Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
19 The realization of my poverty and homelessness
is wormwood and gall to me.
20 My soul continually reflects on this
and is left downcast within me.
21 However, I will call this to mind
as the reason for my hope:
22 [a]The love of the Lord is never exhausted,
nor do his deeds of mercy ever come to an end.
23 They are renewed every morning;
his faithfulness never ceases.
24 The Lord is my portion, I say to myself;
therefore, I will place my hope in him.
25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
to the soul that seeks him.
26 It is good to wait in silence
for the salvation of the Lord.
12 The Fall of Jerusalem. On the tenth day of the fifth month—this was in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon—Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, arrived at Jerusalem as the representative of the king of Babylon. 13 He burned to the ground the house of the Lord, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem. Every large house he ordered to be set afire. 14 Meanwhile, all the Chaldean troops who had accompanied the captain of the guard demolished the walls that surrounded Jerusalem.
15 Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, led into exile some of the poorest people and those who remained in the city, those deserters who had defected to the king of Babylon, and the remaining artisans. 16 However, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, left behind some of the poorest people of the land to serve as vinedressers and farmers.
17 The Chaldeans broke up into pieces the pillars of bronze that were in the house of the Lord, and the wheeled stand and the bronze sea that were in the house of the Lord, and they carried away all the bronze to Babylon. 18 They removed the pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the basins, the ladles, and all the bronze vessels used in worship. 19 The captain of the guard also took away the small bowls, the censers, the sprinkling bowls, the ash containers, the lampstands, the goblets, and the saucers—everything that was made of gold or of silver.
20 The bronze of the two pillars, of the one sea, and of the twelve oxen under the sea, and the wheeled stands that King Solomon had ordered to be made for the house of the Lord, encompassed more than could be weighed. 21 Each of the pillars was eighteen cubits high, and the circumference of each was twelve cubits; although it was hollow inside, its thickness was four fingers. 22 Upon it was a capital of bronze. The height of each capital was five cubits, encircled at the top of the capital with latticework and bronze pomegranates. 23 There were ninety-six pomegranates on the sides, with one hundred pomegranates encircling the latticework.
24 The captain of the guard took as prisoners the chief priest Seraiah, Zephaniah, who was the next highest in rank, and the three guardians of the threshold. 25 He also took from the city an officer who had been in command of the soldiers, seven members of the king’s council who were discovered in the city, the secretary of the army commander who mustered the people of the land, and sixty of the common people who had not departed from the city.
26 Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, arrested these men and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 27 There at Riblah, in the land of Hamath, the king of Babylon ordered them to be executed. Thus Judah went into captivity after being deported from its own land.
28 [a]This is the number of people whom Nebuchadnezzar led away into exile: in the seventh year, three thousand and twenty-three Judeans; 29 in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar, eight hundred and thirty-two people were deported from Jerusalem; 30 in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took into exile seven hundred and forty-five Judeans. Thus there was a total of four thousand six hundred persons.
12 To Pergamum.[a]“To the angel of the Church in Pergamum,[b] write:
“ ‘These are the words of the one who has the sharp double-edged sword:
13 “ ‘ “I know that you live in the place where Satan is enthroned. Yet you have remained firm in support of my name, and you did not deny your faith in me even at the time when Antipas,[c] my faithful witness, was put to death among you, where Satan lives.
14 “ ‘ “Nevertheless, I have a few things against you. Some of you are holding to the teaching of Balaam,[d] who instructed Balak to place temptations in the path of the Israelites, encouraging them to eat food sacrificed to idols and to engage in fornication. 15 Likewise, there are some of you who follow the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Therefore, repent. If you do not do so, I will come to you quickly and attack them with the sword of my mouth.
17 “ ‘ “Whoever has ears should listen to what the Spirit says to the Churches. To anyone who is victorious I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone, upon which will be inscribed a new name, known only to the person who receives it.” ’
18 To Thyatira.[e]“To the angel of the Church in Thyatira,[f] write:
“ ‘These are the words of the Son of God who has eyes like a burning flame and feet like burnished bronze:
19 “ ‘ “I know your deeds—your love, your faithfulness, your service, and your endurance—and that you are doing greater works than you did at first. 20 Nevertheless, I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and who by her teaching is luring my servants into acts of fornication and encouraging them to eat food that has been sacrificed to idols.
21 “ ‘ “I have given her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her fornication. 22 So I will cast her onto a bed of pain, and all those who commit adultery with her will suffer intensely unless they renounce her practices. 23 I will also strike her children dead. Thereby all the Churches will be shown that I am the one who searches minds and hearts and I will give to each of you what your works deserve.
24 “ ‘ “And I say to the rest of you in Thyatira who have not accepted this teaching and who have no knowledge of what are designated as the deep secrets of Satan,[g] I shall not impose any further burden on you, 25 but hold firmly to what you have until I come.
26 “ ‘ “To anyone who is victorious
and perseveres in doing my works until the end,
I will give authority over the nations,
27 the same authority that I received from my Father,
to rule them with an iron rod
and shatter them like clay pots.
28 And to such a person I will also give the morning star.
29 “ ‘ “Whoever has ears should listen to what the Spirit says to the Churches.” ’
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