Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
8 Gracious and merciful is the Lord,
slow to become angry,
and overflowing with gracious love.
9 The Lord is good to everyone
and his mercies extend to everything he does.
10 Lord, everything you have done will praise you,
and your holy ones will bless you.
11 They will speak about the glory of your kingdom,
and they will talk about your might,
12 in order to make known your mighty acts to mankind[a]
as well as the majestic splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your authority endures from one generation to another.
13b God[b] is faithful about everything he says
and merciful in everything he does.
14 The Lord supports everyone who falls
and raises up those who are bowed down.
6 “‘Come now! Come now! Flee from the land of the north,’ declares the Lord, ‘for I have dispersed you like the four winds of heaven,’ declares the Lord.
7 “‘Come now, Zion! Escape, you who are living with the residents of Babylon. 8 For this is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: “In pursuit of glory I was sent to the nations who plundered you, because whoever injures you injures the pupil of my eye. 9 And look, I will shake my fist over them, and they will become plunder for their former[a] slaves. And you will know that the Lord of the Heavenly Armies sent me.”’”
The Lord will Live in Zion
10 “Sing and rejoice, daughter of Zion! Take note! I am coming to live in your midst,” declares the Lord. 11 “Many nations will cling to the Lord at that time[b] and will become my people. I will live in your midst, and you will know that the Lord of the Heavenly Armies has sent me to you. 12 The Lord will take possession of Judah as his own property in the Holy Land—and he will choose Jerusalem again. 13 Be silent, every living thing, in the presence of the Lord, because he is emerging[c] from his Holy Place.”
The Law Shows Us What Sin Is
7 What should we say, then? Is the Law sinful? Of course not! In fact, I wouldn’t have become aware of sin if it had not been for the Law. I wouldn’t have known what it means to covet if the Law had not said, “You must not covet.”[a] 8 But sin seized the opportunity provided by this commandment and produced in me all kinds of sinful desires, since apart from the Law, sin is dead. 9 At one time I was alive without any connection to[b] the Law.[c] But when the rule was revealed, sin sprang to life, 10 and I died. I found that the very rule that was intended to bring life actually brought death. 11 For sin, seizing the opportunity provided by the rule, deceived me and used it to kill me. 12 So then, the Law[d] itself is holy, and the rule is holy, just, and good.
The Problem of the Sin that Lives in Us
13 Now, did something good bring me death? Of course not! But in order that sin might be recognized as being sin, it used something good to cause my death, so that through the rule, sin might become more exposed as being[e] sinful than ever before. 14 For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am merely human,[f] sold as a slave to sin.[g] 15 I don’t understand what I am doing. For I don’t practice what I want to do, but instead do what I hate. 16 Now if I practice what I don’t want to do, I am admitting that the Law is good. 17 As it is, I am no longer the one who is doing it, but it is the sin that is living in me.
18 For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I don’t do the good I want to do, but instead do the evil that I don’t want to do. 20 But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am no longer the one who is doing it, but it is the sin that is living in me.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.