Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 19
For the worship leader. A song of David.
1 The celestial realms announce God’s glory;
the skies testify of His hands’ great work.
2 Each day pours out more of their sayings;
each night, more to hear and more to learn.
3 Inaudible words are their manner of speech,
and silence, their means to convey.
4 Yet from here to the ends of the earth, their voices[a] have gone out;
the whole world can hear what they say.[b]
God stretched out in these heavens a tent for the sun,
5 And the sun is like a groom
who, after leaving his room, arrives at the wedding in splendor;
He is the strong runner
who, favored to win in his race, is eager to face his challenge.
6 He rises at one end of the skies
and runs in an arc overhead;
nothing can hide from his heat, from the swelter of his daily tread.
7 The Eternal’s law is perfect,
turning lives around.
His words are reliable and true,
instilling wisdom to open minds.
8 The Eternal’s directions are correct,
giving satisfaction to the heart.
God’s commandments are clear,
lending clarity to the eyes.
9 The awe of the Eternal is clean,
sustaining for all of eternity.
The Eternal’s decisions are sound;
they are right through and through.
10 They are worth more than gold—
even more than abundant, pure gold.
They are sweeter to the tongue than honey
or the drippings of the honeycomb.
11 In addition to all that has been said,
Your servant will find, hidden in Your commandments, both a strong warning
and a great reward for keeping them.
12 Who could possibly know all that he has done wrong?
Forgive my hidden and unknown faults.
13 As I am Your servant, protect me from my bent toward pride,
and keep sin from ruling my life.
If You do this, I will be without blame,
innocent of the great breach.
14 May the words that come out of my mouth and the musings of my heart
meet with Your gracious approval,
O Eternal, my Rock,
O Eternal, my Redeemer.
16 When the morning of the third day arrived, thunder cracked and lightning lit up the sky. A thick cloud veiled the mountain, and there was a long, loud blast of a ram’s horn. Every person in the camp trembled. 17 Moses led the anxious people away from camp to encounter God. Everyone waited at the base of the mountain. 18 Now Mount Sinai was covered in thick smoke because the Eternal descended on the mountain in fire; and the smoke of that fire rose up to the sky as if it were billowing out of a furnace, and the entire mountain shuddered and quaked intensely. 19 The blast of the ram’s horn grew louder and louder. Moses spoke, and God answered with a voice that rumbled like thunder.
20 The Eternal descended to the summit of Mount Sinai. He called for Moses to come and meet Him, so Moses began the long, hard climb up the mountain.
Eternal One (to Moses): 21 Go down, and warn the people not to cross the boundaries in order to try to see Me, or else many of them will die. 22 Any of the priests who draw near to Me must first rid themselves of any impurity so that I do not break loose and kill them.
Moses (to the Eternal): 23 No one can approach Mount Sinai because You warned them when You said, “Set up boundaries around the mountain and keep the area holy and separate.”
Eternal One: 24 Go back down and bring Aaron with you next time. But do not let any of the people (including priests) cross those boundaries to come up and meet Me, unless they want Me to break loose and kill them.
25 Moses went back down the mountain and told the people all the Eternal had said.
2 Six days after saying this, Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up onto a high mountaintop by themselves. There He was transformed 3 so that His clothing became intensely white, brighter than any earthly cleaner could bleach them. 4 Elijah and Moses appeared to them and talked with Jesus.
Peter (to Jesus): 5 Teacher, it’s a great thing that we’re here. We should build three shelters here: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.
6 He was babbling and did not know what he was saying because they were terrified by what they were witnessing.
7 Then a cloud surrounded them, and they heard a voice within that cloud.
Voice: This is My beloved Son. Listen to Him.
8 All of a sudden, they looked about and all they had seen was gone. They stood alone on the mountain with Jesus.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.