Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
18 God, I am very sad and afraid.
19 Listen to my people.
Everywhere in this country, people are crying for help.
They say, “Is the Lord still at Zion?
Is Zion’s King still there?”
But God says,
“The people of Judah worshiped their worthless foreign idols.
That made me very angry!
Why did they do that?”
20 And the people say,
“Harvest time is over.
Summer is gone,
and still we have not been saved.”
21 My people are hurt, so I am hurt.
I am too sad to speak.
22 Surely there is some medicine in Gilead.
Surely there is a doctor in Gilead.
So why are the wounds of my people not healed?
9 If my head were filled with water,
and if my eyes were a fountain of tears,
I would cry day and night for my people who have been destroyed.
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.
God Wants Us to Pray for Everyone
2 First of all, I ask that you pray for all people. Ask God to bless them and give them what they need. And give thanks. 2 You should pray for rulers and for all who have authority. Pray for these leaders so that we can live quiet and peaceful lives—lives full of devotion to God and respect for him. 3 This is good and pleases God our Savior.
4 God wants everyone to be saved and to fully understand the truth. 5 There is only one God, and there is only one way that people can reach God. That way is through Christ Jesus, who as a man 6 gave himself to pay for everyone to be free. This is the message that was given to us at just the right time. 7 And I was chosen as an apostle to tell people that message. (I am telling the truth. I am not lying.) I was chosen to teach those who are not Jews to believe and understand the truth.
True Wealth
16 Jesus said to his followers, “Once there was a rich man. He hired a manager to take care of his business. Later, he learned that his manager was cheating him. 2 So he called the manager in and said to him, ‘I have heard bad things about you. Give me a report of what you have done with my money. You can’t be my manager anymore.’
3 “So, the manager thought to himself, ‘What will I do? My master is taking my job away from me. I am not strong enough to dig ditches. I am too proud to beg. 4 I know what I will do! I will do something to make friends, so that when I lose my job, they will welcome me into their homes.’
5 “So the manager called in each person who owed the master some money. He asked the first one, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 He answered, ‘I owe him 100 jars[a] of olive oil.’ The manager said to him, ‘Here is your bill. Hurry! Sit down and make the bill less. Write 50 jars.’
7 “Then the manager asked another one, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He answered, ‘I owe him 100 measures[b] of wheat.’ Then the manager said to him, ‘Here is your bill; you can make it less. Write 80 measures.’
8 “Later, the master told the dishonest manager that he had done a smart thing. Yes, worldly people are smarter in their business with each other than spiritual people are.
9 “I tell you, use the worldly things you have now to make ‘friends’ for later. Then, when those things are gone, you will be welcomed into a home that lasts forever. 10 Whoever can be trusted with small things can also be trusted with big things. Whoever is dishonest in little things will be dishonest in big things too. 11 If you cannot be trusted with worldly riches, you will not be trusted with the true riches. 12 And if you cannot be trusted with the things that belong to someone else, you will not be given anything of your own.
13 “You cannot serve two masters at the same time. You will hate one master and love the other. Or you will be loyal to one and not care about the other. You cannot serve God and Money[c] at the same time.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International