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Psalm 59

1  Rescue me from my enemies, O my God; ♦︎
   set me high above those that rise up against me.
2  Save me from the evildoers ♦︎
   and from murderous foes deliver me.
3  For see how they lie in wait for my soul ♦︎
   and the mighty stir up trouble against me.
4  Not for any fault or sin of mine, O Lord; ♦︎
   for no offence, they run and prepare themselves for war.
5  Rouse yourself, come to my aid and see; ♦︎
   for you are the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel.
6  Awake, and judge all the nations; ♦︎
   show no mercy to the evil traitors.
7  They return at nightfall and snarl like dogs ♦︎
   and prowl about the city.
8  They pour out evil words with their mouths;
      swords are on their lips; ♦︎
   ‘For who’, they say, ‘can hear us?’
9  But you laugh at them, O Lord; ♦︎
   you hold all the nations in derision.
10  For you, O my strength, will I watch; ♦︎
   you, O God, are my strong tower.
11  My God in his steadfast love will come to me; ♦︎
   he will let me behold the downfall of my enemies.
12  Slay them not, lest my people forget; ♦︎
   send them reeling by your might
      and bring them down, O Lord our shield.
13  For the sins of their mouth, for the words of their lips, ♦︎
   let them be taken in their pride.
14  For the cursing and falsehood they have uttered, ♦︎
   consume them in wrath, consume them till they are no more.
15  And they shall know that God rules in Jacob, ♦︎
   and to the ends of the earth.
16  And still they return at nightfall and snarl like dogs ♦︎
   and prowl about the city.
17  Though they forage for something to devour, ♦︎
   and howl if they are not filled,
18  Yet will I sing of your strength ♦︎
   and every morning praise your steadfast love;
19  For you have been my stronghold, ♦︎
   my refuge in the day of my trouble.
20  To you, O my strength, will I sing; ♦︎
   for you, O God, are my refuge,
      my God of steadfast love.

Jeremiah in the Cistern

38Now Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malchiah heard the words that Jeremiah was saying to all the people, ²Thus says the Lord, Those who stay in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but those who go out to the Chaldeans shall live; they shall have their lives as a prize of war, and live. ³Thus says the Lord, This city shall surely be handed over to the army of the king of Babylon and be taken. ⁴Then the officials said to the king, ‘This man ought to be put to death, because he is discouraging the soldiers who are left in this city, and all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking the welfare of this people, but their harm.’ ⁵King Zedekiah said, ‘Here he is; he is in your hands; for the king is powerless against you.’ ⁶So they took Jeremiah and threw him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king’s son, which was in the court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down by ropes. Now there was no water in the cistern, but only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.

Jeremiah Is Rescued by Ebed-melech

7 Ebed-melech the Ethiopian,^* a eunuch in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern. The king happened to be sitting at the Benjamin Gate, ⁸So Ebed-melech left the king’s house and spoke to the king, ⁹‘My lord king, these men have acted wickedly in all they did to the prophet Jeremiah by throwing him into the cistern to die there of hunger, for there is no bread left in the city.’ ¹⁰Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian,^* ‘Take three men with you from here, and pull the prophet Jeremiah up from the cistern before he dies.’ ¹¹So Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to the house of the king, to a wardrobe of^* the storehouse, and took from there old rags and worn-out clothes, which he let down to Jeremiah in the cistern by ropes. ¹²Then Ebed-melech the Ethiopian^* said to Jeremiah, ‘Just put the rags and clothes between your armpits and the ropes.’ Jeremiah did so. ¹³Then they drew Jeremiah up by the ropes and pulled him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.

The Man with an Unclean Spirit

21 They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. ²²They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. ²³Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, ²⁴and he cried out, ‘What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.’ ²⁵But Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be silent, and come out of him!’ ²⁶And the unclean spirit, throwing him into convulsions and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. ²⁷They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, ‘What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He^* commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.’ ²⁸At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.