Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

ל LAMED

The Scroll Read in the Palace

¹¹ When Michaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the Lord from the book, ¹² he then went down to the king’s house, into the scribe’s chamber; and there all the princes were sitting—^(A)Elishama the scribe, Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, ^(B)Elnathan the son of Achbor, Gemariah the son of Shaphan, Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the princes. ¹³ Then Michaiah declared to them all the words that he had heard when Baruch read the book in the hearing of the people. ¹⁴ Therefore all the princes sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, “Take in your hand the scroll from which you have read in the hearing of the people, and come.” So Baruch the son of Neriah took the scroll in his hand and came to them. ¹⁵ And they said to him, “Sit down now, and read it in our hearing.” So Baruch read it in their hearing.

¹⁶ Now it happened, when they had heard all the words, that they looked in fear from one to another, and said to Baruch, “We will surely tell the king of all these words.” ¹⁷ And they asked Baruch, saying, “Tell us now, how did you write all these words—^[a]at his instruction?”

¹⁸ So Baruch answered them, “He proclaimed with his mouth all these words to me, and I wrote them with ink in the book.”

¹⁹ Then the princes said to Baruch, “Go and hide, you and Jeremiah; and let no one know where you are.”

The King Destroys Jeremiah’s Scroll

²⁰ And they went to the king, into the court; but they stored the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and told all the words in the hearing of the king. ²¹ So the king sent Jehudi to bring the scroll, and he took it from Elishama the scribe’s chamber. And Jehudi read it in the hearing of the king and in the hearing of all the princes who stood beside the king. ²² Now the king was sitting in ^(C)the winter house in the ninth month, with a fire burning on the hearth before him. ²³ And it happened, when Jehudi had read three or four columns, that the king cut it with the scribe’s knife and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the scroll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth. ²⁴ Yet they were ^(D)not afraid, nor did they ^(E)tear their garments, the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words. ²⁵ Nevertheless Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah implored the king not to burn the scroll; but he would not listen to them. ²⁶ And the king commanded Jerahmeel ^[b]the king’s son, Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet, but the Lord hid them.

The Corinthians’ Repentance

² Open your hearts to us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, ^(A)we have cheated no one. ³ I do not say this to condemn; for ^(B)I have said before that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. ^4 (C)Great is my boldness of speech toward you, ^(D)great is my boasting on your behalf. ^(E)I am filled with comfort. I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation.

⁵ For indeed, ^(F)when we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but ^(G)we were troubled on every side. ^(H)Outside were conflicts, inside were fears. ⁶ Nevertheless ^(I)God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by ^(J)the coming of Titus, ⁷ and not only by his coming, but also by the ^[a]consolation with which he was comforted in you, when he told us of your earnest desire, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced even more.

⁸ For even if I made you ^(K)sorry with my letter, I do not regret it; ^(L)though I did regret it. For I perceive that the same epistle made you sorry, though only for a while. ⁹ Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. ¹⁰ For ^(M)godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; ^(N)but the sorrow of the world produces death. ¹¹ For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what ^(O)clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be ^(P)clear in this matter. ¹² Therefore, although I wrote to you, I did not do it for the sake of him who had done the wrong, nor for the sake of him who suffered wrong, ^(Q)but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear to you.