Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Prayer in Time of Sickness
A psalm of David ·to remember [or for the memorial offering].
38 Lord, don’t ·correct [rebuke; reprove] me when you are angry.
Don’t ·punish [discipline] me when you are ·furious [enraged; 6:1].
2 Your arrows have ·wounded [pierced] me,
and your hand has come down on me.
3 My ·body [flesh] is ·sick [L not sound] from your ·punishment [L indignation].
Even my bones are not healthy because of my sin.
4 My guilt has ·overwhelmed me [L passed over my head];
like a ·load [burden] it ·weighs me down [is too heavy for me].
5 My sores stink and become infected
because I was foolish.
6 I am bent over and bowed down;
I ·am sad [L walk around mourning] all day long.
7 ·I am burning with fever [L My loins are burned with fever],
and my ·whole body [flesh] is ·sore [L not sound].
8 I am weak and ·faint [L completely crushed].
I ·moan [groan] from the ·pain I feel [L anguish of my heart].
9 Lord, you know everything I ·want [desire; long for];
my ·cries [sighs] are not hidden from you.
10 My heart pounds, and my strength ·is gone [abandons/forsakes me].
·I am losing my sight [L The light of my eyes is not with me].
11 Because of my wounds, ·my friends [L those who love me] and neighbors ·avoid [L stand away from] me,
and my relatives ·stay [L stand] far away.
12 ·Some people set traps to kill me [L Those who seek my life set traps for me].
Those who ·want [seek] to ·hurt [harm; trouble] me plan trouble;
all day long they ·think up [meditate on] ·lies [deception].
13 I am like the deaf; I cannot hear.
Like the mute, I cannot ·speak [open my mouth].
14 I am like those who do not hear,
who have no ·answer [reproof] ·to give [L in their mouth].
15 I ·trust [hope in; wait for] you, Lord.
You will answer, my Lord and God.
16 I said, “Don’t let them ·laugh at [rejoice in] me
or ·brag [boast] when ·I am defeated [L my foot totters/slips].”
17 I am ·about to die [L ready to stumble],
and ·I cannot forget my pain [L my pain is constantly with me].
18 I confess my guilt;
I am troubled by my sin.
19 My ·enemies are strong and [L living enemies are] healthy,
and many hate me for no reason.
20 They repay me with evil for the good I did.
They ·lie about me [L are my accusers/adversaries] because I ·try to do [L pursued] good.
21 Lord, don’t ·leave [abandon; forsake] me;
my God, don’t ·go away [be far from me].
22 Quickly come and help me,
my Lord and Savior.
18 The Lord ·wants [is waiting] to ·show his mercy [be gracious] to you.
He ·wants to rise and [or is exalted and wants to] ·comfort [show compassion to] you.
The Lord is a ·fair [just] God,
and everyone who waits for ·his help [L him] will be ·happy [blessed].
The Lord Will Help His People
19 You people who live on Mount Zion in Jerusalem will not ·cry [weep] anymore. The Lord will hear your crying, and he will ·comfort [be gracious to] you. When he hears you, he will ·help [answer] you. 20 The Lord has given you ·sorrow and hurt like the bread and water you ate every day [L the bread of adversity and the water of affliction]. ·He is your teacher; he will not continue to hide [or But your teachers will no longer be hidden] from you, but you will see your ·teacher [or teachers] with your own eyes. 21 If you go the wrong way—to the right or to the left—you will hear a voice behind you saying, “This is the right way. ·You should go this way [L Walk in it].” 22 Then you will ·ruin [destroy; desecrate] your statues covered with silver and gold. You will throw them away like ·filthy rags [unclean things; a menstrual cloth; Lev. 15:19–24] and say, “Go away!”
23 ·At that time [L In that day] the Lord will send rain for the seeds you ·plant [sow] in the ground, and the ground will grow food for you. The harvest will be ·rich [fat] and ·great [plentiful], and ·you will have plenty of food in the fields for your animals [L your cattle will graze in large pastures]. 24 Your oxen and donkeys that work the soil will have ·all the food they need [the best grain; seasoned feed]. ·You will have to use shovels and pitchforks to spread all their food […winnowed with fork and shovel]. 25 Every mountain and hill will have streams flowing with water. ·These things will happen after many people are killed and [L …in the day of great slaughter when] the towers are pulled down. 26 ·At that time [L In that day] the light from the moon will be bright like the sun, and the light from the sun will be seven times brighter than now, like the light of seven days. These things will happen when the Lord ·bandages his broken [binds up the broken limbs of his] people and heals the ·hurts he gave them [wounds he inflicted].
Paul in Lystra and Derbe
8 In Lystra [v. 6] there sat a man who had been ·born crippled [L lame from the womb of his mother]; he had never walked. 9 As this man was listening to Paul speak, Paul looked straight at him and saw that he ·believed [had faith that] God could heal him. 10 So he ·cried out [L said with a loud voice], “Stand up on your feet!” The man jumped up and began walking around. 11 When the crowds saw what Paul did, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have ·become like humans [or taken on human form] and have come down to us!” 12 Then the people began to call Barnabas “Zeus” [C main god of the Greek pantheon] and Paul “Hermes,” [C the Greek god who delivered messages] because he was the main speaker. 13 The priest in the temple of Zeus, which was ·near [or beside; at the entrance of] the city, brought some ·bulls [or oxen] and ·flowers [garlands; wreaths] to the ·gates [temple gates; or city gates; C but it is doubtful that Lystra had city walls at this time]. He and the people wanted to offer a sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas. 14 But when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard about it, they tore their clothes [C indicating outrage or sorrow]. They ran in among the people, shouting, 15 “·Friends [L Men], why are you doing these things? We are only human beings ·like [of the same nature as] you. We are bringing you the ·Good News [Gospel] and are telling you to turn away from these worthless things and turn to the living God. He is the One who made the sky, the earth, the sea, and everything in them [Ex. 20:11; Ps. 146:6]. 16 In the past [L generations], God let all the nations ·do what they wanted [L go their own way]. 17 Yet he ·proved he is real [L has not left himself without a witness] by ·showing kindness [doing good], by giving you rain from heaven and crops at the right ·times [seasons], by ·giving you [satisfying/filling you with] food and filling your hearts with joy [Ps. 104:13–15].” 18 Even with these words, they were barely able to keep the crowd from offering sacrifices to them.
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