Jer. 31:23–40

31:23 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says,

“I will restore the people of Judah to their land and to their towns.

When I do, they will again say of Jerusalem,

‘May the Lord bless you, you holy mountain,

the place where righteousness dwells.’

24The land of Judah will be inhabited by people who live in its towns,

as well as by farmers and shepherds with their flocks.

25I will fully satisfy the needs of those who are weary

and fully refresh the souls of those who are faint.

26Then they will say, ‘Under these conditions I can enjoy sweet sleep

when I wake up and look around.’

27“Indeed, a time is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will cause people and animals to sprout up in the lands of Israel and Judah. 28In the past I saw to it that they were uprooted and torn down, that they were destroyed and demolished and brought disaster. But now I will see to it that they are built up and firmly planted. I, the Lord, affirm it!

29“When that time comes, people will no longer say, ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes, but the children’s teeth have grown numb.’ 30Rather, each person will die for his own sins. The teeth of the person who eats the sour grapes will themselves grow numb.

31“Indeed, a time is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. 32It will not be like the old covenant that I made with their ancestors when I delivered them from Egypt. For they violated that covenant, even though I was like a faithful husband to them,” says the Lord. 33“But I will make a new covenant with the whole nation of Israel after I plant them back in the land,” says the Lord. “I will put my law within them and write it on their hearts and minds. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

34“People will no longer need to teach their neighbors and relatives to know me. For all of them, from the least important to the most important, will know me,” says the Lord. “For I will forgive their sin and will no longer call to mind the wrong they have done.”

35The Lord has made a promise to Israel.

He promises it as the one who fixed the sun to give light by day

and the moon and stars to give light by night.

He promises it as the one who stirs up the sea so that its waves roll.

His name is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

36The Lord affirms, “The descendants of Israel will not

cease forever to be a nation in my sight.

That could only happen if the fixed ordering of the heavenly lights

were to cease to operate before me.”

37The Lord says, “I will not reject all the descendants of Israel

because of all that they have done.

That could only happen if the heavens above could be measured

or the foundations of the earth below could all be explored,”

says the Lord.

38“Indeed a time is coming,” says the Lord, “when the city of Jerusalem will be rebuilt as my special city. It will be built from the Tower of Hananel westward to the Corner Gate. 39The boundary line will extend beyond that, straight west from there to the Hill of Gareb and then turn southward to Goah. 40The whole valley where dead bodies and sacrificial ashes are thrown, and all the terraced fields out to the Kidron Valley on the east as far north as the corner of the Horse Gate, will be included within this city that is sacred to the Lord. The city will never again be torn down or destroyed.”

Ps. 8

8:1 For the music director, according to the gittith style; a psalm of David.

O Lord, our Lord,

how magnificent is your reputation throughout the earth!

You reveal your majesty in the heavens above.

2From the mouths of children and nursing babies

you have ordained praise on account of your adversaries,

so that you might put an end to the vindictive enemy.

3When I look up at the heavens, which your fingers made,

and see the moon and the stars, which you set in place,

4Of what importance is the human race, that you should notice them?

Of what importance is mankind, that you should pay attention to them?

5You made them a little less than the heavenly beings.

You crowned mankind with honor and majesty.

6you appoint them to rule over your creation;

you have placed everything under their authority,

7including all the sheep and cattle,

as well as the wild animals,

8the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea,

and everything that moves through the currents of the seas.

9O Lord, our Lord,

how magnificent is your reputation throughout the earth!

Acts 19:1–10

19:1 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul went through the inland regions and came to Ephesus. He found some disciples there 2and said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They replied, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3So Paul said, “Into what then were you baptized?” “Into John’s baptism,” they replied. 4Paul said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, 6and when Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they began to speak in tongues and to prophesy. 7(Now there were about 12 men in all.)

8So Paul entered the synagogue and spoke out fearlessly for three months, addressing and convincing them about the kingdom of God. 9But when some were stubborn and refused to believe, reviling the Way before the congregation, he left them and took the disciples with him, addressing them every day in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10This went on for two years, so that all who lived in the province of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord.