Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Mem
97 Oh, how I love Your law!
I fix my mind on it all day long.
98 Your commands make me wiser than my enemies
because they are always with me.
99 I have more discernment than all my teachers
because I study and meditate on Your testimonies.
100 I comprehend more than those who are my elders
because I have kept Your precepts.
101 I have kept my feet from walking the paths of evil
so that I may live according to Your word.
102 I have not neglected Your lessons,
for You, God, have been my teacher.
103 Your words are sweet to my taste!
Yes, they are sweeter than honey in my mouth!
104 I gain understanding from Your instructions;
that’s why I hate every deceitful path.
15 Eternal One: A voice rises from Ramah—
mourning and bitter weeping are heard day and night.
The voice is Rachel’s; she’s weeping for her children.
She will not be comforted,
for her children are no more.[a]
The setting is Ramah, a village a few miles north of Jerusalem, where exiles are assembled before the long march to Babylon. Later the prophet himself will spend time in this refugee camp awaiting his own exile (40:1). For now, he paints the picture of Rachel, one of the matriarchs of this nation, weeping for her children as they head off into captivity.
16 But listen to what the Eternal says:
Eternal One: Do not weep, Rachel—wipe the tears from your eyes—
for I promise I will reward you for what you have done.
Your children will return from this exile;
they will come back home from this enemy land.
17 There is hope for your future, I promise.
Your children will come home to their own land.
18 I have heard the cries of Ephraim, groaning, “You have disciplined me.
I was like an unruly calf, but You disciplined me.
Bring me back, so I can return home,
for You are my God, the Eternal.
19 After I had turned away from You, I repented.
I turned back toward You when I understood what I had done;
I slapped my thigh in shame and regret
for the disgraceful things I did when I was young.”
20 So I, the Eternal One, asked:
“Is this not Ephraim, My beloved son, My darling child?
As often as I speak against him, I have never forgotten him.
Even now, My heart longs for him;
I will surely show him mercy!”
21 Set up markers along the road;
put up guideposts so you can find your way home.
Pay attention to the highway, the road you take into exile.
Return by the same way, My virgin Israel;
return to your cities and villages.
22 How long will you drift this way and that,
My renegade daughter?
Take heart—for now the Eternal will do a new thing on the earth:
a woman will surround a man.[b]
23 This is what the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies and God of Israel, has to say:
Eternal One: When I bring them back from exile, people throughout the land and villages of Judah will speak these familiar words:
May the Eternal bless you, home of righteousness,
O sacred mountain!
24 In those days of restoration, farmers and herders all across Judah will live together in peace alongside those who live in the cities. 25 I will satisfy those who are weary, and I will refresh every soul in the grips of sorrow.
26 At this moment, I woke up from a wonderful sleep and looked around.
None of the disciples understand what Jesus is telling them, and none of His predictions will become clear to them until after His resurrection. In the meantime, several of His disciples are not only failing to understand His warnings about the things to come but are missing His message on things right before their eyes. Jesus has already told them that to be great among His followers means to become humble like a child; but James and John still think that as two of His closest disciples, they can win worldly fame and power.
46 By that time, they had reached Jericho; as they passed through the town, a crowd of people followed along. They came to a blind beggar, Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, who sat beside the main road. 47 When he was told that Jesus of Nazareth was passing in that throng, he called out in a loud voice.
Bartimaeus: Jesus, Son of David, take pity on me and help me!
Disgusted by the blind man’s public display, others in the crowd tried to silence him until the Master passed.
Some of the Crowd: 48 Be quiet. Shush.
Bartimaeus (still louder): Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!
49 Jesus stopped where He stood. The crowd stopped with Him. He told those near the front of the crowd to call the blind man forward.
Some of the Crowd (to Bartimaeus): Good news! Jesus has heard you. Listen—He calls for you. Get up and go to Him.
50 Bartimaeus cast aside his beggar’s robe and stepped forward, feeling his way toward Jesus.
Jesus: 51 What do you want from Me?
Bartimaeus: Teacher, I want to see.
Jesus: 52 Your faith has made you whole. Go in peace.
In that moment, Bartimaeus could see again; and from that time on, he followed Jesus.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.