Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Jeremiah Grieves for His People
18 My joy is gone; grief is upon me;[a]
(A)my heart is sick within me.
19 Behold, the cry of the daughter of my people
from (B)the length and breadth of the land:
“Is the Lord not in Zion?
(C)Is her King not in her?”
(D)“Why have they provoked me to anger with their carved images
and with their foreign idols?”
20 “The harvest is past, the summer is ended,
and we are not saved.”
21 For the wound of (E)the daughter of my people is my heart wounded;
(F)I mourn, and dismay has taken hold on me.
How Long, O Lord?
A Psalm of (A)Asaph.
79 O God, (B)the nations have come into your (C)inheritance;
they have defiled your (D)holy temple;
they have (E)laid Jerusalem in ruins.
2 They have given (F)the bodies of your servants
to the birds of the heavens for food,
the flesh of your (G)faithful to (H)the beasts of the earth.
3 They have poured out their blood like water
all around Jerusalem,
and there was (I)no one to bury them.
4 We have become (J)a taunt to our neighbors,
(K)mocked and derided by those around us.
Pray for All People
2 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 (A)for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and (B)dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and (C)it is pleasing in the sight of (D)God our Savior, 4 who desires (E)all people to be saved and (F)to come to (G)the knowledge of the truth. 5 For (H)there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man[a] Christ Jesus, 6 (I)who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is (J)the testimony given (K)at the proper time. 7 (L)For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle ((M)I am telling the truth, I am not lying), (N)a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
The Parable of the Dishonest Manager
16 He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had (A)a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. 2 And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your (B)management, for you can no longer be manager.’ 3 And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. 4 I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ 5 So, summoning his master's debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 He said, ‘A hundred measures[a] of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures[b] of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ 8 The master commended the dishonest manager for his (C)shrewdness. For (D)the sons of this world[c] are (E)more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than (F)the sons of light. 9 And I tell you, (G)make friends for yourselves by means of (H)unrighteous wealth,[d] so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.
10 (I)“One who is (J)faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. 11 If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in (K)that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? 13 (L)No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.