Psalm 30; Isaiah 53; Jeremiah 29; Lamentations 3:23–33; 2 Corinthians 8:1–9; 2 Corinthians 8:13–15; Mark 5:21–43 (2024)

Joy Comes with the Morning

A Psalm of David. A song at the dedication of ^rthe temple.

Jeremiah’s Letter to the Exiles

1These are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to ⁱthe surviving elders of the exiles, and to ^jthe priests, ^jthe prophets, and ^jall the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 2This was after ^kKing Jeconiah and the queen mother, the eunuchs, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metal workers had departed from Jerusalem. 3The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of ^lShaphan and Gemariah the son of ^mHilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. It said: 4“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5ⁿBuild houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. 6Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. 7But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and ^opray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. 8For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ^pDo not let your prophets and ^qyour diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream,¹ 9for ^rit is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; ^sI did not send them, declares the Lord.

10“For thus says the Lord: ^tWhen seventy years are completed for Babylon, ^uI will visit you, ^vand I will fulfill to you my promise ^vand bring you back to this place. 11^wFor I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare² and not for evil, ^xto give you a future and a hope. 12^yThen you will call upon me and come and pray to me, ^yand I will hear you. 13^zYou will seek me and find me, when you seek me ^awith all your heart. 14I will be found by you, declares the Lord, ^band I will restore your fortunes and ^cgather you from all the nations and all the places ^dwhere I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

15“Because you have said, ‘The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon,’ 16thus says the Lord concerning ^ethe king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who dwell in this city, your kinsmen who did not go out with you into exile: 17‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, behold, I am sending on them ^fsword, famine, and pestilence, and I will make them like ^gvile figs that are so rotten they cannot be eaten. 18I will pursue them with ^fsword, famine, and pestilence, ^hand will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, ⁱto be a curse, a terror, a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations ^dwhere I have driven them, 19because they did not pay attention to my words, declares the Lord, ^jthat I persistently sent to you by my servants the prophets, but you would not listen, declares the Lord.’ 20Hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles ^kwhom I sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon: 21‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, ^lwho are prophesying a lie to you in my name: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall strike them down before your eyes. 22^mBecause of them ⁿthis curse shall be used by all the exiles from Judah in Babylon: “The Lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, ^owhom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire,” 23because they have done an outrageous thing in Israel, ^pthey have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and ^pthey have spoken in my name lying words that I did not command them. ^qI am the one who knows, ^qand I am witness, declares the Lord.’”

Shemaiah’s False Prophecy

24To ^rShemaiah of Nehelam you shall say: 25“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: You have sent letters in your name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to ^sZephaniah the son of ^tMaaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying, 26‘The Lord has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, to have ^ucharge in the house of the Lord ^vover every madman who prophesies, to put him in ^wthe stocks and neck irons. 27Now why have you not rebuked Jeremiah ^xof Anathoth who is prophesying to you? 28For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, “Your exile will be long; ^ybuild houses and live in them, and plant gardens and eat their produce.”’”

29^sZephaniah the priest read this letter in the hearing of Jeremiah the prophet. 30^zThen the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 31“Send to all the exiles, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord concerning ^aShemaiah of Nehelam: Because ^aShemaiah had prophesied to you ^bwhen I did not send him, and has made you trust in a lie, 32therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, I will punish ^aShemaiah of Nehelam and his descendants. He shall not have anyone living among this people, ^cand he shall not see the good that I will do to my people, declares the Lord, ^dfor he has spoken rebellion against the Lord.’”

Encouragement to Give Generously

1We want you to know, brothers,¹ about the grace of God that has been ^hgiven among the churches of Macedonia, 2for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and ⁱtheir extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3For they gave ^jaccording to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, 4begging us earnestly ^kfor the favor² of taking part in ^lthe relief of the saints—5and this, not as we expected, but they ^mgave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. 6Accordingly, ⁿwe urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you ^othis act of grace. 7But as ^pyou excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you³—^qsee that you excel in this act of grace also.

8^rI say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. 9For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ^sthough he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

13For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness 14your abundance at the present time should supply ^xtheir need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. 15As it is written, ^y“Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.”

Jesus Heals a Woman and Jairus’s Daughter

21And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him, and he was beside the sea. 22^hThen came one of ⁱthe rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet 23and implored him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and ^jlay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.” 24And he went with him.

And a great crowd followed him and ^kthronged about him. 25And there was a woman ^lwho had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, 26and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. 27She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. 28For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” 29^mAnd immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her ⁿdisease. 30And Jesus, perceiving in himself that ^opower had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” 31And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’” 32And he looked around to see who had done it. 33But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. 34And he said to her, “Daughter, ^pyour faith has made you well; ^pgo in peace, and be healed of your ⁿdisease.”

35While he was still speaking, there came from ^qthe ruler’s house some who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why ^rtrouble ^sthe Teacher any further?” 36But overhearing¹ what they said, Jesus said to ^qthe ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” 37And he allowed no one to follow him except ^tPeter and James and ^uJohn the brother of James. 38They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus² saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. 39And when he had entered, he said to them, ^v“Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but ^wsleeping.” 40And they laughed at him. But he ^xput them all outside and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. 41^yTaking her by the hand he said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, ^zarise.” 42And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement. 43And ^ahe strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.