Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

ז Zayin

¹⁶ “I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch, the son of Neriah. Then I prayed to the Lord. I said,

¹⁷ “ ‘Lord and King, you have reached out your great and powerful arm. You have made the heavens and the earth. Nothing is too hard for you. ¹⁸ You show your love to thousands of people. But you cause the sins of parents to affect even their children. Great and powerful God, your name is the Lord Who Rules Over All. ¹⁹ Your purposes are great. Your acts are mighty. Your eyes see everything people do. You reward each one of them in keeping with their conduct. You do this based on what they have done. ²⁰ You performed signs and wonders in Egypt. And you have continued to do them to this day. You have done them in Israel and among all people. You are still known for doing them. ²¹ You brought your people Israel out of Egypt. You did it with signs and wonders. You reached out your mighty hand and powerful arm. You did great and wonderful things. ²² You gave Israel this land that you promised to their people of long ago. It is a land that has plenty of milk and honey. ²³ Israel came in and took it over. But they did not obey you. They didn’t follow your law. They didn’t do what you commanded them to do. So you brought all this trouble on them.

²⁴ “ ‘See how ramps are built up against Jerusalem’s walls to attack it. The city will be handed over to the armies of Babylon. They are attacking it. It will fall because of war, hunger and plague. What you said would happen is now happening, as you can see. ²⁵ Lord and King, the city will be handed over to the armies of Babylon. In spite of that, you tell me to buy a field. You say, “Pay for it with silver. And have the sale witnessed.” ’ ”

²⁶ Then a message from the Lord came to Jeremiah. The Lord said, ²⁷ “I am the Lord. I am the God of all people. Is anything too hard for me?” ²⁸ So the Lord says, “I am about to hand this city over to the armies of Babylon. I will give it to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. He will capture it. ²⁹ The armies of Babylon are now attacking this city. They will come in and set it on fire. They will burn it down. They will burn down the houses where the people made me very angry. They burned incense on their roofs to the god named Baal. And they poured out drink offerings to other gods.

³⁰ “The people of Israel and Judah have done nothing but evil in my eyes. They have done it since the nation was young. In fact, they have done nothing but make me very angry. They have worshiped statues of gods their own hands have made,” announces the Lord. ³¹ “This city has always stirred up my great anger. It has done it since the day it was built. Now I must remove it from my sight. ³² The people of Israel and Judah have made me very angry. They have done many evil things. They, their kings and officials have sinned. So have their priests and prophets. And the people of Judah and Jerusalem have also sinned. ³³ They turned their backs to me. They would not face me. I taught them again and again. But they would not listen or pay attention when they were corrected. ³⁴ They set up the hateful statues of their gods. They did it in the house where I have put my Name. They made my house ‘unclean.’ ³⁵ The people built high places for Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom. That is where they sacrifice their children to Molek in the fire. That is something I did not command. It did not even enter my mind. They did something I hate. They made Judah sin.”

The Letter to the Church in Laodicea

¹⁴ “Here is what I command you to write to the church in Laodicea.

Here are the words of Jesus, who is the Amen. What he speaks is faithful and true. He rules over what God has created. He says,

¹⁵ ‘I know what you are doing. I know you aren’t cold or hot. I wish you were either one or the other! ¹⁶ But you are lukewarm. You aren’t hot or cold. So I am going to spit you out of my mouth. ¹⁷ You say, “I am rich. I’ve become wealthy and don’t need anything.” But you don’t realize how pitiful and miserable you have become. You are poor, blind and naked. ¹⁸ So here’s my advice. Buy from me gold made pure by fire. Then you will become rich. Buy from me white clothes to wear. Then you will be able to cover the shame of your naked bodies. And buy from me healing lotion to put on your eyes. Then you will be able to see.

¹⁹ ‘I warn and correct those I love. So be sincere, and turn away from your sins. ²⁰ Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in. I will eat with that person, and they will eat with me.

²¹ ‘Here is what I will do for anyone who has victory over sin. I will give that person the right to sit with me on my throne. In the same way, I had victory. Then I sat down with my Father on his throne. ²² Whoever has ears should listen to what the Holy Spirit says to the churches.’ ”