Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
40 So the Lord became angry with his people.
He rejected those who belonged to him.
41 He gave his people to other nations
and let their enemies rule over them.
42 Their enemies controlled them
and made life hard for them.
43 He saved his people many times,
but they turned against him and did what they wanted to do.
His people did many bad things.
44 But whenever they were in trouble,
he listened to their prayers.
45 He always remembered his agreement,
and because of his faithful love, he comforted them.
46 Other nations took them as prisoners,
but the Lord caused them to be kind to his people.
47 Lord our God, save us!
Bring us back together from those nations.
Then we will give thanks to your holy name
and joyfully praise you.
48 Praise the Lord, the God of Israel!
He always was and will always be worthy of praise.
Let all the people say, “Amen!”
Praise the Lord!
12 Is there a man who is wise enough to understand these things? Is there someone who has been taught by the Lord? Can anyone explain his message? Why was the land ruined? Why was it made like an empty desert where no one goes?
13 The Lord answered, “It is because the people of Judah stopped following my teachings. I gave them my teachings, but they refused to listen to me. They did not follow my teachings. 14 The people of Judah lived their own way. They were stubborn. They followed the false god Baal. Their fathers taught them to follow those false gods.”
15 So the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says, “I will soon make the people of Judah eat bitter food and drink poisoned water. 16 I will scatter the people of Judah throughout other nations. They will live in strange nations that they and their fathers never knew about. I will send men with swords. They will kill the people of Judah. They will kill them until all the people are gone.”
17 This is what the Lord All-Powerful says:
“Now think about these things!
Call for the women who get paid to cry at funerals.
Send for the people who are good at that job.
18 The people say,
‘Let those women come quickly
and cry for us.
Then our eyes will fill with tears
that flow over our eyelids like streams of water.’
19 “The sound of loud crying is heard from Zion:
‘We are really ruined!
We are so ashamed!
We must leave our land,
because our houses have been destroyed.
Now our houses are only piles of rock.’”
20 Now, women of Judah, listen to the message from the Lord.
Listen to the words from his mouth.
Teach your daughters how to cry loudly.
Each of them must learn to sing this funeral song:
21 “Death has climbed in through our windows
and has come into our palaces.
Death has come to our children who play in the streets
and to the young men who meet in the public places.”
22 This is what you should say: “The Lord says,
‘Dead bodies will lie
in the fields like dung.
Their bodies will lie on the ground like grain a farmer has cut.
But there will be no one to gather them.’”
23 This is what the Lord says:
“The wise must not brag about their wisdom.
The strong men must not brag about their strength.
The rich must not brag about their money.
24 But if someone wants to brag, then let them brag about this:
Let them brag that they learned to know me.
Let them brag that they understand that I am the Lord,
that I am kind and fair,
and that I do good things on earth.
I love this kind of bragging.”
This message is from the Lord.
25 This is what the Lord says: “The time is coming when I will punish all those who are circumcised only in the body. 26 I am talking about the people of the nations of Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab, and all those who live in the desert. The circumcision they do is not the kind the Lord wants. But the people of Israel are not really circumcised either. They are not circumcised in their hearts.[a]”
The Apostles and the Jewish High Council
4 While Peter and John were speaking to the people, some Jewish leaders came up to them. There were some priests, the captain of the soldiers that guarded the Temple, and some Sadducees. 2 They were upset because of what Peter and John were teaching the people. By telling people about Jesus, the apostles were teaching that people will rise from death. 3 The Jewish leaders arrested Peter and John and put them in jail. It was already night, so they kept them in jail until the next day. 4 But many of the people who heard the apostles believed what they said. There were now about 5000 men in the group of believers.
5 The next day the Jewish rulers, the older Jewish leaders, and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. 6 Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander were there. Everyone from the high priest’s family was there. 7 They made Peter and John stand before all the people. They asked them over and over, “How did you make this crippled man well? What power did you use? By whose authority did you do this?”
8 Then Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and said to them, “Rulers of the people and you older leaders, 9 are you questioning us today about what we did to help this crippled man? Are you asking us what made him well? 10 We want all of you and all the people of Israel to know that this man was made well by the power of Jesus Christ from Nazareth. You nailed Jesus to a cross, but God raised him from death. This man was crippled, but he is now well. He is able to stand here before you because of the power of Jesus! 11 Jesus is
‘the stone[a] that you builders thought was not important.
But this stone has become the cornerstone.’ (A)
12 Jesus is the only one who can save people. His name is the only power in the world that has been given to save anyone. We must be saved through him!”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International