Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
66 Rejoice in God, all the Earth!
2 Sing forth the Glory of His Name! Make His praise glorious!
3 Say to God, “How terrible are You in Your works! Through the greatness of Your power shall Your enemies be in subjection to You.
4 “All the world shall worship You and sing to You. Sing of Your Name!” Selah.
5 Come and behold the works of God. He is terrible in His doings toward the sons of men.
6 He has turned the sea into dry land. They passed through the river on foot. We rejoiced in Him there.
7 He rules the world with His power. His eyes behold the nations. The rebellious shall not exalt themselves. Selah.
8 Praise our God, you people, and make the voice of His praise heard.
9 He holds our souls in life and does not let our feet slip.
10 For You, O God, have tested us. You have refined us as silver is refined.
11 You have brought us into the net. You put pressure upon our loins.
12 You have caused men to ride over our heads. We went into fire and into water; but You brought us out into abundance.
27 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, came this Word to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
2 “Thus says the LORD to me: ‘Make bonds for yourselves, and yokes, and put them upon your neck,
3 ‘and send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the Ammonites, and to the king of Tyre, and to the king of Sidon, by the hand of the messengers who come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah the king of Judah,
4 ‘and command them to say to their masters, “Thus says the LORD of Hosts the God of Israel: ‘Thus shall you say to your masters:
5 “I have made the Earth, the man, and the beasts that are upon the ground, by My great power and by My outstretched Arm, and have given it to whomever is pleasing to Me.
6 “But now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babel, My servant. And I have also given him the beasts of the field to serve him.
7 “And all the nations shall serve him and his son and his son’s son, until the time of his land also comes. Then, many nations and great kings shall make him serve them.
8 “And the nation and kingdom which will not serve Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babel, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babel, with that same nation I will reckon,” says the LORD, “with the sword and with the famine and with the pestilence, until I have wholly given them into his hands.
9 “Therefore, do not hear your prophets or your soothsayers or your dreamers or your enchanters or your sorcerers who say this to you, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babel.’
10 “For they prophesy a lie to you, and cause you to go far from your land, so that I should cast you out, and you should perish.
11 “But the nation that puts their necks under the yoke of the king of Babel, and serve him, those I will let remain in their own land,” says the LORD, “and they shall occupy it, and dwell in it.”’”
12 I also spoke to Zedekiah, king of Judah, according to all these words, saying, “Put your necks under the yoke of the king of Babel, and serve him and his people, so that you may live.
13 “Why will you die — you and your people — by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the LORD has spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babel?
14 “Therefore, do not hear the words of the prophets who speak to you, saying, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babel.’ For they prophesy a lie to you.
15 “For I have not sent them,” says the LORD, “yet they prophesy a lie in My Name, so that I might cast you out, and that you might perish, you and the prophets who prophesy to you.”
16 Also, I spoke to the priests, and to all this people, saying, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Do not hear the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying, “Behold, the vessels of the House of the LORD shall now shortly be brought back from Babel.” For they prophesy a lie to you.
17 ‘Do not hear them! Serve the king of Babel, so that you may live! Why should this city be desolate?
18 ‘But if they are Prophets, and if the Word of the LORD is with them, let them make intercession to the LORD of Hosts, so that the vessels which are left in the House of the LORD, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, do not go to Babel.’
19 “For thus says the LORD of Hosts concerning the pillars, and concerning the sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning the rest of the vessels that remain in this city,
20 which Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babel did not take when he carried away captive Jeconiah, the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babel, with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem—
21 “thus says the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that remain in the House of the LORD, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem:
22 ‘They shall be brought to Babel. And there they shall remain until the day that I attend to them,’ says the LORD. ‘Then will I bring them up and restore them to this place.’”
2 Therefore you, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
2 And the things you have heard from me among many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also.
3 You, therefore, suffer affliction as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
4 No one who serves as a soldier entangles himself with the affairs of life, because he wants to please the one who has chosen him to be a soldier.
5 And also, if anyone competes as an athlete, he is not crowned unless he has competed lawfully.
6 The farmer must labor before he receives the fruits.
7 Consider what I say. May the Lord give you understanding in all things.
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