Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
40 So the Lord became angry with his people
and hated his own children.
41 He handed them over to other nations
and let their enemies rule over them.
42 Their enemies were cruel to them
and kept them under their power.
43 The Lord saved his people many times,
but they continued to turn against him.
So they became even more wicked.
44 But God saw their misery
when he heard their cry.
45 He remembered his agreement with them,
and he felt sorry for them because of his great love.
46 He caused them to be pitied
by those who held them captive.
47 Lord our God, save us
and bring us back from other nations.
Then we will thank you
and will gladly praise you.
48 Praise the Lord, the God of Israel.
He always was and always will be.
Let all the people say, “Amen!”
Praise the Lord!
12 What person is wise enough to understand these things? Is there someone who has been taught by the Lord who can explain them? Why was the land ruined? Why has it been made like an empty desert where no one goes?
13 The Lord answered, “It is because Judah quit following my teachings that I gave them. They have not obeyed me or done what I told them to do. 14 Instead, they were stubborn and followed the Baals, as their ancestors taught them to do. 15 So this is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: “I will soon make the people of Judah eat bitter food and drink poisoned water. 16 I will scatter them through other nations that they and their ancestors never knew about. I will chase the people of Judah with the sword until they are all killed.”
17 This is what the Lord All-Powerful says:
“Now, think about these things!
Call for the women who cry at funerals to come.
Send for those women who are good at that job.
18 Let them come quickly
and cry loudly for us.
Then our eyes will fill with tears,
and streams of water will flow from our eyelids.
19 The sound of loud crying is heard from Jerusalem:
‘We are truly ruined!
We are truly ashamed!
We must leave our land,
because our houses are in ruins.’”
20 Now, women of Judah, listen to the word of the Lord ;
open your ears to hear the words of his mouth.
Teach your daughters how to cry loudly.
Teach one another a funeral song.
21 Death has climbed in through our windows
and has entered our strong cities.
Death has taken away our children who play in the streets
and the young men who meet in the city squares.
22 Say, “This is what the Lord says:
‘The dead bodies of people will lie
in the open field like dung.
They will lie like grain a farmer has cut,
but there will be no one to gather them.’”
23 This is what the Lord says:
“The wise must not brag about their wisdom.
The strong must not brag about their strength.
The rich must not brag about their money.
24 But if people want to brag, let them brag
that they understand and know me.
Let them brag that I am the Lord,
and that I am kind and fair,
and that I do things that are right on earth.
This kind of bragging pleases me,” says the Lord.
25 The Lord says, “The time is coming when I will punish all those who are circumcised only in the flesh: 26 the people of Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab, and the desert people who cut their hair short. The men in all those countries are not circumcised. And the whole family of Israel does not give itself to serving me.”
Peter and John at the Council
4 While Peter and John were speaking to the people, priests, the captain of the soldiers that guarded the Temple, and Sadducees came up to them. 2 They were upset because the two apostles were teaching the people and were preaching that people will rise from the dead through the power of Jesus. 3 The older leaders grabbed Peter and John and put them in jail. Since it was already night, they kept them in jail until the next day. 4 But many of those who had heard Peter and John preach believed the things they said. There were now about five thousand in the group of believers.
5 The next day the rulers, the elders, and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. 6 Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander were there, as well as everyone from the high priest’s family. 7 They made Peter and John stand before them and then asked them, “By what power or authority did you do this?”
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and you elders, 9 are you questioning us about a good thing that was done to a crippled man? Are you asking us who made him well? 10 We want all of you and all the people to know that this man was made well by the power of Jesus Christ from Nazareth. You crucified him, but God raised him from the dead. This man was crippled, but he is now well and able to stand here before you because of the power of Jesus. 11 Jesus is
‘the stone[a] that you builders rejected,
which has become the cornerstone.’ Psalm 118:22
12 Jesus is the only One who can save people. No one else in the world is able to save us.”
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.