Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
ז (Zayin)
49 Remember your word to your servant,
for you have given me hope.
50 This[a] is what comforts me in my trouble,
for your promise revives me.[b]
51 Arrogant people do nothing but scoff at me.[c]
Yet I do not turn aside from your law.
52 I remember your ancient regulations,[d]
O Lord, and console myself.[e]
53 Rage takes hold of me because of the wicked,
those who reject your law.
54 Your statutes have been my songs[f]
in the house where I live.[g]
55 I remember your name during the night, O Lord,
and I will keep[h] your law.
56 This[i] has been my practice,
for I observe your precepts.
36 “You and your people[a] are right in saying, ‘War,[b] starvation, and disease are sure to make this city fall into the hands of the king of Babylon.’[c] But now I, the Lord God of Israel, have something further to say about this city:[d] 37 ‘I will certainly regather my people from all the countries where I have exiled[e] them in my anger, fury, and great wrath. I will bring them back to this place and allow them to live here in safety. 38 They will be my people, and I will be their God.[f] 39 I will give them a single-minded purpose to live in a way that always shows respect for me. They will want to do that for[g] their own good and the good of the children who descend from them. 40 I will make a lasting covenant[h] with them that I will never stop doing good to them.[i] I will fill their hearts and minds with respect for me so that[j] they will never again turn away[k] from me. 41 I will take delight in doing good to them. I will faithfully and wholeheartedly plant them[l] firmly in the land.’
42 “For I, the Lord, say:[m] ‘I will surely bring on these people all the good fortune that I am hereby promising them. I will be just as sure to do that as I have been in bringing all this great disaster on them.[n] 43 You and your people[o] are saying that this land will become desolate, uninhabited by either people or animals. You are saying that it will be handed over to the Babylonians.[p] But fields[q] will again be bought in this land.[r] 44 Fields will again be bought with silver, and deeds of purchase signed, sealed, and witnessed. This will happen in the territory of Benjamin, the villages surrounding Jerusalem, the towns in Judah, the southern hill country, the foothills,[s] and southern Judah.[t] For I will restore them to their land.[u] I, the Lord, affirm it!’”[v]
Warning to the Rich
5 Come now, you rich! Weep and cry aloud[a] over the miseries that are coming on you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your clothing has become moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have rusted and their rust will be a witness against you. It will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have hoarded treasure![b] 4 Look, the pay you have held back from the workers who mowed your fields cries out against you, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.[c] 5 You have lived indulgently and luxuriously on the earth. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.[d] 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person, although he does not resist you.[e]
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