Old/New Testament
A Song of Praise to God
26 ·At that time [L In that day] this song will be sung in Judah:
We have a strong city.
·God protects us with [L His salvation/deliverance is] its strong walls and defenses.
2 Open the gates,
and the ·good people [righteous nation] will enter,
those who ·follow God [remain faithful].
3 You, Lord, ·give [preserve/keep in] ·true peace [complete peace; L peace, peace]
·to those who depend on you [T whose mind is stayed on you; L whose purpose is firm],
because they trust you.
4 So, trust the Lord always,
because ·he [L in Yah, the Lord/Yahweh; C Yah is a shorter version of Yahweh] is our ·Rock forever [eternal rock].
5 He will ·destroy [humble; bring down] ·the people of that proud city [L those who dwell on a high place],
He will bring that ·high [lofty; arrogant] city down to the ground
and throw it down into the dust.
6 ·Then those who were hurt by the city will walk on its ruins [L The foot tramples it down, the feet of the oppressed];
·those who were made poor by the city will trample it under their feet [L the footsteps of the poor (will trample it)].
7 The ·path [way] of life is level for ·those who are right with God [the righteous];
·Lord [or Upright One], you make the way of life ·smooth [straight; level] for those people.
8 But, Lord, we are waiting
·for your [or in the] ·way of justice [or path/way of your judgments].
Our souls ·want to remember [or desire; or wish to see glorified]
·you [your renown; your remembrance] and your name.
9 My soul ·wants to be with [longs/yearns for] you at night,
and my spirit ·wants to be with [seeks; longs for] you ·at the dawn of every day [in the morning].
When your ·way of justice [judgment] comes to the ·land [earth],
·people [the inhabitants] of the world will learn ·the right way of living [righteousness; justice].
10 Evil people will not learn ·to do good [righteousness; justice]
even if you show them ·kindness [mercy; grace].
They will continue ·doing evil [acting unjustly], even if they live in a ·good world [land of uprightness];
they never see the Lord’s ·greatness [majesty].
11 Lord, ·you are ready to punish those people [L your hand is lifted up; C ready to strike],
but they do not see that.
·Show them your strong love for your people [L They will see your zeal for your people; or They will see your zealous judgment against mankind].
·Then those who are evil [L …and they] will be ashamed.
·Burn [Consume] them in the fire
·you have prepared for [L of] your ·enemies [adversaries].
12 Lord, all our ·success is [accomplishments/works are] because of what you have done,
·so give us peace [or and you give us peace/security].
13 Lord, our God, other masters besides you have ruled us,
but we ·honor [praise; remember] only ·you [L your name].
14 ·Those masters are now dead [L They are dead, never to live];
their ·ghosts [spirits] will not rise from death.
You punished and destroyed them
and erased any memory of them.
15 Lord, you ·multiplied the number of your people [enlarged/made great the nation];
you ·multiplied them [enlarged/made great the nation] and brought ·honor [glory] to yourself.
You ·widened [enlarged; extended] the borders of the land.
16 Lord, people ·remember [seek; come to] you when they are in trouble;
they ·say quiet prayers to you [or utter incantations] when you punish them.
17 Lord, ·when we are with you [or because of you],
we are like a woman giving birth to a baby;
she cries and has pain from the birth.
18 ·In the same way [L We were pregnant/conceived], we ·had pain [writhed; strained].
We gave birth, but only to wind.
We ·don’t bring [or can’t bring; haven’t brought] salvation to the ·land [earth]
·or given birth to new people for the world [L nor have the inhabitants of the earth fallen].
19 Your dead will live again;
their bodies will rise from death.
You who ·lie in the ground [L dwell in the dust],
wake up and ·be happy [shout joyfully]!
·The dew covering you [L Your dew] is ·like the dew of a new day [L a dew of lights];
the ·ground [earth] will give birth to the dead.
Judgment: Reward or Punishment
20 My people, go into your ·rooms [chambers; inner rooms]
and shut your doors behind you.
Hide in your rooms for a short time
until God’s anger ·is finished [has passed by].
21 [L For look/T behold] The Lord ·will leave [is coming out of] his place
to punish the ·people [inhabitants] of the world for their sins.
The earth will ·show [reveal; disclose] ·the blood of the people who have been killed [L its blood];
it will not cover ·the dead [its slain] any longer.
27 ·At that time [L In that day] the Lord will punish Leviathan [C a sea creature in ancient Near Eastern texts that represents chaos; Job 3:8; 41:1, 12; Ps. 74:14; 104:26], the ·gliding [or swift-moving; or fleeing] ·snake [serpent].
He will punish Leviathan, the ·coiled [writhing; twisting] ·snake [serpent],
with his great and hard and powerful sword.
He will kill the ·monster [dragon] in the sea.
2 ·At that time [L In that day]
sing about the ·pleasant [beautiful; or fruitful] vineyard [C God’s people; 5:1–7].
3 “I, the Lord, will ·care for [watch over] that vineyard;
I will water it ·at the right time [regularly; continually].
No one will hurt it,
because I will guard it day and night.
4 I am not ·angry [wrathful].
If ·anyone builds a wall of thornbushes in war [or only there were briers and thorns against me!],
I will march ·to it [against it in battle] and burn it.
5 But if anyone comes to me for ·safety [refuge; protection]
and wants to make peace with me,
·he should come and [let him] make peace with me.”
6 In the days to come, ·the people of Jacob [L Jacob] will ·be like a plant with good roots [take root];
Israel will ·grow like a plant beginning to bloom [L blossom and bud].
·Then the world will be filled with their children [L …and fill all the world with fruit].
The Lord Will Send Israel Away
7 ·The Lord has not hurt [L Has the Lord struck down…?] his people as he ·hurt their enemies [L struck down those who struck them];
·his people have not [L have they…?] been killed like those who tried to kill them.
8 He will ·settle his argument with Israel [or oppose her; contend with her] by sending her far away.
·Like a hot desert wind [L With his fierce breath in the day of the east wind; C the east wind came from the desert], he will drive her away.
9 This is how ·Israel’s [L Jacob’s] guilt will be forgiven;
this is how its sins will be taken away:
·Israel [L He] will crush the rocks of the altar [C pagan altars] to dust,
and no ·Asherah idols [L Asherahs; C sacred trees or poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah] or ·altars [incense altars] will be left standing.
10 ·At that time [L In that day] the ·strong, walled [fortified] city will be ·empty [desolate]
an abandoned settlement, empty like a ·desert [wilderness; 17:9; 32:14, 19].
Calves will eat grass there.
They will lie down there
and ·eat leaves from [strip bare] the branches.
11 The limbs will become dry and break off,
so women will use them for firewood.
The people ·refuse to understand [lack understanding/discernment],
so ·their Creator [the one who made them] will not comfort them;
·their Maker [the one who formed them] will not ·be kind [show favor] to them.
12 ·At that time [L In that day] the Lord will begin gathering ·his people [L you, sons/children of Israel] one by one from the ·Euphrates River [L flowing River] to the brook of Egypt. He will ·separate them from others as grain is separated from chaff [thresh/L beat them out]. 13 ·At that time [In that day] a great trumpet will be blown. Then those who are ·lost [or perishing] in Assyria and those who ·have run away [were exiled/driven out] to Egypt will come and worship the Lord on that holy mountain in Jerusalem.
2 [L Therefore,] ·Does your life in Christ give you strength? [L If there is any encouragement in Christ…] ·Does his love comfort you? [L …if any comfort from (his) love…] ·Do we share together in the Spirit? [L …if any fellowship/sharing of the Spirit…] ·Do you have mercy and kindness? [L …if any mercy/affection and kindness/compassion…] 2 ·If so […then], ·make me very happy [L fulfill/complete my joy] by ·having the same thoughts [being like-minded/of one mind], sharing the same love, and having one ·mind [heart; soul] and ·purpose [goal; mind]. 3 When you do things, do not let ·selfishness [rivalry; selfish ambition] or pride be your guide. Instead, be humble and give more ·honor [regard; value] to others than to yourselves. 4 Do not ·be interested only in your own life [look out for your own interests], but ·be interested in the lives of others [look out for others’ interests].
Be Unselfish like Christ
5 In your lives you must ·think and act like [have the same attitude as] Christ Jesus. [C What follows may be from an early Christian hymn.]
6 ·Christ himself was like God in everything [L Who, being in the form of God].
But he did not think that being equal with God was something to be ·used for his own benefit [or grasped; seized; held on to].
7 But he ·gave up his place with God and made himself nothing [L emptied himself].
He ·became like [L took the form of] a ·servant [slave; bondservant]
and was born ·as a man [L in the likeness of humanity/men].
8 And ·when he was living [L being found in appearance/likeness] as a ·man [human being],
he humbled himself and was fully obedient to God,
even ·when that caused his [to the point of] death—death on a cross.
9 So God ·raised [exalted] him to the highest place.
God ·made his name [or gave him the name] ·greater than [far above] every other name
10 so that every knee will bow to the name of Jesus—
everyone in heaven, on earth, and under the earth.
11 And ·everyone [L every tongue] will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord
and bring glory to God the Father.
Be the People God Wants You to Be
12 My ·dear friends [beloved], you have always obeyed God when I was with you. It is even more important that you obey now while I am away from you. ·Keep on working to complete [Continue working out] your salvation with ·fear [awe; reverence] and trembling, 13 because God is working in you ·to help you want to do and be able to do [L both to will/desire and to work] what pleases him.
14 Do everything without ·complaining [grumbling] or arguing. 15 Then you will be ·innocent [blameless] and ·without any wrong [innocent; pure; harmless], God’s children without ·fault [blemish; C as are sacrificial animals]. ·But you are living with people that are crooked and evil [L …in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation; Deut. 32:5], among whom you shine like stars in the ·dark world [or sky; L world]. 16 You ·offer [or hold firmly/fast to] the ·teaching that gives life [message/word of life]. So ·when Christ comes again [L on the day of Christ; C judgment day], I can ·be happy [L be proud; boast] because I ·ran the race and won [L did not run for nothing/in vain]. ·My work was not wasted [L …nor did I labor for nothing/in vain].
17 Your faith makes you offer your lives as a sacrifice in serving God. [L Even] If I ·have to offer my own blood [L am poured out as a drink offering] with your sacrifice, I will be ·happy [rejoicing] and full of joy with all of you. 18 You also should be ·happy [rejoicing] and full of joy with me.
Timothy and Epaphroditus
19 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon. [L …so that] I will be ·happy [encouraged] to learn how you are. 20 I have no one else like Timothy [1:1], who ·truly [genuinely] cares for you. 21 Other people ·are interested only in their own lives [pursue their own interests/concerns], not ·in the work [the interests/concerns; L the things] of Jesus Christ. 22 You know ·the kind of person Timothy is [his tested and proven character]. You know he has served with me in ·telling the Good News [L the Gospel], as a son serves his father. 23 [L Therefore] I ·plan [hope] to send him to you quickly when I know what will happen to me [C probably referring to the outcome of Paul’s trial in Rome]. 24 I am ·sure [confident] ·that the Lord will help me to [L in the Lord that I will] come to you soon.
25 [L But; or Meanwhile,] I thought ·I should [it necessary to] send back to you Epaphroditus [4:18], my ·brother in Christ [L brother] and coworker, ·who serves with me in Christ’s army [L and fellow soldier]. He was your messenger, sent as a ·servant [minister] to meet my needs. 26 I am sending him because he ·wants very much to see [greatly misses; L longs for] all of you. He is ·worried [distressed] because you heard that he was sick. 27 Yes, he was sick, and nearly died, but God had mercy on him and me too so that I would not have ·more sadness [L sorrow upon sorrow]. 28 I ·want very much [am very eager] to send him to you so that when you see him you can ·be happy [rejoice], and I can stop worrying about you. 29 Welcome him in the Lord with much joy. Give honor to people like him, 30 because he almost died for the work of Christ. He risked his life to give me the help you could not give in your service to me.
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