Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Hymn of Thanksgiving
A psalm of David.
138 Lord, I will ·thank [praise] you with all my heart;
I will ·sing [make a psalm] to you before the gods.
2 I will bow down facing your holy Temple,
and I will ·thank [praise] ·you [L your name] for your ·love [loyalty] and ·loyalty [faithfulness].
You have ·made your name and your word
greater than anything [L exalted your word above all your name].
3 On the day I ·called [prayed] to you, you answered me.
You ·made me strong and brave [L have emboldened/encouraged my soul with strength].
4 Lord, let all the kings of the earth ·praise [thank] you
when they hear the words ·you speak [L of your mouth].
5 They will sing about ·what the Lord has done [L the way of the Lord],
because the Lord’s glory [C his manifest presence] is great.
6 Though the Lord is ·supreme [exalted],
he ·takes care of [looks on] ·those who are humble [the lowly],
but he ·stays away from the proud [L perceives the proud from far away].
7 Lord, ·even when I have trouble all around me [L if I walk in the midst of distress],
you will keep me alive.
When my enemies are angry,
you will ·reach down [L send out your hand] and save me by your ·power [L right hand].
8 Lord, you ·do everything [fulfill/accomplish your plan] for me.
Lord, your ·love [loyalty] continues forever.
Do not ·leave [abandon; forsake] us, ·whom you made [L the work of your hands].
11 The ·Lord spoke his word [L word of the Lord came] to me, saying: 12 “·Human [T Son of man; 2:1], sing a ·funeral song [lament; dirge] for the king of Tyre. Say to him: ‘This is what the Lord God says:
You were ·an example [the seal/signet] of what was perfect,
full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
13 You ·had a wonderful life,
as if you were in Eden [L were in Eden], the garden of God [C like Adam; Gen. 1—2].
Every valuable gem ·was on [covered] you:
·ruby [or carnelian], ·topaz [or chysolite], and ·emerald [or diamond],
·yellow quartz [or chrysolite], onyx, and jasper,
·sapphire [or lapis lazuli], turquoise, and ·chrysolite [or beryl; or emerald].
Your ·jewelry [settings and mounts] was made of gold.
It was prepared on the day you were created.
14 I appointed a ·living creature [L cherub] to guard you.
I put you on the holy mountain of God.
You walked among the ·gems that shined like fire [fiery stones].
15 ·Your life was right and good [L You were blameless in your ways]
from the day you were created,
until ·evil [wickedness; unrighteousness] was found in you.
16 Because you traded with countries ·far away [or in abundance],
you ·learned to be cruel [L were filled with violence], and you sinned.
So I ·threw you down [banished you] in ·disgrace [or defilement] from the mountain of God.
And the ·living creature [L cherub] who guarded you
·forced you out [expelled you] from among the ·gems that shined like fire [fiery stones].
17 ·You became too [L Your heart was] proud
because of your beauty.
You ·ruined [corrupted] your wisdom
because of your ·greatness [splendor].
I threw you down to the ground.
·Your example taught a lesson to [or I made a spectacle of you before] other kings.
18 You ·dishonored [desecrated; profaned; C ritually] your ·places of worship [sanctuaries]
through your many sins and dishonest trade.
So I ·set on fire the place where you lived [L sent fire out from your midst],
and the fire ·burned you up [consumed you].
I turned you into ashes on the ground
·for all those watching to see [L before the eyes of all who saw you].
19 All the nations who knew you
are ·shocked [appalled; aghast] about you.
Your punishment was so terrible,
and you are gone forever.’”
Judging Problems Among Christians
6 When you have ·something against [a legal dispute with; a grievance against] another Christian, how can you ·bring yourself [dare] to go before ·judges who are not right with God [or the pagan courts; L the unrighteous] instead of before ·God’s people [T the saints]? 2 ·Surely [L Don’t…?] you know that ·God’s people [T the saints] will judge the world. So if you are to judge the world, are you not able to judge ·small [trivial; the smallest of] cases as well? 3 ·You [L Don’t you…?] know that we will judge angels, so surely we can judge the ·ordinary things of [or matters pertaining to] this life. 4 If you have ·ordinary cases [cases/legal disputes of this life] that must be judged, ·are you going to appoint people as judges who mean nothing to the church? [will you appoint judges with no standing in/whose lifestyle is rejected by the church?; or go ahead and appoint the least members of the church to judge them! C in the latter interpretation, Paul speaks sarcastically.] 5 I say this to shame you. ·Surely there is someone [L Is there no one…?] among you wise enough to judge a ·complaint [dispute; conflict] between ·believers [L a brother]. 6 But now one ·believer [brother] goes to court against another ·believer [L brother]—and you do this in front of unbelievers!
7 The fact that you have lawsuits against each other shows that you are already defeated. Why not ·let yourselves be wronged [suffer the injustice]? Why not let yourselves be cheated? 8 But you yourselves ·do wrong [act unjustly] and cheat, and you do this to ·other believers [L brothers]!
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