Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Nation Cries for Jerusalem
A psalm of Asaph [C a Levitical musician, a descendant of Gershon, at the time of David; 1 Chr. 6:39; 15:17; 2 Chr. 5:12].
79 God, nations have come against your ·chosen people [L inheritance].
They have ·ruined [profaned] your holy Temple.
They have turned Jerusalem into ·ruins [a dump; 2 Kin. 25:9–10].
2 They have given the bodies of your servants as food to the ·wild birds [L birds of the sky/heavens].
They have given the ·bodies [L flesh] of ·those who worship you [your faithful ones; saints] to the wild animals [Jer. 34:20].
3 They have spilled blood like water all around Jerusalem.
No one was left to bury the dead.
4 We are a ·joke [reproach; scorn] to the ·other nations [L residents];
·they [L the people around us] ·laugh [ridicule] and make fun of us.
5 Lord, how long?
Will you be angry forever?
How long will your jealousy burn like a fire?
6 ·Be angry with [L Pour out your wrath on] the nations that do not know you
and ·with [or on] the kingdoms that do not ·honor you [L call on your name].
7 They have ·gobbled up [devoured] the people of Jacob
and ·destroyed [desolated] their ·land [pasturage].
8 Don’t ·punish us for our past sins [L remember our former guilt].
Show your ·mercy [compassion] to us soon,
because we are ·helpless [very low]!
9 God our ·Savior [Victor], help us
·so people will praise you [L for the glory of your name].
·Save [Protect] us and ·forgive [atone for] our sins
·so people will honor you [L for your name].
14 “Why are we just sitting here?
Let’s ·get [gather] together!
We have sinned against the Lord,
so he has given us poisoned water to drink.
Come, let’s ·run [L go] to the ·strong, walled [fortified] cities.
The Lord our God has ·decided that we must die [doomed us],
so let’s ·die [meet our doom] there.
15 We hoped to have peace,
but ·nothing good has come [L there is none].
We hoped for a time when he would heal us,
but only terror has come.
16 From the land of Dan [C in the far north of Israel, the direction from which the Babylonians attacked],
the snorting of its [C the enemy’s] horses is heard.
The ·ground [earth] shakes from the neighing of their ·large horses [stallions].
They have come and ·destroyed [L consumed]
the land and everything in it,
the city and all ·who live there [its inhabitants].”
17 “Look! I am sending poisonous snakes [C to attack you].
These ·snakes [vipers] cannot be charmed,
and they will bite you,” says the Lord.
2 ·I wish [Oh that] I had a place in the ·desert [wilderness]—
a house where travelers spend the night—
so I could ·leave [abandon; forsake] my people.
I could go away from them,
because they are all adulterers [C unfaithful to God; 2:20, 23–24; 3:1–5; Hos. 7:4];
·they are all turning against him [L a band of traitors].
Judah’s Failures
3 “They ·use [L bend] their tongues like a bow [C shooting lies from their mouths like arrows; Ps. 64:3–4].
Lies, not truth,
have grown strong in the land.
They go from one evil thing to another.
They do not know ·who I am [L me],” says the Lord.
4 “·Watch out [Be on guard] for your ·friends [or neighbors],
and don’t ·trust [have confidence in] your own ·relatives [L brothers],
because every ·relative [L brother] is a ·cheater [L Jacob, who supplants; Gen. 25:19—35:29],
and every ·friend [or neighbor] ·tells lies about [L goes around slandering] you.
5 Everyone ·lies to [deceives] his ·friend [or neighbor],
and no one speaks ·the truth [honestly].
They [C the people of Judah] have taught their tongues to ·lie [L tell falsehoods].
They have become tired from ·sinning [their iniquity].
6 You [C Jeremiah] live in the middle of lies.
The people refuse to know me,” says the Lord.
7 So this is what the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says:
“I will test them [C the people of Judah] as a person ·tests [refines] metal in a fire [6:27–30].
·I have no other choice [L For what else can I do…],
because ·my people have sinned [L of the daughter of my people?].
8 Their tongues are like ·sharp [L deadly] arrows.
Their mouths speak ·lies [deceit].
Everyone speaks ·nicely [peace] to his ·neighbor [or friend],
but he ·is secretly planning to attack him [L sets his ambush in his innards/inwardly].
9 Shouldn’t I punish the people [C of Judah] for doing this?” says the Lord.
“Shouldn’t I ·give a nation like this the punishment [L get revenge on a nation as] it deserves?”
10 I [C Jeremiah] will ·cry loudly [L take up crying and wailing] for the mountains
and sing a ·funeral song [lamentation] for the ·empty fields [L pastures of the wilderness].
They are ·empty [scorched], and no one passes through.
The ·mooing [L sound] of cattle cannot be heard.
The birds of the ·air [heavens]
and the animals have fled and are gone.
11 “I, the Lord, will make the city of Jerusalem a heap of ruins,
a home for wild dogs.
I will destroy the cities of Judah
so no one can live there.”
True Giving(A)
41 Jesus sat near the Temple ·money box [offering chest; or treasury] and watched the people put in their money. Many rich people gave large sums of money. 42 Then a poor widow came and put in ·two small copper coins [L two lepta], ·which were only worth a few cents [L which is a quadrans; C a Roman coin worth 1/64 of a denarius, or about 10 minutes of work for a day laborer].
43 Calling his ·followers [disciples] to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow gave more than all those rich people. 44 They gave ·only what they did not need [out of their surplus/abundance]. This woman is very poor, but she gave all she had—everything she had to live on.”
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