Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
10 When God saw what the people did, that they stopped doing evil, he ·changed his mind [relented] and did not carry out the ·destruction [disaster; punishment] he had threatened.
God’s Mercy Makes Jonah Angry
4 But this made Jonah very unhappy, and he became angry. 2 He prayed to the Lord, “When I was still in my own country ·this is [L isn’t this…?] what I said would happen, and that is why I quickly ran away to Tarshish [1:3]. I knew that you are a God who is ·kind [gracious] and ·shows mercy [compassionate]. ·You don’t become angry quickly […slow to anger], and you ·have great love [abound in lovingkindness/mercy; Ex. 34:6–7]. I knew you would ·choose not to cause [relent from doing] harm. 3 So now I ask you, Lord, please ·kill me [take my life]. It is better for me to die than to live.”
4 Then the Lord said, “Do you think it is right for you to be angry?”
5 Jonah went out and sat down east of the city. There he made a shelter for himself and sat in the shade, waiting to see what would happen to the city. 6 The Lord made a ·plant [gourd] grow quickly up over Jonah, which gave him shade and ·helped him to be more comfortable [eased his discomfort]. Jonah was very pleased to have the ·plant [gourd]. 7 But the next day when the sun rose, God sent a worm to attack the ·plant [gourd] so that it ·died [dried up; withered].
8 As the sun rose higher in the sky, God sent a very hot east wind to blow, and the sun ·became so hot [beat down] on Jonah’s head that he became ·very weak [faint] and wished he were dead. He said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”
9 But God said to Jonah, “Do you think it is right for you to be angry about the ·plant [gourd]?”
Jonah answered, “It is right for me to be angry! I am so angry I could die!”
10 And the Lord said, “You ·are so concerned [have pity] for that ·plant [gourd] even though you did nothing to make it grow. It appeared ·one day [overnight], and ·the next day [overnight] it died. 11 Then shouldn’t I ·show concern [have pity] for the great city Nineveh, which has more than one hundred twenty thousand people who do not know ·right from wrong [L their right hand from their left], and ·many animals [much cattle], too?”
Praise to God the King
A psalm of praise. Of David.
145 I ·praise your greatness [exalt you], my God the King;
I will ·praise [bless] ·you [L your name] forever and ever.
2 I will ·praise [bless] you every day;
I will praise ·you [L your name] forever and ever.
3 The Lord is great and ·worthy of our praise [greatly to be praised; 48:1];
·no one can understand how great he is [L there is no searching out/limit to his greatness].
4 ·Parents [L A generation] will ·tell their children [L praise to a generation] what you have done.
They will ·retell [proclaim] your mighty acts,
5 ·wonderful majesty, and glory [L and the majestic glory of your splendor; C God’s manifest presence].
And I will ·think about [meditate on] your ·miracles [wonderful works].
6 They will tell about the ·amazing things you do [L might of your awesomeness],
and I will ·tell [recount] how great you are.
7 They will ·remember [bubble forth with] ·your great goodness [L the remembrance of your goodness]
and will sing about your ·fairness [righteousness].
8 The Lord is ·kind [gracious] and ·shows mercy [compassionate].
He ·does not become angry quickly [is slow to anger] but ·is full of love [has great loyalty].
21 [L For] To me ·the only important thing about living [L to live] is Christ, and ·dying would be profit for me [L to die is gain/profit]. 22 If I continue living in my ·body [flesh], ·I will be able to work for the Lord [L this is productive/fruitful work for me]. I do not know what to choose—living or dying. 23 ·It is hard to choose [I am torn/hard pressed] between the two. I ·want [desire; long] to leave this life and be with Christ, which is much better, 24 but ·you need me here [or it is better for you that I remain] in ·my body [the flesh]. 25 Since I am sure of this, I know I will stay with you ·to help you grow and have [L for your progress/success and] joy in your faith. 26 [L …so that] ·You will be very happy [or Because of me, your confidence/pride will increase; L Your boasting in me will abound] in Christ Jesus when I am with you again.
27 ·Only one thing concerns me [or Whatever happens; L Only]: Be sure that you ·live [conduct yourselves; live as citizens] in a way that ·brings honor to [is worthy of] the ·Good News [Gospel] of Christ. ·Then [L …so that] whether I come and ·visit [see] you or am away from you, I will hear that you are standing strong ·with one purpose [with one spirit; or in the one Spirit], that you work together ·as one [with one mind/soul] for the faith ·of [or that is; or in] the ·Good News [Gospel], 28 and that you are not ·frightened [intimidated] in any way by ·those who are against you [your opponents]. All of this is ·proof [evidence; a sign] that ·your enemies [they] will be destroyed but that you will be saved. And ·this salvation [or this proof/evidence/sign; L this] is from God. 29 ·God gave you the honor [L For it has been granted/given to you] not only of believing in Christ but also of suffering for him. 30 You yourselves are having the same kind of struggles that you saw ·I had when I was with you [L in me], and ·you hear that I am still having now [L now hear in me].
A Story About Workers(A)
20 “[L For] The kingdom of heaven is like a ·person who owned some land [landowner; householder]. One morning, he went out very early to hire some people to work in his vineyard. 2 The man agreed to pay the workers ·one coin [L a denarius; C typical pay for a day laborer] for working that day. Then he sent them into the vineyard to work. 3 About ·nine o’clock [L the third hour] the man went to the marketplace and saw some other people standing there, doing nothing. 4 So he said to them, ‘If you go and work in my vineyard, I will pay you ·what your work is worth [L whatever is right].’ 5 So they went to work in the vineyard. The man went out again about ·twelve o’clock and three o’clock [L the sixth and ninth hour] and did the same thing. 6 About ·five o’clock [L the eleventh hour] the man went to the marketplace again and saw others standing there. He asked them, ‘Why did you stand here all day doing nothing?’ 7 They answered, ‘No one ·gave us a job [hired us].’ The man said to them, ‘Then you can go and work in my vineyard.’
8 “·At the end of the day [When evening came], the owner of the vineyard said to the ·boss of all the workers [foreman; supervisor; steward], ‘Call the workers and pay them [L their wage]. Start with the last people I hired and end with those I hired first.’
9 “When the workers who were hired at ·five o’clock [L the eleventh hour] came to get their pay, each received ·one coin [L a denarius; v. 2]. 10 When the workers who were hired first came to get their pay, they ·thought [expected; assumed] they would be paid more than the others. But each one of them also received ·one coin [L a denarius]. 11 When they got their coin, they ·complained to [grumbled at; protested to] the ·man who owned the land [landowner; householder]. 12 They said, ‘Those people were hired last and worked only one hour. But you ·paid them the same as you paid [L made them equal to] us who ·worked hard all day in the hot sun [L bore the burden and heat of the day].’ 13 But the man who owned the vineyard said to one of those workers, ‘Friend, I am ·being fair [L not being unfair] to you. ·You agreed [Did you not agree…?] to work for ·one coin [L a denarius; v. 2]. 14 So take ·your pay [L what is yours] and go. I ·want [choose] to give the man who was hired last the same pay that I gave you. 15 ·I can [L Don’t I have the right to…?] do what I want with ·my own money [L what is mine]. Are you jealous because I am ·good to those people [generous; L good]?’
16 “So those who are last now will someday be first, and those who are first now will someday be last.”
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.