April 14, 2026

Jeremiah13

The Ruined Loincloth

1 Thus says the Lord to me, “Go and buy a linen loincloth and put it around your waist, and do not dip it in water.” 2 So I bought a loincloth according to the word of the Lord, and put it around my waist. 3 And the word of the Lord came to me a second time, 4 “Take the loincloth that you have bought, which is around your waist, and arise, go to the Euphrates and hide it there in a cleft of the rock.” 5 So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the Lord commanded me. 6 And after many days the Lord said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take from there the loincloth that I commanded you to hide there.” 7 Then I went to the Euphrates, and dug, and I took the loincloth from the place where I had hidden it. And behold, the loincloth was spoiled; it was good for nothing.

8 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 9 “Thus says the Lord: Even so will I spoil the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. 10 This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, who stubbornly follow their own heart and have gone after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be like this loincloth, which is good for nothing. 11 For as the loincloth clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, declares the Lord, that they might be for me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory, but they would not listen.

The Jars Filled with Wine

12 “You shall speak to them this word: ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, “Every jar shall be filled with wine.”’ And they will say to you, ‘Do we not indeed know that every jar will be filled with wine?’ 13 Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord: Behold, I will fill with drunkenness all the inhabitants of this land: the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 14 And I will dash them one against another, fathers and sons together, declares the Lord. I will not pity or spare or have compassion, that I should not destroy them.’”

Exile Threatened

15 Hear and give ear; be not proud,

for the Lord has spoken.

16 Give glory to the Lord your God

before he brings darkness,

before your feet stumble

on the twilight mountains,

and while you look for light

he turns it into gloom

and makes it deep darkness.

17 But if you will not listen,

my soul will weep in secret for your pride;

my eyes will weep bitterly and run down with tears,

because the Lord’s flock has been taken captive.

18 Say to the king and the queen mother:

“Take a lowly seat,

for your beautiful crown

has come down from your head.”

19 The cities of the Negeb are shut up,

with none to open them;

all Judah is taken into exile,

wholly taken into exile.

20 “Lift up your eyes and see

those who come from the north.

Where is the flock that was given you,

your beautiful flock?

21 What will you say when they set as head over you

those whom you yourself have taught to be friends to you?

Will not pangs take hold of you

like those of a woman in labor?

22 And if you say in your heart,

‘Why have these things come upon me?’

it is for the greatness of your iniquity

that your skirts are lifted up

and you suffer violence.

23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin

or the leopard his spots?

Then also you can do good

who are accustomed to do evil.

24 I will scatter you like chaff

driven by the wind from the desert.

25 This is your lot,

the portion I have measured out to you, declares the Lord,

because you have forgotten me

and trusted in lies.

26 I myself will lift up your skirts over your face,

and your shame will be seen.

27 I have seen your abominations,

your adulteries and neighings, your lewd whorings,

on the hills in the field.

Woe to you, O Jerusalem!

How long will it be before you are made clean?”

Jeremiah14

Famine, Sword, and Pestilence

1 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:

2 “Judah mourns,

and her gates languish;

her people lament on the ground,

and the cry of Jerusalem goes up.

3 Her nobles send their servants for water;

they come to the cisterns;

they find no water;

they return with their vessels empty;

they are ashamed and confounded

and cover their heads.

4 Because of the ground that is dismayed,

since there is no rain on the land,

the farmers are ashamed;

they cover their heads.

5 Even the doe in the field forsakes her newborn fawn

because there is no grass.

6 The wild donkeys stand on the bare heights;

they pant for air like jackals;

their eyes fail

because there is no vegetation.

7 “Though our iniquities testify against us,

act, O Lord, for your name’s sake;

for our backslidings are many;

we have sinned against you.

8 O you hope of Israel,

its savior in time of trouble,

why should you be like a stranger in the land,

like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for a night?

9 Why should you be like a man confused,

like a mighty warrior who cannot save?

Yet you, O Lord, are in the midst of us,

and we are called by your name;

do not leave us.”

10 Thus says the Lord concerning this people:

“They have loved to wander thus;

they have not restrained their feet;

therefore the Lord does not accept them;

now he will remember their iniquity

and punish their sins.”

11 The Lord said to me: “Do not pray for the welfare of this people. 12 Though they fast, I will not hear their cry, and though they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.”

Lying Prophets

13 Then I said: “Ah, Lord God, behold, the prophets say to them, ‘You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place.’” 14 And the Lord said to me: “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds. 15 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name although I did not send them, and who say, ‘Sword and famine shall not come upon this land’: By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed. 16 And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and sword, with none to bury them—them, their wives, their sons, and their daughters. For I will pour out their evil upon them.

17 “You shall say to them this word:

‘Let my eyes run down with tears night and day,

and let them not cease,

for the virgin daughter of my people is shattered with a great wound,

with a very grievous blow.

18 If I go out into the field,

behold, those pierced by the sword!

And if I enter the city,

behold, the diseases of famine!

For both prophet and priest ply their trade through the land

and have no knowledge.’”

19 Have you utterly rejected Judah?

Does your soul loathe Zion?

Why have you struck us down

so that there is no healing for us?

We looked for peace, but no good came;

for a time of healing, but behold, terror.

20 We acknowledge our wickedness, O Lord,

and the iniquity of our fathers,

for we have sinned against you.

21 Do not spurn us, for your name’s sake;

do not dishonor your glorious throne;

remember and do not break your covenant with us.

22 Are there any among the false gods of the nations that can bring rain?

Or can the heavens give showers?

Are you not he, O Lord our God?

We set our hope on you,

for you do all these things.

Jeremiah15

The ndLord Will Not Relent

1 Then the Lord said to me, “Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my heart would not turn toward this people. Send them out of my sight, and let them go! 2 And when they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?’ you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord:

“‘Those who are for pestilence, to pestilence,

and those who are for the sword, to the sword;

those who are for famine, to famine,

and those who are for captivity, to captivity.’

3 I will appoint over them four kinds of destroyers, declares the Lord: the sword to kill, the dogs to tear, and the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy. 4 And I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth because of what Manasseh the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem.

5 “Who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem,

or who will grieve for you?

Who will turn aside

to ask about your welfare?

6 You have rejected me, declares the Lord;

you keep going backward,

so I have stretched out my hand against you and destroyed you—

I am weary of relenting.

7 I have winnowed them with a winnowing fork

in the gates of the land;

I have bereaved them; I have destroyed my people;

they did not turn from their ways.

8 I have made their widows more in number

than the sand of the seas;

I have brought against the mothers of young men

a destroyer at noonday;

I have made anguish and terror

fall upon them suddenly.

9 She who bore seven has grown feeble;

she has fainted away;

her sun went down while it was yet day;

she has been shamed and disgraced.

And the rest of them I will give to the sword

before their enemies,

declares the Lord.”

Mark10

The Request of James and John

35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” 36 And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” 37 And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” 38 Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” 39 And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized, 40 but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” 41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. 42 And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus

46 And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” 50 And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51 And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” 52 And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.