Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

²⁷ “See, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “when I will plant the people of Israel and the people of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of animal. ²⁸ And as I have watched over them to pull up, to break down, to take power away, to destroy, and to bring trouble, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” says the Lord. ²⁹ “In those days they will no longer say, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children got the sour taste.’ ³⁰ But every one will die for his own sin. Each man who eats the sour grapes will get the sour taste. ³¹ The days are coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a New Way of Worship for the Jews and those of the family group of Judah. ³² The New Way of Worship will not be like the Old Way of Worship I gave to their early fathers. That was when I took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt. But they did not follow the Old Way of Worship, even when I was a husband to them,” says the Lord. ³³ “This is the New Way of Worship that I will give to the Jews. When that day comes,” says the Lord, “I will put My Law into their minds. And I will write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people. ³⁴ No one will need to teach his neighbor or his brother to know the Lord. All of them will already know Me from the least to the greatest,” says the Lord. “I will forgive their sins. I will remember their sins no more.”

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.

¹⁴ But as for you, hold on to what you have learned and know to be true. Remember where you learned them. ¹⁵ You have known the Holy Writings since you were a child. They are able to give you wisdom that leads to being saved from the punishment of sin by putting your trust in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ All the Holy Writings are God-given and are made alive by Him. Man is helped when he is taught God’s Word. It shows what is wrong. It changes the way of a man’s life. It shows him how to be right with God. ¹⁷ It gives the man who belongs to God everything he needs to work well for Him.

Paul’s Work Is Finished—Timothy Must Carry On

4 These words are from my heart to you. I say this before God and Jesus Christ. Some day He will judge those who are living and those who are dead. It will be when Christ comes to bring His holy nation. ² Preach the Word of God. Preach it when it is easy and people want to listen and when it is hard and people do not want to listen. Preach it all the time. Use the Word of God to show people they are wrong. Use the Word of God to help them do right. You must be willing to wait for people to understand what you teach as you teach them.

³ The time will come when people will not listen to the truth. They will look for teachers who will tell them only what they want to hear. ⁴ They will not listen to the truth. Instead, they will listen to stories made up by men. ⁵ You must watch for all these things. Do not be afraid to suffer for our Lord. Preach the Good News from place to place. Do all the work you are to do.

The Picture-Story of the Woman Whose Husband Had Died

18 Jesus told them a picture-story to show that men should always pray and not give up. ² He said, “There was a man in one of the cities who was head of the court. His work was to say if a person was guilty or not. This man was not afraid of God. He did not respect any man. ³ In that city there was a woman whose husband had died. She kept coming to him and saying, ‘Help me! There is someone who is working against me.’ ⁴ For awhile he would not help her. Then he began to think, ‘I am not afraid of God and I do not respect any man. ⁵ But I will see that this woman whose husband has died gets her rights because I get tired of her coming all the time.’” ⁶ Then the Lord said, “Listen to the words of the sinful man who is head of the court. ⁷ Will not God make the things that are right come to His chosen people who cry day and night to Him? Will He wait a long time to help them? ⁸ I tell you, He will be quick to help them. But when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”