Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Book 1: Psalms 1–41
Two Ways to Live
1 ·Happy [Blessed] are those who don’t ·listen to [L walk in the counsel of] the wicked,
who don’t ·go where sinners go [L stand in the way of sinners],
who don’t ·do what evil people do [L sit in the seat of mockers].
2 They ·love [delight in] the Lord’s ·teachings [laws; instructions],
and they ·think about [meditate on] those ·teachings [laws; instructions] day and night.
3 They are like a tree planted by ·a river [L streams of water; C full of life, strong, vibrant].
The tree produces fruit in season,
and its leaves don’t ·die [wither].
Everything they do will ·succeed [prosper].
4 But wicked people are not like that.
They are like chaff that the wind blows away [C dead, unstable].
5 So the wicked will not ·escape God’s punishment [L stand in the judgment].
Sinners will not ·worship with God’s people [L be in the assembly of the righteous].
6 This is because the Lord ·takes care of his people [L knows the way of the righteous],
but the way of the wicked will be destroyed.
More Words of Wisdom
23 These are also ·sayings of [L according to] the wise [22:17]:
It is not good to ·take sides when you are the judge [show partiality/favoritism in judgment].
24 ·Don’t tell [L Those who say to] the wicked ·that they [L “You…”] are ·innocent [righteous];
people will curse you, and nations will ·hate [despise] you.
25 But things will go well if you ·punish [correct; rebuke] the guilty,
and you will receive rich blessings.
26 An honest answer is as pleasing
as a kiss on the lips.
27 First, ·finish your outside work [execute/establish your affairs in public]
and prepare your fields.
After that, you can build your house.
28 Don’t ·testify [witness] against your neighbor for no good reason.
Don’t ·say things that are false [L deceive with your lips].
29 Don’t say, “·I’ll get even [L As they did to me so I will do to them];
I’ll ·do to him what he did to me [repay them according to their actions].”
30 I ·passed by [happened upon] a lazy person’s field
and by the vineyard of someone ·with no sense [L who lacks heart/sense].
31 Thorns had grown up everywhere.
The ground was covered with weeds,
and the stone walls had fallen down.
32 I ·thought about [took to heart] what I had seen;
I learned this lesson from what I saw.
33 ·You sleep a little; you take a nap [“A little sleep, a little slumber”].
·You fold your hands and [L “A little folding of the arms to…”] lie down to rest [6:10].
34 So ·you will be as poor as if you had been robbed [L poverty will come on you like a robber];
·you will have as little as if you had been held up [L deprivation (will come on you) like a shielded warrior].
39 You ·carefully study [search; examine] the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. They do in fact ·tell [testify; witness] ·about me [concerning me; on my behalf], 40 but you ·refuse [do not want] to come to me to have that life.
41 “I don’t ·need [or accept; receive] ·praise [glory; honor] from people. 42 But I know you—I know that you don’t have God’s love in you. 43 I have come ·from my Father and speak for him [L in my Father’s name], ·but [or and] you don’t ·accept [receive] me. But when another person comes, ·speaking only for himself [L in his own name], you will ·accept [receive] him. 44 You try to ·get praise [receive glory/honor] from each other, but you do not try to ·get the praise [receive glory/honor] that comes from the only God. So how can you believe? 45 Don’t think that I will ·stand before the Father and say you are wrong [L accuse you before the Father]. The one who ·says you are wrong [L accuses you] is Moses, the one ·you hoped would save you [L in whom you hoped]. 46 [L For] If you really believed Moses, you would believe me, because Moses wrote about me [C in the Torah, the first five books of the OT; for example, Deut. 18:15 quoted in Acts 3:22]. 47 But if you don’t believe what Moses wrote, how can you believe what I say?”
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