Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Hymn of Thanksgiving
For the director of music. A psalm of David. A song.
65 God, ·you will be praised in Jerusalem [L praise is due/proper/ fitting to you in Zion; C the location of the Temple].
We will ·keep our promises [fulfill our vows] to you.
2 You ·hear [or answer] our prayers.
All ·people [L flesh] will come to you.
3 Our guilt ·overwhelms [overpowers] us,
but you ·forgive [wipe/blot out; make atonement for] our ·sins [transgressions].
4 ·Happy [Blessed] are the people you choose
and ·invite [L bring near] to stay in your court.
We are ·filled [satisfied] with good things in your house,
your holy Temple.
5 You answer us in amazing ways with ·vindication [victory; righteousness],
God our ·Savior [Victor].
People ·everywhere on [L of all the ends of] the earth
and ·beyond the sea [L the farthest seas] ·trust [have confidence in] you.
6 You ·made [established] the mountains by your strength;
you are ·dressed [girded; armed] in power.
7 You ·stopped [silence; calm] the roaring seas,
the roaring waves [C representing chaos],
and the ·uproar [tumult] of the ·nations [peoples].
8 Even those people at the ends of the earth fear your ·miracles [signs].
You are praised from ·where the sun rises [the east; L the gateways of the morning] to ·where it sets [the west; L evening].
9 You ·take care of [visit] the land and water it;
you make it very ·fertile [rich].
The ·rivers [channels] of God are full of water.
Grain grows because you make it grow.
10 You send rain to the plowed fields;
you ·fill the rows with water [level its ridges].
You soften the ground with rain,
and then you bless ·it with crops [its growth].
11 You ·give [L crown] the year ·a good harvest [L with your goodness/bounty],
and ·you load the wagons with many crops [L your wagon tracks/ruts drip with plenty].
12 The ·desert [wilderness] ·is covered [drips] with ·grass [pasturage]
and the hills with happiness.
13 The ·pastures [meadows] are ·full of [L clothed with] flocks,
and the valleys are ·covered [wrapped] with grain.
Everything shouts and sings for joy.
6 “You heard and saw everything that happened,
·so you should [L will you not…?] tell this news to others.
·Now [From this time on] I will tell you about new things,
hidden things that you don’t know yet.
7 ·These things are happening [L They are created] now, not long ago;
you have not heard about them before today.
So you cannot say, ‘[L Look; or Yes; T Behold] We already knew about that.’
8 But you have not heard; you have not understood.
Even long ago ·you did not listen [L your ear has not been opened].
I knew you would surely ·turn [act treacherously] against me;
you ·have fought against me [L were called a rebel] ·since you were born [L from the womb].
9 But for my ·own [L name’s] sake I will ·be patient [L hold back my anger].
·People will praise me because [L For the sake of my praise] I did not become angry
and ·destroy you [cut you off].
10 I have ·made you pure [refined you], but not by fire, as silver is made pure.
I have purified you ·by giving you troubles [L in the furnace of affliction/suffering].
11 I do this for myself, for my own sake.
·I will not [L How could I…?] let ·people speak evil against me [L my name be defiled/profaned],
and I will not ·let some god take my glory [L give/share my glory with another].
Paul Talks About His Work
14 My brothers and sisters, I am ·sure [fully convinced] that you are [indeed] full of goodness. I know that you ·have all the knowledge you need [L are filled with all knowledge] and that you are able to ·teach [instruct; admonish; warn] each other. 15 But I have written to you very ·openly [boldly] about some ·things [points; L parts] I wanted you to remember. I did this because ·God gave me this special gift [or of the grace God gave me]: 16 to be a ·minister [servant] of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. I ·served God [or perform priestly service] ·by teaching his Good News [for the Good News/Gospel of/about God], so that the Gentiles could be an offering that God would accept—an offering ·made holy [sanctified; purified] by the Holy Spirit.
17 So I ·am proud [have a reason to boast] of what I have done for God in Christ Jesus. 18 I will not [dare] talk about anything except what Christ has done through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God. They have obeyed God because of what I have said and done, 19 because of the power of ·miracles [signs] and ·the great things they saw [wonders; marvels], ·and because of [or acccomplished through] the power of the Spirit of God. I have ·finished my work of preaching [fulfilled my commission to preach; or fully preached] the ·Good News [Gospel] from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum [C a Roman province northwest of Macedonia; modern Albania, Serbia and Montenegro]. 20 [So; In this way] I always ·want [or try; make it my ambition] to preach the ·Good News [Gospel] in places where ·people have never heard of Christ [L Christ has not been named], ·because I do not want [or in order not] to build on the ·work someone else has already started [L foundation of others]. 21 But [L as; just as] it is written in the Scriptures:
“Those who were not told about him will see,
and those who have not heard about him will understand [Is. 52:15].”
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