Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Wishing to Be in the Temple
For the director of music. On the gittith [C perhaps a musical term or instrument]. A psalm of the sons of Korah [C descendants of Kohath, son of Levi, who served as temple musicians; 1 Chr. 6:22].
84 Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts],
how lovely is your ·Temple [L residence; dwelling place]!
2 I ·want more than anything
to be in [L long, even faint for] the courtyards of the ·Lord’s Temple [L Lord].
My ·whole being wants
to be with [L heart/mind and flesh sing for joy to] the living God.
3 The sparrows have found a home,
and the swallows have nests.
They raise their young near your altars,
Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], my King and my God.
4 ·Happy [Blessed] are the people who live at your ·Temple [L house];
they are always praising you. ·
5 ·Happy [Blessed] are those whose strength comes from you,
·who want to travel to Jerusalem [L in whose hearts are highways; C they want to make pilgrimage to Jerusalem to celebrate religious festivals].
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca [C “weeping,” location unknown],
they make it ·like [L a place with] a spring.
The ·autumn [early] rains ·fill [wrap; cover] it with ·pools of water [or blessings].
7 The people ·get stronger as they go [L go from strength to strength],
and everyone ·meets with [L sees] ·God [L the God of gods] in ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple].
17 This is what the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says:
“Now, ·think about these things [L reflect; consider]!
Call for the women who ·cry at funerals [mourn; C professional mourners] to come.
Send for those women who are ·good at that job [skilled; wise].
18 Let them come quickly
and ·cry loudly [wail; L raise a lament] for us.
Then our eyes will ·fill [flow] with tears,
and ·streams of water will flow from our eyelids [L eyelids will run with water].
19 The sound of ·loud crying [lamentation] is heard from ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple]:
‘We are ·truly ruined [devastated; desolated]!
We are truly ·ashamed [humiliated]!
We must ·leave [abandon; forsake] our land,
because our ·houses [residences] are ·in ruins [L thrown down].’”
20 Now, women [C of Judah], listen to the word of the Lord;
·open your ears to hear [L let your ears take in] the words of his mouth.
Teach your daughters ·how to cry loudly [a lament].
Teach ·one another [L each her neighbor] a ·funeral song [dirge].
21 Death has climbed in through our windows
and has entered our ·strong cities [palaces].
·Death has taken away [L …to cut off] our children who play in the streets
and the young men ·who meet in [L from] the city squares.
22 Say, “This is what the Lord says:
‘The ·dead bodies [corpses] of people will ·lie [L fall]
in the open field like dung.
They will lie like grain ·a farmer has cut [L after the harvester/reaper],
but there will be no one to gather them.’”
23 This is what the Lord says:
“The wise must not ·brag [boast] about their wisdom.
The strong must not ·brag [boast] about their strength.
The rich must not ·brag [boast] about their ·money [riches].
24 But if people want to ·brag [boast], let them ·brag [boast]
that they understand and know me.
Let them ·brag [boast] that I am the Lord,
and that I am ·kind [loyal] and ·fair [just],
and ·that I do things that are right [righteous] on earth.
·This kind of bragging pleases me [L In this I am pleased],” says the Lord [1 Cor. 1:31; 2 Cor. 10:17; James 1:9–10].
25 The Lord says, “The ·time is [L days are] coming when I will punish all those who are circumcised only in the ·flesh [L foreskin; C observing external rituals (Gen. 17:9–14), but not from the heart; 4:4; 6:10]: 26 the people of Egypt, Judah, Edom, ·Ammon [L the sons of Ammon], Moab, and the ·desert [wilderness] people who ·cut their hair short [L shave their temples; Deut. 14:1]. ·The men in all those countries [L All these nations] are not circumcised. And the ·whole family [L house] of Israel ·does not give itself to serving me [L is uncircumcised in/of heart].”
Obey the Teachings
10 But you have followed what I teach, the way I live, my ·goal [purpose/aim (in life)], faith, patience, and love. ·You know I never give up [L …my endurance]. 11 ·You know how I have been hurt and have suffered […my persecution and suffering], as in Antioch [Acts 13:14–52], Iconium [Acts 14:1–5], and Lystra [Acts 14:6–20]. I have ·suffered [L endured such persecutions], but the Lord ·saved [rescued; delivered] me from all those troubles. 12 [L Indeed; In fact] Everyone who wants to live ·as God desires [in a godly manner], in Christ Jesus, will be persecuted. 13 But people who are evil and ·cheat others [impostors; charlatans] will go from bad to worse. ·They will fool others, but they will also be fooling themselves [L …deceiving and being deceived].
14 But you should continue following the teachings you learned. You ·know [are confident] they are true, ·because you trust those who taught you [L knowing from whom you learned them]. 15 Since you were a ·child [infant] you have known the ·Holy Scriptures [or sacred writings] which are able to make you wise. And that wisdom leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.