Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Wicked People and a Good God
For the director of music. Of David, the servant of the Lord.
36 ·Sin speaks to the wicked in their hearts [L Oracle/Decree of transgression to the wicked in the midst of their heart].
They have no ·fear [terror] of God [Prov. 1:7; Rom. 3:18].
2 They ·think too much of themselves [L flatter themselves in their own eyes]
so they don’t ·see [discover; find] their sin and ·hate [or change] it.
3 ·Their words [L The words of their mouth] are ·wicked lies [mischief and deceit];
they ·are no longer wise or good [L have stopped being wise/insightful in order to do good].
4 ·At night [L In their bed] they make evil plans;
·what they do leads to nothing [L they are set on a way that does no] good.
They don’t ·refuse [reject] things that are evil.
5 Lord, your ·love [loyalty; covenant love] ·reaches [extends] to the heavens,
your ·loyalty [faithfulness] to the skies.
6 Your ·goodness [righteousness] is like the mighty mountains [C majestic].
Your ·justice [judgment] is like the great ocean [C deep].
Lord, you ·protect [save] both people and animals.
7 God, ·your love is so precious [L how precious is your loyalty/covenant love?]!
You ·protect [provide refuge for] people in the shadow of your wings.
8 They ·eat [feast on; are filled with] ·the rich food [L from the fat/abundance] in your house,
and you let them drink from your river of ·pleasure [delights].
9 You are the ·giver [L fountain] of life.
·Your light lets us enjoy life [L In your light we see light].
10 Continue to ·love [show loyalty/covenant love to] those who know you
and ·to do good [L your good/righteousness] to those who are ·good [upright/virtuous in heart].
11 Don’t let ·proud people attack me [L the foot of the arrogant come near me]
·and the wicked [L or the hand of the wicked] ·force [drive] me away.
12 Those who do evil ·have been defeated [L fall there].
They are overwhelmed;
they cannot ·do evil any longer [L arise again].
The Brothers Go Back to Egypt
43 ·Still no food grew in the land of Canaan [L The famine was heavy/severe in the land]. 2 When ·Jacob’s family [L they] had eaten all the grain they had brought from Egypt, Jacob said to them, “Go to Egypt again and buy a little more ·grain [L food] for us to eat.”
3 But Judah said to Jacob, “The ·governor of that country [man] strongly warned us, ‘·If you don’t bring your brother back with you, you will not be allowed to see me [L You may not see my face unless your brother is with you].’ 4 If you will send ·Benjamin [L our brother] with us, we will go down and buy food for you. 5 But if you ·refuse to send Benjamin [L are not sending], we will not go. The ·governor of that country [L man] ·warned [L said to] us that ·we would not see him if we didn’t bring Benjamin with us [L you will not see my face unless your brother is with you].”
6 Israel [C another name for Jacob; 32:28] said, “Why did you tell the man you had another brother? You have ·caused me a lot of trouble [wronged/harmed me].”
7 The brothers answered, “He questioned us ·carefully [or specifically] about ourselves and our family. He asked us, ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ We just answered his questions. How could we know he would ask us to bring our other brother to him?”
8 Then Judah said to his father ·Jacob [L Israel; 32:28], “Send ·Benjamin [L the lad/child] with me, and we will ·go at once [L rise up and go] so that we, you, and our ·children [little ones] may live and not die. 9 I will ·guarantee you that he will be safe [L be a guarantee for him], and I will be personally ·responsible [accountable] for him. If I don’t bring him back to you, ·you can blame me [L I will be condemned before you] all my life. 10 If we had not ·wasted all this time [been delayed], we could have already ·made two trips [returned twice].”
11 Then their father ·Jacob [L Israel; 32:28] said to them, “If it has to be that way, then do this: Take some of the best ·foods [products] in our land in your packs. Give them to the man as a gift: some balm, some honey, ·spices [or gum], ·myrrh [or resin], pistachio nuts, and almonds. 12 Take twice as much ·money [silver] ·with you this time [L in your hands], and take back the ·money [silver] that was returned to you in [L the mouth of] your sacks last time. Maybe it was a ·mistake [L error; oversight]. 13 And take ·Benjamin [L your brother] with you. Now ·leave and go [L rise up and return] to the man. 14 I pray that God Almighty will cause the ·governor [L man] to be ·merciful to [compassionate toward] you and that he will allow ·Simeon [L your other brother] and Benjamin to come back with you. If I am ·robbed of my children [bereaved], then I am ·robbed of them [bereaved]!”
15 So the ·brothers [L men] took the ·gifts [or tribute]. They also took twice ·as much money as they had taken the first time [L the money/silver in their hand], and they took Benjamin. They ·hurried [L rose up and went] down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.
Seven Leaders Are Chosen
6 The number of ·followers [disciples] was ·growing [multiplying]. But during ·this same time [those days], the ·Greek-speaking followers [L Hellenists; C Jewish Christians who spoke primarily Greek and had returned to Israel after living abroad] ·had an argument with [began grumbling/complaining against] the ·other followers [L Hebrews; C Aramaic speaking Jewish Christians born in Israel]. The Greek-speaking widows were ·not getting their share [being neglected/overlooked in the distribution] of the food that was given out every day. 2 The ·twelve apostles [Twelve] called the whole group of ·followers [L disciples] together and said, “It is not right for us to ·stop our work of teaching God’s word [L leave/abandon the word of God] in order to serve tables. 3 So, ·brothers and sisters [or brothers; C uncertain whether women would have been included in that culture], choose seven of your own men who ·are good [have a good reputation], full of the Spirit and full of wisdom. We will ·put [appoint] them in charge of this ·work [responsibility; L need]. 4 Then we [apostles] can ·continue [devote ourselves] to pray and to ·teach [L the ministry/service of] the word of God.”
5 The whole group ·liked [was pleased with] the idea, so they chose these seven men: Stephen (a man ·with great [L full of] faith and full of the Holy Spirit), Philip [C not the apostle of the same name], Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas (a man from Antioch [C a major city in Syria] who ·had become a follower of the Jewish religion [L was a prosylete; C a Gentile convert to Judaism]. 6 Then they ·put [presented] these men before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands [C a ritual of blessing and/or conferring of authority] on them.
7 The word of God was continuing to spread. The ·group [number] of ·followers [disciples] in Jerusalem [quickly; or greatly] ·increased [multiplied], and a great number of the Jewish priests ·believed and obeyed [L become obedient to the faith].
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