Bible Society of South Africa

Season after Pentecost: Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

Alternate first reading and Psalm

Hope for the Future

1How terrible will be the LORD's judgement on those rulers who destroy and scatter his people! 2This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the rulers who were supposed to take care of his people: “You have not taken care of my people; you have scattered them and driven them away. Now I am going to punish you for the evil you have done. 3I will gather the rest of my people from the countries where I have scattered them, and I will bring them back to their homeland. They will have many children and increase in number. 4I will appoint rulers to take care of them. My people will no longer be afraid or terrified, and I will not punish them again. I, the LORD, have spoken.”

5The LORD says, “The time is coming when I will choose as king a righteous descendant of David. That king will rule wisely and do what is right and just throughout the land. 6When he is king, the people of Judah will be safe, and the people of Israel will live in peace. He will be called ‘The LORD Our Salvation’.

Jeremiah 23:1-6GNBOpen in Bible reader

God is with Us

1God is our shelter and strength,

always ready to help in times of trouble.

2So we will not be afraid, even if the earth is shaken

and mountains fall into the ocean depths;

3even if the seas roar and rage,

and the hills are shaken by the violence.

4There is a river that brings joy to the city of God,

to the sacred house of the Most High.

5God is in that city, and it will never be destroyed;

at early dawn he will come to its aid.

Psalms 46:1-5GNBOpen in Bible reader
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