Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Jeremiah Buys a Field

32 This is the word the Lord spoke to Jeremiah in the tenth year Zedekiah was king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. ² At that time the army of the king of Babylon was surrounding Jerusalem. Jeremiah the prophet was under arrest in the courtyard of the guard, which was at the palace of the king of Judah.

³ Zedekiah king of Judah had put Jeremiah in prison there. Zedekiah had asked, “Why have you prophesied the things you have?” (Jeremiah had said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘I will soon hand the city of Jerusalem over to the king of Babylon, and he will capture it.

⁶ While Jeremiah was in prison, he said, “The Lord spoke this word to me: ⁷ Your cousin Hanamel, son of your uncle Shallum, will come to you soon. Hanamel will say to you, ‘Jeremiah, you are my nearest relative, so buy my field near the town of Anathoth. It is your right and your duty to buy that field.’

⁸ “Then it happened just as the Lord had said. My cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and said to me, ‘Buy for yourself my field near Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. It is your right and duty to buy it and own it.’ So I knew this was a message from the Lord.

⁹ “I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel, weighing out seven ounces of silver for him. ¹⁰ I signed the record and sealed it and had some people witness it. I also weighed out the silver on the scales. ¹¹ Then I took both copies of the record of ownership—the one that was sealed that had the demands and limits of ownership, and the one that was not sealed. ¹² And I gave them to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah. My cousin Hanamel, the other witnesses who signed the record of ownership, and many Jews sitting in the courtyard of the guard saw me give the record of ownership to Baruch.

¹³ “With all the people watching, I told Baruch, ¹⁴ ‘This is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: Take both copies of the record of ownership—the sealed copy and the copy that was not sealed—and put them in a clay jar so they will last a long time. ¹⁵ This is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: In the future my people will once again buy houses and fields for grain and vineyards in the land of Israel.’

Safe in the Lord

⁶ Serving God does make us very rich, if we are satisfied with what we have. ⁷ We brought nothing into the world, so we can take nothing out. ⁸ But, if we have food and clothes, we will be satisfied with that. ⁹ Those who want to become rich bring temptation to themselves and are caught in a trap. They want many foolish and harmful things that ruin and destroy people. ¹⁰ The love of money causes all kinds of evil. Some people have left the faith, because they wanted to get more money, but they have caused themselves much sorrow.

Some Things to Remember

¹¹ But you, man of God, run away from all those things. Instead, live in the right way, serve God, have faith, love, patience, and gentleness. ¹² Fight the good fight of faith, grabbing hold of the life that continues forever. You were called to have that life when you confessed the good confession before many witnesses. ¹³ In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, I give you a command. Christ Jesus made the good confession when he stood before Pontius Pilate. ¹⁴ Do what you were commanded to do without wrong or blame until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. ¹⁵ God will make that happen at the right time. He is the blessed and only Ruler, the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords. ¹⁶ He is the only One who never dies. He lives in light so bright no one can go near it. No one has ever seen God, or can see him. May honor and power belong to God forever. Amen.

¹⁷ Command those who are rich with things of this world not to be proud. Tell them to hope in God, not in their uncertain riches. God richly gives us everything to enjoy. ¹⁸ Tell the rich people to do good, to be rich in doing good deeds, to be generous and ready to share. ¹⁹ By doing that, they will be saving a treasure for themselves as a strong foundation for the future. Then they will be able to have the life that is true life.

The Rich Man and Lazarus

¹⁹ Jesus said, “There was a rich man who always dressed in the finest clothes and lived in luxury every day. ²⁰ And a very poor man named Lazarus, whose body was covered with sores, was laid at the rich man’s gate. ²¹ He wanted to eat only the small pieces of food that fell from the rich man’s table. And the dogs would come and lick his sores. ²² Later, Lazarus died, and the angels carried him to the arms of Abraham. The rich man died, too, and was buried. ²³ In the place of the dead, he was in much pain. The rich man saw Abraham far away with Lazarus at his side. ²⁴ He called, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me! Send Lazarus to dip his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am suffering in this fire!’ ²⁵ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember when you were alive you had the good things in life, but bad things happened to Lazarus. Now he is comforted here, and you are suffering. ²⁶ Besides, there is a big pit between you and us, so no one can cross over to you, and no one can leave there and come here.’ ²⁷ The rich man said, ‘Father, then please send Lazarus to my father’s house. ²⁸ I have five brothers, and Lazarus could warn them so that they will not come to this place of pain.’ ²⁹ But Abraham said, ‘They have the law of Moses and the writings of the prophets; let them learn from them.’ ³⁰ The rich man said, ‘No, father Abraham! If someone goes to them from the dead, they would believe and change their hearts and lives.’ ³¹ But Abraham said to him, ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not listen to someone who comes back from the dead.’”