Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Morning Prayer
David sang this when he ran away from his son Absalom [2 Sam. 15–19].
3 Lord, ·I have many enemies [L how many are my foes?]!
·Many people [L How many…?] have ·turned [L risen] against me.
2 Many are saying about me,
“·God won’t rescue him [L There is no salvation for him in God].” ·
3 But, Lord, you are my shield [C protector],
my ·wonderful God [L glory] who ·gives me courage [L lifts up my head].
4 I will ·pray [L lift my voice] to the Lord,
and he will answer me from his holy mountain [C Zion, the location of the Temple]. ·
5 I can lie down and go to sleep,
and I will wake up again,
because the Lord ·gives me strength [sustains/upholds me].
6 Thousands of troops may ·surround me [L set themselves around me],
but I am not afraid.
7 Lord, rise up!
My God, come ·save [rescue; T deliver] me!
You have struck my enemies on the cheek;
you have broken the teeth of the wicked.
8 ·The Lord can save his people [L Salvation/Rescue/Deliverance belongs to the Lord].
·Bless your people [L May your blessing be on your people]. ·
The Lord Answers
5 “Look at the nations!
Watch them and be ·amazed and shocked [utterly astounded].
I will do something in your ·lifetime [L days]
that you won’t believe even when you are told about it.
6 I will ·use [raise up] the ·Babylonians [L Chaldeans],
those ·cruel [ruthless; bitter] and ·wild [impetuous; hasty] people
who march across the earth
and ·take lands [L seize dwellings] that don’t belong to them.
7 They scare and ·frighten [terrify] people.
·They do what they want to do
and are good only to themselves [L Their justice/judgment and dignity proceed from themselves].
8 Their horses are faster than leopards
and ·quicker [fiercer] than wolves ·at sunset [L of the evening].
Their ·horse soldiers [cavalry] attack quickly;
they come from places far away.
They attack quickly, like an ·eagle [or vulture] ·swooping down for food [swift to devour].
9 They all come ·to fight [L for violence].
·Nothing can stop them [or …a horde moving like an east wind; or …their faces set forward].
Their prisoners are ·as many as the grains of [L like] sand.
10 They ·laugh at [mock] kings
and make fun of rulers.
They laugh at all the ·strong, walled [fortified] cities
and build ·dirt piles to the top of the walls [earthen siege ramps] to capture them.
11 Then they ·leave [sweep by] like the wind and move on.
They are guilty of ·worshiping their own strength [making their strength their god; or ascribing their strength to their gods].”
Habakkuk Complains Again
12 Lord, ·you live forever [L are you not from everlasting…?],
my God, my holy God.
We will not die.
Lord, you ·have chosen the Babylonians to punish people [appointed them for judgment];
our Rock [Ps. 61:2], you picked them to punish.
13 Your eyes are too ·good [pure] to look at evil;
you cannot ·stand to see [tolerate; look on] those who do wrong.
So how can you put up with those ·evil [treacherous] people?
How can you be quiet when the wicked swallow up people who are ·better [more righteous] than they are?
14 You ·treat [or made] people like fish in the sea,
like sea animals without a ·leader [ruler].
15 ·The enemy [L He] brings them in with hooks.
He catches them in his net
and ·drags [gathers] them in his ·fishnet [dragnet].
So he rejoices and ·sings for joy [is glad].
16 The enemy offers sacrifices to his net
and burns incense to ·worship it [L his dragnet],
because it lets him live ·like the rich [in luxury]
and enjoy ·the best [or plentiful] food.
17 Will he keep on ·taking riches with [L emptying] his net?
Will he go on destroying ·people [nations] without showing mercy?
Faith and Wisdom
2 My brothers and sisters [C fellow believers], when you have many kinds of ·troubles [trials; testing], ·you should be full of joy [L consider it all/pure joy], 3 because you know that these troubles test your faith, and this will give you ·patience [perserverance; endurance]. 4 [L And] Let your ·patience [perserverance; endurance] ·show itself perfectly in what you do [have its full effect; finish its work]. Then you will be ·perfect and complete [mature and whole; or completely mature] and will ·have everything you need [L lack nothing]. 5 But if any of you ·needs [lacks] wisdom, you should ask God for it [Prov. 2:6]. He is generous to everyone and will give you wisdom ·without criticizing you [without finding fault; ungrudgingly; Matt. 7:7]. 6 But when you ask God, you must ·believe [ask with faith] and not doubt. Anyone who doubts is like a wave in the sea, ·blown up and down [driven and tossed] by the wind.
True Riches
9 ·Believers [Brothers or sisters] who are ·poor [in lowly/humble circumstances] should ·take pride [boast] ·that God has made them spiritually rich [in being raised up; in their exaltation; in their high position]. 10 [L But] Those who are ·rich [wealthy] should ·take pride [boast] ·that God has shown them that they are spiritually poor [in their humiliation; in their lowly state; Jer. 9:23–24]. [L Because] The rich will ·die [pass away; wither] like a ·wild flower in the grass [or flower in the field]. 11 [L For] The sun rises with ·burning [scorching] heat and ·dries up [withers] the ·plants [or grass]. The flower falls off, and its beauty is ·gone [destroyed]. In the same way the rich will ·die [L wither away] ·while they are still taking care of business [in the midst of their pursuits; L in his journeys; Ps. 49:16–17; 103:15–16; Is. 40:6–8].
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.