Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Book 1: Psalms 1–41
Two Ways to Live
1 ·Happy [Blessed] are those who don’t ·listen to [L walk in the counsel of] the wicked,
who don’t ·go where sinners go [L stand in the way of sinners],
who don’t ·do what evil people do [L sit in the seat of mockers].
2 They ·love [delight in] the Lord’s ·teachings [laws; instructions],
and they ·think about [meditate on] those ·teachings [laws; instructions] day and night.
3 They are like a tree planted by ·a river [L streams of water; C full of life, strong, vibrant].
The tree produces fruit in season,
and its leaves don’t ·die [wither].
Everything they do will ·succeed [prosper].
4 But wicked people are not like that.
They are like chaff that the wind blows away [C dead, unstable].
5 So the wicked will not ·escape God’s punishment [L stand in the judgment].
Sinners will not ·worship with God’s people [L be in the assembly of the righteous].
6 This is because the Lord ·takes care of his people [L knows the way of the righteous],
but the way of the wicked will be destroyed.
12 If you pay attention to these laws and obey them carefully, the Lord your God will keep his ·agreement [covenant; treaty] and show his ·love [loyalty] to you, as he promised your ·ancestors [fathers]. 13 He will love and bless you. He will ·make the number of your people grow; he will bless you with children [L multiply the fruit of your womb]. ·He will bless your fields with good crops and will give you grain, new wine, and oil [L …and the fruit of your land, your grain, new wine, and oil]. ·He will bless your herds with calves and your flocks with lambs [L …the increase of your cattle and the issue of your flocks] in the land he promised your ·ancestors [fathers] he would give you. 14 You will be blessed more than any other people [Gen. 12:1–3]. ·Every husband and wife will have children, and all your cattle will have calves [L There will be no barrenness or sterility among you or your livestock]. 15 The Lord will take away all disease from you; ·you will not have [L he will not inflict you with] the terrible diseases that were in Egypt, but he will give them to all the people who hate you. 16 You must ·destroy [devour] all the people the Lord your God hands over to you. Do not ·feel sorry for [pity] them, and do not ·worship [serve] their gods, or they will trap you.
17 You might say ·to yourselves [L in your hearts], “Because these nations are stronger than we are, ·we can’t [L how can we…?] ·force them out [dispossess them].” 18 But don’t be afraid of them. Remember what the Lord your God did to all of Egypt and ·its king [L Pharaoh]. 19 ·You [L Your eyes] saw for yourselves the troubles, signs, and miracles he did, how the Lord’s ·great power [L strong hand] and ·strength [L outstretched arm] brought you out of Egypt. The Lord your God will do the same thing to all the nations you now fear. 20 The Lord your God will also send ·terror [or pestilence; or hornets] among them so that even those who are alive and hiding from you will die. 21 Don’t ·be afraid of [dread] them, because the Lord your God is with you; he is a great God and ·people are afraid of him [awesome]. 22 When the Lord your God ·forces those nations out [clears away/out those nations] of the land, he will do it little by little ahead of you. You won’t be able to destroy them all at once; otherwise, the wild animals will grow too many in number [C because of the reduced population]. 23 But the Lord your God will hand those nations over to you, ·confusing [panicking] them until they are destroyed. 24 The Lord will ·help you defeat their kings [L give their kings into your hand], and ·the world will forget who they were [L you will destroy their name from under the heavens]. No one will be able to ·stop you [stand against you]; you will destroy them all. 25 Burn up their idols in the fire. Do not ·wish for [covet] the silver and gold they have, and don’t take it for yourselves, or you will be trapped by it. The Lord your God ·hates [despises] it. 26 Do not bring one of those ·hateful [despised] things into your house, or you will be ·completely destroyed [devoted to the Lord; 20:15–18; Josh. 6:17] along with it. ·Hate [Detest] and reject those things; they must be ·completely destroyed [devoted to the Lord; 20:15–18; Josh. 6:17].
News About the People with Paul
7 Tychicus [Acts 20:4; Eph. 6:21; 2 Tim. 4:12; Titus 3:12] is my ·dear [beloved] brother in Christ and a faithful ·minister [servant] and ·servant with me [fellow slave/bondservant] in the Lord. He will tell you all the things that are happening to me. 8 This is why I am sending him: so you may know how we are[a] and he may encourage ·you [L your hearts]. 9 I send him with Onesimus [Philem. 10], a faithful and ·dear [beloved] ·brother in Christ [L brother], and one of your ·group [or own people; or fellow-citizens]. They will tell you all that has happened here.
10 Aristarchus [Acts 19:29; 20:4; Philem. 24], a prisoner with me, and Mark [Acts 12:25; 13:13; 15:37–39], the cousin of Barnabas [Acts 4:36; 9:26–27; 11:22, 25, 30; 13:2–4; 15:36–39], greet you. (·I have already told you what to do [L You have received instructions] about Mark. If he comes, welcome him.) 11 Jesus, who is called Justus, also greets you. These are the only ·Jewish believers [L ones of the circumcision] who work with me for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me.
12 Epaphras [1:7], a ·servant [slave; bondservant] of Jesus Christ, from your ·group [or people; or city], also greets you. He always ·prays [prays earnestly; L wrestles/struggles in prayer] for you that you will ·grow to be spiritually mature [or stand complete/perfect] and ·confident that you are in God’s will [L fully assured in all the will of God]. 13 I ·know [can testify/bear witness that] he has worked hard for you and ·the people [or the churches; L those] in Laodicea [2:1] and in Hierapolis [C a city north of Colossae, in present-day southwest Turkey]. 14 Demas [2 Tim. 4:10; Philem. 24] and our ·dear [beloved] friend Luke [2 Tim. 4:11; Philem. 24], the doctor, greet you.
15 Greet the brothers and sisters in Laodicea [2:1]. And greet Nympha and the church that meets in her house. 16 After this letter is read to you, be sure it is also read to the church in Laodicea. And you read the letter ·that I wrote to [L from] Laodicea. 17 Tell Archippus [Philem. 2], “Be sure to ·finish [fulfill] the ·work [ministry; service] ·the Lord gave you [L you received in the Lord].”
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