Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
It Is Better to Confess Sin
A ·maskil [skillful psalm; meditation] of David.
32 ·Happy [Blessed] is the person
whose ·sins [transgressions] are forgiven,
whose ·wrongs [sins] are ·pardoned [L covered].
2 ·Happy [Blessed] is the person
whom the Lord ·does not consider guilty [imputes no guilt to]
and in ·whom [L whose spirit] there is nothing ·false [deceptive].
3 When I kept ·things to myself [silent],
·I felt weak deep inside me [L my bones wasted away].
I ·moaned [sighed] all day long.
4 Day and night ·you punished me [L your hand was heavy on me].
My strength was ·gone [dried up; sapped] as in the summer heat. ·
5 Then I ·confessed [made known; disclosed] my sins to you
and didn’t ·hide [cover up] my guilt.
I said, “I will confess my ·sins [transgressions] to the Lord,”
and you forgave ·my guilt [L the guilt of my sin]. ·
6 For this reason, all ·who obey you [your saints/holy ones]
should pray to you while ·they still can [or you may be found; L at a time of finding only; Prov. 1:24–27].
When troubles rise like a flood,
they will not reach them.
7 You are my hiding place.
You protect me from ·my troubles [distress]
and ·fill [L surround] me with ·songs [loud cries] of ·salvation [rescue; T deliverance]. ·
8 The Lord says, “I will ·make you wise [instruct you] and ·show [teach] you ·where to [L the way you should] go.
I will ·guide [counsel] you and ·watch over [L my eye will be on] you.
9 So don’t be like a horse or donkey,
that doesn’t understand.
·They must be led [L …whose temper/or gallop must be restrained] with bits and reins,
or they will not come near you.”
10 Wicked people have many ·troubles [pains; torments; woes],
but the Lord’s ·love [loyalty; covenant love] surrounds those who ·trust [have confidence in] him.
11 ·Good [Righteous] people, rejoice and be happy in the Lord.
·Sing [Shout joyfully] all you whose hearts are ·right [upright; virtuous].
Absalom Plans to Take David’s Kingdom
15 After this, Absalom got a chariot and horses for himself and fifty men to run before him [C to signal his power and claim of heir to the throne]. 2 Absalom would get up early and stand near the city gate [C the hub of the town for judicial, business, and social interaction]. Anyone who had a ·problem [suit; petition; case] for the king to ·settle [judge] would come here. When someone came, Absalom would call out and say, “What city are you from?”
The person would answer, “·I’m [L Your servant is] from one of the tribes of Israel.”
3 Then Absalom would say, “Look, your claims are ·right [sound/valid and just], but the king has no ·one [representative; deputy] to listen to you.” 4 Absalom would also say, “I wish someone would ·make [appoint] me judge in this land! Then people with ·problems [any suit/complaint/case or cause] could come to me, and I ·could help them get [would give them] justice.”
5 People would come near Absalom to ·bow to [prostrate themselves before] him. When they did, Absalom would reach out his hand and take hold of them and kiss them [C to show he treated them as his equals]. 6 Absalom did that to all the Israelites who came to King David for ·decisions [judgment]. In this way, Absalom stole the hearts of all Israel.
7 After four[a] years Absalom said to King David, “Please let me go to Hebron. I want to carry out my ·promise [vow] that I made to the Lord 8 while ·I [L your servant] was living in Geshur in Aram. I said, ‘If the Lord takes me back to Jerusalem, I will ·worship [offer devotion/a sacrifice to] him in Hebron.’”
9 The king said, “Go in peace.”
So Absalom went to Hebron. 10 But he sent ·secret messengers [spies; or runners] through all the tribes of Israel. They told the people, “When you hear the trumpets, say this: ‘Absalom is the king ·at [in] Hebron!’”
11 Absalom ·had invited [took] two hundred men to go with him. So they went from Jerusalem with him [L innocently], ·but they didn’t know [not knowing] what he was planning. 12 While Absalom was offering sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel, ·one of the people who advised David [David’s counselor], to come from his hometown of Giloh. So ·Absalom’s plans were working very well [the conspiracy grew stronger]. More and more people began to support him.
God Shows Mercy to All People
11 So I ask: Did God ·throw out [cast away; reject] his people? ·No [Absolutely not; May it never be; 9:14]! I myself am an Israelite from the ·family [descendants; L seed] of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not ·thrown out [cast away; rejected] his people, whom he ·chose [or knew] ·long ago [from the beginning; L beforehand]. ·Surely you know [L Do you not know…?] what the Scripture says about Elijah, how he ·prayed [appealed; complained] to God against the people of Israel. 3 “Lord,” he said, “they have killed your prophets, and they have ·destroyed [torn/burned down] your altars. I am the only one left, and now they are ·trying to kill me, too [seeking my life; 1 Kin. 19:10, 14].” 4 But what ·answer did God give Elijah [L was the divine response]? He said, “But I have ·left [kept for myself] seven thousand ·people [or men] in Israel who have not bowed ·down [L the knee] before Baal [1 Kin. 19:18].” 5 It is the same now. There ·are a few people [is a remnant] that God has chosen by his grace. 6 And if he chose them by grace, it is not ·for the things they have done [by works]. If they could be made God’s people by ·what they did [works], God’s gift of grace would ·not really [or no longer] be a gift.
7 ·So this is what has happened [What follows from this? L What then?]: ·The people of Israel [L Israel] did not ·succeed in [attain; obtain; find] what they were ·striving [looking; seeking] for, but the ·ones God chose [elect] did ·succeed [attain/obtain/find it]. The ·others [rest] were ·made stubborn and refused to listen to God [L hardened]. 8 As it is written in the Scriptures:
“God gave the people a ·dull mind [L spirit of stupor/insensitivity] so they could not understand [Is. 29:10].”
“He ·closed their eyes so they [or gave them eyes that] could not see
and ·their ears so they [or gave them ears that] could not hear.
This continues until today [Deut. 29:4].”
9 And David says:
“Let their ·own feasts [L table] ·trap them and cause their ruin [L become a snare and a trap],
becoming a ·stumbling block [pitfall] and ·paying them back [their retribution].
10 Let their eyes be ·closed [L darkened] so they cannot see
and their backs be ·forever [or continually] ·weak from troubles [L bent over; Ps. 69:22–23].”
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