Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
19 Remember my suffering and my ⌞aimless⌟ wandering,
the wormwood and poison.
20 My soul continues to remember ⌞these things⌟ and is so discouraged.
The Prophet—a Man of Hope
21 “The reason I can ⌞still⌟ find hope is that I keep this one thing in mind:
22 the Lord’s mercy.
We were not completely wiped out.
His compassion is never limited.
23 It is new every morning.
His faithfulness is great.
24 My soul can say, ‘The Lord is my lot ⌞in life⌟.
That is why I find hope in him.’
25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
to anyone who seeks help from him.
26 “It is good to continue to hope and wait silently
for the Lord to save us.
12 On the tenth day of the fifth month of Nebuchadnezzar’s nineteenth year as king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, who was the captain of the guard and an officer of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 13 He burned down the Lord’s temple, the royal palace, and all the houses in Jerusalem. Every important building was burned down. 14 The entire Babylonian army that was with the captain of the guard tore down the walls around Jerusalem.
15 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, captured the few people left in the city, those who surrendered to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the population. 16 But Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, left some of the poorest people in the land to work in the vineyards and on the farms.
17 The Babylonians broke apart the bronze pillars of the Lord’s temple, the stands, and the bronze pool in the Lord’s temple. They shipped all the bronze to Babylon. 18 They took the pots, shovels, snuffers, bowls, dishes, and all the bronze utensils used in the temple service. 19 The captain of the guard also took pans, incense burners, bowls, pots, lamp stands, dishes, and the bowls used for wine offerings. The captain of the guard took all of the trays and bowls that were made of gold or silver. 20 The bronze from the 2 pillars, the pool, and the 12 bronze bulls under the stands that King Solomon had made for the Lord’s temple couldn’t be weighed. 21 One pillar was 27 feet high and 18 feet in circumference. It was three inches thick and hollow. 22 The capital that was on it was 7½ feet high with a filigree and pomegranates around it. They were all made of bronze. The second pillar was the same. It also had pomegranates. 23 There were 96 pomegranates on the sides. The total number of pomegranates on the surrounding filigree was 100.
24 The captain of the guard took the chief priest Seraiah, the second priest Zephaniah, and the 3 doorkeepers. 25 From the city he also took an army commander, 7 men who had access to the king whom he found in the city, the scribe who was in charge of the militia, and 60 common people whom he found in the city. 26 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 27 The king of Babylon executed them at Riblah in the territory of Hamath. So the people of Judah were captives as they left their land.
28 These are the people Nebuchadnezzar took captive: In his seventh year as king, he took 3,023 Jews. 29 In his eighteenth year, Nebuchadnezzar took 832 people from Jerusalem. 30 In Nebuchadnezzar’s twenty-third year as king, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took away 745 Jews. In all, 4,600 people were taken away.
A Letter to the Church in Pergamum
12 “To the messenger of the church in Pergamum, write: The one who holds the sharp two-edged sword says:
13 I know where you live. Satan’s throne is there. You hold on to my name and have not denied your belief in me, even in the days of Antipas. He was my faithful witness who was killed in your presence, where Satan lives. 14 But I have a few things against you: You have among you those who follow what Balaam taught Balak. Balak trapped the people of Israel by ⌞encouraging⌟ them to eat food sacrificed to idols and to sin sexually. 15 You also have some who follow what the Nicolaitans teach. 16 So return to me and change the way you think and act, or I will come to you quickly and wage war against them with the sword from my mouth. 17 Let the person who has ears listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. I will give some of the hidden manna to everyone who wins the victory. I will also give each person a white stone with a new name written on it, a name that is known only to the person who receives it.
A Letter to the Church in Thyatira
18 “To the messenger of the church in Thyatira, write: The Son of God, whose eyes are like flames of fire and whose feet are like glowing bronze, says:
19 I know what you do. I know your love, faith, service, and endurance. I also know that what you are doing now is greater than what you did at first. 20 But I have something against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. She teaches and misleads my servants to sin sexually and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 21 I gave her time to turn to me and change the way she thinks and acts, but she refuses to turn away from her sexual sins. 22 Watch me! I’m going to throw her into a sickbed. Those who commit sexual sins with her will also suffer a lot, unless they turn away from what she is doing. 23 I will kill her children. Then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches hearts and minds. I will reward each of you for what you have done. 24 But the rest of you in Thyatira—all who don’t hold on to Jezebel’s teaching, who haven’t learned what are called the deep things of Satan—I won’t burden you with anything else. 25 Just hold on to what you have until I come. 26 I have received authority from my Father.[a] I will give authority over the nations to everyone who wins the victory and continues to do what I want until the end. 27 Those people will rule the nations with iron scepters and shatter them like pottery. 28 I will also give them the morning star. 29 Let the person who has ears listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.
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