Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
10 “(A)I, the Lord, am your God,
Who brought you up from the land of Egypt;
(B)Open your mouth wide and I will (C)fill it.
11 “But My people (D)did not listen to My voice,
And Israel did not [a]obey Me.
12 “So I (E)gave [b]them over to the stubbornness of their heart,
To walk in their own devices.
13 “Oh that My people (F)would listen to Me,
That Israel would (G)walk in My ways!
14 “I would quickly (H)subdue their enemies
And (I)turn My hand against their adversaries.
15 “(J)Those who hate the Lord would (K)pretend obedience to Him,
And their time of punishment would be forever.
16 “[c]But I would feed you with the [d](L)finest of the wheat,
And with (M)honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”
The Broken Covenant
11 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 “(A)Hear the words of this (B)covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; 3 and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, “(C)Cursed is the man who does not heed the words of this covenant 4 which I commanded your forefathers in the (D)day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the (E)iron furnace, saying, ‘(F)Listen to My voice, and [a]do according to all which I command you; so you shall be (G)My people, and I will be your God,’ 5 in order to confirm the (H)oath which I swore to your forefathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day.”’” Then I said, “(I)Amen, O Lord.”
6 And the Lord said to me, “(J)Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, ‘(K)Hear the words of this covenant and (L)do them. 7 For I solemnly (M)warned your fathers in the (N)day that I brought them up from the land of Egypt, even to this day, [b](O)warning persistently, saying, “(P)Listen to My voice.” 8 Yet they (Q)did not obey or incline their ear, but walked, each one, in the stubbornness of his evil heart; therefore I brought on them all the (R)words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.’”
9 Then the Lord said to me, “A (S)conspiracy has been found among the men of Judah and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 They have (T)turned back to the iniquities of their [c]ancestors who (U)refused to hear My words, and they (V)have gone after other gods to serve them; the house of Israel and the house of Judah have (W)broken My covenant which I made with their fathers.” 11 Therefore thus says the Lord, “Behold I am (X)bringing disaster on them which they will (Y)not be able to escape; though they will (Z)cry to Me, yet I will not listen to them. 12 Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will (AA)go and cry to the gods to whom they burn incense, but they surely will not save them in the time of their disaster. 13 For your gods are [d](AB)as many as your cities, O Judah; and [e]as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to the (AC)shameful thing, altars to (AD)burn incense to Baal.
14 “Therefore (AE)do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them; for I will (AF)not listen when they call to Me because of their disaster.
15 “What right has My (AG)beloved in My house
When (AH)she has done many vile deeds?
Can the sacrificial flesh take away from you your disaster,
[f]So that you can rejoice?”
16 The Lord called your name,
“A (AI)green olive tree, beautiful in fruit and form”;
With the (AJ)noise of a great tumult
He has (AK)kindled fire on it,
And its branches are worthless.
17 The Lord of hosts, who (AL)planted you, has (AM)pronounced evil against you because of the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have [g]done to provoke Me by [h](AN)offering up sacrifices to Baal.
8 [a]To sum up, (A)all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, (B)brotherly, (C)kindhearted, and (D)humble in spirit; 9 (E)not returning evil for evil or (F)insult for insult, but [b]giving a (G)blessing instead; for (H)you were called for the very purpose that you might (I)inherit a blessing. 10 For,
“(J)The one who desires life, to love and see good days,
Must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit.
11 “(K)He must turn away from evil and do good;
He must seek peace and pursue it.
12 “(L)For the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous,
And His ears attend to their prayer,
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.