Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Book 5: Psalms 107–150
God Saves from Many Dangers
107 Thank the Lord because he is good.
His ·love [loyalty] continues forever.
2 That is what those whom the Lord has ·saved [redeemed] should say.
He has ·saved [redeemed] them from the ·enemy [foe]
3 and has gathered them from other lands,
from east and west, north and south [Is. 51:11; C perhaps after the Babylonian exile].
33 He ·changed [turned; L set] rivers into a ·desert [wilderness]
and springs of water into ·dry [parched; thirsty] ground.
34 He made ·fertile [fruitful] land salty
because the people there did evil [Gen. 19].
35 He ·changed [turned; L set] the ·desert [wilderness] into pools of water
and ·dry [parched] ground into springs of water.
36 He had the hungry settle there
so they could ·build [establish] a city in which to live.
37 They ·planted seeds in the fields and vineyards [L sowed fields and planted vineyards],
and they had a ·good harvest [fruitful crop].
38 God blessed them, and they ·grew in number [multiplied greatly].
Their cattle did not ·become fewer [diminish].
39 Because of ·disaster [oppression], ·troubles [evil], and sadness,
·their families [L they] ·grew smaller [diminished] and ·weaker [were brought low].
40 He ·showed he was displeased with [L poured contempt on] their ·leaders [princes]
and made them wander in a pathless ·desert [waste].
41 But he lifted the ·poor [needy] out of their suffering
and ·made their families grow [L set their clans] like flocks of sheep.
42 ·Good people [The upright/virtuous] see this and are happy,
but the wicked ·say nothing [L shuts their mouths].
43 Whoever is wise will ·remember [keep; guard] these things
and will ·think about [consider] the ·love [loyalty] of the Lord.
God Gives What Is Good
55 The Lord says, “All you who are thirsty,
come ·and drink [L to the waters; John 7:37].
Those of you who do not have money,
come, buy and eat [Prov. 9:5]!
Come buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
2 Why spend your money on something that is not ·real food [bread]?
Why work for something that doesn’t really satisfy you?
Listen closely to me, and you will eat what is good;
your soul will ·enjoy [delight in] the ·rich food that satisfies [L fat].
3 Come to me and ·listen [extend your ear];
listen to me so you may live.
I will make an ·agreement with you that will last forever [everlasting covenant/treaty with you].
I will give you the ·blessings [covenant love; loyalty; lovingkindness; T sure mercies] I promised to David [2 Sam. 7:11–14; Ps. 89:33–35; Acts 13:34].
4 [L Look; T Behold] I made David a witness ·of my power for all [L to the] nations,
a ruler and commander of many nations.
5 [L Look; T Behold] You will call for nations that you don’t yet know.
And these nations that do not know you will run to you
because of the Lord your God,
because of the Holy One of Israel [1:4] who ·honors [has glorified] you.”
6 ·So you should look for [L Seek] the Lord ·before it is too late [while he may be found];
you should call to him while he is near.
7 The wicked should ·stop doing wrong [abandon/forsake their ways],
and ·they [L the unrighteous person] should stop their evil thoughts.
They should return to the Lord so he may have ·mercy [compassion] on them.
They should come to our God, because he will freely forgive them [Deut. 4:25–31; 30:1–10; 1 Kin. 8:46–53].
8 The Lord says, “My thoughts are not like your thoughts.
Your ways are not like my ways.
9 Just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts higher than your thoughts [Ps. 103:11].
More than Four Thousand People Fed(A)
8 ·Another time [About this time] there was ·a [another] great crowd with Jesus that had nothing to eat. So Jesus called his ·followers [disciples] and said, 2 “I ·feel sorry [have compassion] for these people, because they have already been with me for three days, and they have nothing to eat. 3 If I send them home hungry, they will ·faint [collapse] on the way. Some of them ·live a long way from here [have come from far away].”
4 Jesus’ ·followers [disciples] answered, “·How [L From where] can ·we [L anyone] get enough bread in this ·remote place [desolate place; desert] to feed them?”
5 Jesus asked, “How many loaves of bread do you have?”
They answered, “Seven.”
6 Jesus told the people to ·sit [recline] on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves, gave thanks to God, and ·divided [broke] the bread. He gave the pieces to his ·followers [disciples] to give to the people, and they did so. 7 ·The followers [L They] also had a few small fish. After Jesus ·gave thanks for [blessed] the fish, he told his ·followers [disciples] to give them to the people also. 8 All the people ate and were satisfied. Then ·his followers [L they] filled seven ·baskets [large baskets; C a different word than in the feeding of the 5,000; 6:43] with the leftover pieces of food. 9 There were about four thousand people who ate. After they had eaten, Jesus ·sent them home [dismissed them]. 10 Then ·right away [immediately] he got into a boat with his ·followers [disciples] and went to the area of Dalmanutha. [C This place is unknown; it was probably on the western shore of Lake Galilee.]
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