Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

²⁷ “The days are coming”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“when I will sow the house of Israel^(A) and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. ²⁸ Just as I watched over them to uproot and to tear them down, to demolish and to destroy, and to cause disaster, so will I be attentive to build and to plant them,”^(B) says the Lord. ²⁹ “In those days, it will never again be said:

³⁰ Rather, each will die for his own wrongdoing.^(D) Anyone who eats sour grapes—his own teeth will be set on edge.

The New Covenant

³¹ “Look, the days are coming”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“when I will make a new covenant^(E) with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. ³² This one will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant they broke even though I had married them”^(F)—the Lord’s declaration. ³³ “Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days”—the Lord’s declaration. “I will put My teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people. ³⁴ No longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’^(G) for they will all know Me, from the least to the greatest of them”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “For I will forgive their wrongdoing^(H) and never again remember their sin.”^(I)

מ Mem

¹⁴ But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed. You know those who taught you,^{(A) 15} and you know that from childhood you have known the sacred Scriptures,^(B) which are able to give you wisdom for salvation^(C) through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ All Scripture is inspired by God^[a](D) and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.^(E)

Fulfill Your Ministry

4 I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge^(F) the living and the dead,^(G) and because of His appearing and His kingdom:^{(H) 2} Proclaim the message; persist in it whether convenient or not; rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching. ³ For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine,^(I) but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear something new.^{[b] 4} They will turn away from hearing the truth and will turn aside to myths.^{(J) 5} But as for you, be serious about everything, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist,^(K) fulfill your ministry.

The Parable of the Persistent Widow

18 He then told them a parable on the need for them to pray^(A) always and not become discouraged:^{(B) 2} “There was a judge in a certain town who didn’t fear God^(C) or respect man. ³ And a widow^(D) in that town kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’

⁴ “For a while he was unwilling, but later he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or respect man, ⁵ yet because this widow keeps^(E) pestering me,^[a] I will give her justice, so she doesn’t wear me out^[b] by her persistent coming.’”

⁶ Then the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. ⁷ Will not God grant justice^(F) to His elect^(G) who cry out to Him day and night?^(H) Will He delay^(I) to help them?^{[c] 8} I tell you that He will swiftly grant them justice. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes,^(J) will He find that faith^[d] on earth?”