Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Nation in Trouble Prays
A ·maskil [skillful psalm; meditation] of Asaph [C a Levitical musician, a descendant of Gershon, at the time of David; 1 Chr. 6:39; 15:17; 2 Chr. 5:12].
74 God, why have you rejected us ·for so long [forever]?
Why ·are you angry with us, [L does your anger smoke against] the sheep of your pasture [100:3]?
2 Remember the ·people [assembly; congregation] you ·bought [acquired] long ago.
You ·saved [redeemed] us, and we are ·your very own [L the tribe of your inheritance].
After all, you live on Mount Zion.
3 ·Make your way [Direct your steps] through ·these old [or the utter] ruins;
the enemy ·wrecked [destroyed] everything in the ·Temple [sanctuary; Holy Place; C perhaps a reference to the Babylonian destruction of the Temple; 2 Kin. 25:8–21; 2 Chr. 36:17–21; Lam. 2:6].
4 Those who were against you ·shouted [roared] in your meeting place
and ·raised their flags [L set their signs as signs] there.
5 ·They came with axes raised [or They hacked at the upper entrances]
as if to cut down a forest of trees.
6 They ·smashed [beat to pieces] the ·carved [engraved] panels
with their axes and ·hatchets [crowbars].
7 They ·burned your Temple to the ground [L set your sanctuary/Holy Place on fire];
they have made the ·place where you live [L residence of your name] ·unclean [profane].
8 They ·thought [L said in their hearts], “We will completely crush them!”
They burned ·every place where God was worshiped [L all the meeting places of God] in the land.
9 We do not see any signs.
There are no more prophets [C who can tell them what will happen],
and no one knows how long this will last.
10 God, how much longer will the enemy ·make fun of [scorn] you?
Will they ·insult [revile] ·you [L your name] forever?
11 Why do you ·hold back your power [L return your hand]?
·Bring your power out in the open [L Take your right hand out of your bosom] and ·destroy [annihilate] them!
12 God, you have been our king ·for a long time [of old; Ex. 15:18].
You bring ·salvation [victory] to the earth.
13 You split open the sea by your power
and broke the heads of the sea monster [C an ancient Near Eastern symbol of chaos].
14 You ·smashed [crushed in pieces] the heads of the monster Leviathan [C a sea monster and symbol of chaos; 104:26; Job 3:8; 41:1; Is. 27:1]
and gave it to the ·desert [wilderness] creatures as food.
15 You ·opened up [split] the springs and ·streams [wadis]
and made the flowing rivers run dry.
16 Both the day and the night are yours;
you made the sun and the moon [Gen. 1:14–18].
17 You set all the ·limits [borders] on the earth;
you ·created [formed] summer and winter [104:19–23; Gen. 8:22].
18 Lord, remember how the enemy ·insulted [scorned] you.
Remember how those foolish people ·made fun of you [L reviled your name].
19 Do not give us, your doves, to those wild animals.
Never forget your poor people.
20 ·Remember [Regard] the ·agreement [covenant] you made with us,
because violence fills every dark corner of this land.
21 Do not let your ·suffering [crushed] people be ·disgraced [humiliated].
Let the poor and ·helpless [needy] praise ·you [L your name].
22 God, arise and ·defend [contend for] yourself.
Remember the ·insults [scorn] that come from those foolish people all day long.
23 Don’t forget what your enemies said;
don’t forget their roar as they rise against you always.
16 Lord, people ·remember [seek; come to] you when they are in trouble;
they ·say quiet prayers to you [or utter incantations] when you punish them.
17 Lord, ·when we are with you [or because of you],
we are like a woman giving birth to a baby;
she cries and has pain from the birth.
18 ·In the same way [L We were pregnant/conceived], we ·had pain [writhed; strained].
We gave birth, but only to wind.
We ·don’t bring [or can’t bring; haven’t brought] salvation to the ·land [earth]
·or given birth to new people for the world [L nor have the inhabitants of the earth fallen].
19 Your dead will live again;
their bodies will rise from death.
You who ·lie in the ground [L dwell in the dust],
wake up and ·be happy [shout joyfully]!
·The dew covering you [L Your dew] is ·like the dew of a new day [L a dew of lights];
the ·ground [earth] will give birth to the dead.
Judgment: Reward or Punishment
20 My people, go into your ·rooms [chambers; inner rooms]
and shut your doors behind you.
Hide in your rooms for a short time
until God’s anger ·is finished [has passed by].
21 [L For look/T behold] The Lord ·will leave [is coming out of] his place
to punish the ·people [inhabitants] of the world for their sins.
The earth will ·show [reveal; disclose] ·the blood of the people who have been killed [L its blood];
it will not cover ·the dead [its slain] any longer.
27 ·At that time [L In that day] the Lord will punish Leviathan [C a sea creature in ancient Near Eastern texts that represents chaos; Job 3:8; 41:1, 12; Ps. 74:14; 104:26], the ·gliding [or swift-moving; or fleeing] ·snake [serpent].
He will punish Leviathan, the ·coiled [writhing; twisting] ·snake [serpent],
with his great and hard and powerful sword.
He will kill the ·monster [dragon] in the sea.
Jesus’ Power Is from God(A)
14 One time Jesus was ·sending [driving; casting] out a demon ·who could not talk [or who was making a man mute]. When the demon came out, the man who had been unable to speak, then spoke. The ·people were [crowd was] amazed. 15 But some of them said, “Jesus uses the power of Beelzebul [C another name for Satan], the ruler of demons, to ·force [drive; cast] demons out of people.”
16 Other people, wanting to test Jesus, asked him to give them a sign from heaven. 17 But knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom that is ·divided against [at war with] itself ·will be destroyed [is doomed/heading for ruin]. And a ·family [L house] that is ·divided against [at war with] itself will ·not continue [L fall]. 18 So if Satan is divided against himself, ·his kingdom will not continue [L how will his kingdom stand?]. [L For] You say that I use the power of Beelzebul [v. 15] to ·force [drive; cast] out demons. 19 But if I use the power of Beelzebul to ·force [drive; cast] out demons, what power do your ·people [own exorcists; followers; L sons] use to ·force [drive; cast] demons out? So they will ·be your judges. 20 But if I use the ·power [L finger] of God to ·force [drive; cast] out demons, then the kingdom of God has ·come to [arrived among] you.
21 “When a strong person ·with many weapons [fully armed] guards his own ·house [villa; or palace; C a large building with a courtyard], his possessions are safe. 22 But when someone stronger comes and ·defeats [overpowers; conquers] him, the stronger one will take away the ·weapons [armor] ·the first man trusted [on which he relied] and will ·give away the possessions [L divide his plunder].
23 “Anyone who is not with me is against me, and anyone who does not ·work [L gather] with me ·is working against me [scatters; C the metaphor is probably to gathering or scattering a flock; John 10:12].
The Empty Person(B)
24 “When an ·evil [defiling; L unclean; 4:33] spirit comes out of a person, it ·travels [wanders] through ·dry [waterless; arid] places, looking for a place to rest. But when it finds no place, it says, ‘I will go back to the house [C meaning the person] I left.’ 25 And when it comes back, it finds that house swept clean and ·made neat [in order; fixed up]. 26 Then ·the evil spirit [L it] goes out and brings seven other spirits more evil than it is, and they go in and live there. So ·the person has even more trouble than before [L the last state of that person is worse than the first].”
People Who Are Truly Blessed
27 As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out to Jesus, “Blessed is the ·mother who gave birth to you [L the womb that bore you] and [L the breasts that] nursed you.”
28 But Jesus said, “·No [L Rather; On the contrary], blessed are those who hear the ·teaching [word] of God and ·obey [practice; keep] it.”
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.