Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
8 The Eternal is gracious.
He shows mercy to His people.
For Him anger does not come easily, but faithful love does—and it is rich and abundant.
9 But the Eternal’s goodness is not exclusive—it is offered freely to all.
His mercy extends to all His creation.
14 The Eternal sustains all who stumble on their way.
For those who are broken down, God is near. He raises them up in hope.
15 All eyes have turned toward You, waiting in expectation;
when they are hungry, You feed them right on time.
16 The desires of every living thing
are met by Your open hand.
17 The Eternal is right in all His ways,
and He is kind in all His acts.
18 The Eternal stays close to those who call on Him,
those who pray sincerely.
19 All of you who revere Him—
God will satisfy your desires.
He hears the cries for help, and He brings salvation.
20 All of you who love God—
He will watch out for you,
but total destruction is around the corner for all the wicked.
21 My lips will sing the praise of the Eternal.
Let every creature join me and praise the holy name of God—forever and always!
17 Get up. Get up, and get moving! Stand up, Jerusalem,
you who have experienced firsthand the punishing anger of God.
You have drunk that terrible cup to the last gritty drop,
and it left you reeling, drunk on distress.
18 Ah, poor Jerusalem! No one comes to guide her along.
Of all her people, all the ones whom the city nurtured and raised to adulthood,
None take her hand now in her stupor of pain.
19 Twin disasters have befallen you:
devastation and destruction, famine and war.
Who can relieve your anguish and pain?
Who is left to provide comfort?
20 Her people are lying around on every corner,
weary and faint, like an antelope trapped in a net.
Each is overcome with the Eternal’s anger; each suffers His rebuke.
21 But now, listen! Listen, you who are miserable,
you who are intoxicated, but not on wine.
22 The Lord, your God, the Eternal, who pleads for His people, has this to say:
Eternal One: Look! I have taken away the cup that left you reeling—the cup of My anger—
and sobered you up; I will never make you drink it again.
23 And I will give that drink to those who abused and oppressed you—
who ordered you, “Get down so we can walk all over you.”
And your backs became the ground they walked on, the streets they passed by.
The tone changes abruptly. One minute Paul is celebrating the power of Jesus’ love; the next he is grieving because they are not pressing their way into the Kingdom.
6 Clearly it is not that God’s word has failed. The truth is that not everyone descended from Israel is truly Israel. 7 Just because people can claim Abraham as their father does not make them his true children. But in the Scriptures, it says, “Through Isaac your covenant children will be named.”[a] 8 The proper interpretation is this: Abraham’s children by natural descent are not necessarily God’s covenant people; what matters is that His children receive and live the promise. 9 For this is the word God promised: “In due time, I will come, and Sarah will give birth to a son.”[b] 10 But the story didn’t stop there. Remember when Rebekah conceived her twin boys by our father Isaac? 11-12 The twins were in Rebekah’s womb when God said to her, “The older will serve the younger.”[c] This was not based on merit or actions; the twins had not done anything to please or displease God. This was God’s call on each son and His desired purposes. 13 Just as the Scriptures say, “I loved Jacob, but I hated Esau.”[d]
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.