Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Song of Praise and Thanksgiving[a]
66 Praise God with shouts of joy, all people!
2 Sing to the glory of his name;
offer him glorious praise!
3 Say to God, “How wonderful are the things you do!
Your power is so great
that your enemies bow down in fear before you.
4 Everyone on earth worships you;
they sing praises to you,
they sing praises to your name.”
5 Come and see what God has done,
his wonderful acts among people.
6 (A)He changed the sea into dry land;
our ancestors crossed the river on foot.
There we rejoiced because of what he did.
7 He rules forever by his might
and keeps his eyes on the nations.
Let no rebels rise against him.
8 Praise our God, all nations;
let your praise be heard.
9 He has kept us alive
and has not allowed us to fall.
10 You have put us to the test, God;
as silver is purified by fire,
so you have tested us.
11 You let us fall into a trap
and placed heavy burdens on our backs.
12 You let our enemies trample us;
we went through fire and flood,
but now you have brought us to a place of safety.[b]
The Enemy from the North
25 (A)In the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah, I received a message from the Lord concerning all the people of Judah. (This was the first year that Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylonia.) 2 I said to all the people of Judah and of Jerusalem, 3 “For twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year that Josiah son of Amon was king of Judah until this very day, the Lord has spoken to me, and I have never failed to tell you what he said. But you have paid no attention. 4 You would not listen or pay attention, even though the Lord has continued to send you his servants the prophets. 5 They told you to turn from your wicked way of life and from the evil things you are doing, so that you could go on living in the land that the Lord gave you and your ancestors as a permanent possession. 6 They told you not to worship and serve other gods and not to make the Lord angry by worshiping the idols you had made. If you had obeyed the Lord, then he would not have punished you. 7 But the Lord himself says that you refused to listen to him. Instead, you made him angry with your idols and have brought his punishment on yourselves.
8 “So then, because you would not listen to him, the Lord Almighty says, 9 ‘I am going to send for all the peoples from the north and for my servant, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia. I am going to bring them to fight against Judah and its inhabitants and against all the neighboring nations. I am going to destroy this nation and its neighbors and leave them in ruins forever, a terrible and shocking sight. I, the Lord, have spoken. 10 (B)I will silence their shouts of joy and gladness and the happy sounds of wedding feasts. They will have no oil for their lamps, and there will be no more grain. 11 (C)This whole land will be left in ruins and will be a shocking sight, and the neighboring nations will serve the king of Babylonia for seventy years. 12 After that I will punish Babylonia and its king for their sin. I will destroy that country and leave it in ruins forever. 13 I will punish Babylonia with all the disasters that I threatened to bring on the nations when I spoke through Jeremiah—all the disasters recorded in this book. 14 I will pay the Babylonians back for what they have done, and many nations and great kings will make slaves of them.’”
13 Hold firmly to the true words that I taught you, as the example for you to follow, and remain in the faith and love that are ours in union with Christ Jesus. 14 Through the power of the Holy Spirit, who lives in us, keep the good things that have been entrusted to you.
15 You know that everyone in the province of Asia, including Phygelus and Hermogenes, has deserted me. 16 May the Lord show mercy to the family of Onesiphorus, because he cheered me up many times. He was not ashamed that I am in prison, 17 but as soon as he arrived in Rome, he started looking for me until he found me. 18 May the Lord grant him his mercy on that Day! And you know very well how much he did for me in Ephesus.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.