Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 20

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

¹ May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob set you up on high [and defend you];

² Send you help from the sanctuary and support, refresh, and strengthen you from Zion;

³ Remember all your offerings and accept your burnt sacrifice. Selah [pause, and think of that]!

⁴ May He grant you according to your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans.

⁵ We will [shout in] triumph at your salvation and victory, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners. May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.

⁶ Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand.

⁷ Some trust in and boast of chariots and some of horses, but we will trust in and boast of the name of the Lord our God.

⁸ They are bowed down and fallen, but we are risen and stand upright.

⁹ O Lord, give victory; let the King answer us when we call.

40 And the Lord said to Moses,

² On the first day of the first month you shall set up the tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting [of God with you].

³ And you shall put in it the ark of the Testimony and screen the ark [of God’s Presence] with the veil.^(A)

⁴ You shall bring in the [showbread] table and set in order the things that are to be upon it; and you shall bring in the lampstand and set up and light its lamps.^(B)

⁵ You shall set the golden altar for the incense before the ark of the Testimony [outside the veil] and put the hanging or screen at the tabernacle door.

⁶ You shall set the altar of the burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting.

⁷ And you shall ^[a]set the laver between the Tent of Meeting and the altar and put water in it.

⁸ And you shall set up the court [curtains] round about and hang up the hanging or screen at the court gate.

⁹ You shall take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it, and shall consecrate it and all its furniture, and it shall be holy.

¹⁰ You shall anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils; and consecrate (set apart for God) the altar, and the altar shall be most holy.

¹¹ And you shall anoint the laver and its base and consecrate it.

¹² You shall bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the Tent of Meeting and wash them with water.^(C)

¹³ You shall put on Aaron the holy garments, and anoint and consecrate him, so he may serve Me as priest.

¹⁴ And you shall bring his sons and put long and sleeved tunics on them,

¹⁵ And you shall anoint them as you anointed their father, that they may minister to Me as priests; for their anointing shall be to them for an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.

¹⁹ Therefore, brethren, since we have full freedom and confidence to enter into the [Holy of] Holies [by the power and virtue] in the blood of Jesus,

²⁰ By this fresh (new) and living way which He initiated and dedicated and opened for us through the separating curtain (veil of the Holy of Holies), that is, through His flesh,

²¹ And since we have [such] a great and wonderful and noble Priest [Who rules] over the house of God,

²² Let us all come forward and draw near with true (honest and sincere) hearts in unqualified assurance and absolute conviction engendered by faith (by ^[a]that leaning of the entire human personality on God in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness), having our hearts sprinkled and purified from a guilty (evil) conscience and our bodies cleansed with pure water.

²³ So let us seize and hold fast and retain without wavering the ^[b]hope we cherish and confess and our acknowledgement of it, for He Who promised is reliable (sure) and faithful to His word.

²⁴ And let us consider and give ^[c]attentive, continuous care to watching over one another, studying how we may stir up (stimulate and incite) to love and helpful deeds and noble activities,

²⁵ Not forsaking or neglecting to assemble together [as believers], as is the habit of some people, but admonishing (warning, urging, and encouraging) one another, and all the more faithfully as you see the day approaching.