Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 71
God’s Help in Old Age
1 Lord, I seek refuge in you;
let me never be disgraced.(A)
2 In your justice, rescue and deliver me;
listen closely to me and save me.(B)
3 Be a rock of refuge for me,
where I can always go.
Give the command to save me,
for you are my rock and fortress.(C)
4 Deliver me, my God, from the power of the wicked,
from the grasp of the unjust and oppressive.(D)
5 For you are my hope, Lord God,
my confidence from my youth.(E)
6 I have leaned on you from birth;
you took me from my mother’s womb.(F)
My praise is always about you.(G)
Judah’s King Zedekiah
11 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old(A) when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. 12 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God and did not humble himself(B) before the prophet Jeremiah at the Lord’s command.(C) 13 He also rebelled against(D) King Nebuchadnezzar who had made him swear allegiance by God. He became obstinate[a](E) and hardened his heart against returning to the Lord, the God of Israel. 14 All the leaders of the priests and the people multiplied their unfaithful deeds, imitating all the detestable practices of the nations, and they defiled the Lord’s temple that he had consecrated in Jerusalem.
The Destruction of Jerusalem
15 But the Lord, the God of their ancestors sent word against them by the hand of his messengers, sending them time and time again,(F) for he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. 16 But they kept ridiculing God’s messengers,(G) despising his words,(H) and scoffing at his prophets, until the Lord’s wrath was so stirred up against his people that there was no remedy.(I) 17 So he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans,(J) who killed their fit young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary. He had no pity on young men or young women, elderly or aged; he handed them all over to him. 18 He took everything to Babylon—all the articles of God’s temple, large and small, the treasures of the Lord’s temple, and the treasures of the king and his officials. 19 Then the Chaldeans burned God’s temple.(K) They tore down Jerusalem’s wall, burned all its palaces, and destroyed all its valuable articles.
20 He deported those who escaped from the sword to Babylon, and they became servants to him and his sons until the rise of the Persian[b] kingdom.(L) 21 This fulfilled the word of the Lord through Jeremiah,(M) and the land enjoyed its Sabbath rest all the days of the desolation(N) until seventy years were fulfilled.
Philip and Nathanael
43 The next day Jesus[a] decided to leave for Galilee. He found Philip(A) and told him, “Follow me.”
44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida,(B) the hometown of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael(C) and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the law (and so did the prophets(D)): Jesus the son of Joseph,(E) from Nazareth.”(F)
46 “Can anything good(G) come out of Nazareth?” Nathanael asked him.
“Come and see,” Philip answered.
47 Then Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said about him, “Here truly is an Israelite(H) in whom there is no deceit.”
48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.
“Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you,” Jesus answered.
49 “Rabbi,”(I) Nathanael replied, “You are the Son(J) of God; you are the King of Israel!” (K)
50 Jesus responded to him, “Do you believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” 51 Then he said, “Truly I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God(L) ascending and descending(M) on the Son of Man.”(N)
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