Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

A Prayer for Forgiveness

For the director of music. A psalm of David when the prophet Nathan came to David after ·David’s sin with Bathsheba [he committed adultery with/^Lhad gone to Bathsheba; 2 Sam. 11:1—12:25].

⁶ Noah was six hundred years old when the [^Lwater of the] flood came [^Lon the earth]. ⁷ He and his wife and his sons and their wives went into the ·boat [ark] to escape the waters of the flood. ⁸ The clean animals [7:2], the unclean animals, the birds, and everything that ·crawls [creeps] on the ground ⁹ came to Noah. They went into the ·boat [ark] in groups of two, male and female, just as God had commanded Noah. ¹⁰ Seven days later the ·flood started [^Lwaters of the flood came on the earth].

The Flood Ends

8 But God remembered Noah and all the ·wild [beasts] and ·tame animals [cattle] with him in the ·boat [ark]. He made a wind ·blow [pass] over the earth, and the water ·went down [subsided]. ² The ·underground springs [^Lfountains/springs of the deep] stopped flowing, and the ·clouds [floodgates; ^Lwindows] in the ·sky [heavens] ·stopped pouring down rain [^Lwere closed and the rain from the sky/heavens were restrained]. The water that covered the earth began to ·go down [recede]. After one hundred fifty days ·it [^Lthe waters] had ·gone down [abated] so much that the ·boat [ark] touched land again. It came to rest on one of the mountains of Ararat [^Cin ancient Urartu, present-day eastern Turkey] on the seventeenth day of the seventh month. ⁵ The water continued to ·go down [recede] so that by the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains could be seen.

False Teachers

2 There used to be false prophets among God’s people [Deut. 13:1–5; 18:14–22; Jer. 28] just as you will have some false teachers ·in your group [^Lamong you; Jude 4]. They will secretly ·teach [bring in; introduce] ·things that are wrong—teachings that will cause people to be lost [^Ldestructive heresies/opinions/factions]. They will even ·refuse to accept [^Ldeny] the Master [^CJesus] who bought ·their freedom [^Lthem; ^Cas a master purchases a slave; 1 Cor. 6:20; 1 Pet. 1:18]. So they will bring quick ·ruin [destruction] on themselves. ² Many will follow their ·evil [depraved; debauched; licentious] ways and ·say evil things about [malign; slander] the way of truth. ³ ·Those false teachers only want your money, so [^LIn their greed] they will ·use [exploit] you ·by telling you lies [with deceptive/false words]. Their judgment spoken against them long ago is ·still coming [not idle], and their ruin ·is certain [does not sleep].

⁴ [^LFor if] When angels sinned, God did not ·let them go free without punishment [spare them]. [^LBut] He sent them to ·hell [^LTartarus; ^Ca Greek term for the underworld] and put them in caves^[a] of darkness where they are being held for judgment [Gen. 6:1–4; Jude 6]. ⁵ And God ·punished the world long ago [^Ldid not spare the ancient world] when he brought a flood to the world that was full of ·people who were against him [the ungodly]. But God ·saved [protected; kept] Noah, ·who preached about being right with God [a preacher of righteousness; ^CJewish tradition described Noah preaching repentance], and seven other people with him [^Chis wife plus his three sons and their wives; Gen. 6—9]. ⁶ And God also ·destroyed [condemned] the evil cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them until they were ashes [Gen. 19; Jude 7]. He made those cities an example ·of what will happen to [or for future generations of] ·those who are against God [^Lthe ungodly; Jude 7]. ⁷ But he saved Lot from those cities. Lot, a ·good [righteous] man, was ·troubled [distressed; or oppressed] because of the ·filthy lives [depraved behavior] of ·evil [lawless] people. ⁸ (Lot was a ·good [righteous] man, but because he lived with evil people ·every day [day after day], his ·good heart [righteous soul] was ·hurt [tormented] by the ·evil things [lawless deeds] he saw and heard.) ⁹ So the Lord knows how to save ·those who serve him [the godly] ·when troubles come [from trial/testing/temptation]. He will hold ·evil people [the wicked/unrighteous] ·and punish them, while waiting for the judgment day [or while they wait for their punishment on judgment day]. ¹⁰ That punishment is especially for those who ·live by doing the evil things their sinful selves want [^Lgo after the flesh with defiling passion/lust] and who ·hate [despise] authority [Jude 8].

These false teachers are bold and ·do anything they want [arrogant; self-willed]. They ·are not afraid [^Ldo not tremble] to ·speak against [slander; blaspheme] ·the angels [^Lthe glorious ones; ^Cprobably angelic beings; unclear whether referring to good or evil angels; Jude 8].