Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
23 When people’s steps ·follow [L are made firm/established by] the Lord [Prov. 24:16],
God ·is pleased with [delights in] their ways.
24 If they stumble, they will not fall,
because the Lord ·holds [upholds] their hand.
25 I was young, and now I am old,
but I have never seen ·good [righteous] people ·left helpless [abandoned; forsaken; Gen. 28:15; Matt. 28:20]
or their ·children [seed] ·begging for [seeking] food [Prov. 10:3].
26 Good people always lend freely to others,
and their ·children [seed] are a blessing.
27 ·Stop doing [Turn aside from] evil and do good,
so you will ·live [dwell] forever.
28 The Lord loves ·justice [judgment]
and will not ·leave [abandon; forsake] ·those who worship him [his loyal ones/saints].
He will always ·protect [keep; guard] them,
but the ·children [seed] of the wicked will ·die [L be cut off].
29 ·Good [Righteous] people will inherit the land
and will ·live [dwell] in it forever.
30 ·Good people speak with [L The mouth of the righteous mutters] wisdom,
and ·they say what is fair [L their tongue speaks justice/judgment].
31 The ·teachings [instructions; laws] of their God are in their heart [Jer. 31:33],
so ·they do not fail to keep them [L their steps do not slip/slide/totter].
32 The wicked watch for ·good [righteous] people
·so that they may [L to seek to] kill them [Prov. 1:8–19].
33 But the Lord will not ·take away his protection [L abandon/forsake them to their hand/power/control]
or let ·good people be judged guilty [them be condemned when brought to trial].
34 ·Wait for [Hope in] the Lord
and ·follow him [L keep/guard his way].
He will ·honor [exalt] you and ·give you [you will inherit] the land,
and you will see the wicked ·sent away [or destroyed].
35 I saw a wicked and ·cruel [oppressive] man
who ·looked [flourished] like a luxurious cedar tree [C strong and healthy].
36 But he ·died [passed on] and was ·gone [no more];
I ·looked for [sought] him, but he couldn’t be found.
37 ·Think of [Observe] the ·innocent [blameless] person,
and watch the ·honest [upright; virtuous] one.
The man who has peace
will have ·children to live after him [posterity].
38 But sinners will be destroyed;
·in the end [or the posterity of] the wicked will ·die [L be cut off].
39 The Lord ·saves [rescues; T delivers] ·good [righteous] people;
he is their strength in times of ·trouble [distress].
40 The Lord helps them and ·saves [rescues; T delivers] them;
he ·saves [rescues; T delivers] them from the wicked,
because they ·trust [take refuge] in him for protection.
Samuel’s Farewell Speech
12 Samuel said to all Israel, “I have ·done everything you wanted me to do [listened to everything you said] and have ·put [appointed] a king over you. 2 Now you have a king ·to lead [walking before/in front of] you. I am old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have ·been your leader [walked before/in front of you] since I was young [L until this day]. 3 Here I am. ·If I have done anything wrong, you must testify [Bear witness] against me before the Lord and his ·appointed king [anointed]. Did I steal anyone’s ox or donkey? Did I ·hurt [oppress] or cheat anyone? Did I ever secretly accept a bribe to ·look the other way [L close my eyes]? If I did any of these things, I will make ·it right [amends].”
4 The Israelites answered, “You have not cheated us, or ·hurt [oppressed] us, or taken anything ·unfairly from anyone [from anyone’s hand].”
5 Samuel said to them, “The Lord is a witness ·to what you have said [against you]. His ·appointed [anointed] king is also a witness today that you did not find anything ·wrong in me [L in my hand].”
“He is our witness,” they said.
6 Then Samuel said to the people, “It is the Lord who ·chose [appointed; L made] Moses and Aaron and brought your ·ancestors [fathers] out of Egypt. 7 Now, ·stand there [or take your stand], and I will ·remind you of [plead with you/confront you concerning] all the ·good things [righteous/saving acts] the Lord did for you and your ·ancestors [fathers].
8 “After Jacob [C the Israelites] ·entered [went to; arrived in] Egypt, ·his descendants [they] cried to the Lord for help. So the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, who took your ·ancestors [fathers] out of Egypt and ·brought them to live [settled them] in this place.
9 “But they forgot the Lord their God. So he ·handed them over as slaves [sold them] to Sisera [Judg. 4–5], the commander of the army of Hazor, and ·as slaves to [into the hand of] the Philistines [Judg. 13–16] and the king of Moab. ·They all […all of whom had] fought against your ·ancestors [fathers]. 10 Then your ancestors cried to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned. We have ·left [turned away from; forsaken] the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths [C gods and goddesses of the Canaanites]. But now ·save [rescue; deliver] us from [L the hand of] our enemies, and we will ·serve [worship] you.’ 11 So the Lord sent ·Gideon [L Jerubbaal; C another name for Gideon; Judg. 6:32], ·Barak [L Bedan; Judg. 4:6], Jephthah [Judg. 11–12], and Samuel. He ·saved [rescued; delivered] you from [L the hands of] your enemies around you, and you lived in ·safety [security]. 12 But when you saw Nahash king of the ·Ammonites [L sons of Ammon] ·coming [marching] against you, you said, ‘No! We want a king to ·rule [reign] over us!’—even though the Lord your God was your king. 13 ·Now [All right; So] here is the king you chose, the one you asked for. The Lord has ·put [set; appointed] him over you. 14 ·You must [If you…] ·honor [fear] the Lord and ·serve [worship] him. You must ·obey [listen to] his ·word [voice] and not ·turn [rebel] against ·his commands [L the mouth of the Lord]. Both you and the king ·ruling [reigning] over you must follow the Lord your God. If you do, it will be well with you. 15 But if you don’t ·obey [listen to the voice of] the Lord, and if you ·turn [rebel] against ·his commands [L the mouth of the Lord], ·he [the hand of the Lord] will be ·against [heavy on] you. ·He will do to you what he did to […as it was on] your ·ancestors [fathers].
16 “Now stand ·still [where you are] and see the ·great thing [wonder; L thing] the Lord will do before your eyes. 17 ·It is [Is it not…?] now the time of the wheat harvest [C the dry season]. I will pray for the Lord to send thunder and rain [C the rain would destroy the wheat harvest]. Then you will know what an ·evil [wicked] thing you did ·against [in the eyes/sight of] the Lord when you ·asked for [demanded] a king.”
18 Then Samuel ·prayed [called] to the Lord, and that same day the Lord sent thunder and rain. So the people were ·very afraid [in awe] of the Lord and Samuel. 19 ·They [L All the people] said to Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God for us, your servants! Don’t let us die! We’ve added to all our sins the evil of ·asking for [demanding] a king.”
20 Samuel answered [L the people], “Don’t be afraid. It’s true that you did ·wrong [evil], but don’t turn away from the Lord. ·Serve [Worship] the Lord with all your heart. 21 ·Idols [Futile things] are of no use, so don’t worship them. They can’t help you or ·save [rescue; deliver] you. They are ·useless [futile]! 22 For his own [L name’s] sake, the Lord won’t ·leave [abandon; reject; desert] his people. ·Instead, [For; Because] he was pleased to make you his own people. 23 [L As for me,] ·I will surely not [Far be it from me to] stop praying for you, because that would be sinning against the Lord. I will ·teach [instruct] you ·what [in the way that] is good and right. 24 ·You must honor [Fear only] the Lord and ·truly serve [worship] him with all your heart. ·Remember [Keep in mind; Consider] the ·wonderful [great] things he did for you! 25 But if you ·are stubborn and do [persist in doing] evil, he will sweep you and your king away.”
Jesus Washes His Followers’ Feet
13 ·It was almost time for [L Now before…,] the Passover Feast [12:12]. Jesus knew that it was ·time [L the hour] for him to ·leave [depart from] this world and go back to the Father. He had always loved those who were his own in the world, and he loved them ·all the way to the end [or completely; totally].
2 ·Jesus and his followers were at the evening meal [L It was dinnertime]. The devil had already ·persuaded [L put it into the heart of] Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to ·turn against [betray] Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had ·given him power over everything [L placed everything into his hands] and that he had come from God and was going back to God. 4 So ·during the meal [L from supper] Jesus stood up and took off his outer clothing. Taking a towel, he wrapped it around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a bowl and began to wash the ·followers’ [disciples’] feet, ·drying [wiping] them with the towel that was wrapped around him. [C This act was considered so demeaning by some people that they only allowed Gentile slaves to do it.]
6 Jesus came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
7 Jesus answered, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but you will understand later.”
8 Peter said, “No, you will never wash my feet.”
Jesus answered, “If I don’t wash your feet, you ·are not one of my people [L have no share/part with me].”
9 Simon Peter answered, “Lord, then wash not only my feet, but wash my hands and my head, too!”
10 Jesus said to him, “After a person has ·had a bath [washed; bathed], his whole body is clean. He needs only to wash his feet. And you men are clean, but not all of you.” 11 [L For] Jesus knew who would ·turn against [betray] him, and that is why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and ·sat down [L reclined; C the posture for a banquet or dinner party] again. He asked, “Do you understand what I have just done ·for [to] you? 13 You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord’ [C titles appropriately ascribed to an esteemed Rabbi, but which took on deeper meaning after his death and resurrection], and you are right, because that is what I am. 14 If I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash each other’s feet. 15 I did this as ·an example [a pattern] so that you should do as I have done for you. 16 ·I tell you the truth [L Truly, truly, I say to you], a ·servant [slave; bond-servant] is not greater than his ·master [lord]. [L And] A messenger is not greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.