Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Restoration of Israel and Judah
30 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 “Thus speaks the Lord God of Israel, saying: ‘Write in a book for yourself all the words that I have spoken to you. 3 For behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘that (A)I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah,’ says the Lord. (B)‘And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.’ ”
4 Now these are the words that the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah.
5 “For thus says the Lord:
‘We have heard a voice of trembling,
Of [a]fear, and not of peace.
6 Ask now, and see,
Whether a [b]man is ever in [c]labor with child?
So why do I see every man with his hands on his loins
(C)Like a woman in labor,
And all faces turned pale?
7 (D)Alas! For that day is great,
(E)So that none is like it;
And it is the time of Jacob’s trouble,
But he shall be saved out of it.
8 ‘For it shall come to pass in that day,’
Says the Lord of hosts,
‘That I will break his yoke from your neck,
And will burst your bonds;
Foreigners shall no more enslave them.
9 But they shall serve the Lord their God,
And (F)David their king,
Whom I will (G)raise up for them.
10 ‘Therefore (H)do not fear, O My servant Jacob,’ says the Lord,
‘Nor be dismayed, O Israel;
For behold, I will save you from afar,
And your seed (I)from the land of their captivity.
Jacob shall return, have rest and be quiet,
And no one shall make him afraid.
11 For I am with (J)you,’ says the Lord, ‘to save you;
(K)Though I make a full end of all nations where I have scattered you,
(L)Yet I will not make a complete end of you.
But I will correct you (M)in justice,
And will not let you go altogether unpunished.’
12 “For thus says the Lord:
(N)‘Your affliction is incurable,
Your wound is severe.
13 There is no one to plead your cause,
That you may be bound up;
(O)You have no healing medicines.
14 (P)All your lovers have forgotten you;
They do not seek you;
For I have wounded you with the wound (Q)of an enemy,
With the chastisement (R)of a cruel one,
For the multitude of your iniquities,
(S)Because your sins have increased.
15 Why (T)do you cry about your affliction?
Your sorrow is incurable.
Because of the multitude of your iniquities,
Because your sins have increased,
I have done these things to you.
16 ‘Therefore all those who devour you (U)shall be devoured;
And all your adversaries, every one of them, shall go into (V)captivity;
Those who plunder you shall become (W)plunder,
And all who prey upon you I will make a (X)prey.
17 (Y)For I will restore health to you
And heal you of your wounds,’ says the Lord,
‘Because they called you an outcast saying:
“This is Zion;
No one seeks her.” ’
5 Then (A)He who sat on the throne said, (B)“Behold, I make all things new.” And He said [a]to me, “Write, for (C)these words are true and faithful.”
6 And He said to me, (D)“It[b] is done! (E)I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. (F)I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. 7 He who overcomes [c]shall inherit all things, and (G)I will be his God and he shall be My son. 8 (H)But the cowardly, [d]unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in (I)the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
The New Jerusalem(J)
9 Then one of (K)the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came [e]to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you (L)the [f]bride, the Lamb’s wife.” 10 And he carried me away (M)in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me (N)the [g]great city, the [h]holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, 11 (O)having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. 12 Also she had a great and high wall with (P)twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: 13 (Q)three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west.
14 Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and (R)on them were the [i]names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 15 And he who talked with me (S)had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. 16 The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand [j]furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal. 17 Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. 18 The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. 19 (T)The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. 21 The twelve gates were twelve (U)pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. (V)And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.
The Glory of the New Jerusalem
22 (W)But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 (X)The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine [k]in it, for the [l]glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. 24 (Y)And the nations [m]of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor [n]into it. 25 (Z)Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (AA)(there shall be no night there). 26 (AB)And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into [o]it. 27 But (AC)there shall by no means enter it anything [p]that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s (AD)Book of Life.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.