Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
40 So the Lord was angry with his people[a]
and despised the people who belonged to him.[b]
41 He handed them over to[c] the nations,
and those who hated them ruled over them.
42 Their enemies oppressed them;
they were subject to their authority.[d]
43 Many times he delivered[e] them,
but they had a rebellious attitude,[f]
and degraded themselves[g] by their sin.
44 Yet he took notice of their distress,
when he heard their cry for help.
45 He remembered his covenant with them,
and relented[h] because of his great loyal love.
46 He caused all their conquerors[i]
to have pity on them.
47 Deliver us, O Lord, our God.
Gather us from among the nations.
Then we will give thanks[j] to your holy name,
and boast about your praiseworthy deeds.[k]
48 The Lord God of Israel deserves praise,[l]
in the future and forevermore.[m]
Let all the people say, “We agree![n] Praise the Lord!”[o]
12 I said,[a]
“Who is wise enough to understand why this has happened?[b]
Who has a word from the Lord that can explain it?[c]
Why does the land lie in ruins?
Why is it as scorched as a desert through which no one travels?”
13 The Lord answered, “This has happened because these people have rejected my laws that I gave them. They have not obeyed me or followed those laws.[d] 14 Instead they have followed the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts. They have paid allegiance to[e] the gods called Baal,[f] as their fathers[g] taught them to do. 15 So then, listen to what I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel,[h] say,[i] ‘I will make these people eat the bitter food of suffering and drink the poison water of judgment.[j] 16 I will scatter them among nations that neither they nor their ancestors[k] have known anything about. I will send people chasing after them with swords[l] until I have destroyed them.’”[m]
17 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies[n] told me to say to this people:[o]
“Take note of what I say.[p]
Call for the women who mourn for the dead!
Summon those who are the most skilled at it!”[q]
18 I said, “Indeed,[r] let them come quickly and sing a song of mourning for us.
Let them wail loudly until tears stream from our own eyes
and our eyelids overflow with water.
19 For the sound of wailing is soon to be heard in Zion,
‘We are utterly ruined![s] We are completely disgraced!
For we have left our land,
for our houses have been torn down!’”[t]
20 I said,[u]
“So now,[v] you wailing women, listen to the Lord’s message.[w]
Open your ears to the message from his mouth.
Teach your daughters this mournful song,
and let every woman teach her neighbor this lament.
21 ‘Death has climbed in[x] through our windows.
It has entered into our fortified houses.
It has taken away our children who play in the streets.
It has taken away our young men who gather in the city squares.’
22 Tell your daughters and neighbors, ‘The Lord says:
“The dead bodies of people will lie scattered everywhere
like manure scattered on a field.
They will lie scattered on the ground
like grain that has been cut down but has not been gathered.”’”[y]
23 [z] The Lord says,
“Wise people should not boast that they are wise.
Powerful people should not boast that they are powerful.[aa]
Rich people should not boast that they are rich.[ab]
24 If people want to boast, they should boast about this:
They should boast that they understand and know me.
They should boast that they know and understand
that I, the Lord, act out of faithfulness, fairness, and justice in the earth
and that I desire people to do these things,”[ac]
says the Lord.
25 The Lord says, “Watch out![ad] The time is soon coming when I will punish all those who are circumcised only in the flesh.[ae] 26 That is, I will punish the Egyptians, the Judeans, the Edomites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, and all the desert people who cut their hair short at the temples.[af] I will do so because none of the people of those nations are really circumcised in the Lord’s sight.[ag] Moreover, none of the people of Israel[ah] are circumcised when it comes to their hearts.”[ai]
The Arrest and Trial of Peter and John
4 While Peter and John[a] were speaking to the people, the priests and the commander[b] of the temple guard[c] and the Sadducees[d] came up[e] to them, 2 angry[f] because they were teaching the people and announcing[g] in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. 3 So[h] they seized[i] them and put them in jail[j] until the next day (for it was already evening). 4 But many of those who had listened to[k] the message[l] believed, and the number of the men[m] came to about 5,000.
5 On the next day,[n] their rulers, elders, and experts in the law[o] came together[p] in Jerusalem. 6 Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and others who were members of the high priest’s family.[q] 7 After[r] making Peter and John[s] stand in their midst, they began to inquire, “By what power or by what name[t] did you do this?” 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit,[u] replied,[v] “Rulers of the people and elders,[w] 9 if[x] we are being examined[y] today for a good deed[z] done to a sick man—by what means this man was healed[aa]— 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ[ab] the Nazarene whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, this man stands before you healthy. 11 This Jesus[ac] is the stone that was rejected by you,[ad] the builders, that has become the cornerstone.[ae] 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among people[af] by which we must[ag] be saved.”
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