Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
68 “Praise the Lord God of Israel!
He has come to take care of his people
and to set them free.
69 He has raised up a mighty Savior for us
in the family of his servant David.
70 He made this promise through his holy prophets long ago.
71 He promised to save us from our enemies
and from the power of all who hate us.
72 He has shown his mercy to our ancestors
and remembered his holy promise,[a]
73 the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham.
74 He promised to rescue us from our enemies’ power
so that we could serve him without fear
75 by being holy and honorable as long as we live.
76 “You, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High.
You will go ahead of the Lord to prepare his way.
77 You will make his people know that they can be saved
through the forgiveness of their sins.
78 A new day will dawn on us from above
because our God is loving and merciful.
79 He will give light to those who live in the dark
and in death’s shadow.
He will guide us into the way of peace.”
Jerusalem Will Be Captured by the Babylonians
21 Yahweh spoke his word to Jeremiah when King Zedekiah sent Pashhur, son of Malchiah, and the priest Zephaniah, son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah. They said, 2 “Consult Yahweh for us, because King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon is attacking us. Maybe Yahweh will perform miracles for us so that Nebuchadnezzar will retreat.”
3 Jeremiah responded to them, “This is what you should say to Zedekiah, 4 ‘This is what Yahweh Elohim of Israel says: I’m going to take your weapons away from you. You are using these weapons to fight the king of Babylon as well as the Babylonians who are now blockading you outside the wall. I will bring the Babylonians inside this city. 5 I will fight you in anger, fury, and rage with my powerful hand and my mighty arm. 6 I will defeat those who live in this city, both people and animals. They will die from a terrible plague. 7 Afterwards, declares Yahweh, I will hand over Judah’s King Zedekiah, his officials, the people, and everyone else in this city who survives the plague, war, and famine. They will be handed over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and to their enemies who want to kill them. Nebuchadnezzar will kill them with swords. He won’t spare them, show them compassion, or care for them.’
8 “Say to these people, ‘This is what Yahweh says: I am going to give you the choice of life or death. 9 Those who live in this city will die in the war, famine, or plague. Those of you who go out and surrender to the Babylonians will live. You will escape with your lives. 10 I’ve decided to harm this city, not to do good to it, declares Yahweh. It will be handed over to the king of Babylon, and he will burn it down.’
11 “Say to the nation of the king of Judah, ‘Listen to the word of Yahweh, 12 descendants of David. This is what Yahweh says:
Judge fairly every morning.
Rescue those who have been robbed from those who oppress them.
Otherwise, my fury will break out and burn like fire.
No one will be able to put it out
because of the evil things you have done.
13 “‘I’m against you, Jerusalem.
You are the city that is in the valley
and on the rock in the plain,’”
declares Yahweh.
“‘But you ask, “Who can attack us?
Who can enter our places of refuge?”
14 “‘I will punish you because of the evil things you have done,’”
declares Yahweh.
“‘I will start a fire in your forests,
and it will burn up everything around you.’”
23 The copies of the things in heaven had to be cleansed by these sacrifices. But the heavenly things themselves had to be cleansed by better sacrifices. 24 Christ didn’t go into a holy place made by human hands. He didn’t go into a model of the real thing. Instead, he went into heaven to appear in God’s presence on our behalf. 25 Every year the chief priest went into the holy place to make a sacrifice with blood that isn’t his own. However, Christ didn’t go into heaven to sacrifice himself again and again. 26 Otherwise, he would have had to suffer many times since the world was created. But now, at the end of the ages, he has appeared once to remove sin by his sacrifice. 27 People die once, and after that they are judged. 28 Likewise, Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of humanity, and after that he will appear a second time. This time he will not deal with sin, but he will save those who eagerly wait for him.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.