Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Honest People Are Blessed
112 Praise the Lord!
·Happy [Blessed] are those who ·respect [fear] the Lord [Prov. 1:7; 31:30],
who ·want [take great delight in] ·what he [L his] commands.
2 Their ·descendants [L seed] will be ·powerful [strong] in the land;
the ·children [generation] of ·honest [virtuous] people will be blessed.
3 Their houses will be full of wealth and riches,
and their ·goodness [righteousness] will ·continue [endure; L stand] forever.
4 A light shines in the dark for ·honest [virtuous] people,
for those who are ·merciful [gracious] and ·kind [compassionate] and ·good [merciful].
5 It is good to be ·merciful [gracious] and ·generous [to lend].
Those who ·are fair in their business [conduct their affairs justly]
6 will never be ·defeated [moved].
·Good [Righteous] people will always be remembered.
7 They ·won’t be afraid of [do not fear] ·bad news [to hear evil; Prov. 30:25];
their hearts are ·steady [steadfast; established; prepared] because they ·trust [have confidence in] the Lord.
8 They ·are confident [endure; are unshakeable; 111:8] and will not ·be afraid [fear];
they will look down on their ·enemies [foes].
9 They ·give freely [L distribute/scatter, they give] to the ·poor [needy].
·The things they do are right and [Their righteousness] will ·continue [endure] forever [2 Cor. 9:9].
·They will be given great honor [L Their horn is exalted in glory; C an animal’s horn symbolizes strength].
10 The wicked will see this and become angry;
they will ·grind [gnash] their teeth [C in anger] and then ·disappear [melt away].
The ·wishes [cravings; desires] of the wicked will ·come to nothing [perish].
21 ·The Lord can control a king’s mind as he controls a river [L The heart of a king is a canal/stream in the hand of the Lord];
he can ·direct [turn; incline] it as he pleases.
2 ·You may believe you are doing right [L Every person’s path seems right/straight in their own eyes],
but the Lord ·judges your reasons [L weighs your heart].
3 Doing what is ·right [righteous] and ·fair [just]
is more ·important [preferable] to the Lord than sacrifices [1 Sam. 15:22; Is. 1:11–17; Hos. 6:6; Mic. 6:6–8].
4 Proud ·looks [L eyes], ·proud thoughts [L arrogant heart],
·and evil actions [L the lamp/or tillage of the wicked] are sin [Ps. 131:1].
24 People who act with stubborn pride
are called “proud,” “bragger,” and “mocker.”
25 Lazy people’s ·desire for sleep [L longings] will kill them,
because ·they refuse to work [L their hands refuse to do anything; 2 Thess. 3:10].
26 All day long they wish for more,
but ·good [righteous] people give without holding back.
A Mother Asks Jesus a Favor(A)
20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee [C James and John] came to Jesus with her sons. She ·bowed [knelt] before him and asked ·him to do something for her [a favor of him].
21 Jesus asked, “What do you want?”
She said, “·Promise [Grant; Declare; L Say] that one of my sons will sit at your right ·side [hand] and the other will sit at your left side in your kingdom [C the positions of highest authority beside the king].”
22 But Jesus said, “You don’t understand what you are asking. ·Can you [Are you able to] drink the cup [C symbolizing suffering, and perhaps God’s judgment experienced by Jesus on the cross; Jer. 25:15–29] that I am about to drink?”
The sons answered, “Yes, we ·can [are able].”
23 Jesus said to them, “You will drink from my cup. But ·I cannot choose [it is not for me to grant/say] who will sit at my right or my left; those places belong to those for whom my Father has prepared them.”
24 When the other ten ·followers [disciples] heard this, they were ·angry [indignant] with the two brothers.
25 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the ·Gentiles [nations] love to ·show their power [lord it] over the people. And their ·important leaders [high officials; L great ones] love to ·use [exert] their authority [L over them]. 26 But it ·should not be [must not be; is not to be] that way among you. [Instead, L But] Whoever wants to become great among you must ·serve the rest of you like a servant [L be your servant]. 27 Whoever wants to become first among you must ·serve all of you like a slave [L be slave of all]. 28 In the same way, the Son of Man did not come to be served. He came to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many people [Is. 53:12; John 11:49–50].”
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