Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Thanksgiving for Escaping Death
116 I love the Lord,
because he ·listens to my prayers for help [L hears/or heard my voice, my prayer of supplication].
2 He ·paid attention [L extends his ear] to me,
so I will ·call to him for help [call; pray] ·as long as I live [L in my days].
3 The ·ropes [cords] of death ·bound [encompass] me,
and the ·fear [hardship; distress] of ·the grave [L Sheol; C the grave or the underworld] ·took hold of [reached; found] me.
I ·was troubled and sad [L found distress and sadness].
4 Then I ·called out [prayed in] the name of the Lord.
I said, “Please, Lord, ·save [rescue] me!”
5 The Lord is ·kind [gracious] and ·does what is right [righteous];
our God is ·merciful [compassionate; Ex. 34:6–7].
6 The Lord ·watches over [keeps; guards] the ·foolish [immature; simpleminded];
when I was ·helpless [brought low], he ·saved me [gave me victory].
7 I said to myself, “·Relax [L Return, my soul/life to your rest],
because the Lord ·takes care of you [treats you well].”
8 Lord, you ·saved [rescued] me from death.
·You stopped my eyes from crying [L …and my eyes from tears];
·you kept me from being defeated [L …my feet from stumbling].
9 So I will walk ·with [before; in the presence of] the Lord
in the land of the living [C as opposed to the grave].
15 The house Rahab lived in was built on the city wall, so she used a rope to let the men down through a window. 16 She said to them, “Go into the hills so the ·king’s men [L pursuers] will not find you. Hide there for three days. After the ·king’s men [L pursuers] return, you may go on your way.”
17 The men said to her, “You must do as we say. If not, we ·cannot be responsible for keeping [will be free from] this oath you have made us swear. 18 When we return to this land, you must tie this ·red [scarlet] rope in the window through which you let us down. Bring your father, mother, brothers, and all your ·family [L father’s house] into your house. 19 If anyone leaves your house and is killed, ·it is his own fault [L his blood is on his head]. We ·cannot be responsible for him [are innocent]. If anyone in your house ·is hurt [L has a hand laid on them], ·we will be responsible [his blood will be on our head]. 20 But if you tell anyone about this, we will be free from the oath you made us swear.”
21 Rahab answered, “·I agree to this [L Let it be according to your words].” So she sent them away, and they left. Then she tied the ·red [scarlet] rope in the window.
22 The men left and went into the hills where they stayed for three days. The ·king’s men [pursuers] looked for them all along the road, but after three days, they returned to the city without finding them. 23 Then the two men started back. They left the hills and crossed the river and came to Joshua son of Nun and told him everything that had happened to them. 24 They said, “The Lord surely has given ·us all of the land [L all the land into our hand]. All the people in that land are ·terribly afraid of [melting away before] us.”
17 In the same way, faith by itself—·that does nothing [L if it does not have works]—is dead.
18 [L But] Someone might say, “You have faith, but I have ·deeds [works].” ·Show me [Prove; Demonstrate] your faith without ·doing anything [L works], and I will ·show you [prove; demonstrate] my faith by ·what I do [my works]. 19 You believe ·there is one God [or that God is one; Deut. 6:4]. ·Good [L You do well]! But the demons believe that, too, and they ·tremble with fear [shudder].
20 You ·foolish [senseless; emptyheaded] person! ·Must you be shown [Do you want evidence; Can’t you see] that faith ·that does nothing [without works] is ·worth nothing [useless; barren]? 21 Abraham, our ·ancestor [father; patriarch; Gen. 12:1–3], was ·made right with God [justified] by what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar [Gen. 22]. 22 So you see that Abraham’s faith and ·the things he did [his works] worked together. His faith was made ·perfect [complete] by ·what he did [his works]. 23 This ·shows the full meaning of [fulfills] the Scripture that says: “Abraham believed God, and ·God accepted Abraham’s faith, and that faith made him right with God [L it was credited/counted to him as righteousness; Gen. 15:6].” And Abraham was called God’s friend [2 Chr. 20:7; Is. 41:8]. 24 So you see that people are ·made right with God [justified] by ·what they do [their works], not by faith only.
25 ·Another example is Rahab, the prostitute, who was ·made right with God [justified] by ·something she did [works]. She welcomed the ·spies [L messengers; envoys] into her home and ·helped them escape [L sent them out] by a different road [Josh. 2; C she is named in Jesus’ genealogy (Matt. 1:5), and in Heb. 11:31 as a hero of the faith].
26 Just as a person’s body that does not have a spirit [C the force of life that animates the body; Gen. 2:7] is dead, so faith ·that does nothing [T without works] is dead!
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