Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Prayer in Time of Sickness
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
41 ·Happy [Blessed] are those who ·think about [or care for] the poor [James 1:27].
·When trouble comes [L In the day of trouble/evil], the Lord will ·save [rescue; T deliver] them.
2 The Lord will ·protect [guard; keep] them and ·spare their life [keep them alive]
and will ·bless them [make them happy] in the land.
He will not ·let their enemies take them [L give their lives to their enemy; or give them over to the desire of their enemy].
3 The Lord will give them strength when they are ·sick [L on their sickbed],
and he will ·make them well again [L restore them from their bed of illness].
4 I said, “Lord, have ·mercy [compassion] on me.
Heal me, because I have sinned against you.”
5 My enemies are saying evil things about me.
They say, “When will he die and ·be forgotten [L his name/reputation perish]?”
6 Some people come to see me,
but ·they lie [L speak deceptive/vain things].
·They just come to get bad news [L Their hearts collect iniquities].
Then they go ·and gossip [L out and speak].
7 All ·my enemies [L those who hate me] whisper about me
and ·think [imagine] ·the worst [trouble; evil] about me.
8 They say, “·He has a terrible disease [or An evil spell has been cast on him].
He ·will never get out of bed again [L lies down and will not get up].”
9 ·My best and truest friend [L A man of peace in whom I trust/find support], who ate at my table,
has ·even turned against me [L lifted his heel against me; C an act of treachery; 55:12–14; Matt. 26:23; Mark 14:18; Luke 22:21; John 13:18].
10 Lord, have ·mercy [compassion] on me.
·Give me strength [L Raise me up] so I can pay them back.
11 Because my enemies do not ·defeat [triumph over; or make fun of] me,
I know you are ·pleased [delighted] with me.
12 Because I am ·innocent [blameless], you support me
and will ·let me be with you [L set me in your presence] forever.
13 ·Praise [Blessed be] the Lord, the God of Israel.
·He has always been [L …from everlasting to everlasting],
and he will always be.
Amen and amen [C verse 13 is a doxology that closes Book 1].
Hezekiah’s Illness(A)
38 At that time Hezekiah became so sick he ·almost died [was about to die]. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to see him and told him, “·This is what the Lord says [T Thus says the Lord]: ·Make arrangements [L Set your house in order], because you are going to die. You will not recover.”
2 Hezekiah turned toward the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 “Lord, please remember that I have always ·obeyed [L walked before] you. I have ·given myself completely to you [served you wholeheartedly] and have done ·what you said was right [L right in the eyes/sight of the Lord].” Then Hezekiah ·cried loudly [wept bitterly].
4 Then the Lord spoke his word to Isaiah: 5 “Go to Hezekiah and tell him: ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your ·ancestor [father] David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. So I will add fifteen years to your life. 6 I will ·save [rescue] you and this city from [L the hand of] the king of Assyria; I will defend this city.
7 “‘The Lord will do what he ·says [promises]. This is the sign from the Lord to show you: 8 The sun has made a shadow go down the stairway of Ahaz, but I will make it go back ten steps.’” So the shadow made by the sun went back up the ten steps it had gone down.
7 ·So hold on through your sufferings, because they are like a father’s discipline [L Persevere in discipline]. God is treating you as ·children [or sons]. ·All children are [L For what child/son is not…?] disciplined by their fathers. 8 If you are never disciplined (and every ·child [or son] must be disciplined), you are ·not true children [L illegitimate and not (true) children/sons]. 9 [Furthermore; Moreover] We have all had ·fathers [or parents] here on earth who disciplined us, and we respected them. So it is even more important that we accept discipline from ·the Father of our spirits [or our spiritual Father; or the Father of all spirit beings; 12:23; Num. 16:22] so we will have [C eternal or true spiritual] life. 10 ·Our fathers on earth [L They] disciplined us for a short time in the way they thought was best. But God disciplines us ·to help us [for our good/benefit], so we can ·become holy as he is [L share in his holiness]. 11 We do not enjoy being disciplined. It is painful at the time, but later, after we have ·learned from [been trained by] it, ·we have peace [L it produces/bears the fruit of peace], ·because we start living in the right way [or …and righteousness].
Be Careful How You Live
12 ·You have become weak, so make yourselves strong again [L Therefore, strengthen your drooping arms/hands and your weak/disabled knees; Is. 35:3]. 13 ·Keep on the right path [L Make straight/clear paths for your feet; Prov. 4:27], so the ·weak [lame] will not ·stumble [be disabled; put out of joint] but rather be ·strengthened [healed].
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