Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Praise to the Lord of Love
Of David.
103 ·All that I am [T O my soul], ·praise [bless] the Lord;
·everything in me [L all my inward parts], ·praise [bless] his holy name.
2 ·My whole being [T O my soul], ·praise [bless] the Lord
and do not forget all his ·kindnesses [gifts; benefits].
3 He forgives all ·my [or your] ·sins [iniquity]
and heals all ·my [or your] ·diseases [ills].
4 He ·saves [redeems] ·my [or your] life from the ·grave [L pit]
and ·loads [or crowns] ·me [or you] with ·love [loyalty] and ·mercy [compassion].
5 He satisfies ·me [or you] with good things [L as long as you live; or according to your desires]
and ·makes me young again [L renews your youth], like the eagle [Is. 40:31].
6 The Lord does what is ·right [righteous] and ·fair [just]
for all who are ·wronged by others [oppressed; exploited].
7 He ·showed [revealed] his ways to Moses [Ex. 34:5–7]
and his deeds to the ·people [sons] of Israel.
8 The Lord shows ·mercy [compassion] and ·is kind [grace].
He ·does not become angry quickly [is slow to anger], and he has great ·love [loyalty; 86:15; 145:8–9; Ex. 34:6–7; Neh. 9:17. 31; Joel 2:13; Jon. 4:2].
12 Then Solomon ·offered [sacrificed] burnt offerings [Lev. 1:1–17] to the Lord on the altar he had built for the Lord in front of the ·Temple [L house] ·porch [portico; vestibule; entry room]. 13 He ·offered [sacrificed] sacrifices ·every day [according to the daily requirements/rule] as Moses had commanded. They were ·offered [sacrificed] on the Sabbath days, New Moons, and the three yearly feasts—the ·Feast [Festival] of Unleavened Bread, the ·Feast [Festival] of Weeks, and the ·Feast [Festival] of ·Shelters [Tabernacles; Booths]. 14 Solomon followed his father David’s instructions and ·chose [appointed] the ·groups [divisions; orders] of priests for their service and the Levites ·to lead the [for their duties/offices of] praise and to help the priests do their daily work. And he ·chose [appointed] the gatekeepers by their ·groups [divisions] to serve at each gate, as David, the man of God, had commanded. 15 They ·obeyed all of [L did not deviate from] Solomon’s commands to the priests and Levites, as well as his commands about the ·treasuries [storehouses].
Paul and Silas in Thessalonica
17 ·Paul and Silas [L They] traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica [C a city on the Via Egnatia, the major road on the northern Aegean coast] where there was a synagogue. 2 Paul went into the synagogue as he ·always [customarily] did [C speaking to the Jews first], and on each Sabbath day for three weeks, he ·talked [discussed; or argued; reasoned] with ·his fellow Jews [L them] about the Scriptures. 3 He explained and proved that the ·Christ [Messiah; C Christ in Greek and Messiah in Hebrew mean “anointed one”] must ·die [L suffer] and then rise from the dead [3:18]. He said, “This Jesus I am ·telling you about [proclaiming to you] is the ·Christ [Messiah].” 4 Some of them were ·convinced [persuaded] and joined Paul and Silas, along with many of the Greeks who ·worshiped God [were devout; C sometimes called “God-fearers,” these were Gentiles who worshiped the one true God of Israel; 10:2; 13:43] and ·many [L not a few] of the important women [13:50].
5 But ·some others [L the Jews] became jealous. So they got some evil men ·from the marketplace [or loitering in the streets; from the marketplace rabble], formed a mob, and ·started a riot [put the city in an uproar]. They ran to Jason’s house, looking for ·Paul and Silas [L them], wanting to bring them out to the ·people [assembly; crowd]. 6 But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other ·believers [L brothers] to the ·leaders of the city [city authorities; L politarchs]. The people were yelling, “These people have ·made trouble [agitated; stirred up rebellion] everywhere in the world, and now they have come here too! 7 Jason ·is keeping [has welcomed/received/harbored] them in his house. All of them ·do things against [defy; oppose] the ·laws [decrees] of Caesar, saying there is another king, called Jesus.”
8 When the ·people [crowd] and the ·leaders of the city [city authorities; L politarchs] heard these things, they ·became very upset [were disturbed]. 9 They made Jason and the others ·put up a sum of money [pay bail; post a bond]. Then they let ·the believers [L them] go free.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.