Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
33 Lord, teach me ·your demands [L the way of your demands/statutes/ordinances/requirements],
and I will ·keep [observe] them until the end.
34 Help me understand, so I can ·keep [protect] your ·teachings [instructions; laws],
·obeying [guarding] them with all my heart.
35 Lead me in the path of your commands,
because ·that makes me happy [L I take pleasure in them].
36 Make me want to keep your ·rules [decrees; testimonies]
·instead of wishing for riches [L not to gain/profit].
37 ·Keep me [L Turn my eyes] from looking at ·worthless [false; vain] things.
Let me live ·by your word [L in your path].
38 ·Keep your promise [Confirm your word] to me, your servant,
so you will be ·respected [feared; Prov. 1:7].
39 Take away ·the shame [my scorn/humiliation] I fear,
because your ·laws [judgments] are good.
40 How I ·want to follow [long for] your ·orders [precepts].
Give me life because of your ·goodness [righteousness].
The Pot and the Meat
24 The ·Lord spoke his word [L word of the Lord came] to me in the ninth year [C since King Jehoiachin’s exile (1:2)], in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month [C January 15, 588 bc]. He said: 2 “·Human [T Son of man; 2:1], write down ·today’s date [L the name of this day], this very ·date [L day]. The king of Babylon has ·surrounded [laid siege to] Jerusalem this very day. 3 And tell a ·story [parable] to the ·people who refuse to obey me [L rebellious house]. Say to them: ‘This is what the Lord God says:
Put on the pot; put it on
and pour water in it.
4 Put in the pieces of meat,
the best pieces—the ·legs [thighs] and the shoulders.
Fill it with the best bones.
5 Take the best of the flock,
and pile ·wood [or bones] under the pot.
Boil the pieces of meat
until even the bones are cooked.
6 “‘This is what the Lord God says:
·How terrible it will be for [L Woe to] the city of ·murderers [L blood]!
·How terrible it will be for [L Woe to] the ·rusty [corroded; rotted] pot
whose ·rust [corrosion; rot] will not come off!
Take the meat out of it, piece by piece.
·Don’t choose any special piece [or Don’t cast lots for any of it].
7 “‘The blood ·from her killings [L she shed] is still in ·the city [her midst].
She poured the blood on the bare rock.
She did not pour it on the ground
where dust would cover it.
8 To stir up my ·anger [wrath] and ·revenge [vengeance],
I put ·the blood she spilled [L her blood] on the bare rock
so it will not be covered.
9 “‘So this is what the Lord God says:
·How terrible it will be for [L Woe to] the city of ·murderers [L blood]!
I myself will pile the wood high [C for burning].
10 Pile up the wood
and ·light [kindle] the fire.
Cook the meat well.
·Mix in the spices [or Pour out all the broth],
and let the bones burn.
11 Then set the empty pot on the coals
so it may become hot and its copper sides glow.
·The dirty scum stuck inside it [So that its impurities/uncleanness] may then melt
and its ·rust [corrosion; rot] burn away.
12 ·But efforts to clean the pot have failed [L It has wearied itself with toil].
Its heavy ·rust [corrosion; rot] cannot be removed,
·even in the fire [or Into the fire with its rust/corrosion!].
13 “‘By your ·sinful action [lewdness; obscenity] you have become ·unclean [defiled; C ritually]]. I wanted to cleanse you, but you are still unclean. You will never be cleansed from your sin until my ·anger [wrath] against you is ·carried out [satisfied; exhausted].
14 “‘I, the Lord, have spoken. The time has come for me to act. I will not ·hold back punishment [relent] or feel pity or ·change my mind [or be sorry]. I will judge you by your ways and actions, says the Lord God.’”
Paul’s Love for the Christians
11 I have ·been talking like [L become] a fool, but you ·made me [compelled me to] do it. You are the ones who should ·say good things about [have commended] me. Even if I am ·worth nothing [L nothing], I am not at all inferior to those “·great [super-] apostles.”
12 ·When I was with you, I patiently did the things that prove I am an apostle [L The signs of an apostle were performed among you, with all patience/perseverance]—signs, wonders, and ·miracles [powerful deeds]. 13 In what way were you treated worse than the rest of the churches, except that I was not a burden to you? Forgive me for this ·wrong [injustice]!
14 [T Behold; L Look] I am now ready to visit you the third time [2:1, 3], and I will not be a burden to you. I want nothing from you, except you. [L For] Children should not have to save up to give to their parents. [L Rather,] Parents should save to give to their children. 15 So I ·am happy to [most gladly] ·give everything I have for you, even myself [L spend and be spent for your lives/souls]. If I love you more, will you love me less?
16 ·It is clear [Granting that; or Be that as it may] I was not a burden to you, but ·you think I was tricky and lied to catch you [L being so crafty, I took you by deceit!; C Paul is being sarcastic]. 17 Did I ·cheat [take advantage of] you by using any of the messengers I sent to you? [C The Greek question assumes a negative answer.] 18 I ·asked [urged; encouraged] Titus [2:13] to go to you, and I sent our brother with him [8:18, 22]. Titus did not cheat you, did he? ·No, you know that Titus and I did the same thing [L Did we not walk in the same footsteps…?] and with the same spirit.
19 ·Do you think we have been defending ourselves to you all this time [or All this time have you been thinking that we are defending ourselves to you]? We have been speaking in Christ and ·before [in the presence of] God, ·dear friends [beloved], and everything we do is to ·make you stronger [build you up]. 20 [L For] I am afraid that when I come, you will not be what I want you to be, and I will not be what you want me to be. I am afraid that among you there may be ·arguing [quarreling], jealousy, anger, selfish ·fighting [or ambition], ·evil talk [slander], gossip, ·pride [arrogance], and ·confusion [disorder]. 21 I am afraid that when I come to you again, my God will ·make me ashamed [or humble/humiliate me] before you. I may ·be saddened by [or mourn/grieve over] many of those who have sinned because they have not ·changed their hearts or turned [repented] from their ·impurity [uncleanness], sexual sins and the ·shameful things [debauchery; licentiousness] they have done.
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