Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 88
For the worship leader. A song of the sons of Korah accompanied by dance.[a] A contemplative song[b] of Heman the Ezrahite.
This individual lament was composed by someone afflicted with a grave illness, feeling lonely and abandoned by God. This song is reminiscent of Job’s sufferings.
1 O Eternal One! O True God my Savior!
I cry out to You all the time, under the sun and the moon.
2 Let my voice reach You!
Please listen to my prayers!
3 My soul is deeply troubled,
and my heart can’t bear the weight of this sorrow. I feel so close to death.
4 I’m like the poor and helpless who die alone,
left for dead, as good as the unknowable sea of souls lying under our feet,
5-6 Forsaken by Him and cut off from His hand,
abandoned among the dead who rest in their graves.
And You have sent me to be forgotten with them,
in the lowest pits of the earth,
in the darkest canyons of the ocean.
7 You crush me with Your anger.
You crash against me like the relentless, angry sea.
[pause][c]
8 Those whom I have known, who have been with me,
You have gathered like sheaves and cast to the four winds.
They can’t bear to look me in the eye, and they are horrified when they think of me.
I am in a trap and cannot be free.
9 My eyes grow dim, weakened by this sickness;
it is taking my strength from me.
Like a worn cloth, my hands are unfolded before You daily, O Eternal One.
10 Are You the miracle-worker for the dead?
Will they rise from the dark shadows to worship You again?
[pause]
11 Will Your great love be proclaimed in the grave
or Your faithfulness be remembered in whispers like mists throughout the place of ruin?[d]
12 Are Your wonders known in the dominion of darkness,
or is Your righteousness recognized in a land where all is forgotten?
13 But I am calling out to You, Eternal One.
My prayers rise before You with every new sun!
14 Why do You turn Your head
and brush me aside, O Eternal One?
Why are You avoiding me?
15 Since the days of my youth, I have been sick and close to death.
My helpless soul has suffered Your silent horrors;
now I am desperate.
16 Your rage spills over me like rivers of fire;
Your assaults have all but destroyed me.
17 They surround me like a flood, rising throughout the day,
closing in from every direction.
18 You have taken from me the one I love and my friend;
even the light of my acquaintances are darkness.
21 The Eternal One addressed Moses.
While it is not a sin to handle a corpse, it makes the person ritually impure.
Eternal One: Go, talk to the priests, Aaron’s sons, and tell them that I don’t want any priest to make himself ritually impure by having contact with a dead person in Israel. 2 There is an exception: a priest is allowed to touch the dead body of his closest family members—his mother, father, son, daughter, brother, 3 and any sister who is still a virgin when she dies. Since she has no husband, the priest is her closest relative, so he is allowed to make himself impure for her. 4 A priest must not render himself impure and defile himself by touching the corpse of a person related to him only by marriage. 5 Priests are not allowed to mourn like other people by shaving their heads, trimming their beards, or cutting gashes into their bodies. 6 Priests are to be holy to Me and not treat My sacred name with contempt. They bring the fire-offerings to Me, the food of their God, and so they must be sacred. 7 Priests are not to marry women defiled by prostitution or women who are divorced, for priests are holy to Me.
8 You must set the priest apart as special and treat him as holy, for he brings the food to your God. The priests must be considered holy to you because I, the Eternal, am holy, and I have set you apart from all other nations. 9 If a priest’s daughter dabbles in prostitution, then she desecrates herself and also her father. She is to be burned to death.
10 Of the brotherhood of priests, the high priest is the one whose head has been anointed with oil and who has been ordained to wear the sacred garments. He is not to leave his hair uncombed or tear his garments when he is mourning. 11 He is not to go near any dead bodies—not even his father’s or mother’s—or else he will make himself impure. 12 The high priest is not allowed to go outside the sanctuary during the time of mourning and thereby desecrate God’s sanctuary, for he has been anointed with the sacred oil of his God. I am the Eternal One. 13 He is to marry a woman who is a virgin. 14 He is not allowed to choose a widow, a divorced woman, or a prostitute as a wife—any woman who has already had sexual relations. He is only allowed to marry a virgin from his own community. 15 This arrangement will guarantee that his future offspring will not be treated badly among his people, for I am the Eternal who makes him holy.
16 I praise God who lovingly burdened Titus’s heart for you just as He did mine. 17 You see, when we approached him about you, he eagerly stepped up, not only because of our request but because of his own desire to help. 18 We’re also sending with him a brother who is well known among the gatherings of believers because of how well he proclaims the good news. 19 And there’s more you should know: he has been handpicked by the churches to accompany us as we carry on this work of grace. All this is being done for the glory of the Lord and to show our own good will. 20 We’re being careful so that no one can claim that we are mishandling the funds we’ve collected. 21 For we are taking every precaution to remain aboveboard—not only in the Lord’s eyes, but in the eyes of the people too. 22 So we are also sending another brother who’s proven himself time and again. He’s certainly trustworthy and enthusiastic for the gospel; and after hearing about all you are doing, he’s even more excited because he has confidence in you. 23 If anyone asks about Titus, he’s my partner and coworker in this ministry to you. If there’s any question about who the other brothers and sisters are, they are emissaries[a] of the churches, traveling to bring glory to the Anointed One, our Liberating King. 24 So welcome them before the community in love; show the churches they represent that I have not exaggerated your charity and kindness.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.