Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Jeremiah Buys a Field
32 In the tenth year that Zedekiah was ruling over Judah the Lord spoke to Jeremiah.[a] That was the same as the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.
2 Now at that time,[b] the armies of the king of Babylon were besieging Jerusalem.[c] The prophet Jeremiah was confined in the courtyard of the guardhouse[d] attached to the royal palace of Judah. 3 For King Zedekiah[e] had confined Jeremiah there after he had reproved him for prophesying as he did. He had asked Jeremiah, “Why do you keep prophesying these things? Why do you keep saying that the Lord says, ‘I will hand this city over to the king of Babylon? I will let him capture it.[f]
6 So now, Jeremiah said, “The Lord’s message came to me,[a] 7 ‘Hanamel, the son of your uncle Shallum, will come to you soon. He will say to you, “Buy my field at Anathoth because you are entitled[b] as my closest relative to buy it.”’[c] 8 And then my cousin Hanamel did come to me in the courtyard of the guardhouse in keeping with the Lord’s message. He said to me, ‘Buy my field that is at Anathoth in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin. Buy it for yourself since you are entitled as my closest relative to take possession of it for yourself.’ When this happened, I recognized that the Lord had indeed spoken to me. 9 So I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel. I weighed out seven ounces of silver and gave it to him to pay for it.[d] 10 I signed the deed of purchase,[e] sealed it, and had some men serve as witnesses to the purchase.[f] I weighed out the silver for him on a scale. 11 There were two copies of the deed of purchase. One was sealed and contained the order of transfer and the conditions of purchase.[g] The other was left unsealed. 12 I took both copies of the deed of purchase[h] and gave them to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah. I gave them to him in the presence[i] of my cousin[j] Hanamel, the witnesses who had signed the deed of purchase, and all the Judeans who were housed in the courtyard of the guardhouse. 13 In the presence of all these people I instructed Baruch, 14 ‘The Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel,[k] says, “Take these documents, both the sealed copy of the deed of purchase and the unsealed copy. Put them in a clay jar so that they may be preserved for a long time to come.”’[l] 15 For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel,[m] says, ‘Houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land.’[n]
Psalm 91[a]
91 As for you, the one who lives[b] in the shelter of the Most High,[c]
and resides in the protective shadow[d] of the Sovereign One[e]—
2 I say this about the Lord, my shelter and my stronghold,
my God in whom I trust—
3 he will certainly rescue you from the snare of the hunter[f]
and from the destructive plague.
4 He will shelter you[g] with his wings;[h]
you will find safety under his wings.
His faithfulness is like a shield or a protective wall.[i]
5 You need not fear the terrors of the night,[j]
the arrow that flies by day,
6 the plague that stalks in the darkness,
or the disease that ravages at noon.[k]
14 The Lord says,[a]
“Because he is devoted to me, I will deliver him;
I will protect him[b] because he is loyal to me.[c]
15 When he calls out to me, I will answer him.
I will be with him when he is in trouble;
I will rescue him and bring him honor.
16 I will satisfy him with long life,[d]
and will let him see my salvation.”
6 Now godliness combined with contentment brings great profit. 7 For we have brought nothing into this world and so[a] we cannot take a single thing out either. 8 But if we have food and shelter, we will be satisfied with that.[b] 9 Those who long to be rich, however, stumble into temptation and a trap and many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is the root[c] of all evils.[d] Some people in reaching for it have strayed from the faith and stabbed themselves with many pains.
11 But you, as a person dedicated to God,[e] keep away from all that.[f] Instead pursue righteousness, godliness, faithfulness, love, endurance, and gentleness. 12 Compete well[g] for the faith and lay hold of that eternal life you were called for and made your good confession[h] for[i] in the presence of many witnesses. 13 I charge you[j] before God who gives life to all things and Christ Jesus who made his good confession[k] before Pontius Pilate, 14 to obey[l] this command[m] without fault or failure until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ 15 —whose appearing[n] the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, will reveal at the right time. 16 He alone possesses immortality and lives in unapproachable light, whom no human has ever seen or is able to see. To him be honor and eternal power! Amen.
17 Command those who are rich in this world’s goods[o] not to be haughty or to set their hope on riches, which are uncertain,[p] but on God who richly provides us with all things for our enjoyment. 18 Tell them to do good,[q] to be rich in good deeds, to be generous givers, sharing with others.[r] 19 In this way they will save up[s] a treasure for themselves as a firm foundation[t] for the future and so lay hold of[u] what is truly life.
The Rich Man and Lazarus
19 “There was a rich man who dressed in purple[a] and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously[b] every day. 20 But at his gate lay[c] a poor man named Lazarus[d] whose body was covered with sores,[e] 21 who longed to eat[f] what fell from the rich man’s table. In addition, the dogs[g] came and licked[h] his sores.
22 “Now[i] the poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side.[j] The[k] rich man also died and was buried.[l] 23 And in Hades,[m] as he was in torment,[n] he looked up[o] and saw Abraham far off with Lazarus at his side.[p] 24 So[q] he called out,[r] ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus[s] to dip the tip of his finger[t] in water and cool my tongue, because I am in anguish[u] in this fire.’[v] 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child,[w] remember that in your lifetime you received your good things and Lazarus likewise bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in anguish.[x] 26 Besides all this,[y] a great chasm[z] has been fixed between us,[aa] so that those who want to cross over from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’ 27 So[ab] the rich man[ac] said, ‘Then I beg you, father—send Lazarus[ad] to my father’s house 28 (for I have five brothers) to warn[ae] them so that they don’t come[af] into this place of torment.’ 29 But Abraham said,[ag] ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they must respond to[ah] them.’ 30 Then[ai] the rich man[aj] said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead[ak] goes to them, they will repent.’ 31 He[al] replied to him, ‘If they do not respond to[am] Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”[an]
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