Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
7 For I suffer[a] humiliation for your sake[b]
and am thoroughly disgraced.[c]
8 My own brothers treat me like a stranger;
they act as if I were a foreigner.[d]
9 Certainly[e] zeal for[f] your house[g] consumes me;
I endure the insults of those who insult you.[h]
10 I weep and refrain from eating food,[i]
which causes others to insult me.[j]
11 I wear sackcloth
and they ridicule me.[a]
12 Those who sit at the city gate gossip about me;
drunkards mock me in their songs.[b]
13 O Lord, may you hear my prayer and be favorably disposed to me.[c]
O God, because of your great loyal love,
answer me with your faithful deliverance.[d]
14 Rescue me from the mud. Don’t let me sink.
Deliver me[e] from those who hate me,
from the deep water.
15 Don’t let the current overpower me.
Don’t let the deep swallow me up.
Don’t let the Pit[f] devour me.[g]
Jeremiah Petitions the Lord to Punish Those Who Attack Him
18 Then some people[a] said, “Come on! Let us consider how to deal with Jeremiah![b] There will still be priests to instruct us, wise men to give us advice, and prophets to declare God’s word.[c] Come on! Let’s bring charges against him and get rid of him![d] Then we will not need to pay attention to anything he says.”
19 Then I said,[e]
“Lord, pay attention to me.
Listen to what my enemies are saying.[f]
20 Should good be paid back with evil?
Yet they are virtually digging a pit to kill me.[g]
Just remember how I stood before you
pleading on their behalf[h]
to keep you from venting your anger on them.[i]
21 So let their children die of starvation.
Let them be cut down by the sword.[j]
Let their wives lose their husbands and children.
Let the older men die of disease[k]
and the younger men die by the sword in battle.
22 Let cries of terror be heard in their houses
when you send bands of raiders unexpectedly to plunder them.[l]
For they have virtually dug a pit to capture me
and have hidden traps for me to step into.
23 But you, Lord, know
all their plots to kill me.
Do not pardon their crimes!
Do not ignore their sins as though you had erased them.[m]
Let them be brought down in defeat before you.
Deal with them while you are still angry![n]
Further Trouble for the Apostles
17 Now the high priest rose up, and all those with him (that is, the religious party of the Sadducees[a]),[b] and they were filled with jealousy.[c] 18 They[d] laid hands on[e] the apostles and put them in a public jail. 19 But during the night an angel of the Lord[f] opened[g] the doors of the prison,[h] led them out,[i] and said, 20 “Go and stand in the temple courts[j] and proclaim[k] to the people all the words of this life.” 21 When they heard this, they entered the temple courts[l] at daybreak and began teaching.[m]
Now when the high priest and those who were with him arrived, they summoned the Sanhedrin[n]—that is, the whole high council[o] of the Israelites[p]—and sent to the jail to have the apostles[q] brought before them.[r] 22 But the officers[s] who came for them[t] did not find them in the prison, so they returned and reported,[u] 23 “We found the jail locked securely and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them,[v] we found no one inside.” 24 Now when the commander[w] of the temple guard[x] and the chief priests heard this report,[y] they were greatly puzzled concerning it,[z] wondering what this could[aa] be. 25 But someone came and reported to them, “Look! The men you put in prison are standing in the temple courts[ab] and teaching[ac] the people!” 26 Then the commander[ad] of the temple guard[ae] went with the officers[af] and brought the apostles[ag] without the use of force[ah] (for they were afraid of being stoned by the people).[ai]
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