Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Messiah’s Triumph and Kingdom(A)
2 Why (B)do the [a]nations [b]rage,
And the people plot a [c]vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves,
And the (C)rulers take counsel together,
Against the Lord and against His (D)Anointed,[d] saying,
3 “Let (E)us break Their bonds in pieces
And cast away Their cords from us.”
4 He who sits in the heavens (F)shall laugh;
The Lord shall hold them in derision.
5 Then He shall speak to them in His wrath,
And distress them in His deep displeasure:
6 “Yet I have [e]set My King
[f]On My holy hill of Zion.”
7 “I will declare the [g]decree:
The Lord has said to Me,
(G)‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
8 Ask of Me, and I will give You
The nations for Your inheritance,
And the ends of the earth for Your possession.
9 (H)You shall [h]break them with a rod of iron;
You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’ ”
God’s Warning Rejected
12 And they said, (A)“That is hopeless! So we will walk according to our own plans, and we will every one [a]obey the (B)dictates[b] of his evil heart.”
13 Therefore thus says the Lord:
(C)“Ask now among the Gentiles,
Who has heard such things?
The virgin of Israel has done (D)a very horrible thing.
14 Will a man [c]leave the snow water of Lebanon,
Which comes from the rock of the field?
Will the cold flowing waters be forsaken for strange waters?
15 “Because My people have forgotten (E)Me,
They have burned incense to worthless idols.
And they have caused themselves to stumble in their ways,
From the (F)ancient paths,
To walk in pathways and not on a highway,
16 To make their land (G)desolate and a perpetual (H)hissing;
Everyone who passes by it will be astonished
And shake his head.
17 (I)I will scatter them (J)as with an east wind before the enemy;
(K)I will [d]show them the back and not the face
In the day of their calamity.”
Jeremiah Persecuted
18 Then they said, (L)“Come and let us devise plans against Jeremiah; (M)for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come and let us attack him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words.”
19 Give heed to me, O Lord,
And listen to the voice of those who contend with me!
20 (N)Shall evil be repaid for good?
For they have (O)dug a pit for my life.
Remember that I (P)stood before You
To speak good [e]for them,
To turn away Your wrath from them.
21 Therefore (Q)deliver up their children to the famine,
And pour out their blood
By the force of the sword;
Let their wives become widows
And (R)bereaved of their children.
Let their men be put to death,
Their young men be slain
By the sword in battle.
22 Let a cry be heard from their houses,
When You bring a troop suddenly upon them;
For they have dug a pit to take me,
And hidden snares for my feet.
23 Yet, Lord, You know all their counsel
Which is against me, to slay me.
(S)Provide no atonement for their iniquity,
Nor blot out their sin from Your sight;
But let them be overthrown before You.
Deal thus with them
In the time of Your (T)anger.
The Great Mystery
14 These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly; 15 but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and [a]ground of the truth. 16 And without controversy great is the [b]mystery of godliness:
(A)God[c] was manifested in the flesh,
(B)Justified in the Spirit,
(C)Seen by angels,
(D)Preached among the Gentiles,
(E)Believed on in the world,
(F)Received up in glory.
The Great Apostasy
4 Now the Spirit [d]expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed (G)to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 (H)speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience (I)seared with a hot iron, 3 forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; 5 for it is [e]sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.