Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Welcome for God into the Temple
A psalm of David.
24 The earth belongs to the Lord, and ·everything in it [L its fullness]—
the world and all its ·people [inhabitants].
2 He ·built [founded] it on the waters
and ·set [established] it on the rivers [Gen. 1:9–10; Is. 45:18].
3 Who may go up on the mountain of the Lord [C Zion, the location of the Temple]?
Who may stand in his holy ·Temple [L place]?
4 Only those with clean hands and pure hearts [C innocent in actions and thoughts],
who have not ·worshiped idols [L lifted their souls to false things],
who have not made promises ·in the name of a false god [or deceitfully].
5 They will receive a blessing from the Lord;
the God who ·saves [rescues; T delivers] them will ·declare them right [vindicate them].
6 ·They try to follow God [L This is the generation/people of those who seek him];
they ·look to the God of Jacob for help [L search for your face, O God of Jacob]. ·
7 ·Open up [L Lift up your heads], you gates.
·Open wide [L Be lifted up], you ·aged [ancient] doors
and the ·glorious King [King of glory] will come in.
8 Who is this ·glorious King [King of glory]?
The Lord, strong and mighty.
The Lord, ·the powerful warrior [mighty in battle].
9 ·Open up [L Lift up your heads], you gates.
·Open wide [L Be lifted up], you ·aged [ancient] doors
and the ·glorious King [King of glory] will come in.
10 Who is this ·glorious King [King of glory]?
The Lord ·All-Powerful [of Heaven’s Armies/T Hosts]—
he is the ·glorious King [King of glory]. ·
17 Your eyes will see the king in his ·beauty [splendor].
You will see the land that stretches far away.
18 ·You [L Your heart] will ·think about the terror of the past [L meditate on terror]:
“Where is that ·officer [scribe; taxation officer; L counter]?
Where is the ·one who collected the taxes [L weigher]?
Where is the ·officer in charge of our defense towers [one who counts the towers; C for taxation purposes]?”
19 No longer will you see those ·proud [defiant; or fierce; or barbaric] people,
whose ·strange [obscure] ·language [speech; lip] you don’t know [C the Assyrians].
whose stammering ·speech [tongue] you cannot understand.
God Will Protect Jerusalem
20 Look at ·Jerusalem [L Zion], the city of our festivals.
·Look at [L Your eyes will see] Jerusalem, that ·beautiful place of rest [quiet dwelling].
It is like a tent that will never be moved;
·the pegs that hold her in place [L its stakes] will never be pulled up,
and her ropes will never be broken.
21 There the Lord will be our Mighty One.
That land is a place with streams and wide rivers,
·but there will be no enemy boats on those rivers [L no galley with oars will go];
no ·powerful [majestic] ship will sail on them.
22 This is because the Lord is our judge.
The Lord ·makes our laws [is our lawgiver].
The Lord is our king.
He will ·save [rescue; T deliver] us.
8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. When I heard and saw them, I ·bowed [fell] down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed these things to me. 9 But the angel said to me, “·Do not worship me [Don’t do that!; L See, not]! I am a ·servant like you [fellow servant with you], your brothers the prophets, and all those who ·obey [keep] the words in this ·book [scroll]. Worship God!”
10 Then the angel told me, “Do not ·keep secret [L seal; contrast 10:4] the words of prophecy in this ·book [scroll], because the time is near for all this to happen. 11 Let whoever is doing ·evil [wrong; harm] continue to do evil [wrong; harm; Dan. 12:10]. Let whoever is ·unclean [vile; impure; filthy] continue to be ·unclean [vile; impure; filthy]. Let whoever is ·doing right [righteous; just] continue to do ·right [righteousness; justice]. Let whoever is holy continue to be holy.”
12 “·Listen [L Look; Behold]! I am coming ·soon [quickly]! ·I will bring my reward with me [L and my reward is with me; Is. 40:10], and I will repay ·each one of you [L each person] for what you have done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End [1:8; 21:6].
14 “·Blessed [Happy] are those who wash their robes [C an image of spiritual cleansing] so that they will receive the ·right [power; authority] to eat the fruit from the tree of life and may ·go through [enter] the gates into the city. 15 Outside the city are the ·evil people [L dogs], those who do ·evil magic [sorcery], who ·sin sexually [fornicate], who murder, who worship idols, and who love lies and tell lies.
16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to ·tell you [testify/witness to] these things for the churches. I am the ·descendant from the family of David [root and descendant/offspring of David; C a messianic title applied to Jesus; 5:4; Is. 11:10], and I am the bright morning star [2:28; Num. 24:17; C a messianic title].”
17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Let the one who hears this say, “Come!” Let whoever is thirsty come; whoever wishes may ·have [take; receive] the water of life ·as a free gift [freely].
18 I ·warn [testify to] everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this ·book [scroll]: If anyone adds anything to these words, God will add to that person the ·disasters [plagues] written about in this ·book [scroll]. 19 And if anyone takes away from the words of this ·book [scroll] of prophecy, God will take away that one’s ·share [part] of the tree of life and of the holy city, which are written about in this ·book [scroll; Deut. 4:2; 12:32].
20 ·Jesus, the One who says these things are true, [L The One who witnesses to these things] says, “Yes, I am coming ·soon [quickly].”
·Amen [C Hebrew for “so be it”]. Come, Lord Jesus!
21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.
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