Jer. 13:1–14

13:1 The Lord said to me, “Go and buy some linen shorts and put them on. Do not put them in water.” 2So I bought the shorts in keeping with the Lord’s instructionsand put them on. 3Then the Lord’s message came to me again, 4“Take the shorts that you bought and are wearing and go at once to Perath. Bury the shorts there in a crack in the rocks.” 5So I went and buried them at Perath as the Lord had ordered me to do. 6Many days later the Lord said to me, “Go at once to Perath and get the shorts I ordered you to bury there.” 7So I went to Perath and dug up the shorts from the place where I had buried them. I found that they were ruined; they were good for nothing.

8Then the Lord’s message came to me, 9“I, the Lord, say: ‘This shows how I will ruin the highly exalted position in which Judah and Jerusalem take pride. 10These wicked people refuse to obey what I have said. They follow the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts and pay allegiance to other gods by worshiping and serving them. So they will become just like these linen shorts that are good for nothing. 11For,’ I say, ‘just as shorts cling tightly to a person’s body, so I bound the whole nation of Israel and the whole nation of Judah tightly to me.’ I intended for them to be my special people and to bring me fame, honor, and praise. But they would not obey me.

12“So tell them, ‘The Lord, the God of Israel, says: “Every wine jar is made to be filled with wine.”’ And they will probably say to you, ‘Do you not think we know that every wine jar is supposed to be filled with wine?’ 13Then tell them, ‘The Lord says: “I will soon fill all the people who live in this land with stupor. I will also fill the kings from David’s dynasty, the priests, the prophets, and the citizens of Jerusalem with stupor. 14And I will smash them like wine bottles against one another, children and parents alike. I will not show any pity, mercy, or compassion. Nothing will keep me from destroying them,’ says the Lord.”

Ps. 130

130:1 A song of ascents.

From the deep water I cry out to you, O Lord.

2O Lord, listen to me.

Pay attention to my plea for mercy.

3If you, O Lord, were to keep track of sins,

O Lord, who could stand before you?

4But you are willing to forgive

so that you might be honored.

5I rely on the Lord.

I rely on him with my whole being;

I wait for his assuring word.

6I yearn for the Lord,

more than watchmen do for the morning,

yes, more than watchmen do for the morning.

7O Israel, hope in the Lord,

for the Lord exhibits loyal love

and is more than willing to deliver.

8He will deliver Israel

from all their sins.

Acts 8:9–25

8:9 Now in that city was a man named Simon, who had been practicing magic and amazing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great. 10All the people, from the least to the greatest, paid close attention to him, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called ‘Great.’” 11And they paid close attention to him because he had amazed them for a long time with his magic. 12But when they believed Philip as he was proclaiming the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they began to be baptized, both men and women. 13Even Simon himself believed, and after he was baptized, he stayed close to Philip constantly, and when he saw the signs and great miracles that were occurring, he was amazed.

14Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. 15These two went down and prayed for them so that they would receive the Holy Spirit. 16(For the Spirit had not yet come upon any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) 17Then Peter and John placed their hands on the Samaritans, and they received the Holy Spirit.

18Now Simon, when he saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, offered them money, 19saying, “Give me this power too, so that everyone I place my hands on may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you because you thought you could acquire God’s gift with money! 21You have no share or part in this matter because your heart is not right before God! 22Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that he may perhaps forgive you for the intent of your heart. 23For I see that you are bitterly envious and in bondage to sin.” 24But Simon replied, “You pray to the Lord for me so that nothing of what you have said may happen to me.”

25So after Peter and John had solemnly testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they started back to Jerusalem, proclaiming the good news to many Samaritan villages as they went.