Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
God Will Reward Fairly
Of David.
37 Don’t be ·upset [worried; angry] because of evil people.
Don’t be jealous of those who do wrong [Prov. 24:1, 19],
2 because like the grass, they will ·soon [quickly] ·dry up [wither].
Like green plants, they will soon ·die [fade] away.
3 ·Trust [L Have confidence in] the Lord [Prov. 3:5] and do good.
·Live [Reside; Settle] in the land and ·feed on truth [or find reliable pastureland].
4 Enjoy serving the Lord,
and he will give you ·what you want [L the requests of your heart].
5 ·Depend on [L Commit your way to] the Lord;
·trust [have confidence in] him, and he will take care of you [Prov. 16:3; 1 Pet. 5:7].
6 Then your ·goodness [righteousness] will shine like the ·sun [L light],
and your ·fairness [justice] like the noonday sun.
7 ·Wait [L Be quiet before] and ·trust [L wait for] the Lord.
Don’t be ·upset [worried; angry] ·when others get rich [L with the prosperity/success of their way]
or when ·someone else’s plans succeed [or they do evil deeds].
8 ·Don’t get angry [L Hold back from anger; Abandon wrath].
Don’t be ·upset [worried; angry]; it only leads to ·trouble [or evil].
9 Evil people will be ·sent away [L cut off],
but those who ·trust [wait/pin their hope on] the Lord will inherit the land.
Hezekiah King of Judah(A)
18 Hezekiah son of Ahaz king of Judah became king during the third year Hoshea son of Elah was king of Israel. 2 Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he ·ruled [reigned] twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was ·Abijah [L Abi; in 2 Chr. 29:1 she is called Abijah] daughter of Zechariah. 3 Hezekiah did ·what the Lord said was right [L right in the eyes/sight of the Lord], just as his ·ancestor [father] David had done. 4 He removed the ·places where gods were worshiped [L high places; 12:3]. He smashed the stone pillars and ·cut down [smashed; broke] the Asherah ·idols [poles; C a sacred tree or pole dedicated to the goddess Asherah; 13:6]. Also the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] had been burning incense to Nehushtan, the bronze ·snake [serpent] Moses had made [Num. 21:9]. But Hezekiah broke it into pieces.
5 Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. 6 Hezekiah ·was loyal [clung; held fast; remained faithful/devoted] to the Lord and did not ·stop [depart from] following him; he ·obeyed [kept] the commands the Lord had given Moses. 7 And the Lord was with Hezekiah, so he ·had success [prospered] in everything he did. He ·turned [rebelled] against the king of Assyria and stopped serving him [C stopped paying tribute]. 8 Hezekiah defeated the Philistines ·all the way to [as far as] Gaza and its ·borders [territory], ·including [from] the watchtowers and the ·strong, walled [fortified] cities.
28 Then the commander stood and shouted loudly in ·the Hebrew language [Judean], “·Listen to what [L Hear the word of] the great king, the king of Assyria, says! 29 The king says you should not let Hezekiah ·fool [deceive; delude] you, because he can’t ·save [rescue; T deliver] you from my ·power [L hand]. 30 Don’t let Hezekiah ·talk [persuade] you into trusting the Lord by saying, ‘The Lord will surely ·save [rescue; T deliver] us. This city won’t be handed over to the king of Assyria.’
31 “Don’t listen to Hezekiah. The king of Assyria says, ‘Make peace with me, and come out of the city to me. Then everyone will be free to eat the fruit from his own grapevine and fig tree and to drink water from his own well. 32 After that I will come and take you to a land like your own—a land with grain and new wine, bread and vineyards, olives, and honey. Choose to live and not to die [C a promise that if they gave up, their resettlement would be pleasant]!’
“Don’t listen to Hezekiah. He is ·fooling [misleading] you when he says, ‘The Lord will ·save [rescue; T deliver] us.’ 33 Has a god of any other nation ·saved [rescued; T delivered] his people from the ·power [L hand] of the king of Assyria? 34 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? They did not ·save [rescue; T deliver] Samaria from my power. 35 Not one of all the gods of these countries has ·saved [rescued; T delivered] his people from me. Neither can the Lord ·save [rescue; T deliver] Jerusalem from my ·power [L hand].”
36 The people were silent. They didn’t answer the commander at all, because King Hezekiah had ordered, “Don’t answer him.”
To the Church in Smyrna
8 “Write this to the ·angel [or messenger; see 1:20] of the church in Smyrna [C a major city in western Asia Minor, identified with present-day Izmir, Turkey]:
“The One who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again [C the resurrected Jesus; 1:17–18], says ·this [L these things]: 9 I know your ·troubles [persecution; affliction] and that you are poor, but really you are rich! I know the ·bad things [slander; blasphemy] some people say about you. They say they are Jews, but they are not true Jews. They are a synagogue ·that belongs to [L of] Satan. 10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will ·suffer [be persecuted/afflicted] for ten days [C perhaps a symbolic number meaning a significant and definite time]. But be faithful, even if you have to die, and I will give you the ·crown [C a wreath worn to indicate high status or as a reward] of life.
11 “Everyone who has ears should ·listen to [hear; obey] what the Spirit says to the churches. Those who ·win the victory [overcome; conquer] will not be hurt by the second death [C the spiritual death after physical death; 20:6, 14; 21:8].
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