Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
19 The thought of my wretched homelessness
is wormwood and poison;
20 Remembering it over and over,
my soul is downcast.
21 But this I will call to mind;[a]
therefore I will hope:
22 The Lord’s acts of mercy are not exhausted,
his compassion is not spent;(A)
23 They are renewed each morning—
great is your faithfulness!
24 The Lord is my portion, I tell myself,
therefore I will hope in him.(B)
25 The Lord is good to those who trust in him,
to the one that seeks him;(C)
26 It is good to hope in silence
for the Lord’s deliverance.
Destruction of Jerusalem. 12 On the tenth day of the fifth month, this was in the nineteenth year[a] of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, captain of the bodyguard, came to Jerusalem as the representative of the king of Babylon. 13 He burned the house of the Lord, the palace of the king, and all the houses of Jerusalem; every large building he destroyed with fire. 14 Then the Chaldean troops with the captain of the guard tore down all the walls that surrounded Jerusalem.
15 Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, led into exile the remnant of people left in the city, those who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the artisans. 16 But Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, left behind some of the country’s poor as vinedressers and farmers.
17 The bronze pillars that belonged to the house of the Lord, and the wheeled carts and the bronze sea in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans broke into pieces; they carried away all the bronze to Babylon. 18 They also took the pots, shovels, snuffers, bowls, pans, and all the bronze vessels used for service; 19 the basins, fire holders, bowls, pots, lampstands, pans, the sacrificial bowls made of gold or silver. Along with these furnishings the captain of the guard carried off 20 the two pillars, the one sea and its base of twelve oxen cast in bronze, and the wheeled carts King Solomon had commissioned for the house of the Lord. The bronze from all these furnishings was impossible to weigh.
21 As for the pillars, each of them was eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in diameter; each was four fingers thick and hollow inside. 22 A bronze capital five cubits high crowned the one pillar, and a network with pomegranates encircled the capital, all of bronze; and so for the other pillar, with pomegranates. 23 There were ninety-six pomegranates on the sides, a hundred pomegranates surrounding the network.
24 The captain of the guard also took Seraiah the high priest, Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the entrance. 25 From the city he took one courtier, a commander of soldiers, and seven men in the personal service of the king still in the city, the scribe of the army commander who mustered the people of the land, and sixty of the common people remaining in the city. 26 The captain of the guard, Nebuzaradan, arrested them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah, 27 who had them struck down and executed in Riblah, in the land of Hamath.
Thus Judah was exiled from the land. 28 [b]This is the number of people Nebuchadnezzar led away captive: in his seventh year, three thousand twenty-three people of Judah; 29 in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar, eight hundred thirty-two persons from Jerusalem; 30 in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, deported seven hundred forty-five Judahites: four thousand six hundred persons in all.
Favor Shown to Jehoiachin.[c]
12 “To the angel of the church in Pergamum,[a] write this:
“‘The one with the sharp two-edged sword says this: 13 “I know that you live where Satan’s throne[b] is, and yet you hold fast to my name and have not denied your faith in me, not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was martyred among you, where Satan lives. 14 [c]Yet I have a few things against you. You have some people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who instructed Balak to put a stumbling block before the Israelites: to eat food sacrificed to idols and to play the harlot.(A) 15 Likewise, you also have some people who hold to the teaching of [the] Nicolaitans. 16 Therefore, repent. Otherwise, I will come to you quickly and wage war against them with the sword of my mouth.
17 “‘“Whoever has ears ought to hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the victor I shall give some of the hidden manna;[d] I shall also give a white amulet upon which is inscribed a new name, which no one knows except the one who receives it.”’(B)
To Thyatira.[e] 18 “To the angel of the church in Thyatira,[f] write this:
“‘The Son of God, whose eyes are like a fiery flame and whose feet are like polished brass, says this: 19 “I know your works, your love, faith, service, and endurance, and that your last works are greater than the first. 20 Yet I hold this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, who teaches and misleads my servants to play the harlot and to eat food sacrificed to idols.[g] 21 I have given her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her harlotry. 22 So I will cast her on a sickbed and plunge those who commit adultery with her into intense suffering unless they repent of her works. 23 I will also put her children[h] to death. Thus shall all the churches come to know that I am the searcher of hearts and minds and that I will give each of you what your works deserve.(C) 24 But I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not uphold this teaching and know nothing of the so-called deep secrets of Satan:[i] on you I will place no further burden, 25 except that you must hold fast to what you have until I come.
26 “‘“To the victor,[j] who keeps to my ways[k] until the end,
I will give authority over the nations.(D)
27 He will rule them with an iron rod.
Like clay vessels will they be smashed,
28 just as I received authority from my Father. And to him I will give the morning star.
29 “‘“Whoever has ears ought to hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.