Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Thanksgiving for God’s Goodness
A psalm. A song for the Sabbath day [Ex. 20:8–11; Deut. 5:12–15].
92 It is good to ·praise [thank] you, Lord,
to ·sing praises to [L make a psalm to the name of] God Most High.
2 It is good to ·tell of [proclaim] your ·love [loyalty] in the morning
and of your ·loyalty [faithfulness] at night.
3 It is good to praise you with the ten-stringed lyre
and ·with the soft-sounding [melody of the] harp.
4 Lord, you have made me ·happy [rejoice] by what you have done;
I will ·sing [shout] for joy about ·what your hands have done [L the works of your hand].
5 Lord, ·you have done such great things [L how great are your works]!
How deep are your thoughts [Is. 55:8; Rom. 11:33–34]!
6 ·Stupid [Senseless; Dull-witted] people don’t know these things,
and fools don’t understand.
7 Wicked people ·grow [may sprout] like the grass.
Evil people ·seem to do well [may blossom/flourish],
but they will be ·destroyed [doomed] forever.
8 But, Lord, you will be ·honored [exalted] forever.
9 Lord, surely your enemies,
surely your enemies will ·be destroyed [perish],
and all who do evil will be scattered.
10 But you have ·made me as strong as [exalted my horn like; C symbol of strength] an ox.
You have poured ·fine [rich; fresh] oils on me [C a gesture of hospitality].
11 When ·I [L my eyes] looked, I saw my enemies;
I heard the cries of those who ·are against me [L rose against me with evil; C he sees and hears the defeat of his enemies].
12 But ·good [righteous] people will ·grow [sprout] like palm trees [1:3; 52:8];
they will ·be tall [grow great] like the cedars of Lebanon [C trees that are strong, majestic, and long-lived].
13 Like trees planted in the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord,
they will ·grow strong [sprout] in the courtyards of our God.
14 When they are old, they will still produce fruit;
they will be healthy and ·fresh [green; verdant].
15 They will ·say [proclaim] that the Lord is ·good [virtuous; full of integrity; upright].
He is my Rock [28:1; 42:9; 62:2; Deut. 32:4], and there is no wrong in him.
3 “‘If you ·remember [keep; guard] my ·laws [statutes; ordinances; requirements] and commands and obey them, 4 I will give you rains at the right season [Deut. 11:14]; the land will produce crops, and the trees of the field will produce their fruit. 5 Your threshing will continue until the grape harvest, and your grape harvest will continue until it is time to plant. Then you will have plenty to eat and live ·safely [securely] in your land. 6 I will give peace to your country; you will lie down ·in peace, and no one will make you afraid [L and not be afraid]. I will keep ·harmful [dangerous] animals out of your country, and ·armies [L the sword] will not pass through it.
7 “‘You will ·chase [pursue] your enemies and ·defeat them, killing them with your [L they will fall before you by the] sword. 8 Five of you will ·chase [pursue] a hundred men; a hundred of you will ·chase [pursue] ten thousand men [Deut. 32:30; Josh. 23:10; Is. 30:17]. ·You will defeat your enemies and kill them with your [L They will fall before you by the] sword.
9 “‘Then I will ·show kindness to [L turn toward] you and ·let you have many children [L I will make you fruitful and multiply you]; I will ·keep my agreement [establish my covenant/treaty] with you. 10 You will ·have enough crops to last for more than a year [old grain long stored]. When you harvest the new crops, you will have to throw out the old ones to make room for them. 11 Also I will place my ·Holy Tent [sanctuary] among you, and I will not ·turn away from [L abhor] you. 12 I will walk with you and be your God, and you will be my people. 13 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, where you were slaves. I broke the ·heavy weights that were on your shoulders [bars of your yoke] and let you walk ·proudly [erect; standing tall] again.
Punishment for Not Obeying God
14 “‘But if you do not ·obey [keep; guard] me and ·keep [obey] all my commands, 15 and if you ·turn away from [disdain] my ·rules [statutes; ordinances; requirements] and ·hate [abhor] my ·laws [regulations], refusing to obey all my commands, you have broken our ·agreement [covenant; treaty]. 16 As a result, I will do this to you: I will ·cause terrible things to happen to [bring dread/terror on] you. I will cause you to have disease and fever that will destroy your eyes and slowly kill you. You will not have success when you plant your seed, and your enemy will eat your crops. 17 I will ·be [L set my face] against you, and your enemies will defeat you. These people who hate you will ·rule [exercise dominion] over you, and you will run away even when no one is ·chasing [pursuing] you.
18 “‘If after all this you still do not ·obey [listen to] me, I will ·punish [discipline] you seven times more for your sins. 19 I will break your great pride, and I will make the sky like iron and the earth like bronze [C there would be no rain]. 20 ·You will work hard, but it will not help [L Your strength will be for no purpose]. Your land will not grow any crops, and your trees will not give their fruit.
A Life that Pleases God
4 [L Finally; or Now then; Furthermore] Brothers and sisters, we taught you how to ·live [walk] in a way that will please God, and you are living that way. Now we ask and ·encourage [urge; appeal to] you in the Lord Jesus to ·live that way [excel; abound] even more. 2 [L For] You know what ·we told [instructions/commands we gave] you to do ·by the authority of [L through] the Lord Jesus. 3 ·God wants you to be holy and [or For this is God’s will, your sanctification:] to stay away from sexual sins. 4 He wants each of you to ·learn to control your own body [or take a wife for yourself; or live with your own wife; L gain/possess his own vessel] in a way that is holy and honorable. 5 ·Don’t use your body for sexual sin [L …not in lustful passion] like the ·people [L Gentiles] who do not know God. 6 Also, do not ·wrong [exploit; transgress] or ·cheat [take advantage of] another ·Christian [L brother (or sister)] in this way. The Lord ·will punish people who do those [L is the avenger concerning these] things as we have already told you and ·warned [solemnly testified to] you. 7 [L For] God did not call us to ·a life of sin [L impurity], but to holiness. 8 ·So [Therefore] the person who ·refuses to obey [disregards; rejects; despises] this teaching is not simply ·disobeying [disregarding; rejecting; despising] ·a human being [human authority], but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.
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