Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

⁹⁷ O, how I love Your Law! It is what I think about all through the day. ⁹⁸ Your Word makes me wiser than those who hate me, for it is always with me. ⁹⁹ I have better understanding than all my teachers because I think about Your Law. ¹⁰⁰ I have a better understanding than those who are old because I obey Your Word. ¹⁰¹ I have kept my feet from every sinful way so that I may keep Your Word. ¹⁰² I have not turned away from Your Law, for You Yourself have taught me. ¹⁰³ How sweet is Your Word to my taste! It is sweeter than honey to my mouth! ¹⁰⁴ I get understanding from Your Law and so I hate every false way.

Jeremiah’s Trial

26 In the beginning of the rule of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the Lord, saying, ² “This is what the Lord says: ‘Stand in the open space of the Lord’s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah who have come to worship in the Lord’s house. Tell them all the words that I have told you to say to them. Do not leave out one word! ³ It may be they will listen and everyone will turn from his sinful way. Then I may change My mind about the trouble I plan to put on them because of the sinful things they have done.’ ⁴ And tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says: “If you will not listen to Me and follow My Law which I have set before you, ⁵ and if you do not listen to the words of My servants who speak for Me, whom I have been sending to you again and again, but you have not listened, ⁶ then I will make this House of God like Shiloh. And I will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth.”’”

⁷ The religious leaders and the men of God and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord. ⁸ And when Jeremiah had finished speaking all that the Lord had told him to speak to all the people, the religious leaders and men of God and all the people took hold of him, saying, “You must die! ⁹ Why have you spoken in the name of the Lord saying, ‘This house will be like Shiloh, and this city will be laid waste with no one living in it’?” And all the people gathered around Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.

¹⁰ When the leaders of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to the house of the Lord and sat beside the New Gate of the Lord’s house. ¹¹ Then the religious leaders and men of God said to the leaders and to all the people, “This man must die! For he has spoken against this city, as you have heard with your own ears.” ¹² Then Jeremiah said to all the leaders and to all the people, “The Lord sent me to speak against this house and against this city all the words that you have heard. ¹³ So now change your ways and your works, and obey the voice of the Lord your God. Then the Lord will change His mind about the trouble He has said would come to you. ¹⁴ But as for me, see, I am in your hands. Do with me what is good and right in your eyes. ¹⁵ Only know for sure that if you put me to death, you will bring the sin of killing a man who is not guilty on yourselves, on this city, and on its people. For it is true that the Lord has sent me to you to speak all these words for you to hear.”

²² Then Paul stood up on Mars’ Hill and said, “Men of Athens, I see how very religious you are in every way. ²³ As I was walking around and looking at the things you worship, I found an altar where you worship with the words written on it, TO THE GOD WHO IS NOT KNOWN. You are worshiping Him without knowing Him. He is the One I will tell you about.

²⁴ “The God Who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth. He does not live in buildings made by hands. ²⁵ No one needs to care for Him as if He needed anything. He is the One who gives life and breath and everything to everyone. ²⁶ He made from one blood all nations who live on the earth. He set the times and places where they should live.

²⁷ “They were to look for God. Then they might feel after Him and find Him because He is not far from each one of us. ²⁸ It is in Him that we live and move and keep on living. Some of your own men have written, ‘We are God’s children.’ ²⁹ If we are God’s children, we should not think of Him as being like gold or silver or stone. Such gods made of gold or silver or stone are planned by men and are made by them.

³⁰ “God did not remember these times when people did not know better. But now He tells all men everywhere to be sorry for their sins and to turn from them. ³¹ He has set a day when He will say in the right way if the people of the world are guilty. This will be done by Jesus Christ, the One He has chosen. God has proven this to all men by raising Jesus Christ from the dead.”

³² Some people laughed and made fun when they heard Paul speak of Christ being raised from the dead. Others said, “We want to listen to you again about this.” ³³ So Paul went away from the people. ³⁴ Some people followed him and became Christians. One was Dionysius, a leader in the city. A woman named Damaris believed. And there were others also.