sing a funeral song for the empty fields,
because all the animals were taken away.
No one travels there now.
The sounds of cattle cannot be heard.
The birds have flown away,
and the animals are gone.
11 The Lord says,[a] “I will make the city of Jerusalem a pile of garbage.
It will be a home for jackals.
I will destroy the cities in the land of Judah,
so no one will live there.”
True Giving(A)
41 Jesus sat near the Temple collection box[a] and watched as people put money into it. Many rich people put in a lot of money. 42 Then a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth less than a penny.
43 Jesus called his followers to him and said, “This poor widow put in only two small coins. But the truth is, she gave more than all those rich people. 44 They have plenty, and they gave only what they did not need. This woman is very poor, but she gave all she had. It was money she needed to live on.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International