Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Prayer for the Overthrow of Zion’s Enemies.
A Song of Ascents.
129 “[a]Many times they have (A)attacked me from my (B)youth up,”
(C)Let Israel say,
2 “[b]Many times they have attacked me from my youth up;
Yet they have (D)not prevailed against me.
3 The plowers plowed upon my back;
They lengthened their furrows.”
4 The Lord (E)is righteous;
He has cut up the (F)ropes of the wicked.
5 May all who (G)hate Zion
Be (H)put to shame and turned backward;
6 May they be like (I)grass upon the housetops,
Which withers before it [c]grows up;
7 With which the harvester does not fill his [d]hand,
Or the binder of sheaves his [e](J)arms;
8 Nor do those who pass by say,
“The (K)blessing of the Lord be upon you;
We bless you in the name of the Lord.”
Jerusalem Captured
39 [a]Now when Jerusalem was captured [b](A)in the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came to Jerusalem and laid siege to it; 2 in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the city wall was (B)breached. 3 Then all the (C)officials of the king of Babylon came in and sat down at the (D)Middle Gate: Nergal-sar-ezer, Samgar-nebu, Sar-sekim the [c]Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the [d]Rab-mag, and all the rest of the officials of the king of Babylon. 4 And when Zedekiah the king of Judah and all the men of war saw them, they (E)fled and left the city at night by way of the king’s garden through the gate (F)between the two walls; and he went out toward the [e]Arabah. 5 But the army of the (G)Chaldeans pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the (H)plains of Jericho; and they took him and brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at (I)Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he [f]passed sentence on him. 6 Then the (J)king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah (K)before his eyes at Riblah; the king of Babylon also slaughtered all the (L)nobles of Judah. 7 He then (M)blinded Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him in (N)shackles of bronze to bring him to (O)Babylon. 8 The Chaldeans also (P)burned the king’s palace and the houses of the people with fire, and they (Q)tore down the walls of Jerusalem. 9 And as for the rest of the people who were left in the city, the (R)deserters who had deserted to him and (S)the rest of the people who remained, (T)Nebuzaradan the (U)captain of the bodyguard took them into exile in Babylon. 10 But some of the (V)poorest people, who had nothing, (W)Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard left behind in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields [g]at that time.
Jeremiah Spared
11 Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave orders regarding (X)Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, saying, 12 “Take him and [h]look after him, and (Y)do not do anything harmful to him, but rather deal with him just as he tells you.” 13 So Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard sent word, along with Nebushazban the [i]Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the [j]Rab-mag, and all the leading officers of the king of Babylon; 14 they even sent word and (Z)took Jeremiah out of the courtyard of the guardhouse and entrusted him to (AA)Gedaliah, the son of (AB)Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to take him home. So he stayed among the people.
15 Now the word of the Lord had come to Jeremiah while he was (AC)confined in the courtyard of the guardhouse, saying, 16 “Go and speak to (AD)Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, ‘This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “Behold, I am going to bring My words on this city (AE)for disaster and not for [k]prosperity; and they will (AF)take place before you on that day. 17 But I will (AG)save you on that day,” declares the Lord, “and you will not be handed over to the men of whom you are afraid. 18 For I will assuredly rescue you, and you will not fall by the sword; but you will have your own (AH)life as plunder, because you have (AI)trusted in Me,” declares the Lord.’”
Exhortation
7 Therefore be patient, (A)brothers and sisters, (B)until the coming of the Lord. (C)The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until [a]it gets (D)the early and late rains. 8 (E)You too be patient; (F)strengthen your hearts, for (G)the coming of the Lord is (H)near. 9 (I)Do not [b]complain, (J)brothers and sisters, against one another, so that you may not be judged; behold, (K)the Judge is standing [c](L)right at the [d]door. 10 As an example, (M)brothers and sisters, of suffering and patience, take (N)the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 We count those (O)blessed who endured. You have heard of (P)the [e]endurance of Job and have seen (Q)the [f]outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that (R)the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.
12 But above all, (S)my brothers and sisters, (T)do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but [g]your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you do not fall under judgment.
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