Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Praise God Who Helps the Weak
146 Praise the Lord!
My ·whole being [soul; life], praise the Lord.
2 I will praise the Lord ·all [L with] my life;
I will ·sing praises [make a psalm] to my God as long as I live.
3 Do not put your ·trust [confidence] in princes
or other people, who cannot ·save you [give you victory; 118:8–9].
4 ·When people die [L Their spirit goes out], they ·are buried [L return to the ground].
·Then all of [L On that day] their plans ·come to an end [perish].
5 ·Happy [Blessed] are those who are helped by the God of Jacob [C another name for Israel].
Their hope is in the Lord their God.
6 He made heaven and earth,
the sea and everything in it [Gen. 1].
He ·remains [keeps; observes; guards] ·loyal [faithfulness; truth] forever.
7 He does ·what is fair [justice] for those who have been ·wronged [oppressed; exploited].
He gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets the prisoners free.
8 The Lord ·gives sight to [opens the eyes of] the blind.
The Lord lifts up people who are ·in trouble [bowed down; 145:14].
The Lord loves ·those who do right [the righteous].
9 The Lord ·protects [guards] the ·foreigners [sojourners].
He ·defends [supports] the orphans and widows [C the socially vulnerable],
but he ·blocks [frustrates] the way of the wicked.
10 The Lord will ·be King [reign] forever [47:2; 93:1; 96:10; 97:1; 98:6; 99:1; Rev. 19:6].
·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple], your God is everlasting.
Praise the Lord!
2 The rich and the poor ·are alike [have a common bond]
in that the Lord made them all.
3 The ·wise [prudent] see ·danger [evil; trouble] ahead and avoid it,
but fools ·keep going [go straight to it] and ·get into trouble [or are punished].
4 ·Respecting [Fearing] the Lord [1:7] and ·not being proud [humility]
will bring you wealth, honor, and life.
5 Evil people’s lives are like paths covered with thorns and ·traps [nets].
People who guard themselves ·don’t have such problems [L stay far from them].
6 Train children ·to live the right way [L in their/or his path; C referring either to children or to God],
and when they are old, they will not ·stray [depart] from it.
7 The rich rule over the poor,
and borrowers are ·servants [slaves] to lenders.
8 Those who ·plan [L sow] ·evil [injustice] will ·receive [L reap; harvest] ·trouble [evil; Matt. 26:52].
·Their cruel anger [L The rod of their fury] will come to an end.
9 Generous people ·will be blessed [or he will bless],
because they share their food with the poor.
10 ·Get rid of [Banish; Drive out] the ·one who makes fun of wisdom [mocker].
Then ·fighting [conflict], ·quarrels [judgments], and ·insults [shame] will stop.
11 Whoever loves pure ·thoughts [L hearts] and kind ·words [L lips]
will have even the king as a friend.
12 The eyes of the Lord guard knowledge,
but he ·destroys [frustrates] ·false words [L the words of the untrustworthy/faithless].
13 The lazy person says, “There’s a lion outside!
I might get killed out in the ·street [middle of the public square]!”
14 The ·words [L mouth] of ·an unfaithful wife [L the strange woman] are like a deep ·trap [pit].
Those who make the Lord angry will ·get caught by them [L fall in it].
15 ·Every child is full of foolishness [L Stupidity/Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child],
but ·punishment can get rid of it [L the rod of discipline drives it far from them].
16 Whoever gets rich by ·mistreating [oppressing] the poor,
and gives presents to the wealthy, will become poor.
8 I am not commanding you to give. But I want to ·see [test; prove] if your love is true by comparing you with ·others that really want to help [L the zeal/eagerness of others]. 9 [L For] You know the ·grace [gift] of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, for your sake he became poor so that by his becoming poor you might become rich.
10 This is ·what I think you should do [L my opinion on this matter for your benefit]: Last year you were the first to want to give, and you were the first who gave. 11 So now finish the work you started. Then your ·“doing” [L completion] will be equal to your ·“wanting to do” [eager desire]. Give from what you have. 12 If you ·want [are eager/willing] to give, your gift will be accepted. It will be judged by what you have, not by what you do not have. 13 [L For] We do not want you to have ·troubles [hardships; trials] while other people ·are at ease [have relief], but we want everything to be equal [C giving is not intended to impoverish the giver, but to distribute God’s resources]. 14 At this time ·you have plenty and what you have [L your abundance] can help others who are in need. ·Then later, when they have plenty, they [or In the same way, their abundance] can help you when you are in need, and all will be equal [C Paul may be saying, (1) that the Jerusalem church may one day reciprocate by helping the Corinthians financially; or, (2) that the Corinthians’ financial gift will be reciprocated through Jerusalem’s spiritual gifts]. 15 As it is written in the Scriptures, “The person who gathered more did not have too much, nor did the person who gathered less have too little [Ex. 16:18].”
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