Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The One True God
115 ·It does not belong [L Not to us, not] to us, Lord.
The glory belongs to ·you [L your name]
because of your ·love [loyalty] and ·loyalty [faithfulness].
2 Why do the nations ask,
“Where is their God?”
3 Our God is in heaven.
He does what he pleases.
4 Their idols are made of silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
5 They have mouths, but they cannot speak.
They have eyes, but they cannot see.
6 They have ears, but they cannot hear.
They have noses, but they cannot smell.
7 They have hands, but they cannot feel.
They have feet, but they cannot walk.
No sounds come from their throats.
8 People who make ·idols [L them] ·will be [or are] like them,
and so will those who ·trust [have confidence in] them [135:15–18; Is. 44:9–20; 46:6–7; Jer. 10:1–9; Hab. 2:18–19].
9 ·Family of [L O] Israel, ·trust [have confidence in] the Lord;
he is your helper and your ·protection [L shield].
10 ·Family [L House] of Aaron [C the priests], ·trust [have confidence in] the Lord;
he is your helper and your ·protection [L shield].
11 You who ·respect [fear] the Lord [Prov. 1:7] should ·trust [have confidence in] him;
he is your helper and your ·protection [L shield].
12 The Lord remembers us and will bless us.
He will bless the ·family [L house] of Israel;
he will bless the ·family [L house] of Aaron [C the priests].
13 The Lord will bless those who ·respect [fear] him [Prov. 1:7],
from the ·smallest [or least] to the greatest.
14 May the Lord ·give you success [make you increase],
and may he give you and your children ·success [increase].
15 May you be blessed by the Lord,
who made heaven and earth [Gen. 1].
16 Heaven belongs to the Lord,
but he gave the earth to people.
17 Dead people do not praise the Lord;
those ·in the grave are silent [L who go down in silence].
18 But we will praise the Lord
now and forever.
Praise the Lord!
5 At the evening ·sacrifice [offering] I got up from ·where I had shown my shame [my humiliation/self-abasement]. My ·robe [tunic; clothes] and ·coat [cloak; mantle] were torn, and I fell on my knees with my hands ·spread [stretched] out to the Lord my God. 6 I prayed,
“My God, I am too ashamed and ·embarrassed [disgraced] to lift up my face to you, my God, because our ·sins [iniquities] are so many. They are higher than our heads. Our guilt even ·reaches up [extends] to the ·sky [heavens]. 7 From the days of our ·ancestors [fathers] until now, our guilt has been great. Because of our ·sins [iniquities], we, our kings, and our priests have been ·punished by [L given into the hands of the kings of the land, to] the sword and ·captivity [exile]. Foreign kings have ·taken away our things [plundered; pillaged] and ·shamed [humiliated] us, even as ·it [the case] is today.
8 “But now, for a short time, the Lord our God has been ·kind [gracious; merciful] to us. He has let ·some of us [a remnant] ·come back from [escape; or survive] ·captivity [exile] and has ·let us live in safety [L given us a peg; C a tent peg symbolizing pitching a tent after travel] in his holy place. And so our God ·gives us hope [L causes our eyes to shine; C that is, revives] and a little relief ·from [in] our ·slavery [bondage]. 9 Even though we ·are [were] slaves, our God in his ·unfailing love [loyalty] ·has not left [did not abandon/forsake] us. He caused the kings of Persia to ·be kind to [look kindly on] us and has ·given us new life [revived us]. We can rebuild the ·Temple [L house] of our God and ·repair [restore] its ruins. And he has given us a wall [C of protection] in Judah and Jerusalem.
10 “But now, our God, what can we say after you have done all this? We have ·disobeyed [abandoned; forsaken] your commands 11 that you ·gave [commanded] through your servants the prophets. You said, ‘The land you are entering to ·own [possess] is ·ruined [defiled; polluted; unclean]; the people living there have ·spoiled it [defiled it; polluted it; made it unclean] by ·the evil they do [their detestable/abominable practices]. Their evil filled the land with ·uncleanness [corruption; filth; impurity] from one end to the other. 12 So do not ·let your daughters marry [L give your daughters to] their sons, and do not ·let their daughters marry [L take their daughters for] your sons. Do not wish for their peace or ·success [prosperity; welfare]. Then you will be strong and eat the good things of the land. Then you can leave ·this land [L it as an inheritance] to your ·descendants [sons] forever.’
13 “What has happened to us is a result of our evil deeds and our great guilt. But you, our God, have punished us less than ·we [our sin/iniquities] deserve; you have left a ·few of us alive [remnant such as this]. 14 ·We should not [L Should we…?] again break your commands by ·allowing marriages [intermarrying] with these ·wicked [detestable; abominable] people. ·If we did, you would get angry [L Would not your anger be…?] enough to destroy us, ·and none of us would be left alive [without remnant or survivor]. 15 Lord, God of Israel, by your ·goodness [righteousness] a ·few of us [remnant] are left alive today. We ·admit that we are guilty [stand/come before you in our guilt] ·and [although] ·none of us should be allowed to [no one can truly] stand before you.”
Sadness Will Become Happiness
16 “After a little while you will not see me [C after his crucifixion], and then after a little while you will see me again [C after his resurrection].”
17 [L Therefore] Some of the ·followers [disciples] ·said to each other [discussed among themselves], “What does Jesus mean when he says, ‘After a little while you will not see me, and then after a little while you will see me again’? And what does he mean when he says, ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” 18 They also asked, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”
19 Jesus ·saw [knew; was aware] that the ·followers [disciples] wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you ·asking each other [discussing among yourselves] what I meant when I said, ‘After a little while you will not see me, and then after a little while you will see me again’? 20 ·I tell you the truth [L Truly, truly I say to you], you will ·cry and be sad [weep and mourn/lament], but the world will be happy. You will ·be sad [grieve; have pain], but your ·sadness [grief; pain] will become joy. 21 When a woman ·gives birth to a baby [goes into labor], she has pain, because her ·time [L hour] has come. But when her baby is born, she ·forgets the pain [does not remember the suffering/affliction], because ·she is so happy [L of the joy] that a ·child [L human being] has been born into the world. 22 It is the same with you. Now you are ·sad [sorrowful; in pain; grieving], but I will see you again and ·you [L your heart] will ·be happy [rejoice], and no one will take away your joy. 23 In that day [C after his resurrection] you will not ask me for anything. ·I tell you the truth [L Truly, truly I say to you], my Father will give you anything you ask for in my name [see 14:13]. 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy will be ·the fullest possible joy [complete; fulfilled].
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