Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

⁴⁰ So the Lord was angry with His people. He hated His people. ⁴¹ So He handed them over to the nations. And those who hated them ruled over them. ⁴² Those who hated them held a strong power over them. And they were made to obey them. ⁴³ God set them free many times. But they always turned against Him and went deeper into sin.

⁴⁴ But He looked upon their trouble when He heard their cry. ⁴⁵ He remembered His agreement because of them, and took pity on them by the greatness of His loving-kindness. ⁴⁶ Those who held them also saw how God took pity on them.

⁴⁷ O Lord our God, save us! Gather us from among the nations. And we will give thanks to Your holy name and find honor in Your praise. ⁴⁸ Honor and thanks be to the Lord, the God of Israel, forever and ever. Let all the people say, “Let it be so!” Praise the Lord!

People of Jerusalem Will Be Taken Away

¹⁷ Pick up your load from the ground, you who are shut in by armies! ¹⁸ For the Lord says, “See, I am throwing out the people of the land at this time. And I will trouble them, that they may feel it.”

¹⁹ It is bad for me because I am hurt! My sore cannot be healed. But I said, “For sure this sickness is mine, and I must suffer with it.” ²⁰ My tent is destroyed and all my ropes are broken. My sons have gone from me and are no more. There is no one to put up my tent again or to set up my curtains. ²¹ For the shepherds are poor thinkers and have not asked for the Lord’s help. So they have not done well, and all their flock is sent different places. ²² Listen, the sound of news! See, it comes! Much noise of moving is coming out of the land of the north to destroy the cities of Judah, and to make it a place where wild dogs live.

Jeremiah’s Prayer

²³ O Lord, I know that a man’s way is not known by himself. It is not in man to lead his own steps. ²⁴ Punish me when I need it, O Lord, but be fair. Do not punish me in Your anger, or You will bring me to nothing. ²⁵ Pour out Your anger on the nations that do not know You, and on the families that do not call on Your name. For they have destroyed Jacob. They have destroyed him and have laid waste his land.

False Teachers ^(A)

⁴⁵ All the people were listening. He said to His followers, ⁴⁶ “Look out for the teachers of the Law. They like to walk around in long coats. They like to have people speak words of respect to them in the center of town where people gather. They like the important seats in the places of worship. They like the important places at big suppers. ⁴⁷ They take houses from poor women whose husbands have died. They cover up their actions by making long prayers. They will be punished all the more.”

A Woman Whose Husband Had Died Gave All She Had ^(B)

21 Jesus looked up and saw rich men putting their money into the money box in the house of God. ² He saw a poor woman whose husband had died. She put in two very small pieces of money. ³ He said, “I tell you the truth, this poor woman has put in more than all of them. ⁴ For they have put in a little of the money they had no need for. She is very poor and has put in all she had. She has put in what she needed for her own living.”