Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Jeremiah Buys a Field During the Siege

32 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord ^(A)in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, ^(B)which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. ² At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet ^(C)was shut up in ^(D)the court of the guard that was in the palace of the king of Judah. ³ For Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him, saying, “Why do you prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord: ^(E)Behold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall capture it;

⁶ Jeremiah said, “The word of the Lord came to me: ⁷ Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you and say, ^(A)‘Buy my field that is at ^(B)Anathoth, ^(C)for the right of redemption by purchase is yours.’ ⁸ Then Hanamel my cousin came to me in ^(D)the court of the guard, in accordance with the word of the Lord, and said to me, ‘Buy my field that is at ^(E)Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for the right of possession and redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.’ Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord.

⁹ “And I bought the field at ^(F)Anathoth from Hanamel my cousin, and ^(G)weighed out the money to him, seventeen shekels of silver. ^10 (H)I signed the deed, ^(I)sealed it, ^(J)got witnesses, and ^(K)weighed the money on scales. ¹¹ Then I took the sealed deed of purchase, containing the terms and conditions and the open copy. ¹² And I gave the deed of purchase to ^(L)Baruch the son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my cousin, in the presence of ^(M)the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and in the presence of all the Judeans who were sitting in ^(N)the court of the guard. ¹³ I charged ^(O)Baruch in their presence, saying, ¹⁴ ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware vessel, that they may last for a long time. ¹⁵ For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and ^(P)fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.’

My Refuge and My Fortress

⁶ But ^(A)godliness ^(B)with contentment is great gain, ⁷ for ^(C)we brought nothing into the world, and^[a] we cannot take anything out of the world. ⁸ But ^(D)if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. ⁹ But ^(E)those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, ^(F)into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that ^(G)plunge people into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰ For the love of money is a root of ^(H)all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

Fight the Good Fight of Faith

¹¹ But as for you, ^(I)O man of God, ^(J)flee these things. ^(K)Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. ^12 (L)Fight the good fight of the faith. ^(M)Take hold of the eternal life ^(N)to which you were called and about which you made ^(O)the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. ^13 (P)I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, ^(Q)who in his testimony before^[b] Pontius Pilate made ^(R)the good confession, ¹⁴ to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until ^(S)the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁵ which he will display ^(T)at the proper time—he who is ^(U)the blessed and only Sovereign, ^(V)the King of kings and Lord of lords, ^16 (W)who alone has immortality, ^(X)who dwells in ^(Y)unapproachable light, ^(Z)whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

¹⁷ As for the rich in ^(AA)this present age, charge them ^(AB)not to be haughty, nor ^(AC)to set their hopes on ^(AD)the uncertainty of riches, but on God, ^(AE)who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. ¹⁸ They are to do good, ^(AF)to be rich in good works, to be generous and ^(AG)ready to share, ¹⁹ thus ^(AH)storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may ^(AI)take hold of ^(AJ)that which is truly life.

The Rich Man and Lazarus

¹⁹ “There was a rich man who was clothed in ^(A)purple and fine linen and ^(B)who feasted sumptuously every day. ²⁰ And at his gate ^(C)was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, ²¹ who desired to be fed with ^(D)what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. ²² The poor man died and was carried by ^(E)the angels ^(F)to Abraham's side.^[a] The rich man also died and was buried, ²³ and in ^(G)Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and ^(H)saw Abraham far off and Lazarus ^(I)at his side. ²⁴ And he called out, ^(J)‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and ^(K)cool my tongue, for ^(L)I am in anguish in this flame.’ ²⁵ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that ^(M)you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. ²⁶ And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ ²⁷ And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house— ²⁸ for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ ²⁹ But Abraham said, ‘They have ^(N)Moses and the Prophets; ^(O)let them hear them.’ ³⁰ And he said, ‘No, ^(P)father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ ³¹ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear ^(Q)Moses and the Prophets, ^(R)neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”