Jer. 32:1–15

32:1 In the tenth year that Zedekiah was ruling over Judah the Lord spoke to Jeremiah. That was the same as the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.

2Now at that time, the armies of the king of Babylon were besieging Jerusalem. The prophet Jeremiah was confined in the courtyard of the guardhouse attached to the royal palace of Judah. 3For King Zedekiah had confined Jeremiah there after he had reproved him for prophesying as he did. He had asked Jeremiah, “Why do you keep prophesying these things? Why do you keep saying that the Lord says, ‘I will hand this city over to the king of Babylon? I will let him capture it. 4King Zedekiah of Judah will not escape from the Babylonians. He will certainly be handed over to the king of Babylon. He must answer personally to the king of Babylon and confront him face to face. 5Zedekiah will be carried off to Babylon and will remain there until I have fully dealt with him. I, the Lord, affirm it! Even if you continue to fight against the Babylonians, you cannot win.’”

6So now, Jeremiah said, “The Lord’s message came to me, 7‘Hanamel, the son of your uncle Shallum, will come to you soon. He will say to you, “Buy my field at Anathoth because you are entitled as my closest relative to buy it.”’ 8And then my cousin Hanamel did come to me in the courtyard of the guardhouse in keeping with the Lord’s message. He said to me, ‘Buy my field that is at Anathoth in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin. Buy it for yourself since you are entitled as my closest relative to take possession of it for yourself.’ When this happened, I recognized that the Lord had indeed spoken to me. 9So I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel. I weighed out seven ounces of silver and gave it to him to pay for it. 10I signed the deed of purchase, sealed it, and had some men serve as witnesses to the purchase. I weighed out the silver for him on a scale. 11There were two copies of the deed of purchase. One was sealed and contained the order of transfer and the conditions of purchase. The other was left unsealed. 12I took both copies of the deed of purchase and gave them to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah. I gave them to him in the presence of my cousin Hanamel, the witnesses who had signed the deed of purchase, and all the Judeans who were housed in the courtyard of the guardhouse. 13In the presence of all these people I instructed Baruch, 14‘The Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says, “Take these documents, both the sealed copy of the deed of purchase and the unsealed copy. Put them in a clay jar so that they may be preserved for a long time to come.”’ 15For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says, ‘Houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land.’

Ps. 9

9:1 For the music director, according to the alumoth-labben style; a psalm of David.

I will thank the Lord with all my heart!

I will tell about all your amazing deeds.

2I will be happy and rejoice in you.

I will sing praises to you, O Most High.

3When my enemies turn back,

they trip and are defeated before you.

4For you defended my just cause;

from your throne you pronounced a just decision.

5You terrified the nations with your battle cry.

You destroyed the wicked;

you permanently wiped out all memory of them.

6The enemy’s cities have been reduced to permanent ruins.

You destroyed their cities;

all memory of the enemies has perished.

7But the Lord rules forever;

he reigns in a just manner.

8He judges the world fairly;

he makes just legal decisions for the nations.

9Consequently the Lord provides safety for the oppressed;

he provides safety in times of trouble.

10Your loyal followers trust in you,

for you, Lord, do not abandon those who seek your help.

11Sing praises to the Lord, who rules in Zion.

Tell the nations what he has done.

12For the one who takes revenge against murderers took notice of the oppressed;

he did not overlook their cry for help

13when they prayed:

“Have mercy on me, Lord!

See how I am oppressed by those who hate me,

O one who can snatch me away from the gates of death!

14Then I will tell about all your praiseworthy acts;

in the gates of Daughter Zion I will rejoice because of your deliverance.”

15The nations fell into the pit they had made;

their feet were caught in the net they had hidden.

16The Lord revealed himself;

he accomplished justice.

The wicked were ensnared by their own actions. (Higgaion. Selah)

17The wicked are turned back and sent to Sheol;

this is the destiny of all the nations that ignore God,

18for the needy are not permanently ignored,

the hopes of the oppressed are not forever dashed.

19Rise up, Lord!

Don’t let men be defiant.

May the nations be judged in your presence.

20Terrify them, Lord.

Let the nations know they are mere mortals. (Selah)

Acts 19:11–20

19:11 God was performing extraordinary miracles by Paul’s hands, 12so that when even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his body were brought to the sick, their diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. 13But some itinerant Jewish exorcists tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were possessed by evil spirits, saying, “I sternly warn you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.” 14(Now seven sons of a man named Sceva, a Jewish high priest, were doing this.) 15But the evil spirit replied to them, “I know about Jesus and I am acquainted with Paul, but who are you?” 16Then the man who was possessed by the evil spirit jumped on them and beat them all into submission. He prevailed against them so that they fled from that house naked and wounded. 17This became known to all who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks; fear came over them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was praised. 18Many of those who had believed came forward, confessing and making their deeds known. 19Large numbers of those who had practiced magic collected their books and burned them up in the presence of everyone. When the value of the books was added up, it was found to total 50,000 silver coins. 20In this way the word of the Lord continued to grow in power and to prevail.