Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Prayer of Someone Far from Home
A psalm ·for going up to worship [of ascents; C perhaps sung while traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate an annual religious festival like Passover].
120 When I was in ·trouble [distress], I called to the Lord,
and he answered me.
2 Lord, ·save [protect] me from ·liars [L false lips]
and from ·those who plan evil [L a deceptive tongue].
3 ·You who plan evil [L O deceptive tongue], what will ·God do [L he give] to you?
·How will he punish [L What will he add to] you?
4 ·He will punish you with the sharp arrows of a warrior
and with burning coals of wood [L The sharp arrows of a warrior and the burning coals of a broom tree; C the broom tree produces excellent charcoal].
5 ·How terrible it is for [L Woe to] me to ·live in the land of [L sojourn/wander in] Meshech [C by the Black Sea in Asia Minor; Gen. 10:2; Ezek. 38:2],
to ·live [dwell; reside] among the ·people [L tents] of Kedar [C in the Arabian desert; Is. 21:16–17; Jer. 2:10; 49:28; Ezek. 27:21].
6 I have ·lived [dwelt; resided] too long
with people who hate peace.
7 When I talk peace,
they want war.
Zedekiah King of Judah(A)
18 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he ·was king [reigned] in Jerusalem for eleven years. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah [C not the prophet Jeremiah] from Libnah. 19 Zedekiah did ·what the Lord said was wrong [L evil in the eyes/sight of the Lord], just as Jehoiakim had done. 20 All this happened in Jerusalem and Judah because the Lord was angry with them. Finally, he ·threw [banished; cast] them out of his presence.
Zedekiah ·turned [rebelled] against the king of Babylon.
The Fall of Jerusalem(B)
25 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army during Zedekiah’s ninth year as king, on the tenth day of the tenth month [C January 15, 588 bc]. He made a camp around the city and ·piled dirt against the city walls to attack it [built siege walls all around it]. 2 The city was under ·attack [siege] until Zedekiah’s eleventh year as king. 3 By ·the ninth day of the fourth month [C July 18, 586 bc], the ·hunger [famine] was ·terrible [severe] in the city. There was no food for the people to eat. 4 Then the wall of the city was breached, and the whole army ran away at night through the gate between the two walls by the king’s garden. ·While [Though] the Babylonians were still surrounding the city, Zedekiah and his men ran away toward the ·Jordan Valley [L Arabah; C a plain near Jericho, east of Jerusalem]. 5 But the Babylonian army chased King Zedekiah and caught up with him in the plains of Jericho. All of his army ·was scattered from [deserted] him, 6 so they captured Zedekiah and took him to the king of Babylon at Riblah. There he passed sentence on Zedekiah. 7 They ·killed [slaughtered] Zedekiah’s sons as he watched. Then they ·put [gouged] out his eyes and put bronze ·chains [shackles] on him and took him to Babylon.
8 Nebuzaradan was the commander of the king’s special guards. This officer of the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem on ·the seventh day of the fifth month [C August 14, 586 bc], in Nebuchadnezzar’s nineteenth year as king of Babylon. 9 Nebuzaradan ·set fire to [burned down] the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord and the ·palace [L king’s house] and all the houses of Jerusalem. Every important building was burned.
10 The whole Babylonian army, led by the commander of the king’s special guards, ·broke down [demolished] the walls around Jerusalem. 11 Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guards, ·captured [carried into exile] the people left in Jerusalem, those who had ·surrendered [deserted] to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the people. 12 But the commander of the guard left behind some of the poorest people of the land to ·take care of [work] the vineyards and fields.
13 The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars, the bronze stands, and the large bronze ·bowl [basin] called the Sea [1 Kin. 7:23–45] in the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. Then they carried the bronze to Babylon. 14 They also took the pots, shovels, ·wick trimmers [snuffers], dishes, and all the bronze objects used to serve in the ·Temple [L house]. 15 The commander of the king’s special guards took away the ·pans for carrying hot coals [censers], the ·bowls [basins], and everything made of ·pure [fine] gold or silver. 16 There were two pillars and the large bronze Sea and the ·movable stands [water carts] which Solomon had made for the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. There was so much bronze that it could not be weighed. 17 Each pillar was ·about twenty-seven feet [L eighteen cubits; 1 Kin. 7:15–20] high. The bronze capital on top of the pillar was ·about four and one-half feet [L three cubits] high. It was decorated with a ·net design and [latticework/network of] bronze pomegranates all around it. The other pillar also had a ·net design [latticework; network] and was like the first pillar.
Judah Is Taken Prisoner(C)
18 The commander of the guards took some ·prisoners [captives]—Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest next in rank, and the three ·doorkeepers [gatekeepers]. 19 Of the people who were still in the city, he took the officer in charge of the ·fighting men [soldiers], as well as five advisors to the king. He took the royal secretary who ·selected [conscripted] people for the army and sixty other men who were in the city. 20 Nebuzaradan, the commander, took all these people and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 21 There at Riblah, in the land of Hamath, the king had them killed. So the people of Judah were ·led away from their country as captives [sent into exile from their land].
20 But Christ has truly been raised from the dead—the ·first one and proof that those who sleep in death will also be raised [L firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep; C unlike others who had been raised to mortal life, Christ was the first to be raised to everlasting life]. 21 Death has come ·because of what one man did [through a man/human being], but the rising from death also comes ·because of one man [through a man/human being]. 22 In Adam all of us die. In the same way, in Christ all of us will be made alive again [Rom. 5:12–21]. 23 But ·everyone [each] will be raised to life in the right order. Christ was ·first to be raised [L the firstfruits]. When Christ comes again, those who belong to him will be raised to life, 24 and then the end will come. At that time Christ will ·destroy [abolish] all rulers, authorities, and powers, and he will hand over the kingdom to God the Father. 25 [L For] Christ must ·rule [reign] until he puts all enemies under his ·control [L feet; Ps. 110:1]. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed will be death. 27 ·The Scripture says that God put [L For he has subjected] all things under his ·control [L feet; Ps. 8:6]. When it says “all things” are ·under [subjected to] him, it is clear this does not include the One [C God the father] who put everything under his control. 28 After everything has been ·put under [subjected to] the Son, then he will ·put himself under [be subjected to] ·God [L the One…], who had put all things under him. ·Then [or …so that] God will be ·the complete ruler over everything [or supreme in every place and in every way; L all in all].
29 If the dead are never raised, what will people do who are being baptized for the dead [C it is unclear what this practice was or whether Paul approves or disapproves]? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people being baptized for them?
30 And what about us? Why do we put ourselves in danger every hour? 31 I ·die [face death] every day. ·That is true, brothers and sisters, just as it is true that I brag about you [L (I swear) by my boasting in you, brothers (and sisters), which I have] in Christ Jesus our Lord. 32 If I fought wild animals in Ephesus [C probably a metaphor for human opponents, though possibly beasts in the arena (Acts 19; 2 Cor. 1:8–11; 2 Tim. 4:16–18)] ·only with human hopes [or from a human point of view; L according to man], I have gained nothing. If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, because tomorrow we will die [Is. 22:13; 56:12].”
33 Do not be ·fooled [deceived; misled]: “Bad ·friends [company] will ruin good ·habits [or character; morals; C a quote from the Greek poet Menander (c. 342–291 bc)].” 34 ·Come back to your right way of thinking [Come to your senses; or Sober up as you should] and stop sinning. Some of you ·do not know [or are ignorant about] God—I say this to shame you.
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