Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

¹⁸ My grief is beyond healing; my heart is broken. ¹⁹ Listen to the weeping of my people all across the land.

“Where is the Lord?” they ask. “Has God deserted us?”

“Oh, why have they angered me with their carved idols and strange evil rites?” the Lord replies.

²⁰ “The harvest is finished; the summer is over, and we are not saved.”

²¹ I weep for the hurt of my people; I stand amazed, silent, dumb with grief. ²² Is there no medicine in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why doesn’t God do something? Why doesn’t he help?

9 Oh, that my eyes were a fountain of tears; I would weep forever; I would sob day and night for the slain of my people!

79 O God, your land has been conquered by the heathen nations. Your Temple is defiled, and Jerusalem is a heap of ruins. ² The bodies of your people lie exposed—food for birds and animals. ³ The enemy has butchered the entire population of Jerusalem; blood has flowed like water. No one is left even to bury them. ⁴ The nations all around us scoff. They heap contempt on us.

⁵ O Jehovah, how long will you be angry with us? Forever? Will your jealousy burn till every hope is gone? ⁶ Pour out your wrath upon the godless nations—not on us—on kingdoms that refuse to pray, that will not call upon your name! ⁷ For they have destroyed your people Israel, invading every home. ⁸ Oh, do not hold us guilty for our former sins! Let your tenderhearted mercies meet our needs, for we are brought low to the dust. ⁹ Help us, God of our salvation! Help us for the honor of your name. Oh, save us and forgive our sins.

2 Here are my directions: Pray much for others; plead for God’s mercy upon them; give thanks for all he is going to do for them.

² Pray in this way for kings and all others who are in authority over us, or are in places of high responsibility, so that we can live in peace and quietness, spending our time in godly living and thinking much about the Lord.^{[a] 3} This is good and pleases God our Savior, ⁴ for he longs for all to be saved and to understand this truth: ⁵ That God is on one side and all the people on the other side, and Christ Jesus, himself man, is between them to bring them together, ⁶ by giving his life for all mankind.

This is the message that at the proper time God gave to the world. ⁷ And I have been chosen—this is the absolute truth—as God’s minister and missionary to teach this truth to the Gentiles and to show them God’s plan of salvation through faith.

16 Jesus now told this story to his disciples: “A rich man hired an accountant to handle his affairs, but soon a rumor went around that the accountant was thoroughly dishonest.

² “So his employer called him in and said, ‘What’s this I hear about your stealing from me? Get your report in order, for you are to be dismissed.’

³ “The accountant thought to himself, ‘Now what? I’m through here, and I haven’t the strength to go out and dig ditches, and I’m too proud to beg. ⁴ I know just the thing! And then I’ll have plenty of friends to take care of me when I leave!’

^5-6 “So he invited each one who owed money to his employer to come and discuss the situation. He asked the first one, ‘How much do you owe him?’ ‘My debt is 850 gallons of olive oil,’ the man replied. ‘Yes, here is the contract you signed,’ the accountant told him. ‘Tear it up and write another one for half that much!’

⁷ “‘And how much do you owe him?’ he asked the next man. ‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ was the reply. ‘Here,’ the accountant said, ‘take your note and replace it with one for only 800 bushels!’

⁸ “The rich man had to admire the rascal for being so shrewd.^[a] And it is true that the citizens of this world are more clever in dishonesty than the godly are. ⁹ But shall I tell you to act that way, to buy friendship through cheating? Will this ensure your entry into an everlasting home in heaven?^{[b] 10} No! For unless you are honest in small matters, you won’t be in large ones. If you cheat even a little, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. ¹¹ And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? ¹² And if you are not faithful with other people’s money, why should you be entrusted with money of your own?

¹³ “For neither you nor anyone else can serve two masters. You will hate one and show loyalty to the other, or else the other way around—you will be enthusiastic about one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”