Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
94 The Lord is a God who punishes.
Since you are the one who punishes, come and show your anger.
2 Judge of the earth, rise up.
Pay back proud people for what they have done.
3 Lord, how long will those who are evil be glad?
How long will they be full of joy?
4 Proud words pour out of their mouths.
All those who do evil are always bragging.
5 Lord, they crush your people.
They treat badly those who belong to you.
6 They kill outsiders. They kill widows.
They murder children whose fathers have died.
7 They say, “The Lord doesn’t see what’s happening.
The God of Jacob doesn’t pay any attention to it.”
8 You who aren’t wise, pay attention.
You foolish people, when will you become wise?
9 Does he who made the ear not hear?
Does he who formed the eye not see?
10 Does he who corrects nations not punish?
Does he who teaches human beings not know anything?
11 The Lord knows what people think.
He knows that their thoughts don’t amount to anything.
12 Lord, blessed is the person you correct.
Blessed is the person you teach from your law.
13 You give them rest from times of trouble,
until a pit is dug to trap sinners.
14 The Lord won’t say no to his people.
He will never desert those who belong to him.
15 He will again judge people in keeping with what is right.
All those who have honest hearts will follow the right way.
16 Who will rise up for me against sinful people?
Who will stand up for me against those who do evil?
17 Suppose the Lord had not helped me.
Then I would soon have been lying quietly in the grave.
18 I said, “My foot is slipping.”
But Lord, your faithful love kept me from falling.
19 I was very worried.
But your comfort brought me joy.
20 Can you have anything to do with rulers who aren’t fair?
Can those who make laws that cause suffering be friends of yours?
21 Evil people join together against those who do what is right.
They sentence to death those who aren’t guilty of doing anything wrong.
22 But the Lord has become like a fort to me.
My God is my rock. I go to him for safety.
23 He will pay them back for their sins.
He will destroy them for their evil acts.
The Lord our God will destroy them.
War and Hunger
14 A message from the Lord came to Jeremiah. He told Jeremiah there wouldn’t be any rain in the land. The Lord said,
2 “Judah is filled with sadness.
Its cities are wasting away.
The people weep for the land.
Crying is heard in Jerusalem.
3 The nobles send their servants to get water.
They go to the wells.
But they do not find any water.
They return with empty jars.
They are terrified. They do not have any hope.
They cover their heads.
4 The ground is dry and cracked.
There isn’t any rain in the land.
The farmers are terrified.
They cover their heads.
5 Even the female deer in the fields
desert their newborn fawns.
There isn’t any grass to eat.
6 Wild donkeys stand on the bare hilltops.
They long for water as wild dogs do.
Their eyesight fails
because they do not have any food to eat.”
7 Lord, our sins are a witness against us.
But do something for the honor of your name.
We have often turned away from you.
We’ve sinned against you.
8 You are Israel’s only hope.
You save us when we’re in trouble.
Why are you like a stranger to us?
Why are you like a traveler who stays for only one night?
9 Why are you like a man taken by surprise?
Why are you like a soldier who can’t save anyone?
Lord, you are among us.
And we are your people.
Please don’t desert us!
10 The Lord gave Jeremiah a message about these people. The Lord said,
“They really love to wander away from me.
Their feet go down the wrong path.
I do not accept these people.
I will remember the evil things they have done.
I will punish them for their sins.”
17 “Jeremiah, give them this message. Tell them,
“ ‘Let tears flow from my eyes.
Let them pour out night and day.
Never let them stop.
The people of my own nation
have suffered a terrible wound.
They have been crushed.
18 Suppose I go into the country.
Then I see people who have been killed by swords.
Or suppose I go into the city.
Then I see people who have died of hunger.
Prophet and priest alike have gone to a land
they hadn’t known about before.’ ”
19 Lord, have you completely turned your back on Judah?
Do you hate the city of Zion?
Why have you made us suffer?
We can’t be healed.
We hoped peace would come.
But nothing good has happened to us.
We hoped we would finally be healed.
But all we got was terror.
20 Lord, we admit we’ve done evil things.
We also admit that our people of long ago were guilty.
It’s true that we’ve sinned against you.
21 For the honor of your name, don’t turn your back on us.
Don’t bring shame on your glorious throne in the temple.
Remember the covenant you made with us.
Please don’t break it.
22 Do any of the worthless gods of the nations bring rain?
Do the skies send down showers all by themselves?
No. Lord our God, you send the rain.
So we put our hope in you.
You are the one who does all these things.
31 “Simon, Simon! Satan has asked to sift all of you disciples like wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon. I have prayed that your faith will not fail. When you have turned back, help your brothers to be strong.”
33 But Simon replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.”
Peter Says He Does Not Know Jesus
54 Then the men arrested Jesus and led him away. They took him into the high priest’s house. Peter followed from far away. 55 Some people there started a fire in the middle of the courtyard. Then they sat down together. Peter sat down with them. 56 A female servant saw him sitting there in the firelight. She looked closely at him. Then she said, “This man was with Jesus.”
57 But Peter said he had not been with him. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said.
58 A little later someone else saw Peter. “You also are one of them,” he said.
“No,” Peter replied. “I’m not!”
59 About an hour later, another person spoke up. “This fellow must have been with Jesus,” he said. “He is from Galilee.”
60 Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 The Lord turned and looked right at Peter. Then Peter remembered what the Lord had spoken to him. “The rooster will crow today,” Jesus had said. “Before it does, you will say three times that you don’t know me.” 62 Peter went outside. He broke down and cried.
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