Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
73 You made me and ·formed [fashioned; or established] me with your hands.
Give me understanding so I can learn your commands.
74 Let those who ·respect [fear; Prov. 1:7] you rejoice when they see me,
because I put my hope in your word.
75 Lord, I know that your ·laws [judgments] are ·right [righteous]
and that it was ·right [faithful] for you to ·punish [humble] me.
76 Comfort me with your ·love [loyalty],
as you promised me, your servant.
77 ·Have mercy [L Let your mercy/compassion come] on me so that I may live.
I ·love [delight in] your ·teachings [laws; instructions].
78 Make ·proud [arrogant] people ashamed because they ·lied about me [perverted me with lies].
But I will ·think about [meditate on] your ·orders [precepts].
79 Let those who ·respect [fear; Prov. 1:7] you return to me,
those who know your ·rules [decrees; testimonies].
80 ·Let me obey your demands perfectly [L May my heart be blameless in regard to your statutes/ordinances/requirements]
so I will not be ashamed.
10 To whom can I speak? Whom can I warn?
Who will listen to me?
·The people of Israel have closed ears [L Your ears have a foreskin; C are uncircumcised; a metaphor for not listening to God],
so they cannot ·hear my warnings [L pay attention].
·They don’t like the word of the Lord [L The word of the Lord is a reproach to them];
they ·don’t want to listen to it [L take no pleasure in it]!
11 But I am full of the anger of the Lord,
and I am ·tired [weary] of holding it in.
“Pour ·out my anger [L it out] on the children who play in the street
and on the young men gathered together.
A husband and his wife will both be caught in his anger,
as will the very old and ·aged [L full of years].
12 Their houses will be turned over to others,
along with their fields and wives,
because I will ·raise [L stretch out] my hand
·and punish [L against] the people of Judah,” says the Lord.
13 “Everyone, from the least important to the greatest,
is greedy for ·money [unjust gain].
Even the prophets and priests
all ·tell lies [act falsely; are deceptive].
14 They tried to heal my people’s ·serious injuries [fracture]
as if they were small wounds.
They said, ‘·It’s all right, it’s all right [L Peace, peace].’
But ·really, it is not all right [L there is no peace].
15 They should be ashamed of the ·terrible way they act [abominations they do],
but they are not ashamed at all.
They don’t even know how to blush [C about their sins].
So they will fall, along with ·everyone else [L those who fall].
They will ·be thrown to the ground [stumble] ·when [L at the time] I punish them,” says the Lord.
16 This is what the Lord says:
“Stand ·where the roads cross [at the crossroads] and look.
Ask where the ·old [eternal; enduring] way is [Deut. 32:7],
where the good way is, and walk on it.
If you do, you will find rest for ·yourselves [souls].
But they have said, ‘We will not ·walk on the good way [follow it].’
17 I set watchmen [C prophets] over you
and told you, ‘·Listen for [Pay attention to] the sound of the ·war trumpet [ram’s horn]!’
But they said, ‘We will not ·listen [pay attention].’
18 So listen, all you nations,
and ·pay attention [L know], you ·witnesses [assembly].
Watch what I will do to them [C the people of Judah].
19 Hear this, people of the earth:
I am going to bring ·disaster [trouble; evil] to this people [C of Judah]
because of the ·evil they plan [L the fruit of their plots].
They have not ·listened [paid attention] to my ·messages [words]
and have rejected my ·teachings [laws; instructions].
21 After these things [L had been fulfilled/accomplished], Paul decided [L in his spirit; or in the Spirit] to go to Jerusalem, planning to go through Macedonia [C northern Greece] and Achaia [C southern Greece] and then on to Jerusalem. He said, “After I have been ·to Jerusalem [L there], I must also ·visit [L see] Rome.” 22 Paul sent Timothy and Erastus, two of his ·helpers [assistants], ahead to Macedonia, but he himself stayed in [C the province of] Asia for a while.
Trouble in Ephesus
23 And during [or about; at] that time, there was ·some serious trouble [L no small disturbance] in Ephesus about ·the Way of Jesus [L the Way; C another name for the Christian movement; 9:2; 18:25; 22:4]. 24 A man named Demetrius, who worked with silver, made little silver ·models that looked like the temple [L shrines; C probably reliefs depicting the goddess in her temple] of the goddess Artemis [C Greek goddess of fertility, worshiped particularly in Ephesus]. ·Those who did this work [The artisans/craftsmen] made much money [L had no little business]. 25 ·Demetrius [L He] had a meeting with them and ·some others [L workers] who did ·the same kind of work [or similar trades]. He told them, “Men, you know that ·we make a lot of money [our wealth/livelihood comes] from this business. 26 But ·look at [L you have seen and heard] what this man Paul is doing. He has ·convinced [persuaded] and ·turned away [or led astray] many people, not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of [C the province of] Asia! He says the gods made by human hands are not ·real [L gods (at all); Is. 44:9–20; 46:1–7; 1 Cor. 8:4–6]. 27 There is a danger that our business will ·lose its good name [be discredited], but there is also another danger: People will begin to think that the temple of the great goddess Artemis is not important, and the goddess herself, whom everyone in [C the province of] Asia and the whole world worships, will ·lose [be deposed of/stripped of] her majesty [magnificence; greatness].
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