Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Song of Praise and Thanks to God

66 Raise the voice of joy to God, all the earth! ² Sing out the honor of His name! Make His praise great! ³ Say to God, “How Your great works make those who hate You afraid! They will have to obey You because of Your great power. ⁴ All the earth will worship You and sing praises to You. They will sing praises to Your name.”

⁵ Come and see what God has done. There is much fear because of His great works toward the children of men. ⁶ He changed the sea into dry land. They passed through the river on foot. There we were full of joy in Him. ⁷ He rules forever by His power. His eyes keep watch over the nations. Do not let those who do not obey You honor themselves.

⁸ Give honor and thanks to God, O people, and let all hear how great He is! ⁹ He keeps us alive, and does not let our feet go out from under us. ¹⁰ For You have tested us, O God. You have made us pure like silver is made pure. ¹¹ You brought us into the net. And You laid a heavy load on our back. ¹² You made men travel over our heads. We went through fire and through water. But You brought us out into a place where we have much more than we need.

Seventy Years of Not Being Free

25 This is the word that came to Jeremiah about all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah. (That was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.) ² Jeremiah the man of God spoke this word to all the people of Judah and Jerusalem, saying, ³ “These twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, until this day, the Word of the Lord has come to me. And I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened. ⁴ The Lord has sent to you all his servants who have spoken for Him again and again, but you have not listened or turned your ear to hear. ⁵ They have said, ‘Every one of you turn now from your sinful way and the sinful things you do, and live on the land which the Lord has given to you and your fathers forever and ever. ⁶ Do not go after other gods to serve and worship them. Do not make Me angry with the work you do, and I will not hurt you.’ ⁷ Yet you have not listened to Me,” says the Lord. “You have made Me angry with the work of your hands to your own hurt. ⁸ “So the Lord of All says, ‘Because you have not obeyed My words, ⁹ I will send for all the families of the north. And I will send for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land, against its people, and against all these nations around you. I will make a complete end of them. I will destroy them all and make them an object of fear and hate, and a waste place forever. ¹⁰ I will also take from them the voice of joy, the voice of happiness, the voice of the man to be married and the voice of the bride. I will take from them the sound of the grinding stones and the light of the lamp. ¹¹ This whole land will be a waste and a cause of fear. And these nations will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years.

¹² ‘Then when seventy years have past, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, and the land of the Babylonians, for their sin,’ says the Lord. ‘And I will make that land a waste forever. ¹³ I will bring upon that land all My words which I have spoken against it, all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah has spoken against all the nations. ¹⁴ They themselves will be made to serve many nations and great kings. I will pay them for what they have done, and for the work of their hands.’”

¹³ Keep all the things I taught you. They were given to you in the faith and love of Jesus Christ. ¹⁴ Keep safe that which He has trusted you with by the Holy Spirit Who lives in us.

Onesiphorus Was Faithful

¹⁵ I am sure you have heard that all the Christians in the countries of Asia have turned away from me. Phygelus and Hermogenes turned away also. ¹⁶ Onesiphorus was not ashamed of me in prison. He came often to comfort me. May the Lord show loving-kindness to his family. ¹⁷ When he came to Rome, he looked everywhere until he found me. ¹⁸ You know what a help he was to me in Ephesus. When the Lord comes again, may He show loving-kindness to Onesiphorus.