Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
71 I have taken refuge in you, O Lord.
Never let me be put to shame.
2 Rescue me and free me because of your righteousness.
Turn your ear toward me, and save me.
3 Be a rock on which I may live,
a place where I may always go.
You gave the order to save me!
Indeed, you are my rock and my fortress.
4 My God, free me from the hands of a wicked person,
from the grasp of one who is cruel and unjust.
5 You are my hope, O Almighty Lord.
You have been my confidence ever since I was young.
6 I depended on you before I was born.
You took me from my mother’s womb.
My songs of praise constantly speak about you.
King Zedekiah of Judah(A)
11 Zedekiah was 21 years old when he began to rule, and he ruled for 11 years in Jerusalem. 12 He did what the Lord his God considered evil and didn’t humble himself in front of the prophet Jeremiah, who spoke for the Lord. 13 Zedekiah also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar had made Zedekiah swear an oath of allegiance to him in God’s name. But Zedekiah became so stubborn and so impossible to deal with that he refused to turn back to the Lord God of Israel.
14 All the officials, the priests, and the people became increasingly unfaithful and followed all the disgusting practices of the nations. Although the Lord had made the temple in Jerusalem holy, they made the temple unclean.[a] 15 The Lord God of their ancestors repeatedly sent messages through his messengers because he wanted to spare his people and his dwelling place. 16 But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words, and made fun of his prophets until the Lord became angry with his people. He could no longer heal them.
17 So he had the Babylonian king attack them and execute their best young men in their holy temple. He didn’t spare the best men or the unmarried women, the old people or the sick people. God handed all of them over to him. 18 He brought to Babylon each of the utensils from God’s temple, the treasures from the Lord’s temple, and the treasures of the king and his officials. 19 They burned God’s temple, tore down Jerusalem’s walls, burned down all its palaces, and destroyed everything of value. 20 The king of Babylon took those who weren’t executed to Babylon to be slaves for him and his sons. They remained captives until the Persian Empire began to rule. 21 This happened so that the Lord’s words spoken through Jeremiah would be fulfilled. The land had its years of rest and was made acceptable ⌞again⌟. While it lay in ruins, ⌞the land had its⌟ 70 years of rest.
43 The next day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee. He found Philip and told him, “Follow me!” 44 (Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter.)
45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the man whom Moses wrote about in his teachings and whom the prophets wrote about. He is Jesus, son of Joseph, from the city of Nazareth.”
46 Nathanael said to Philip, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
Philip told him, “Come and see!”
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and remarked, “Here is a true Israelite who is sincere.”
48 Nathanael asked Jesus, “How do you know anything about me?”
Jesus answered him, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.”
49 Nathanael said to Jesus, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the king of Israel!”
50 Jesus replied, “You believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” 51 Jesus said to Nathanael, “I can guarantee this truth: You will see the sky open and God’s angels going up and coming down to the Son of Man.”
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