Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Thanksgiving for Escaping Death
A psalm of David. A song for ·giving the Temple to the Lord [L the dedication of the Temple; C perhaps written by David in anticipation of the dedication of the Temple under Solomon; the connection with healing is uncertain].
30 I will ·praise [L exalt] you, Lord,
because you ·rescued me [L brought me up].
You did not let my enemies ·laugh at [rejoice over] me.
2 Lord, my God, I ·prayed to you [cried to you for help],
and you healed me.
3 You lifted me out of ·the grave [or the underworld; L Sheol];
you spared me from going down to the ·place of the dead [L Pit; 16:10].
4 Sing praises to the Lord, you ·who belong to him [loyal ones; saints];
·praise [give thanks to] his holy name.
5 His anger lasts only a moment,
but his ·kindness [favor] lasts for a lifetime.
Crying may last for a night,
but joy comes in the morning.
6 When I ·felt safe [or was prosperous], I said,
“I will never ·fear [L be moved].”
7 Lord, in your ·kindness [favor] you made my mountain ·safe [L stand; C God made him prosperous and safe].
But when you ·turned away [L hid your face; C because he became self-reliant, v. 6], I was ·frightened [terrified; or discouraged].
8 I ·called [prayed] to you, Lord,
and ·asked you to have mercy on me [made supplication].
9 I said, “What ·good will it do if I die [profit is there for you in my blood]
or if I go down to ·the grave [corruption; destruction]?
·Dust cannot [L Will the dust…?; Gen. 2:7; Eccl. 12:7] ·praise [thank] you;
·it cannot [L will it…?] speak about your ·truth [faithfulness].
10 Lord, hear me and have mercy on me.
Lord, help me.”
11 You changed my ·sorrow [mourning] into dancing.
You took away my ·clothes of sadness [sackcloth],
and clothed me in ·happiness [joy].
12 I will sing to you and not be silent.
Lord, my God, I will ·praise you [give you thanks] forever.
The Lord Destroyed Jerusalem
2 Look how the Lord in his anger
has ·brought Jerusalem to shame [L treated the daughter of Zion with contempt; or brought a cloud over the daughter of Zion].
He has thrown down the ·greatness [splendor; beauty] of Israel
from the ·sky [heavens] to the earth;
he did not remember his footstool [C the Temple; Ps. 99:5; 132:7],
on the day of his anger.
2 The Lord swallowed up without ·mercy [pity]
all the ·houses [homes; dwellings] of the people of Jacob;
in his anger he ·pulled down [demolished]
the strong places of [L the daughter of] Judah.
He threw her kingdom and its rulers
down to the ground in dishonor.
3 In his anger he has ·removed [cut to pieces]
all the ·strength [L horn; C a symbol of pride and power] of Israel;
he took away his ·power [L right hand] from Israel
when the enemy came.
He burned against the people of Jacob [C another name for Israel] like a flaming fire
that burns up everything around it.
4 Like an enemy, he ·prepared to shoot [bent; drew] his bow,
and his right hand was against us [Ps. 7:12–13].
Like an ·enemy [foe], he killed
all ·the good-looking people [L which eye desired];
he poured out his anger like fire
on the tents of ·Jerusalem [L the daughter of Zion; C the location of the Temple].
5 The Lord was like an enemy;
he swallowed up Israel.
He swallowed up all her palaces
and destroyed all her strongholds.
He has ·caused more [multiplied] moaning and groaning
for ·Judah [L the daughter of Judah].
6 He ·cut down [laid waste to; violently treated] his ·Temple [L booth] like a ·garden [vineyard];
he destroyed the meeting place.
The Lord has made ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple] forget
the ·set feasts [or meeting place] and Sabbath days.
He has ·rejected [despised] the king and the priest
in his great anger.
7 The Lord has rejected his altar
and ·abandoned [disavowed] his ·Temple [L Holy Place; Ezek. 9–11].
He has ·handed over to [L delivered into the hand of] the enemy
the walls of its [C probably Jerusalem’s] palaces.
·Their uproar [L They gave forth voice] in the Lord’s ·Temple [L house]
was like that of a feast day.
8 The Lord planned to destroy
the wall around ·Jerusalem [L the daughter of Zion; C the location of the Temple].
He ·measured the wall [L extended a measuring line; C usually used in construction but here in demolition]
and did not stop himself from ·destroying [L swallowing] it.
He made the walls and ·defenses [ramparts] ·sad [mourn];
together they have ·fallen [languished].
9 ·Jerusalem’s [L Its] gates have ·fallen [sunk] to the ground;
he destroyed and smashed the bars [C of the gates; Ps. 107:16; Is. 45:2; Jer. 51:30; Nah. 3:13].
Her king and her princes are among the nations.
The ·teaching [law; instruction; C God’s law] has stopped,
and the prophets do not have
visions from the Lord.
10 The elders of ·Jerusalem [L the daughter of Zion; C the location of the Temple]
sit on the ground in silence.
They throw dust on their heads
and put on ·rough cloth [sackcloth; burlap; signs of grief or repentance].
The young women of Jerusalem
bow their heads to the ground [C in sorrow].
11 My eyes ·have no more tears [L are exhausted from tears],
and ·I am sick to my stomach [L my innards/stomach/bowels are agitated].
·I feel empty inside [L My bile/gall is poured out on the ground],
because ·my people [L the daughter of my people] have been ·destroyed [shattered; broken].
Children and ·babies [nurslings] are fainting
in the ·streets [public areas] of the city.
12 They ask their mothers,
“Where is the grain and wine?”
They faint like wounded soldiers
in the ·streets [public areas] of the city
and ·die [L pour out their lives] in their mothers’ ·arms [L bosom].
Christian Giving
8 And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace God gave the churches in Macedonia [1:16]. 2 Although they have been tested by great ·troubles [trials; tribulation] ·and are very poor, they gave much because of their great joy [L their deep poverty and abundant joy overflowed into rich generosity]. 3 I can ·tell you [testify] that they gave as much as they were able and even more than they could afford. No one told them to do it. 4 But they begged and pleaded with us ·to let them [L for the privilege/grace to] share in this service for ·God’s people [T the saints]. 5 And they gave in a way we did not expect: They first gave themselves to the Lord and to us. ·This is what God wants […by the will of God]. 6 So we ·asked [urged; encouraged] Titus [2:13] to help you finish this special work of grace since he is the one who started it. 7 You ·are rich [excel] in everything—in faith, in speaking, in knowledge, in ·truly wanting to help [eagerness; zeal], and in the love ·you learned [L that is in you] from us.[a] In the same way, ·be strong [excel] also in the grace of giving.
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