Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
68 “·Let us praise [L Blessed be] the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has ·come to help his people and has given them freedom [L visited and accomplished redemption for his people].
69 He has ·given us a powerful Savior [L raised up a horn of salvation for us; C referring to the horn of a powerful animal—a metaphor for strength; 1 Sam. 2:1, 10; Ps. 132:17; Ezek. 29:21]
·from the family [L in the house] of God’s servant David.
70 [L …just as] He said that he would do this
through [L the mouth of] his holy prophets who lived long ago:
71 He promised he would save us from our enemies
and from the ·power [L hand; C indicating controlling power or oppression] of all those who hate us.
72 He said he would give mercy to our ·ancestors [forefathers]
and that he would remember his holy ·promise [covenant].
73 ·God promised [L The oath that he swore to] Abraham, our father [Gen. 22:16–18],
74 that he would ·save [rescue] us from the ·power [hand; v. 71] of our enemies
so we could serve him without fear,
75 being holy and ·good [righteous] before God as long as we live.
76 “Now you, child, will be called ·a [or the] prophet of the Most High God.
[L For] You will go before the Lord to prepare his ·way [or paths; Mal. 3:1].
77 You will ·make his people know that they will be saved [L give his people the knowledge of salvation]
by having their sins forgiven [Jer. 31:34].
78 ·With [or Because of] the ·loving [tender] mercy of our God,
·a new day from heaven will dawn upon us [L the sunrise/dawn from heaven will visit us; C a metaphor for the Messiah; Mal. 4:2].
79 It will shine on those who ·live [dwell; sit] in darkness,
in the shadow of death [Is. 9:2].
It will guide ·us [L our feet] into the path of peace [Is. 59:8].”
God Rejects King Zedekiah’s Request
21 This is the word that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah. It came when Zedekiah king of Judah [C ruled 597–586 bc] sent Pashhur son of Malkijah [C not the same man as in 20:1; 38:1; 1 Chr. 9:12] and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah [29:25, 29; 37:3; 52:24; 2 Kin. 25:18] to Jeremiah. 2 They said, “·Ask [Inquire of; L Seek] the Lord for us what will happen, because Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is ·attacking [fighting against] us. Maybe the Lord will do ·miracles [wonderful works] for us as he did in the past so ·Nebuchadnezzar will stop attacking us and leave [he will go up from us].”
3 But Jeremiah answered them, “Tell King Zedekiah this: 4 ‘Here is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: You have weapons of war in your hands to defend yourselves against the king of Babylon and the ·Babylonians [L Chaldeans], who are all around the city wall. But I will ·make those weapons useless [turn them against you]. Soon I will ·bring [assemble] them [C the weapons] into the center of this city. 5 In my anger, my ·very great anger [fury and great wrath], I myself will fight against you with my ·great power [outstretched hand] and ·strength [strong arm]. 6 I will ·kill [strike] ·everything living in Jerusalem [L the inhabitants of this city]—both people and animals. They will die from ·terrible diseases [plagues; pestilence]. 7 Then, says the Lord, I’ll hand over Zedekiah king of Judah, his officers, and the people in Jerusalem who do not die from the ·terrible diseases [plagues; pestilence] or ·battle [L sword] or ·hunger [famine], ·to [L into the hands of] Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon [L and into the hands of their enemies]. ·I will let those win who want to kill the people of Judah [L …and into the hands of those who seek their lives], so ·the people of Judah and Jerusalem will be killed in war [L he will strike them with the edge of the sword]. Nebuchadnezzar will not show any mercy or pity or ·feel sorry [compassion] for them!’
8 “Also tell this to this people [C of Jerusalem]: ‘This is what the Lord says: I ·will let you choose to live or die [L place before you the way of life and the way of death; Deut. 30:11–20]. 9 Anyone who ·stays [resides] in Jerusalem will die ·in war [L by sword] or from ·hunger [famine] or from a ·terrible disease [plague; pestilence]. But anyone who goes out [C of Jerusalem] and ·surrenders to [L falls before] the ·Babylonians [L Chaldeans] who are ·attacking [L besieging] you will live. Anyone who leaves the city will save his life as if it were ·a prize won [L plunder] in war. 10 I have ·decided to make trouble for [L set my face against] this city and not ·to help it [L for good], says the Lord. I will give it to the king of Babylon, and he will burn it with fire.’
11 “Say to ·Judah’s royal family [L the house of the king of Judah]: ‘Hear the word of the Lord. 12 ·Family [L House] of David, this is what the Lord says:
You must judge people ·fairly [with justice] every morning.
·Save [Protect; Rescue] the person who has been robbed
from the ·power [L hand] of his ·attacker [oppressor].
If you don’t, ·I will become very angry [L my wrath will come out like fire].
·My anger will be like a fire that no one can put out [L It will burn and no one can extinguish; 2 Kin. 25:9],
because you have done evil things.
13 “‘I am against you [C Jerusalem],
you who live ·on top of the mountain
over this valley [L in the valley, the rock of the plain], says the Lord.
You say, “·No one can attack [L Who can come down against…?] us
or come into our ·strong city [refuge].”
14 But I will give you the punishment you deserve, says the Lord.
I will ·start [kindle] a fire in your forests
that will ·burn up [L devour] everything around you!’”
Christ’s Death Takes Away Sins
23 So the ·copies [symbols; models; prototypes] of the real things in heaven had to be ·made clean [purified; cleansed] by animal sacrifices. But the real things in heaven need much better sacrifices. 24 [L For] Christ did not go into ·the Most Holy Place [a sanctuary; L holy things] made by ·humans [L hands], which is only a ·copy [model; or prefiguration] of the real one. He went into heaven itself and ·is there [appears] now ·before [in the presence of] God ·to help us [for us; on our behalf]. 25 The high priest enters the ·Most Holy Place [sanctuary; L holy things; T Holy of Holies] once every year with blood that is not his own. But Christ did not offer himself many times. 26 ·Then [Otherwise; In such a case,] he would have had to suffer many times ·since the world was made [from the foundation/creation of the world]. But Christ ·came [appeared] ·only once and for all time [once for all; 7:27; 9:12, 26; 10:10] at the ·end [culmination; climax] of ·the present age [time; L the ages] to ·take away all [nullify; abolish] sin by sacrificing himself. 27 Just as ·everyone [L people] ·must [is/are destined/appointed to] die once and ·then be judged [T after this the judgment], 28 so Christ was offered as a sacrifice one time to ·take away [bear] the sins of many people [Is. 53:12]. And he will ·come [appear] a second time, not to offer himself for sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
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