Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
17 ·Do good [Grant this] to me, your servant, so I can live,
so I can ·obey [keep; guard] your word.
18 Open my eyes to see
the ·miracles [wonders] in your ·teachings [instructions; law].
19 I am a ·stranger [sojourner; alien resident] ·on earth [or in the land].
Do not hide your commands from me.
20 ·I wear myself out [My soul pines away] with ·desire [longing]
for your ·laws [judgments] all the time.
21 You ·scold [rebuke; reprimand] ·proud [arrogant] people;
those who ·ignore [wander from] your commands are cursed.
22 ·Don’t let me be insulted and hated [L Take away insult and contempt]
because I keep your ·rules [decrees; testimonies].
23 Even if princes sit around and speak against me,
I, your servant, will ·think [meditate] about your ·demands [statutes; ordinances; requirements].
24 Your ·rules [statutes; ordinances; requirements] give me pleasure;
they ·give me good advice [L are my advisors/counselors].
The Promise of the Lord
33 While Jeremiah was still ·locked up [confined; imprisoned] in the courtyard of the guards, the Lord spoke his word to him a second time: 2 “These are the words of the Lord, who made it [C the earth; Gen. 1], ·shaped [formed; C like a potter] it, and ·gave it order [established it], whose name is the Lord: 3 ‘Pray [L Call] to me, and I will answer you. I will tell you ·important secrets [L great and hidden things] you have never ·heard [L known] before.’ 4 This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says about the houses in this city [C Jerusalem] and the ·royal palaces [L houses of the king] of Judah that have been torn down ·to be used in defense of the attack by the Babylonian army [L against the siege ramps and against the sword]: 5 ‘Some people will come to fight against the ·Babylonians [L Chaldeans]. They will fill them [C the houses] with ·the bodies of people [corpses] I ·killed [struck] in my ·hot anger [L anger and my wrath]. I have ·turned away [L hidden my face] from this city because of all the evil its people have done.
6 “‘But then I will bring ·health [recovery] and healing to the people there. I will heal them and ·let them enjoy [L reveal to them] ·great [an abundance of] peace and ·safety [security]. 7 I will ·bring Judah and Israel back from captivity [restore the fortunes of Judah and Israel] and ·make them strong countries [L rebuild them] as in the past. 8 They sinned against me, but I will ·wash away [cleanse them from] that sin. They did ·evil [iniquity] and ·turned away from [transgressed against] me, but I will forgive them. 9 Then it [C Jerusalem] will be to me a name that brings joy! And people from all nations of the earth will praise [L and glorify] it when they hear about the good things I am doing there. They will ·be surprised [fear] and ·shocked [tremble] at all the good things and the ·peace [or prosperity] I will bring to it.’
10 “You are saying, ‘Our country is an ·empty desert [ruin], without people or animals.’ But this is what the Lord says: It is now quiet in the streets of Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah, without people or animals, but ·it will be noisy there soon [L there will once more be heard…]! 11 ·There will be [L …the] sounds of joy and gladness and the happy sounds of brides and bridegrooms. There will be the sounds of people bringing to the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord their offerings of thanks to the Lord. They will say,
‘Praise the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts],
because the Lord is good!
His ·love [loyalty] continues forever!’
They will say this because I will ·again do good things for Judah [restore the fortunes of the land], as I did in the beginning,” says the Lord.
Jesus Heals Two Blind Men(A)
29 When ·Jesus and his followers [L they] were leaving Jericho, a ·great many people [large crowd] followed him. 30 [L And look/T behold] Two blind men sitting by the road heard that Jesus was going by, so they shouted, “Lord, Son of David [C a title for the Messiah, a descendant of King David; 2 Sam. 7:11–16], ·have mercy [take pity] on us!”
31 The people ·warned [rebuked; scolded] the blind men to be quiet, but they shouted even more, “Lord, Son of David, ·have mercy [take pity] on us!”
32 Jesus stopped and said to the blind men, “What do you want me to do for you?”
33 They answered, “Lord, ·we want to see [L let our eyes be opened].”
34 Jesus felt ·sorry [compassion] for the blind men and touched their eyes, and at once they could see. Then they followed Jesus.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.