Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
צ TSADDE
137 (A)Righteous are You, O Lord,
And upright are Your judgments.
138 (B)Your testimonies, which You have commanded,
Are righteous and very faithful.
139 (C)My zeal has [a]consumed me,
Because my enemies have forgotten Your words.
140 (D)Your word is very [b]pure;
Therefore Your servant loves it.
141 I am small and despised,
Yet I do not forget Your precepts.
142 Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness,
And Your law is (E)truth.
143 Trouble and anguish have [c]overtaken me,
Yet Your commandments are my delights.
144 The righteousness of Your testimonies is everlasting;
Give me understanding, and I shall live.
14 (A)‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘that (B)I will perform that good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah:
15 ‘In those days and at that time
I will cause to grow up to David
A (C)Branch of righteousness;
He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.
16 In those days Judah will be saved,
And Jerusalem will dwell safely.
And this is the name by which she will be called:
[a]THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.’
17 “For thus says the Lord: ‘David shall never (D)lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel; 18 nor shall the (E)priests, the Levites, lack a man to (F)offer burnt offerings before Me, to [b]kindle grain offerings, and to sacrifice continually.’ ”
The Permanence of God’s Covenant
19 And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, 20 “Thus says the Lord: ‘If you can break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night, so that there will not be day and night in their season, 21 then (G)My covenant may also be broken with David My servant, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levites, the priests, My ministers. 22 As (H)the host of heaven cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured, so will I (I)multiply the descendants of David My servant and the (J)Levites who minister to Me.’ ”
23 Moreover the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, 24 “Have you not considered what these people have spoken, saying, ‘The two families which the Lord has chosen, He has also cast them off’? Thus they have (K)despised My people, as if they should no more be a nation before them.
25 “Thus says the Lord: ‘If (L)My covenant is not with day and night, and if I have not (M)appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth, 26 (N)then I will (O)cast away the descendants of Jacob and David My servant, so that I will not take any of his descendants to be rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will cause their captives to return, and will have mercy on them.’ ”
Greeting
1 Paul, (A)an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and (B)Timothy our brother,
To the church of God which is at Corinth, (C)with all the saints who are in all Achaia:
2 (D)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Comfort in Suffering
3 (E)Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who (F)comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any [a]trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For as (G)the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our [b]consolation also abounds through Christ. 6 Now if we are afflicted, (H)it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. 7 And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that (I)as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation.
Delivered from Suffering
8 For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of (J)our [c]trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. 9 Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should (K)not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead, 10 (L)who delivered us from so great a death, and [d]does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us, 11 you also (M)helping together in prayer for us, that thanks may be given by many persons on [e]our behalf (N)for the gift granted to us through many.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.