Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Complaint About Evil People
10 Lord, why are you so far away?
Why do you hide when there is trouble?
2 Proudly the wicked chase down those who suffer.
Let them be caught in their own traps.
3 They brag about the things they want.
They bless the greedy but hate the Lord.
4 The wicked people are too proud.
They do not look for God;
there is no room for God in their thoughts.
5 They always succeed.
They are far from keeping your laws;
they make fun of their enemies.
6 They say to themselves, “Nothing bad will ever happen to me;
I will never be ruined.”
7 Their mouths are full of curses, lies, and threats;
they use their tongues for sin and evil.
8 They hide near the villages.
They look for innocent people to kill;
they watch in secret for the helpless.
9 They wait in hiding like a lion.
They wait to catch poor people;
they catch the poor in nets.
10 The poor are thrown down and crushed;
they are defeated because the others are stronger.
11 The wicked think, “God has forgotten us.
He doesn’t see what is happening.”
12 Lord, rise up and punish the wicked.
Don’t forget those who need help.
13 Why do wicked people hate God?
They say to themselves, “God won’t punish us.”
14 Lord, surely you see these cruel and evil things;
look at them and do something.
People in trouble look to you for help.
You are the one who helps the orphans.
15 Break the power of wicked people.
Punish them for the evil they have done.
16 The Lord is King forever and ever.
Destroy from your land those nations that do not worship you.
17 Lord, you have heard what the poor people want.
Do what they ask, and listen to them.
18 Protect the orphans and put an end to suffering
so they will no longer be afraid of evil people.
Jeremiah’s Temple Message
7 This is the word that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah: 2 “Stand at the gate of the Temple and preach this message there:
“‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of the nation of Judah! All you who come through these gates to worship the Lord, listen to this message! 3 This is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: Change your lives and do what is right! Then I will let you live in this place. 4 Don’t trust the lies of people who say, “This is the Temple of the Lord. This is the Temple of the Lord. This is the Temple of the Lord!” 5 You must change your lives and do what is right. Be fair to each other. 6 You must not be hard on strangers, orphans, and widows. Don’t kill innocent people in this place! Don’t follow other gods, or they will ruin your lives. 7 If you do these things, I will let you live in this land that I gave to your ancestors to keep forever.
8 “‘But look, you are trusting lies, which is useless. 9 Will you steal and murder and be guilty of adultery? Will you falsely accuse other people? Will you burn incense to the god Baal and follow other gods you have not known? 10 If you do that, do you think you can come before me and stand in this place where I have chosen to be worshiped? Do you think you can say, “We are safe!” when you do all these hateful things? 11 This place where I have chosen to be worshiped is nothing more to you than a hideout for robbers. I have been watching you, says the Lord.
12 “‘You people of Judah, go now to the town of Shiloh, where I first made a place to be worshiped. See what I did to it because of the evil things the people of Israel had done. 13 You people of Judah have done all these evil things too, says the Lord. I spoke to you again and again, but you did not listen to me. I called you, but you did not answer. 14 So I will destroy the place where I have chosen to be worshiped in Jerusalem. You trust in that place, which I gave to you and your ancestors, but I will destroy it just as I destroyed Shiloh. 15 I will push you away from me just as I pushed away your relatives, the people of Israel!’
We Must Continue to Follow God
7 So it is as the Holy Spirit says:
“Today listen to what he says.
8 Do not be stubborn as in the past
when you turned against God,
when you tested God in the desert.
9 There your ancestors tried me and tested me
and saw the things I did for forty years.
10 I was angry with them.
I said, ‘They are not loyal to me
and have not understood my ways.’
11 I was angry and made a promise,
‘They will never enter my rest.’”[a] Psalm 95:7–11
12 So brothers and sisters, be careful that none of you has an evil, unbelieving heart that will turn you away from the living God. 13 But encourage each other every day while it is “today.”[b] Help each other so none of you will become hardened because sin has tricked you. 14 We all share in Christ if we keep till the end the sure faith we had in the beginning. 15 This is what the Scripture says:
“Today listen to what he says.
Do not be stubborn as in the past
when you turned against God.” Psalm 95:7–8
16 Who heard God’s voice and was against him? It was all those people Moses led out of Egypt. 17 And with whom was God angry for forty years? He was angry with those who sinned, who died in the desert. 18 And to whom was God talking when he promised that they would never enter his rest? He was talking to those who did not obey him. 19 So we see they were not allowed to enter and have God’s rest, because they did not believe.
4 Now, since God has left us the promise that we may enter his rest, let us be very careful so none of you will fail to enter. 2 The Good News was preached to us just as it was to them. But the teaching they heard did not help them, because they heard it but did not accept it with faith.[c] 3 We who have believed are able to enter and have God’s rest. As God has said,
“I was angry and made a promise,
‘They will never enter my rest.’” Psalm 95:11
But God’s work was finished from the time he made the world. 4 In the Scriptures he talked about the seventh day of the week: “And on the seventh day God rested from all his works.”[d] 5 And again in the Scripture God said, “They will never enter my rest.”
6 It is still true that some people will enter God’s rest, but those who first heard the way to be saved did not enter, because they did not obey. 7 So God planned another day, called “today.” He spoke about that day through David a long time later in the same Scripture used before:
“Today listen to what he says.
Do not be stubborn.” Psalm 95:7–8
8 We know that Joshua[e] did not lead the people into that rest, because God spoke later about another day. 9 This shows that the rest[f] for God’s people is still coming. 10 Anyone who enters God’s rest will rest from his work as God did. 11 Let us try as hard as we can to enter God’s rest so that no one will fail by following the example of those who refused to obey.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.