); Proverbs 8:22-31 (Wisdom’s part in creation); 1 John 5:1-12 (Whoever loves God loves God’s child) (Expanded Bible)
Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The World Should Praise the Lord
148 Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the ·skies [heavens].
Praise him ·high above the earth [in the heights].
2 Praise him, all you ·angels [messengers].
Praise him, all ·you armies of heaven [his hosts; C the angelic army].
3 Praise him, sun and moon.
Praise him, all you ·shining stars [L stars of light].
4 Praise him, ·highest heavens [L heaven of heavens]
and you waters above the ·sky [heavens].
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
because ·they were created by his command [L he commands and they were created; Gen. 1].
6 He ·put them in place [L made them stand] forever and ever;
he made a ·law [statute; requirement; ordinance] that will never ·change [pass].
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
you large sea ·animals [monsters; C like Leviathan; 74:12–17; 104:26; Gen. 1:21; Job 3:8; 41; Is. 27:1] and all the ·oceans [deeps],
8 ·lightning [L fire] and hail, snow and ·mist [cloud; or smoke],
and stormy winds that ·obey him [L do his word],
9 mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars,
10 wild animals and all cattle,
crawling animals and birds,
11 kings of the earth and all ·nations [peoples],
princes and all ·rulers [judges] of the earth,
12 young men and women,
old people and ·children [youth].
13 Praise the name of the Lord,
because ·he [L his name] alone is ·great [exalted].
·He is more wonderful than [L His splendor is over] heaven and earth.
14 God has ·given his people a king [exalted/raised a horn over his people; C an animal’s horn symbolizes power].
He should be praised by all ·who belong to him [his saints/loyal ones];
he should be praised by the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel], the people ·closest to his heart [L nearest to him].
Praise the Lord!
22 “The Lord ·begot [or acquired; possessed] me ·when he began his work [L at the beginning of his path],
long before he made anything else.
23 I was ·created [formed; woven; or appointed] in the very beginning,
even before the world began.
24 I was ·born [brought forth] ·before there were oceans [L when there were no deeps],
or springs ·overflowing [heavy] with water,
25 before the hills were ·there [L settled],
before the mountains I was ·born [brought forth].
26 God had not made the earth or ·fields [open country],
not even the first ·dust [mud clods; soil] of the earth.
27 I was there when God ·put the skies in place [established the heavens],
when he ·stretched [decreed] the horizon over the ·oceans [deep],
28 when he ·made [thickened; strengthened] the clouds above
and put the deep underground springs in place.
29 I was there when he ·ordered [decreed] the sea
not to go beyond the borders he had set.
I was there when he ·laid [decreed] the earth’s foundation.
30 I was like a ·child [nursling; or craftsman; architect] by his side.
I was ·delighted [playing] every day,
·enjoying [laughing in] his presence all the time,
31 ·enjoying [laughing with the inhabitants of] the whole world,
and ·delighted [playing] with all its people [John 1:1–3; Col. 1:15; C Jesus is associated with personified Wisdom in that both were present with God during creation].
Faith in the Son of God
5 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the ·Christ [Messiah] is ·God’s child [L born of/begotten by God], and whoever loves the Father also loves the ·Father’s children [L one born of/begotten by him]. 2 ·This is how [By/In this] we know we love God’s children: when we love God and ·obey [perform; carry out] his commands. 3 ·Loving God means [L For this is the love of God:] ·obeying [keeping] his commands. And God’s commands are not ·too hard [burdensome] for us [Matt. 11:30], 4 because everyone who is ·a child of [L born of; begotten of] God ·conquers [defeats; overcomes] the world. And this is the ·victory [conquest] that ·conquers [defeats; overcomes] the world—our faith. 5 ·So the one who conquers the world is [or Who is it that conquers/defeats/overcomes the world but…?] the person who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
6 Jesus Christ is the One who came by water [C likely a reference to Jesus’ baptism] and blood [C a reference to his death]. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit ·says that this is true [is the one who testifies/bears witness; Mark 1:11; John 1:32–34], because the Spirit is the truth. 7 ·So [or For] there are three ·witnesses[a] [who testify/bear witness]: 8 the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three witnesses ·agree [L are one]. 9 ·We believe people when they say something is true. But what God says is more important [L If we accept the witness/testimony of people, the witness/testimony of God is better], ·and he has told us the truth about his own Son [L because this is the witness/testimony God has given about his Son]. 10 Anyone who believes in the Son of God ·has the truth that God told us [or has the internal testimony of the Holy Spirit; or has the testimony of the eyewitnesses (see 1:1–4); L has the witness/testimony in himself]. Anyone who does not believe makes God a liar [1:10], because that person does not believe ·what God told us [L the witness/testimony that God witnessed/testified to] about his Son. 11 This is ·what God told us [L the witness/testimony]: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life, but whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.