Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
ז (Zayin)
49 Remember your promise to your servant,
through which you have given me hope.
50 In my distress my comfort is this:
that your promise gives me life.
51 Though the arrogant scorn me completely,
I have not turned away from your Torah.
52 Adonai, I keep in mind your age-old rulings;
in them I take comfort.
53 Fury seizes me when I think of the wicked,
because they abandon your Torah.
54 Your laws have become my songs
wherever I make my home.
55 I remember your name, Adonai, at night;
and I observe your Torah.
56 This [comfort] has come to me,
because I observe your precepts.
16 After giving the purchase contract to Barukh son of Neriyah, I prayed to Adonai: 17 “Adonai, God! You made heaven and earth by your great power and outstretched arm; nothing is too hard for you. 18 You display your grace to thousands but also repay the guilt of the fathers into the lap of their children who follow them. Great, powerful God, whose name is Adonai-Tzva’ot, 19 great in counsel, mighty in deed! Your eyes are open to all the ways of human beings in order to repay each one according to his ways, according to the consequences of what he does. 20 You gave signs and performed miracles in the land of Egypt which continue to this day, also in Isra’el and among other people; thus you made yourself the reputation you have today. 21 You brought your people of Isra’el out of the land of Egypt with signs and miracles, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm and with great terror. 22 Then you gave them this land, which you had sworn to their ancestors that you would give them, a land flowing with milk and honey. 23 They entered and took possession of it; but they did not pay attention to your voice, did not live according to your Torah, and did nothing of all you ordered them to do. Therefore you made this complete disaster befall them — 24 the siege-works are already there; they have come to the city to capture it; and the city, by means of sword, famine and plague, is being handed over to the Kasdim fighting against it. What you foretold is being fulfilled; here, you see it, yourself. 25 Yet you, Adonai, God, have said to me, ‘Buy the field for money, and call witnesses; even as the city is being turned over to the Kasdim!’”
26 Then this word of Adonai came to Yirmeyahu: 27 “Look, I am Adonai, the God of every living creature; is there anything too hard for me? 28 Therefore, here is what Adonai says: ‘I will hand this city over to the Kasdim and to N’vukhadretzar king of Bavel; and he will capture it. 29 The Kasdim who are fighting against this city will enter and set this city on fire; they will burn it down, including its houses, on whose roofs they offered to Ba‘al and poured out drink offerings to other gods, in order to make me angry. 30 For from their youth, the people of Isra’el and the people of Y’hudah have done only what is evil from my perspective; the people of Isra’el have done nothing but provoke me with what their hands make,’ says Adonai. 31 ‘This city has so provoked my anger and fury from the day they built it to this day that I ought to remove it from my presence, 32 because of all the evil that the people of Isra’el and the people of Y’hudah have done in order to make me angry — they, their kings, their leaders, their cohanim, their prophets, the men of Y’hudah and the inhabitants of Yerushalayim. 33 They have turned their backs on me, not their faces; and although I taught them, taught them frequently, they have not listened so as to receive instruction. 34 Instead they put their detestable idols in the house that bears my name, to defile it; 35 and they built the high places for Ba‘al which are in the Ben-Hinnom Valley, to burn alive their sons and daughters to Molekh — something I did not order them to do, it never even entered my mind that they would do such an abominable thing — and thus they caused Y’hudah to sin.’
14 “To the angel of the Messianic Community in Laodicea, write: ‘Here is the message from the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the Ruler of God’s creation: 15 “I know what you are doing: you are neither cold nor hot. How I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth! 17 For you keep saying, ‘I am rich, I have gotten rich,[a] I don’t need a thing!’ You don’t know that you are the one who is wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked! 18 My advice to you is to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich; and white clothing, so that you may be dressed and not have to be ashamed of your nakedness; and eyesalve to rub on your eyes, so that you may see. 19 As for me, I rebuke and discipline everyone I love; so exert yourselves, and turn from your sins! 20 Here, I’m standing at the door, knocking. If someone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he will eat with me. 21 I will let him who wins the victory sit with me on my throne, just as I myself also won the victory and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 Those who have ears, let them hear what the Spirit is saying to the Messianic communities.”’”
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.