Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Prayer for Protection
A prayer of David.
17 Lord, hear ·me begging for fairness [a just cause];
·listen [pay attention] to my cry for help.
·Pay attention [Bend your ear] to my prayer,
because ·I speak the truth [L my lips are not deceitful].
2 ·You will judge that I am right [L My judgment/vindication will come from before you];
your eyes can see what is ·true [virtuous].
3 You have examined my heart;
you have ·tested me all [or visited me at] night.
You ·questioned [tested] me without finding anything wrong;
·I have not sinned with my mouth [L my mouth has not transgressed].
4 ·I have obeyed your commands [L As for the deeds of people, by the word of your lips],
·so I have not done what evil people do [I have kept away from the ways of the violent].
5 ·I have done what you told me [L My steps have held fast to your paths];
·I have not failed [L My feet have not slipped].
6 I call to you,
·and [L for] you answer me, O God.
·Listen [L Extend your ear] to me now,
and hear what I say.
7 Your ·love [loyalty; covenant love] is wonderful.
·By your power [L At your right hand] you save those who ·trust [find their refuge in] you
from ·their enemies [those who rise up against them].
8 Protect me as ·you would protect your own [or the apple/L pupil of your] eye.
Hide me under the shadow of your wings.
9 Keep me from the wicked who ·attack [mistreat] me,
from my enemies who surround me.
10 They ·are selfish [close their callous hearts]
and ·brag about themselves [L their mouths speak proudly].
11 They have ·chased [tracked] me until they have surrounded me.
They ·plan [L set their eyes] to throw me to the ground.
12 They are like lions ready to ·kill [tear up prey];
like lions, they sit in ·hiding [ambush; cover].
13 Lord, rise up, ·face [confront] the enemy, and ·throw them down [subdue them].
·Save [Rescue; T Deliver] me from the wicked with your sword.
14 Lord, save me by your ·power [L hand] from mortals,
from mortals whose ·reward [portion] in the world is in this life.
·They have plenty of food [L Your stores have filled their bellies].
·They have many sons [or Their sons have plenty]
and leave ·much money [L their surplus] to their children.
15 ·Because I have lived right [In righteousness], I will see your face.
When I wake up, I will see your likeness and be satisfied.
Trusting in Humans or God
5 This is what the Lord says:
“·A curse is placed on [L Cursed are] those who ·trust [have confidence in] other people,
who ·depend on humans for [L make flesh their] strength,
who have ·stopped trusting [L turned their heart from] the Lord.
6 They are like a ·bush [shrub; or juniper] in a ·desert [steppe]
that ·grows in a land where no one lives [L lives in a salt land where no one lives],
a ·hot and dry land with bad soil [L parched land in the wilderness].
They don’t ·know about the good things God can give [L see when good comes].
7 “But the person who ·trusts [has confidence] in the Lord will be blessed.
·The Lord will show him that he can be trusted [L …whose trust/confidence is in him].
8 He will be like a tree planted near water [C vital and strong]
that sends its roots by a stream [Ps. 1:3].
It is not afraid when the ·days are hot [L heat comes];
its leaves are always green.
It ·does not worry [is not anxious] in a year ·when no rain comes [of drought];
it always produces fruit.
9 “·More than anything else [T Above all things], ·a person’s mind is evil [T the heart is deceitful; L the heart is devious/crooked]
and ·cannot be healed [T desperately wicked; L it is perverse/sick].
Who can ·understand [know] it?
10 But I, the Lord, ·look into a person’s [investigate/test the] heart
and test the ·mind [L kidneys].
·So I can decide what each one deserves [L …to give to each according to his way/path];
I can give each one the right payment for what he does.”
11 Like a ·bird [L partridge] hatching an egg it did not lay,
so are the people who get rich ·by cheating [unjustly].
When their ·lives [L days] are half finished, ·they will lose their riches [L it will leave/abandon them].
At the end of their lives, it will be clear they were fools.
12 From the beginning, our ·Temple [L sanctuary] has been ·honored [L exalted]
as a glorious throne [C for God; Is. 6:1–3; Ezek. 1:26–28; 43:2–5].
13 Lord, hope of Israel,
those who ·leave [abandon; forsake] you will be ·shamed [humiliated].
People who ·quit following the Lord [L turn away from you] will be ·written [recorded] in the ·dust [or underworld],
because they have ·left [abandoned; forsaken] the Lord, the spring of living water [2:13].
Jeremiah’s Third Complaint
14 Lord, heal me, and I will truly be healed.
·Save [Rescue] me, and I will truly be ·saved [rescued].
You are ·the one I praise [L my praise].
15 The people of Judah keep asking me,
“Where is the word from the Lord?
·Let’s see that message come true [L Let it come]!”
16 Lord, I didn’t ·run away from [or insist on] being the shepherd ·you wanted [L after you].
I didn’t want the ·terrible day [or day of despair] to come.
You know ·everything I have said [L what comes out of my lips];
·you see all that is happening [L it was before your face].
17 Don’t be a terror to me.
·I run to you for safety [L You are my refuge] in ·times [L days] of ·trouble [disaster; evil].
18 Make those who are ·hurting [persecuting; pursuing] me be ·ashamed [humiliated],
but don’t bring ·shame to [humiliation on] me.
Let them be terrified,
but keep me from terror.
Bring the day of ·disaster [evil; trouble] on them [C my enemies].
Destroy them, ·and destroy them again [L with double destruction].
Jesus’ Power Is from God(A)
22 Then some people brought to Jesus a man who was blind and ·could not talk [mute], because he ·had a demon [was demon-possessed/demonized]. Jesus healed the man so that he could talk and see. 23 All the people were amazed and said, “Perhaps this man is the Son of David [C a title for the Messiah, a descendant of King David; 2 Sam. 7:11–16]!”
24 When the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man uses the power of Beelzebul [C another name for Satan], the ruler of demons, to ·force [drive; cast] demons out of people.”
25 Jesus knew what the Pharisees were thinking, so he said to them, “Every kingdom that is ·divided against [at war with] itself ·will be destroyed [is doomed/headed for ruin]. And any city or ·family [L house] that is ·divided against [at war with] itself will not ·continue [survive; stand]. 26 And if Satan ·forces out himself [L drives/casts out Satan], then Satan is ·divided against [at war with] himself, and ·his kingdom will not continue [L how will his kingdom stand?]. 27 You say that I use the power of Beelzebul [v. 24] to ·force [drive; cast] out demons. If that is true, then what power do your ·people [own exorcists; followers; L sons] use to ·force [drive; force] out demons? So they will be your judges. 28 But if I use the power of God’s Spirit to ·force [drive; cast] out demons, then the kingdom of God has ·come to you [arrived among you; or overtaken you; caught you unaware].
29 “·If anyone wants to [L Or how can anyone…?] enter a strong person’s house and ·steal [seize; plunder] his things, he must first ·tie up [bind] the strong person. Then he can ·steal [seize; plunder] the things from the house. [C Satan is the strong man and his possessions are the people Jesus is freeing from Satan’s power.]
The Sin Against the Holy Spirit(B)
30 “Whoever is not with me is against me. Whoever does not ·work [gather] with me ·is working against me [scatters; C probably a reference to gathering or scattering a flock; John 10:12]. 31 So I tell you, people can be forgiven for every sin and ·everything they say against God [blasphemy]. But whoever ·speaks [blasphemes] against the ·Holy Spirit [L Spirit] will not be forgiven. 32 Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, ·now or in the future [L neither in this age, nor the one to come].
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.