Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
9 There Elijah went into a cave and stayed all night.
Then the ·Lord spoke his word to [word of the Lord came to] him: “Elijah! ·Why are you [What are you doing] here?”
10 He answered, “Lord God ·All-Powerful [of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], I have ·always served you as well as I could [been very zealous for you]. But the ·people [L sons; T children] of Israel have ·broken [abandoned; forsaken] their ·agreement [covenant; solemn pact] with you, ·destroyed [torn down] your altars, and killed your prophets with swords. I ·am the only prophet [alone am] left, and now they ·are trying to kill me [seek my life], too.”
11 The Lord said to Elijah, “Go, stand ·in front of [before] me on the mountain, ·and I will pass by you [for the Lord is about to pass by].” Then a very strong wind ·blew until it caused the mountains to fall apart and large rocks to break in front of [tore apart the mountain and shattered the rocks before] the Lord. But the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind, there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake, there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire, there was ·a quiet, gentle sound [the sound of a gentle whisper/blowing/wind; or a brief sound of silence; T a still small voice]. 13 When Elijah heard it, he covered his face with his coat and went out and stood at the entrance to the cave.
Then a voice said to him, “Elijah! ·Why are you [What are you doing] here?”
14 He answered, “Lord God ·All-Powerful [of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], I have ·always served you as well as I could [been very zealous for you]. But the ·people [L sons; T children] of Israel have ·broken [abandoned; forsaken] their ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with you, ·destroyed [torn down] your altars, and killed your prophets with swords. I ·am the only prophet [alone am] left, and now they ·are trying to kill me [seek my life], too.”
15 The Lord said to him, “Go back on the road that leads to the ·desert [wilderness] around Damascus. Enter that city, and ·pour olive oil on [L anoint] Hazael to make him king over Aram [2 Kin. 8:7–15]. 16 Then ·pour oil on [L anoint] Jehu son of Nimshi to make him king over Israel [2 Kin. 9:1–13]. Next, ·pour oil on [L anoint] Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to ·make him a prophet in your place [succeed you as prophet; 2 Kin. 2:1–18]. 17 Jehu will kill anyone who escapes from Hazael’s sword, and Elisha will kill anyone who escapes from Jehu’s sword. 18 I ·have left [or will preserve/spare/leave] seven thousand people in Israel who have never bowed down before Baal and whose mouths have never kissed ·his idol [L him].”
8 I will listen to what God the Lord says.
He has ·ordered [spoken; promised] ·peace [prosperity] for ·those who worship him [L his people, his saints/loyal ones].
Don’t let them go back to foolishness.
9 ·God will soon save those who respect him [L His salvation/victory is near to those who fear him; Prov. 1:7],
and his glory will ·be seen [L dwell] in our land.
10 ·Love [Loyalty] and ·truth [faithfulness] ·belong to God’s people [L meet];
·goodness [righteousness] and ·peace [prosperity] ·will be theirs [L kiss].
11 ·On earth people will be loyal to God [Faithfulness sprouts/blooms from the earth/land],
and ·God’s goodness [righteousness] will ·shine [look] down from heaven.
12 The Lord will give his ·goodness [or good gifts],
and the land will give its crops.
13 ·Goodness [Righteousness] will go before ·God [L him]
and prepare the way for ·him [L his steps].
5 [L For] Moses writes about ·being made right [the righteousness attained] by following the law. He says, “A person who ·obeys [L does] these things will live ·because of [or by means of] them [Lev. 18:5].” 6 But ·this is what the Scripture says about being made right through faith [L the righteousness by faith says; C righteousness is personified as speaking]: “Don’t say ·to yourself [L in your heart; Deut. 9:4], ‘Who will ·go up [ascend] into heaven [Deut. 30:12]?’” (That means, “Who will go up to heaven and bring Christ down to earth [C a reference to the Incarnation, Christ coming to earth as a human being]?”) 7 “And do not say, ‘Who will go down into the ·world below [or depths; or place of the dead; L abyss; Deut. 30:13; Ps. 107:26]?’” (That means, “Who will go down and bring Christ up from the dead?”) [C Such impossible tasks are not needed for our salvation, since Christ already did them for us.] 8 ·This is what the Scripture says [L But what does it say?]: “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart [Deut. 30:14; C God’s salvation has been brought near through Christ and is received by faith].” That is the ·teaching [message; word] of faith that we ·are telling [preach; proclaim]. 9 If you ·declare [confess] with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and if you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you will be saved. 10 [L For] We believe with our hearts, and so we ·are made right with God [are justified; receive righteousness]. And we ·declare [confess] with our mouths, ·and so we are saved [leading to salvation]. 11 As the Scripture says, “Anyone who ·trusts [believes] in him will never be ·disappointed [or put to shame; Is. 28:16].” 12 ·That Scripture says “anyone” because [L For] there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles. [L For; Because] The same Lord is the Lord of all and gives ·many blessings [generously; (spiritual) riches] to all who trust in him, 13 as the Scripture says, “Anyone who calls on the Lord will be saved [Joel 2:32].”
14 ·But before people can ask the Lord for help, they must believe in him [L How, then, can they call on one in whom they have not believed?]; and ·before they can believe in him, they must hear about him [L how can they believe in one of whom they have not heard?]; and ·for them to hear about the Lord, someone must tell them [L how can they hear without someone preaching to them?]; 15 and ·before someone can go and tell them, that person must be sent [L how can they preach unless they are sent?]. [L As] It is written, “How ·beautiful [or welcome; or timely] ·is the person [L are the feet of those] who comes ·to bring [proclaiming; preaching] good news [Is. 52:7].”
Jesus Walks on the Water(A)
22 Immediately Jesus ·told [compelled; made] his ·followers [disciples] to get into the boat and go ahead of him ·across the lake [to the other side]. He stayed there to ·send the people home [dismiss the crowds]. 23 After he had ·sent them away [dismissed them], he went by himself up into the ·hills [mountain] to pray. ·It was late, and [When evening/night came,] Jesus was there alone. 24 By this time, the boat was already ·far away [L many stadia; C a stadion was about six hundred feet] from land. It was being ·hit [buffeted; beaten] by waves, because the wind was blowing against it.
25 ·Between three and six o’clock in the morning [L And in the fourth watch of the night], Jesus came to them, walking on the water. 26 When his ·followers [disciples] saw him walking on the water, they were ·afraid [terrified]. They said, “It’s a ghost!” and cried out in fear.
27 But Jesus ·quickly [immediately] spoke to them, “Have courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.”
28 Peter said, “Lord, if it is really you, then ·command [tell] me to come to you on the water.”
29 Jesus said, “Come.”
And Peter left the boat and walked on the water ·to [L and came toward] Jesus. 30 But when Peter saw the wind,[a] he became ·afraid [terrified] and began to sink. He shouted, “Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and ·caught [took hold of] Peter. Jesus said, “·Your faith is small [What little faith you have; T You of little faith]. Why did you doubt?”
32 After they got into the boat, the wind ·became calm [stopped; died down]. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped Jesus and said, “Truly you are the Son of God!”
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.