Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Hope of Relief in God’s Mercy
19 Remember my misery and my homelessness, the (A)wormwood and [a]bitterness.
20 (B)My soul certainly remembers,
And [b]is (C)bent over within me.
21 I recall this to my mind,
Therefore I [c](D)wait.
22 [d]The Lord’s (E)acts of mercy indeed do not end,
(F)For His compassions do not fail.
23 They are new (G)every morning;
Great is (H)Your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my (I)portion,” says my soul,
“Therefore I [e](J)wait for Him.”
25 The Lord is good to those who [f](K)await Him,
To the [g]person who (L)seeks Him.
26 It is good that he (M)waits silently
For the salvation of the Lord.
The Fall of Jerusalem
52 (A)Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was [a](B)Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of (C)Libnah. 2 He did (D)evil in the sight of the Lord, in accordance with everything that (E)Jehoiakim had done. 3 For because of the (F)anger of the Lord this came about in Jerusalem and Judah, until He drove them out from His presence. And Zedekiah (G)revolted against the king of Babylon. 4 (H)Now it came about in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, camped against it, and built a [b](I)bulwark all around [c]it. 5 (J)So the city was under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 6 On the ninth day of the (K)fourth month the (L)famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. 7 Then the city was (M)breached, and all the (N)warriors fled and left the city at night by way of the gate between the two walls which was by the king’s garden, though the Chaldeans were [d](O)all around the city. And they went by way of the Arabah. 8 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and (P)overtook Zedekiah in the [e]desert plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him. 9 Then they captured the king and (Q)brought him up to the king of Babylon at (R)Riblah in the land of (S)Hamath, and he [f]passed sentence on him. 10 And the king of Babylon (T)slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and he also slaughtered all the commanders of Judah in Riblah. 11 Then he (U)blinded the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him with bronze shackles and brought him to Babylon and put him in prison until the day of his death.
Message to Smyrna
8 “And to the angel of the church in (A)Smyrna write:
(B)The first and the last, who [a](C)was dead, and has come to life, says this:
9 ‘I know your (D)tribulation and your (E)poverty (but you are (F)rich), and the [b]slander by those who (G)say they are Jews, and are not, but are a synagogue of (H)Satan. 10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, so that you will be (I)tested, and you will have tribulation (J)for ten days. [c]Be (K)faithful until death, and I will give you (L)the crown of life. 11 (M)The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. (N)The one who overcomes will not be hurt by the (O)second death.’
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