Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Praise God for What He Has Done
For the director of music. A song. A psalm.
66 Everything on earth, shout with joy to God!
2 ·Sing [Make a psalm] about ·his glory [L the glory of his name]!
Make his praise glorious!
3 Say to God, “Your works are ·amazing [majestic]!
Because your power is great,
your enemies ·fall [cringe; cower] before you.
4 All the earth ·worships [bows down to] you
and ·sings praises to [makes a psalm for] you.
They ·sing praises to [make a psalm for] your name [Phil. 2:10–12].” ·
5 Come and see what God has done,
the ·amazing [majestic] things he has done for people.
6 He turned the sea into dry land [Ex. 14–15].
The people crossed the river on foot [Josh. 3].
So let us rejoice because of what he did.
7 He rules forever with his power.
·He keeps his eye [L His eyes keep watch] on the nations,
so ·people should not turn [the rebellious might not rise] against him. ·
8 You people, ·praise [bless] our God;
·loudly sing his praise [L let the sound of his praise be heard].
9 He ·protects our lives [L sets our lives among the living]
and does not let ·us be defeated [L our feet be moved].
Manasseh King of Judah(A)
21 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he ·was king [reigned] fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. 2 He did ·what the Lord said was wrong [L evil in the eyes/sight of the Lord]. He did the ·hateful things [detestable/abominable practices] the other nations had done—the nations that the Lord had ·forced [driven] out of the land ahead of the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel]. 3 Manasseh’s father, Hezekiah, had destroyed the ·places where gods were worshiped [L high places; 12:3], but Manasseh rebuilt them. He built altars for Baal, and he made an Asherah ·idol [pole; C a sacred tree or pole dedicated to the goddess Asherah; 13:6] as Ahab king of Israel had done. Manasseh also worshiped all the ·stars of the sky [hosts of heaven] and served them. 4 The Lord had said about the ·Temple [L house], “I will ·be worshiped [L put my name] in Jerusalem,” but Manasseh built altars [C pagan] in the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. 5 He built altars to worship the ·stars [hosts of heaven] in the two courtyards of the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. 6 He ·made his own son pass through fire [sacrificed his son in the fire; 16:3]. He practiced ·magic [sorcery; soothsaying] and ·told the future by explaining signs and dreams [divination], and he ·got advice from [consulted] mediums and ·fortune-tellers [psychics; spiritualists]. He did ·many things the Lord said were wrong [L much evil in the eyes/sight of the Lord], which ·made the Lord angry [aroused/provoked the Lord to anger].
7 Manasseh carved an Asherah ·idol [pole; C a sacred tree or pole dedicated to the goddess Asherah; 13:6] and put it in the ·Temple [L house]. The Lord had said to David and his son Solomon about the ·Temple [L house], “I will ·be worshiped [L put my name] forever in this ·Temple [L house] and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel. 8 I will never again make the ·Israelites [L feet of Israel to] wander out of the land I gave their ·ancestors [fathers]. But they must ·obey [observe; do] everything I have commanded them and all the ·teachings [law; L torah] my servant Moses gave them.” 9 But the people did not listen. Manasseh led them to do more evil than the nations the Lord had destroyed ahead of the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel].
10 The Lord said through his servants the prophets, 11 “Manasseh king of Judah has done these ·hateful things [detestable/abominable practices]. He has done more ·evil [wickedness] than the Amorites before him. He also has led Judah to sin with his idols. 12 So this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will bring ·so much trouble [such disaster/calamity] on Jerusalem and Judah that anyone who hears about it will ·be shocked [L have tingling ears]. 13 I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line used for Samaria , and the plumb line used against Ahab’s ·family [L house] will be used on Jerusalem. I will wipe out Jerusalem as a person wipes a dish and turns it upside down. 14 I will ·throw away the rest of my people who are left [abandon/forsake/reject the remnant of my inheritance/heritage]. I will ·give them [hand them over; deliver them] to their enemies, and they will be ·robbed by all [the plunder and spoil of] their enemies, 15 because my people did ·what I said was wrong [L evil in my eyes/sight]. They have ·made me angry [aroused/provoked my anger] from the day their ·ancestors [fathers] left Egypt until ·now [today].’”
The War Within Us
14 [L For] We know that the law is spiritual, but I am ·not spiritual [fleshly; carnal] ·since sin rules me as if I were its slave [L sold to sin; C as a slave]. 15 [L For] I do not understand the things I do. [L For] I do not do what I want to do, and I do the things I hate. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, that means I agree that the law is good [C Paul’s acknowledgement that his behavior is wrong confirms the law’s righteous standards]. 17 But [L now] I am not really the one who is doing these hated things; it is sin living in me that does them. 18 ·Yes [L For…], I know that nothing good lives in me—I mean nothing good lives in ·the part of me that is earthly and sinful [my sinful self; my sinful nature; T my flesh]. [L For] I want to do the things that are good, but I ·do not [or cannot] do them. 19 [L For] I do not do the good things I want to do, but I do the ·bad [evil] things I do not want to do. 20 So if I do things I do not want to do, then I am not the one doing them. It is sin living in me that does those things.
21 So I ·have learned this rule [or find this principle/law at work]: When I want to do good, evil is ·there with me [present within me; close at hand]. 22 [L For] In ·my mind [my inmost self; L the person within], I ·am happy with [delight in] God’s law. 23 But I see ·another law [a different standard; or another power] working in my ·body [or outward actions; L members; parts], which makes war against the ·law [standards] that my mind accepts. That other ·law [standard; or power] working in my ·body [or outward actions; L members; parts] is the law of sin, and it makes me its prisoner. 24 What a ·miserable [wretched] man I am! Who will ·save [free; rescue; deliver] me from this ·body that brings me death [body doomed to die; or burden of death]? 25 ·I thank God for saving me [L Thanks be to God!] through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So [L then] in my mind I am a slave to God’s law, but in my ·sinful self [sinful nature; T flesh] I am a slave to the ·law [principle; or power] of sin.
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