Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Prayer for Mercy
A song ·for going up to worship [of ascents; C perhaps sung while traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate an annual religious festival like Passover].
130 Lord, ·I am in great trouble [L from the depths],
so I ·call out [pray] to you.
2 Lord, hear my voice;
·listen to my prayer for help [L let your ear pay attention to the sound of my supplication].
3 Lord, if you ·punished people for all their sins [L observed/watched/guarded against iniquity],
·no one would be left [L who could stand…?], Lord.
4 But you forgive ·us [L your people],
so you are ·respected [feared; Prov. 1:7].
5 I ·wait [hope] for the Lord ·to help me [L my soul hopes],
and I ·trust [hope in] his word.
6 I ·wait for the Lord to help me [hope for the Lord]
more than night watchmen wait for the ·dawn [morning],
more than night watchmen wait for the ·dawn [morning].
7 People of Israel, put your hope in the Lord
because he is ·loving [loyal]
and ·able to save [L with him is abundant redemption].
8 He will ·save [redeem] Israel
from all their ·sins [iniquities].
Hezekiah Purifies the Temple(A)
29 Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he ·ruled [reigned] twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah. 2 Hezekiah did what ·the Lord said was right [L was pleasing/proper in the eyes/sight of the Lord], just as his ·ancestor [father] David had done.
3 Hezekiah opened the doors of the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord and ·repaired [restored] them in the first month of the first year he was king. 4 Hezekiah brought in the priests and Levites and gathered them in the ·courtyard [square] on the east side of the ·Temple [L house]. 5 Hezekiah said, “Listen to me, Levites. ·Make yourselves ready for the Lord’s service [Consecrate/Purify/Sanctify yourselves], and ·make holy [consecrate/purify/sanctify] the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord, the God of your ·ancestors [fathers]. Remove from the ·Temple [L house] everything that makes it ·impure [defiled; ritually unclean]. 6 Our ·ancestors [fathers] were unfaithful to God and did ·what the Lord said was wrong [L evil in the Lord’s sight/eyes]. They ·left [abandoned; forsook] the Lord and ·stopped worshiping at [L turned their faces away from] the ·Temple [L house] where he lives. They ·rejected [L turned their backs on] him. 7 They shut the doors of the ·porch [portico; vestibule; entry room] of the ·Temple [L house], and ·they let the fire go out in [put/snuffed out] the lamps. They stopped burning incense and offering burnt offerings in the ·holy place to [sanctuary of] the God of Israel. 8 So the Lord became very angry with the people of Judah and Jerusalem, and he ·punished them. Other people are frightened and shocked by what he did to them. So they ·insult the people of Judah. You know these things are true […made them an object of dread/terror, horror, and ridicule/L hissing, as you can see with your own eyes]. 9 That is why our ·ancestors [fathers] ·were killed in battle [L have fallen by the sword] and our sons, daughters, and wives ·were [are] taken captive. 10 Now I, Hezekiah, ·have decided [intend] to make an ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with the Lord, the God of Israel, so ·he will not be angry with us anymore [L his burning anger will turn away from us]. 11 My sons, don’t ·waste any more time [be negligent now]. The Lord chose you to stand ·before him [in his presence], to ·serve [minister to] him, to be his ·servants [ministers], and to burn incense to him.”
12 ·These are [Then] the Levites ·who started to work [L rose]. From the Kohathite ·family [clan] there were Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah. From the Merarite ·family [clan] there were Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel. From the Gershonite ·family [clan] there were Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah. 13 From Elizaphan’s ·family [clan] there were Shimri and Jeiel. From Asaph’s ·family [clan] there were Zechariah and Mattaniah. 14 From Heman’s ·family [clan] there were Jehiel and Shimei. From Jeduthun’s ·family [clan] there were Shemaiah and Uzziel [5:12].
15 These Levites gathered their brothers together and ·made themselves holy [consecrated/purified/sanctified themselves]. Then they went into the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord to purify it. They obeyed the king’s command that had come from the Lord. 16 When the priests went into the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord to ·purify [cleanse] it, they took out all the ·unclean [defiled; C ritually] things they found in the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord and put them in the ·Temple [L house] courtyard. Then the Levites took these things out to the Kidron Valley. 17 Beginning on the first day of the first month, they ·made holy [consecrated; purified; sanctified] the ·Temple [L house]. On the eighth day of the month, they came to the ·porch [portico; vestibule; entry room] of the ·Temple [L house], and for eight more days they ·made holy [consecrated; purified; sanctified] the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. So they finished on the sixteenth day of the first month.
18 Then they went to King Hezekiah and said, “We have ·purified [cleansed] the entire ·Temple [L house] of the Lord, the altar for burnt offerings and its ·utensils [equipment], and the table for the ·holy bread [T showbread] and all its ·utensils [equipment]. 19 When Ahaz was king, he was unfaithful to God and ·removed some things [discarded some utensils/equipment]. But we have ·put them back [prepared] and ·made them holy [consecrated/purified/sanctified them] for the Lord. They are now in front of the Lord’s altar.”
Blessing Comes Through Faith
3 ·You [L O] ·foolish [stupid] Galatians! Who has ·tricked [or cast a spell on; bewitched] you? ·You were told very clearly about the death of Jesus Christ on the cross [L Before your eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed/announced as crucified]. 2 Tell me this one thing: How did you receive the Holy Spirit? Did you receive the Spirit by ·following [L the works of] the law? ·No, you received the Spirit [L …or] ·because you heard the Good News and believed it [by believing what you heard]. 3 ·Are you so foolish [How can you be so stupid]? You began ·your life in Christ by [L by; or through] the Spirit. Now are you trying to ·make it complete [finish; or be perfected] by ·your own power [human effort; L the flesh]? 4 ·Were all your experiences wasted [or Have you suffered so much for nothing]? ·I hope not [or Surely it was not for nothing; L —if indeed for nothing]! 5 Does God give you the Spirit and work miracles among you ·because you follow [L by the works of] the law? ·No, he does these things [L …or] ·because you heard the Good News and believed it [by your believing what you heard; v. 2].
6 ·The Scriptures say the same thing about Abraham [L Just as (it says)]: “Abraham believed God, and ·God accepted Abraham’s faith, and that faith made him right with God [L it (Abraham’s faith) was credited to him as righteousness; Gen. 15:6; Rom. 4].” 7 So you should know that the true children of Abraham are those who have faith. 8 ·The Scriptures, telling what would happen in the future, said [L Scripture foresaw; C Scripture is personified as foreseeing and speaking] that God would ·make the Gentiles right [justify the Gentiles] through their faith. This ·Good News was told [Gospel was proclaimed] to Abraham beforehand, as the Scripture says: “All nations will be blessed through you [Gen. 12:3; 18:18].” 9 So all who ·believe as Abraham believed [rely on faith; have faith; L are of faith] are blessed ·just as Abraham was [L with faithful Abraham; or with Abraham, the man of faith].
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