Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 71[a]
71 In you, O Lord, I have taken shelter.
Never let me be humiliated.
2 Vindicate me by rescuing me.[b]
Listen to me.[c] Deliver me.[d]
3 Be my protector and refuge,[e]
a stronghold where I can be safe.[f]
For you are my high ridge[g] and my stronghold.
4 My God, rescue me from the power[h] of the wicked,
from the hand of the cruel oppressor.
5 For you are my hope;
O Sovereign Lord, I have trusted in you since I was young.[i]
6 I have leaned on you since birth;[j]
you pulled me[k] from my mother’s womb.
I praise you continually.[l]
Zedekiah’s Reign
11 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he ruled for eleven years in Jerusalem. 12 He did evil in the sight of[a] the Lord his God. He did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, the Lord’s spokesman. 13 He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him vow allegiance[b] in the name of God. He was stubborn and obstinate, and refused to return[c] to the Lord God of Israel. 14 All the leaders of the priests and people became more unfaithful and committed the same horrible sins practiced by the nations.[d] They defiled the Lord’s temple which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.
The Babylonians Destroy Jerusalem
15 The Lord God of their ancestors[e] continually warned them through his messengers,[f] for he felt compassion for his people and his dwelling place. 16 But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his warnings,[g] and ridiculed his prophets.[h] Finally the Lord got very angry at his people and there was no one who could prevent his judgment.[i] 17 He brought against them the king of the Babylonians, who slaughtered[j] their young men in their temple.[k] He did not spare[l] young men or women, or even the old and aging. God[m] handed everyone over to him. 18 He carried away to Babylon all the items in God’s temple, whether large or small, as well as what was in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and in the treasuries of the king and his officials. 19 They burned down God’s temple and tore down the wall of Jerusalem. They burned all its fortified buildings and destroyed all its valuable items. 20 He deported to Babylon all who escaped the sword. They served him and his sons until the Persian kingdom rose to power. 21 This took place to fulfill the Lord’s message spoken through Jeremiah[n] and lasted until the land experienced[o] its sabbatical years.[p] All the time[q] of its desolation the land rested in order to fulfill the seventy years.[r]
The Calling of More Disciples
43 On the next day Jesus[a] wanted to set out for Galilee.[b] He[c] found Philip and said[d] to him, “Follow me.” 44 (Now Philip was from Bethsaida,[e] the town of[f] Andrew and Peter.) 45 Philip found Nathanael[g] and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the law, and the prophets also[h] wrote about—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael[i] replied,[j] “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”[k] Philip replied,[l] “Come and see.”
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and exclaimed,[m] “Look, a true Israelite in whom there is no deceit!”[n] 48 Nathanael asked him, “How do you know me?” Jesus replied,[o] “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree,[p] I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king[q] of Israel!”[r] 50 Jesus said to him,[s] “Because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.”[t] 51 He continued,[u] “I tell all of you the solemn truth[v]—you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”[w]
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