John 7:25-36
[25] Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, “Is not this the man whom they seek to kill? [26] And here he is, speaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ? [27] But we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from.” [28] So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple, “You know me, and you know where I come from. But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know. [29] I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.” [30] So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. [31] Yet many of the people believed in him. They said, “When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?”
[32] The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent officers to arrest him. [33] Jesus then said, “I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. [34] You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.” [35] The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? [36] What does he mean by saying, ‘You will seek me and you will not find me,’ and, ‘Where I am you cannot come’?”
1 Peter 5:8-14
[8] Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. [9] Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. [10] And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. [11] To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
[12] By Silvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it. [13] She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings, and so does Mark, my son. [14] Greet one another with the kiss of love.
Peace to all of you who are in Christ.
Song of Solomon 8:8-14
[8] We have a little sister,
and she has no breasts.
What shall we do for our sister
on the day when she is spoken for?
[9] If she is a wall,
we will build on her a battlement of silver,
but if she is a door,
we will enclose her with boards of cedar.
[10] I was a wall,
and my breasts were like towers;
then I was in his eyes
as one who finds peace.
[11] Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon;
he let out the vineyard to keepers;
each one was to bring for its fruit a thousand pieces of silver.
[12] My vineyard, my very own, is before me;
you, O Solomon, may have the thousand,
and the keepers of the fruit two hundred.
[13] O you who dwell in the gardens,
with companions listening for your voice;
let me hear it.
[14] Make haste, my beloved,
and be like a gazelle
or a young stag
on the mountains of spices.
Lamentations 4
[1] How the gold has grown dim,
how the pure gold is changed!
The holy stones lie scattered
at the head of every street.
[2] The precious sons of Zion,
worth their weight in fine gold,
how they are regarded as earthen pots,
the work of a potter’s hands!
[3] Even jackals offer the breast;
they nurse their young;
but the daughter of my people has become cruel,
like the ostriches in the wilderness.
[4] The tongue of the nursing infant sticks
to the roof of its mouth for thirst;
the children beg for food,
but no one gives to them.
[5] Those who once feasted on delicacies
perish in the streets;
those who were brought up in purple
embrace ash heaps.
[6] For the chastisement of the daughter of my people has been greater
than the punishment of Sodom,
which was overthrown in a moment,
and no hands were wrung for her.
[7] Her princes were purer than snow,
whiter than milk;
their bodies were more ruddy than coral,
the beauty of their form was like sapphire.
[8] Now their face is blacker than soot;
they are not recognized in the streets;
their skin has shriveled on their bones;
it has become as dry as wood.
[9] Happier were the victims of the sword
than the victims of hunger,
who wasted away, pierced
by lack of the fruits of the field.
[10] The hands of compassionate women
have boiled their own children;
they became their food
during the destruction of the daughter of my people.
[11] The LORD gave full vent to his wrath;
he poured out his hot anger,
and he kindled a fire in Zion
that consumed its foundations.
[12] The kings of the earth did not believe,
nor any of the inhabitants of the world,
that foe or enemy could enter
the gates of Jerusalem.
[13] This was for the sins of her prophets
and the iniquities of her priests,
who shed in the midst of her
the blood of the righteous.
[14] They wandered, blind, through the streets;
they were so defiled with blood
that no one was able to touch
their garments.
[15] “Away! Unclean!” people cried at them.
“Away! Away! Do not touch!”
So they became fugitives and wanderers;
people said among the nations,
“They shall stay with us no longer.”
[16] The LORD himself has scattered them;
he will regard them no more;
no honor was shown to the priests,
no favor to the elders.
[17] Our eyes failed, ever watching
vainly for help;
in our watching we watched
for a nation which could not save.
[18] They dogged our steps
so that we could not walk in our streets;
our end drew near; our days were numbered,
for our end had come.
[19] Our pursuers were swifter
than the eagles in the heavens;
they chased us on the mountains;
they lay in wait for us in the wilderness.
[20] The breath of our nostrils, the LORD’s anointed,
was captured in their pits,
of whom we said, “Under his shadow
we shall live among the nations.”
[21] Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom,
you who dwell in the land of Uz;
but to you also the cup shall pass;
you shall become drunk and strip yourself bare.
[22] The punishment of your iniquity, O daughter of Zion, is accomplished;
he will keep you in exile no longer;
but your iniquity, O daughter of Edom, he will punish;
he will uncover your sins.
Lamentations 5
[1] Remember, O LORD, what has befallen us;
look, and see our disgrace!
[2] Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers,
our homes to foreigners.
[3] We have become orphans, fatherless;
our mothers are like widows.
[4] We must pay for the water we drink;
the wood we get must be bought.
[5] Our pursuers are at our necks;
we are weary; we are given no rest.
[6] We have given the hand to Egypt, and to Assyria,
to get bread enough.
[7] Our fathers sinned, and are no more;
and we bear their iniquities.
[8] Slaves rule over us;
there is none to deliver us from their hand.
[9] We get our bread at the peril of our lives,
because of the sword in the wilderness.
[10] Our skin is hot as an oven
with the burning heat of famine.
[11] Women are raped in Zion,
young women in the towns of Judah.
[12] Princes are hung up by their hands;
no respect is shown to the elders.
[13] Young men are compelled to grind at the mill,
and boys stagger under loads of wood.
[14] The old men have left the city gate,
the young men their music.
[15] The joy of our hearts has ceased;
our dancing has been turned to mourning.
[16] The crown has fallen from our head;
woe to us, for we have sinned!
[17] For this our heart has become sick,
for these things our eyes have grown dim,
[18] for Mount Zion which lies desolate;
jackals prowl over it.
[19] But you, O LORD, reign forever;
your throne endures to all generations.
[20] Why do you forget us forever,
why do you forsake us for so many days?
[21] Restore us to yourself, O LORD, that we may be restored!
Renew our days as of old—
[22] unless you have utterly rejected us,
and you remain exceedingly angry with us.
