Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
49-50 Never forget your promises to me your servant, for they are my only hope. They give me strength in all my troubles; how they refresh and revive me! 51 Proud men hold me in contempt for obedience to God, but I stand unmoved. 52 From my earliest youth I have tried to obey you; your Word has been my comfort.
53 I am very angry with those who spurn your commands. 54 For these laws of yours have been my source of joy and singing through all these years of my earthly pilgrimage. 55 I obey them even at night and keep my thoughts, O Lord, on you. 56 What a blessing this has been to me—to constantly obey.
33 While Jeremiah was still in jail, the Lord sent him this second message:
2 The Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth—Jehovah is his name—says this: 3 Ask me and I will tell you some remarkable secrets about what is going to happen here. 4 For though you have torn down the houses of this city, and the king’s palace too, for materials to strengthen the walls against the siege weapons of the enemy, 5 yet the Babylonians will enter, and the men of this city are already as good as dead, for I have determined to destroy them in my furious anger. I have abandoned them because of all their wickedness, and I will not pity them when they cry for help.
6 Nevertheless the time will come when I will heal Jerusalem’s damage and give her prosperity and peace. 7 I will rebuild the cities of both Judah and Israel and restore their fortunes. 8 And I will cleanse away all their sins against me and pardon them. 9 Then this city will be an honor to me, and it will give me joy and be a source of praise and glory to me before all the nations of the earth! The people of the world will see the good I do for my people and will tremble with awe!
10-11 The Lord declares that the happy voices of bridegrooms and of brides and the joyous song of those bringing thanksgiving offerings to the Lord will be heard again in this doomed land. The people will sing: “Praise the Lord! For he is good and his mercy endures forever!” For I will make this land happier and more prosperous than it has ever been before. 12 This land—though every man and animal and city is doomed—will once more see shepherds leading sheep and lambs. 13 Once again their flocks will prosper in the mountain villages and in the cities east of the Philistine Plain, in all the cities of the Negeb, in the land of Benjamin, in the vicinity of Jerusalem, and in all the cities of Judah.
16 Someone came to Jesus with this question: “Good master, what must I do to have eternal life?”
17 “When you call me good you are calling me God,” Jesus replied, “for God alone is truly good.[a] But to answer your question, you can get to heaven if you keep the commandments.”
18 “Which ones?” the man asked.
And Jesus replied, “Don’t kill, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t lie, 19 honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself!”
20 “I’ve always obeyed every one of them,” the youth replied. “What else must I do?”
21 Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell everything you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 But when the young man heard this, he went away sadly, for he was very rich.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.