Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
19 Lord, please remember all my troubles, because I am sad.
Remember that I am very lonely.
My troubles are like poison for me.
20 I think about all those things,
and I feel small and alone.
21 But then I choose to remember God,
and this is my hope:[a]
22 The Lord's faithful love never comes to an end.
He never stops being kind to us.[b]
23 Every day, we can trust him to be kind again.
We know that he will do what he has promised to do.
24 ‘He is my Lord,’ I say to myself.
‘He is the reason why I can hope for good things.’
25 The Lord does good things for people who wait for him.
He is kind to everyone who looks for him.
26 It is good when people continue to hope.
It is good when they quietly wait for the Lord,
because he will save them.
12 King Nebuchadnezzar had an officer whose name was Nebuzaradan. He was the captain of the king's royal guards. Nebuzaradan came to Jerusalem when Nebuchadnezzar had ruled Babylon for 19 years. It was on the tenth day of the fifth month. 13 Nebuzaradan destroyed the Lord's temple, the king's palace and all the other houses in Jerusalem. He burned them all with fire, so that he destroyed every important building in the city. 14 Then Nebuzaradan commanded his whole army to knock down the walls around Jerusalem. 15 Captain Nebuzaradan sent away as prisoners some of the poor people and the rest of the people who remained in Jerusalem. He also sent away those people who had agreed to serve the king of Babylon, and the workers who had special skills. 16 But he let some of the poorest people stay there. He gave them vineyards and fields to work in.
17 The soldiers from Babylon broke the two bronze pillars that were in the Lord's temple. They also broke the carts which carried the buckets for water and the large bath called ‘the Sea’. They carried all the bronze pieces away to Babylon. 18 They also took away the pots, the bowls, the spades, the small tools for the lamps, and the dishes. They took all the bronze tools that the priests used in the temple. 19 Captain Nebuzaradan also took away everything that was made from gold or silver. He took the dishes, the baskets that carried hot coals, the bowls for water, the pots, the lampstands and other bowls.
20 The bronze from the things that King Solomon had made for the Lord's temple was very heavy. They included the two bronze pillars, the large bath called ‘the Sea’, the 12 bronze bulls under the bath and the carts which carried the buckets for water. The bronze from all these things was more than they could weigh. 21 Each pillar was 8 metres high and 5 metres around. The bronze was 8 centimetres thick and each pillar was empty inside. 22 The bronze piece on the top of one pillar was more than a metre high. It had rows of chains with images of pomegranates made from bronze all around it. The other pillar, with its rows of chains and pomegranates, was the same. 23 There were 96 images of pomegranates around the sides of the pillars. There were 100 images of pomegranates on the chains at the top.
24 Captain Nebuzaradan took hold of these people:
Seraiah, the leader of the priests.
Zephaniah, the next most important priest.
The three temple guards.
25 He also took hold of these people who remained in Jerusalem:
The palace officer with authority over the soldiers.
Seven of the king's advisors.
The army secretary who took men to join the army.
60 other people of Judah who were inside the city.
26 Captain Nebuzaradan took hold of all those people. He brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 27 There, at Riblah in the Hamath region, the king of Babylon commanded his soldiers to punish them all with death.
That was how Judah's people went into exile, away from their own land.
28 This is a list of the number of people that Nebuchadnezzar took away as prisoners to Babylon:
He took 3,023 people from Judah in his seventh year as king.
29 He took 832 people from Jerusalem in his 18th year.
30 Captain Nebuzaradan took 745 people from Judah in Nebuchadnezzar's 23rd year as king.
So Nebuchadnezzar took 4,600 people away as his prisoners.
Jesus' message to the believers at Pergamum
12 ‘Write this to the angel of the church at Pergamum:
“This is the message to you from the one who has the sharp sword with two edges.
13 I know where you live. It is the place where Satan sits as king.[a] But you still continue to trust me. You remember Antipas who spoke a clear message about me. Because of that, some people in your city killed him. You saw what happened to him, but you continued to believe in me. You still serve me, even there where Satan lives.[b]
14 But I have a few things to say against you. Some people among you agree with what Balaam taught long ago. He taught Balak to do a bad thing against God's people.[c] Balak caused the Israelite people to do wrong things. As a result, they ate food that people had given to idols. They also had sex with people who were not their husbands or wives. 15 Also, some people among you do the bad things that the Nicolaitans teach. 16 So you must stop doing these bad things. If you do not change how you live, I will quickly come to punish you. I will fight against those bad people with my sharp sword that comes out of my mouth.
17 God's Spirit is speaking to you in the churches. You should understand what the Spirit is saying to you. You have ears, so listen carefully! To everyone who wins against Satan I will give some of my special food called manna. I will also give each of them a white stone.[d] I will write a new name on that stone. Nobody will know that name except the person who receives it.” ’
Jesus' message to the believers at Thyatira
18 ‘Write this to the angel of the church at Thyatira:
“This is the message to you from the Son of God. He has eyes that burn brightly like flames of fire. His feet shine like bright metal.
19 I know everything that you do. I know that you have great love. I know that you believe in me. I know that you continue to serve me well. You are patient and strong. You do these good things now more than you did at the beginning.
20 But I have something to say against you. You let that woman Jezebel teach you. She says that she is a prophet from God. But she leads my servants into bad ways. She teaches them to have sex with many people.[e] And she teaches them to eat food that people have given to idols. 21 I have given her time to stop doing these bad things. But she refuses to change how she lives. She does not stop having sex with other men. 22 Listen to this! I will cause her to suffer on her bed, so that she cannot get up. Those who join her in her sins will also suffer very much, unless they change the way they live. 23 I will send a terrible illness to kill those who obey her. Then all the people in the churches will know that I look deep inside them. I know what you really want. I know what you really think. I will give each of you what is right for you, as a result of what you have done.
24 But I say this to you other people in Thyatira. You have not agreed with what Jezebel taught. You have not learned what they call ‘Satan's deep secrets’. So I say this to you: I will not tell you to obey any other difficult rules. 25 But continue to obey my message that you have already received. Believe in me until I come.
26 Continue to obey me until the end and win the fight against Satan. If anyone does that, I will give him authority to rule over the nations of the world. 27 That person will rule the nations with strong authority. He will destroy them, like someone who breaks clay pots into many pieces.[f] 28 He will have the same authority that I received from my Father. I will also give him the morning star.[g] 29 God's Spirit is speaking to you in the churches. You should understand what the Spirit is saying to you. You have ears, so listen carefully!” ’
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