Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

⁴⁹ Remember Your Word to Your servant, for You have given me hope. ⁵⁰ Your Word has given me new life. This is my comfort in my suffering. ⁵¹ The proud always laugh at me, but I do not turn away from Your Law. ⁵² I have remembered Your Law from a long time ago, O Lord, and I am comforted. ⁵³ Burning anger comes upon me because of the sinful who turn away from Your Law. ⁵⁴ Your Laws are my songs in whatever house I stay. ⁵⁵ I remember Your name in the night, O Lord, and I have kept Your Law. ⁵⁶ It has become my way to obey Your Law.

A Promise of Hope

33 While Jeremiah was still shut up in the open space of the prison, the Word of the Lord came to him a second time, saying, ² “This is what the Lord says Who made the earth. The Lord made it to last. The Lord is His name. ³ ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you. And I will show you great and wonderful things which you do not know.’ ⁴ For this is what the Lord God of Israel says about the houses of this city and about the houses of the kings of Judah which have been torn down to make a strong wall to help in the battle against the Babylonians. ⁵ Some will come to fight with the Babylonians, and they will fill the houses with the dead bodies of men whom I have killed in My anger. I will hide My face from this city because of all their sin. ⁶ See, I will make it well again, and I will heal them. I will let them have much peace and truth. ⁷ I will return the land to Judah and to Israel, and I will help them to become as they were before. ⁸ I will make them clean from all the sins they have done against Me. I will forgive all their sins against Me. ⁹ This city will make My name known. It will be to Me joy, praise and shining-greatness before all the nations of the earth that hear of all the good that I do for them. And they will fear and shake because of all the good and all the peace that I give it.’

¹⁰ “This is what the Lord says: ‘You say of this place, “It is a waste, without man or animal.” Yet in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem that are laid waste, with no man or animal living in them, there will again be heard ¹¹ the voice of joy and the voice of happiness. In this place will be heard the voice of the man to be married and the voice of the bride, and the voice of those who say, “Give thanks to the Lord of All, for the Lord is good. His loving-kindness lasts forever.” And here will be heard the voice of those who bring a gift of thanks into the house of the Lord. For I will bring them back to the land as they were before,’ says the Lord.

¹² “The Lord of All says, ‘This place is now a waste, without man or animal. Yet there will again be shepherds living in this place and in all its cities who can care for their sheep. ¹³ In the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the valley, in the cities of the Negev, in the land of Benjamin, in the land around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, the flocks will again pass under the hands of the one who numbers them,’ says the Lord.

Jesus Teaches about Keeping the Law ^(A)

¹⁶ A man came to Jesus and asked, “Good Teacher, what good work must I do to have life that lasts forever?” ¹⁷ Jesus said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One Who is good. If you want to have life that lasts forever, you must obey the Laws.” ¹⁸ The man said to Him, “What kind of laws?” Jesus said, “You must not kill another person. You must not be guilty of sex sins. You must not steal. You must not lie. ¹⁹ Show respect to your father and your mother. And love your neighbor as you love yourself.” ²⁰ The young man said to Jesus, “I have obeyed all these Laws. What more should I do?” ²¹ Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell everything you have and give the money to poor people. Then you will have riches in heaven. Come and follow Me.” ²² When the young man heard these words, he went away sad for he had many riches.