Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
117 Praise the Lord, all you nations.
Praise him, all you people.
2 He loves us very much!
The Lord will be faithful to us forever!
Praise the Lord!
Promises of Hope
30 This is the message that came to Jeremiah from the Lord. 2 The Lord, the God of the people of Israel, said, “Jeremiah, write in a book the words I have spoken to you. Write this book for yourself. 3 Do this because the days will come”—this message is from the Lord—“when I will bring my people, Israel and Judah, back from exile.” This message is from the Lord. “I will put the people back in the land that I gave to their ancestors. Then my people will own that land again.”
4 The Lord spoke this message about the people of Israel and Judah. 5 This is what the Lord said:
“We hear people crying from fear.
There is fear, not peace.
6 “Ask this question and consider it:
Can a man have a baby? Of course not!
Then why do I see every strong man holding his stomach
like a woman having labor pains?
Why is everyone’s face turning white
like a dead man?
7 “This is a very important time for Jacob.
This is a time of great trouble.
There will never be another time like this,
but Jacob will be saved.
8 “At that time,” says the Lord All-Powerful, “I will break the yoke from the necks of the people of Israel and Judah, and I will break the ropes holding you. People from foreign countries will never again force my people to be slaves. 9 The people of Israel and Judah will not serve foreign countries. No, they will serve the Lord their God. I will send them David their king,[a] and they will serve him.
10 “So Jacob, my servant, don’t be afraid!”
This message is from the Lord.
“Israel, don’t be afraid.
I will save you from that faraway place.
You are captives[b] in that faraway land,
but I will save your descendants.
I will bring them back from that land.
Jacob will have peace again.
People will not bother Jacob.
There will be no enemy to frighten my people.
11 People of Israel and Judah, I am with you.”
This message is from the Lord.
“I will save you.
I sent you to those nations,
but I will completely destroy all of them.
It is true; I will destroy those nations,
but I will not destroy you.
You must be punished for the bad things you did,
but I will discipline you fairly.”
12 This is what the Lord says:
“You people of Israel and Judah have a wound that cannot be cured.
You have an injury that will not heal.
13 There is no one to care for your sores,
so you will not be healed.
14 You became friends with many nations,
but those nations don’t care about you.
Your ‘friends’ have forgotten you.
I hurt you like an enemy.
I punished you very hard.
I did this because of your great guilt.
I did this because of your many sins.
15 Israel and Judah, why are you still crying about your wound?
There is no cure for it.
I did this to you because of your great guilt.
I did this because of your many sins.
16 Those nations destroyed you,
but now they have been destroyed.
Israel and Judah, your enemies will become captives.
They stole things from you,
but others will steal from them.
They took things from you in war,
but others will take things from them in war.
17 And I will bring your health back
and heal your wounds,” says the Lord,
“because other people said you were outcasts.[c]
They said, ‘No one cares about Zion.’”
5 The one who was sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this, because these words are true and can be trusted.”
6 The one on the throne said to me, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega,[a] the Beginning and the End. I will give free water from the spring of the water of life to anyone who is thirsty. 7 All those who win the victory will receive all this. And I will be their God, and they will be my children. 8 But those who are cowards, those who refuse to believe, those who do terrible things, those who kill, those who sin sexually, those who do evil magic, those who worship idols, and those who tell lies—they will all have a place in the lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
9 One of the seven angels came to me. This was one of the angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues. The angel said, “Come with me. I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 The angel carried me away by the Spirit to a very large and high mountain. The angel showed me the holy city, Jerusalem. The city was coming down out of heaven from God.
11 The city was shining with the glory of God. It was shining bright like a very expensive jewel, like a jasper. It was clear as crystal. 12 The city had a large, high wall with twelve gates. There were twelve angels at the gates. On each gate was written the name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. 13 There were three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. 14 The walls of the city were built on twelve foundation stones. On the stones were written the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15 The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod made of gold. The angel had this rod to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. 16 The city was built in a square. Its length was equal to its width. The angel measured the city with the rod. The city was 12,000 stadia[b] long, 12,000 stadia wide, and 12,000 stadia high. 17 The angel also measured the wall. It was 144 cubits[c] high. (The angel was using the same measurement that people use.) 18 The wall was made of jasper. The city was made of pure gold, as pure as glass.
19 The foundation stones of the city walls had every kind of expensive jewels in them. The first foundation stone was jasper, the second was sapphire, the third was chalcedony, the fourth was emerald, 20 the fifth was onyx, the sixth was carnelian, the seventh was yellow quartz, the eighth was beryl, the ninth was topaz, the tenth was chrysoprase, the eleventh was jacinth, and the twelfth was amethyst. 21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls. Each gate was made from one pearl. The street of the city was made of pure gold, as clear as glass.
22 I did not see a temple in the city. The Lord God All-Powerful and the Lamb were the city’s temple. 23 The city did not need the sun or the moon to shine on it. The glory of God gave the city light. The Lamb was the city’s lamp.
24 The peoples of the world will walk by the light given by the Lamb. The rulers of the earth will bring their glory into the city. 25 The city’s gates will never close on any day, because there is no night there. 26 The greatness and the honor of the nations will be brought into the city. 27 Nothing unclean will ever enter the city. No one who does shameful things or tells lies will ever enter the city. Only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life will enter the city.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International