Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Grieving over the Destruction of Jerusalem, and Prayer for Help.

A Psalm of Asaph.

¹⁴ This is what the Lord says concerning all My ^(A)wicked neighbors who ^(B)do harm to the inheritance with which I have endowed My people Israel: “Behold, I am going to drive them out of their land, and I will ^(C)drive the house of Judah out from among them. ¹⁵ And it will come about that after I have driven them out, I will ^(D)again have compassion on them; and I will ^(E)bring them back, each one to his inheritance and each one to his land. ¹⁶ Then, if they will really ^(F)learn the ways of My people, to ^(G)swear by My name, ‘As the Lord lives,’ just as they taught My people to ^(H)swear by Baal, they will be ^(I)built up in the midst of My people. ¹⁷ But if they do not listen, then I will ^(J)drive out that nation, drive it out and destroy it,” declares the Lord.

The Ruined Undergarment

13 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and ^(K)buy yourself a linen undergarment and put it around your waist, but do not put it in water.” ² So I bought the undergarment in accordance with the ^(L)word of the Lord, and put it around my waist. ³ Then the word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, ⁴ “Take the undergarment that you bought, which is around your waist, and arise, go to the ^(M)Euphrates and hide it there in a crevice of the rock.” ⁵ So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, ^(N)as the Lord had commanded me. ⁶ After many days the Lord said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates and take from there the undergarment which I commanded you to hide there.” ⁷ Then I went to the Euphrates and dug, and I took the undergarment from the place where I had hidden it; and behold, the undergarment was ruined, it was completely useless.

⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ⁹ “This is what the Lord says: ‘To the same extent I will destroy the ^(O)pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. ¹⁰ This wicked people, who ^(P)refuse to listen to My words, who ^(Q)walk in the stubbornness of their hearts and have followed other gods to serve them and to bow down to them, let them be just like this undergarment which is completely useless. ¹¹ For as the undergarment clings to the waist of a man, so I made the entire household of Israel and the entire household of Judah ^(R)cling to Me,’ declares the Lord, ‘so that they might be My people, for ^[a](S)renown, for ^(T)praise, and for glory; but they ^(U)did not listen.’

All the World Guilty

3 Then what ^[a]advantage does the Jew have? Or what is the benefit of circumcision? ² Great in every respect. First, that ^(A)they were entrusted with the ^(B)actual words of God. ³ What then? If ^(C)some ^[b]did not believe, their ^[c]unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? ^4 [d](D)Far from it! Rather, God must prove to be true, though every person be found ^(E)a liar, as it is written:

⁵ But if our unrighteousness ^[f](G)demonstrates the righteousness of God, ^(H)what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is He? (^(I)I am speaking from a human viewpoint.) ^6 (J)Far from it! For otherwise, how will ^(K)God judge the world? ⁷ But if through my lie ^(L)the truth of God abounded to His glory, ^(M)why am I also still being judged as a sinner? ⁸ And why not say (just as we are slanderously reported and as some claim that we say), “^(N)Let’s do evil that good may come of it”? ^[g]Their condemnation is deserved.