Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
God Knows Everything
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
139 Lord, you have ·examined [investigated; searched] me
and know all about me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I ·get up [rise].
You ·know [understand] my thoughts ·before I think them [L from afar].
3 You ·know [L measure] ·where I go [L my path] and ·where I lie down [L my lying down].
You ·know [are familiar with] ·everything I do [L all my path].
4 Lord, even ·before I say a word [L when no word is on my tongue],
you already know ·it [L all of it].
5 You ·are all around me [L hem me in]—in front and in back—
and have put your hand on me.
6 Your knowledge is ·amazing [wonderful; or overwhelming] to me;
it is ·more than I can understand [too high/unattainable. I am not able to grasp it; Rom. 11:33].
7 Where can I go to get away from your Spirit?
Where can I ·run [flee] from you?
8 If I ·go [climb] up to the heavens, you are there.
If I ·lie down [spread out; make my bed] in ·the grave [L Sheol; C the grave or the underworld], you are there.
9 If I rise with the ·sun in the east [L wings of the dawn]
and settle in the ·west beyond [L back of] the sea,
10 even there ·you [L your hand] would guide me.
With your right hand you would ·hold [grab; seize] me.
11 I could say, “The darkness will ·hide [cover] me.
Let the light around me turn into night.”
12 But even the darkness is not dark to you.
The night ·is as light as [shines like] the day;
darkness and light are the same to you.
13 You ·made [created] my ·whole being [inward parts];
you ·formed [knitted] me in my mother’s ·body [belly; womb].
14 I ·praise [thank] you because you made me in an ·amazing [awesome] and wonderful way.
What you have done is wonderful.
I know this very well.
15 ·You saw my bones being formed [L My bones were not hidden from you]
as I ·took shape [was made] in ·my mother’s body [L secret].
When I was ·put together [L woven] ·there [L in the depths of the earth],
16 ·you [L your eyes] saw my ·body as it was formed [L embyro].
All the days ·planned [L formed] for me
were written in your book
·before I was one day old [not one of them existed].
17 God, your thoughts are precious to me.
·They are so many [L How vast are their sum; Job 42:3]!
18 If I could count them,
they would be more than all the grains of sand.
When I ·wake up [or come to the end],
I am still with you.
The Lord Calls Jeremiah
4 The Lord spoke his word to me, saying:
5 “Before I ·made [formed] you in your mother’s womb, I ·chose [L knew] you.
Before you ·were born [L came out of the womb], I ·set you apart for a special work [consecrated you].
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
6 Then I said, “But Lord God, I don’t know how to speak. I am only a ·boy [child; youth].”
7 But the Lord said to me, “Don’t say, ‘I am only a ·boy [child; youth].’ You must go everywhere I send you, and you must say everything I ·tell you to say [L command you]. 8 Don’t be afraid of anyone, because I am with you to protect you,” says the Lord.
9 Then the Lord ·reached [L sent] out his hand and touched my mouth [C to consecrate it; Is. 6:7]. He said to me, “See, I am putting my words in your mouth. 10 Today I have ·put you in charge of [L appointed you over] nations and kingdoms. You will ·pull [pluck] up and ·tear [pull] down, destroy and overthrow, build up and plant [C he will announce judgment and salvation].”
The People Misunderstand Jesus
21 Again, Jesus said to the people, “I will leave you [C when he dies, is raised, and ascends to the Father], and you will ·look for [seek; search for] me, but you will die in your ·sins [L sin; C of unbelief]. You cannot come where I am going.”
22 So the Jews asked, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he said, ‘You cannot come where I am going’?”
23 Jesus said, “You people are from here below [C from the earth], but I am from above [C from heaven or from God]. You belong to this world, but I ·don’t belong to this world [L am not of this world]. 24 So I told you that you would die in your sins. Yes, you will die in your sins if you don’t believe that ·I am he [L I am; C this may be an allusion to God’s (Yahweh’s) self identification either from Ex. 3:14 (the great “I AM”) or Is. 40—55, where God repeatedly says, “I am he”)].”
25 [L Therefore] They asked, “Then who are you?”
Jesus answered them, “·I am what I have told you from the beginning [or Why do I speak to you at all?]. 26 I have many things to say and ·decide about you [or condemn/judge you for]. But I tell ·people [the world] only the things I have heard from the One who sent me, and he speaks the truth.”
27 The people did not understand that he was talking to them about the Father. 28 So Jesus said to them, “When you lift up [C on the cross] the Son of Man [C a title for the Messiah; Dan. 7:13–14], you will know that ·I am he [L I am; C see 8:24]. You will know that these things I do are not ·by my own authority [on my own] but that I say only what the Father has taught me. 29 The One who sent me is with me. I always do what is pleasing to him, so he has not left me alone.” 30 While Jesus was saying these things, many people believed in him.
Freedom from Sin
31 So Jesus said to the Jews who believed in him, “If you ·continue to obey my teaching [L remain/abide in my word], you are truly my ·followers [disciples]. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will ·make [set] you free.”
33 They answered, “We are Abraham’s ·children [descendants; L seed; Gen. 12:1–3], and we have never been anyone’s slaves. So why do you say we will be free?”
34 Jesus answered them, “·I tell you the truth [L Truly, truly I say to you], everyone who ·lives in sin [commits/practices sin] is a slave to sin. 35 A slave does not ·stay with a family [live in the household] forever, but a son ·belongs to the family [lives in the household] forever. 36 So if the Son makes you free, you will be ·truly free [T free indeed]. 37 I know you are Abraham’s ·children [descendants; L seed], but you ·want [are trying; seek] to kill me because ·you don’t accept my teaching [L my word has no place in you; C thus showing they were Abraham’s children only physically, not spiritually; Jer. 9:25–26; Rom. 9:7; Gal. 4:21–31]. 38 I am telling you ·what my Father has shown me [L what I have seen in the Father’s presence], but you do what ·your father [or the Father] has told you.”
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