Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
12 ·Happy [Blessed] is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people he chose for his ·very own [L inheritance; Ex. 19:5].
13 The Lord looks down from heaven
and sees every person.
14 From his throne he watches
all who live on earth.
15 He ·made [fashions all] their hearts
and understands everything they do.
16 No king is saved by his ·great [large] army.
No warrior ·escapes [is rescued/T delivered] by his great strength.
17 Horses ·can’t bring [are a vain hope for] victory;
they can’t save by their strength.
18 But the ·Lord looks after [L eye of the Lord is on] those who fear him,
those who ·put their hope [wait on him] in his ·love [loyalty; covenant love].
19 He ·saves [rescues; T delivers] ·them [their soul] from death
and ·spares their lives in times of hunger [revives them in famine].
20 So our hope is in the Lord.
He is our help, our shield to protect us.
21 ·We [L Our hearts] rejoice in him,
because we ·trust [have confidence in] his holy name.
22 Lord, ·show your love to us [L let your loyalty/covenant love be on us]
as we ·put our hope in [wait for] you.
6 Your right hand, Lord,
is ·amazingly [gloriously] strong.
Lord, your right hand
broke the enemy to pieces.
7 In your great victory
you ·destroyed [demolished] those who ·were [L rose up] against you.
·Your anger destroyed them [L You sent out your anger],
·like fire burning straw [L it consumed them like chaff/stubble/straw].
8 Just a blast of your ·breath [or anger],
and the waters piled up.
The moving water stood like a ·wall [or heap];
the ·deep waters [floods] ·became solid [congealed] in the ·middle [L heart] of the sea.
9 “The enemy ·bragged [L said],
‘I’ll ·chase them [L pursue] and ·catch them [L overtake].
I’ll ·take all their riches [L divide the plunder];
·I’ll take all I want [L My desire/appetite will have my fill of them].
I’ll ·pull out [draw] my sword,
and my hand will destroy them.’
10 But you blew on them with your ·breath [or wind]
and covered them with the sea.
They sank like lead
in the ·raging water [mighty waters].
11 “·Are there any gods like you [L Who is like you among the gods], Lord?
·There are no gods [L Who is…?] like you.
You are ·wonderfully holy [splendid/majestic in holiness],
·amazingly powerful [awesome in power],
·a worker of miracles [doing wonders].
Jesus Talks About the Spirit
37 On the last and ·most important [L greatest] day of the feast Jesus stood up and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. [C The feast of Shelters/Tabernacles featured a water pouring ritual that may stand in the background of Jesus’ speech.] 38 If anyone believes in me, rivers of living water will flow out from that person’s ·heart [L belly; gut], as the Scripture says [Is. 55:1; 58:11; Ezek. 47:1–12; Zech. 14:8, compare John 4:10–11; Rev. 7:17; 22:1].” 39 Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit. The Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet been ·raised to glory [glorified]. But later, those who believed in Jesus would receive the Spirit.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.