Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Praise God Who Judges and Saves
David’s song from the time he ·acted crazy [acted mad/insane; L changed his mind/discernment] so Abimelech [C perhaps another name for Achish] would ·send [drive] him away, and David did leave [1 Sam. 21:10–15].
34 I will ·praise [bless] the Lord at all times;
his praise is always ·on my lips [L in my mouth].
2 My ·whole being [soul] praises the Lord.
The ·poor [humble] will hear and be glad.
3 ·Glorify [Praise; Magnify] the Lord with me,
and let us ·praise [L extol] his name together.
4 I ·asked the Lord for help [sought the Lord], and he answered me.
He ·saved [rescued; T delivered] me from all that I feared.
5 Those who ·go [L look] to him for help are ·happy [radiant],
and ·they [L their faces] are never ·disgraced [shamed].
6 This ·poor [afflicted] man [C someone in the congregation or the psalmist himself] ·called [prayed], and the Lord heard him
and ·saved him from [gave him victory over] all his ·troubles [distress].
7 The angel of the Lord [91:11; Gen. 32:1–2; 2 Kin. 6:17; Matt. 4:5–6] camps around those who fear God [Prov. 1:7],
and he saves them.
8 ·Examine [L Taste] and see how good the Lord is.
·Happy [Blessed] is the person who ·trusts [finds refuge in] him.
9 You ·who belong to the Lord [holy ones], fear him [Prov. 1:7]!
Those who fear him will ·have everything they need [not lack anything; 23:1].
10 Even lions [C the most noble wild beast] may get weak and hungry,
but those who ·look to [seek] the Lord ·will have every [L do not lack any] good thing.
11 Children, come and listen to me.
I will teach you ·to worship [L the fear of] the Lord.
12 ·You must do these things
to enjoy life and have many happy days [L Who of you takes pleasure in life and loves days to experience good?].
13 You must ·not say evil things [L guard/keep your tongue from evil],
and ·you must not tell lies [L your lips from deception].
14 ·Stop doing [L Turn aside from] evil and do good.
·Look for [Seek] peace and ·work for [pursue] it.
15 ·The Lord sees the [L The eyes of the Lord are on] ·good [righteous] people
and ·listens to their prayers [L his ears attend to their cries for help].
16 But the ·Lord is [L face of the Lord is] against those who do evil;
he ·makes the world forget them [L cuts memory of them off the earth].
17 ·The Lord hears good people when they [L They] cry out to him,
and he saves them from all their ·troubles [distress].
18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted,
and he saves those whose spirits have been crushed.
19 People who ·do what is right may [are righteous] have many ·problems [afflictions],
but the Lord ·will solve them [L saves them from them] all.
20 He will protect their very bones;
not one of them will be broken.
21 Evil will kill the wicked;
those who hate ·good [righteous] people will be judged guilty.
22 But the Lord ·saves [redeems; ransoms] his servants’ lives;
no one who ·trusts [finds refuge in] him will be judged guilty.
5 The Lord God ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] touches the land,
and the land ·shakes [dissolves; melts].
Then everyone who lives in the land ·cries for the dead [mourns].
The whole ·land [or earth] rises like the Nile River
and ·falls [sinks; subsides] like the river of Egypt [8:8].
6 The Lord builds his ·upper rooms [or steps] ·above the skies [in the heavens];
he sets their foundations on the earth.
He calls for the waters of the sea
and pours them out on the ·land [L face of the earth/land; C as rain].
The Lord is his name.
7 The Lord says,
“Israel, you are no different to me than the people of Cush [C Ethiopia].
·I brought [L Did I not bring…?] Israel out of the land of Egypt,
and the Philistines from ·Crete [L Caphtor],
and the Arameans [C Syrians] from Kir.
8 [L Look; T Behold] I, the Lord God, am watching the sinful kingdom [C Israel].
I will destroy it
from ·off [L the face of] the earth,
but I will not completely destroy
·Jacob’s descendants [L the house of Jacob],” says the Lord.
9 “[L For look/T behold] I am giving the command
to ·scatter [L shake] the nation of Israel among all nations.
It will be like someone shaking grain through a ·strainer [sieve],
but not even a ·tiny stone [pebble; or kernel of grain] falls ·through [L to the ground].
10 All the sinners among my people
will die by the sword—
those who say,
‘·Nothing bad will happen to us [L Disaster will not approach and meet us].’
The Lord Promises to Restore Israel
11 In that day I will ·restore [rebuild; raise up] the ·tent [hut; shack; C referring to the weakened state of the Davidic dynasty] of David that has fallen,
and ·mend [repair] its broken places.
I will ·rebuild [restore; raise up] its ruins
as it was ·before [in days long ago/of antiquity].
12 Then Israel ·will take over [possess; conquer] ·what is left [the remnant] of Edom
and the other nations that ·belong to me [L are called by my name],”
says the Lord,
who will make it happen.
13 The Lord says, “The time is coming when there will be all kinds of food.
·People will still be harvesting crops
when it’s time to plow again [L The plowman will overtake the reaper].
·People will still be taking the juice from grapes
when it’s time to plant again [L …and the treader of grapes (will overtake) the one who sows the seed].
Wine will drip from the mountains
and pour from the hills [C symbols of great prosperity].
14 I will bring my people Israel back from ·captivity [exile];
they will build the ruined cities again,
and they will live in them.
They will plant vineyards and drink the wine from them;
they will plant ·gardens [or orchards] and eat their fruit.
15 I will plant my people on their land,
and they will not be ·pulled out again [uprooted]
from the land which I have given them,”
says the Lord your God.
13 Brothers and sisters, I know that I have not ·yet reached that goal [taken hold of it], but there is one thing I always do. Forgetting the ·past [L things that are behind] and ·straining toward [stretching/reaching forward to] what is ahead, 14 I keep ·trying to reach [pursuing; chasing] the goal and get the prize for which God called me ·to the life above [heavenward; L upward] ·through [or in] Christ Jesus.
15 All of us who are ·spiritually mature [perfect; complete] should think this way, too. And if there are things you ·do not agree with [L think differently about], God will ·make them clear [or reveal this] to you. 16 But we should ·continue following the truth [or live up to the standard] we already have.
17 Brothers and sisters, ·all of you should try to follow my example [L become imitators of me] and ·to copy [L watch closely; pay attention to] those who ·live [walk] the way we ·showed [modeled it for] you. 18 [L For] Many people ·live [walk] like enemies of the cross of Christ. I have often told you about them, and ·it makes me cry to [L with tears I] tell you about them now. 19 ·In the end, they will be destroyed [Their end/destiny is destruction]. ·They do whatever their bodies want [L Their god is their stomach/belly], ·they are proud of their shameful acts [L their glory is in their shame], and they think only about earthly things. 20 But our ·homeland [or citizenship] is in heaven, and we are waiting for our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, to come from heaven. 21 By his power to ·rule [L subject to himself] all things, he will ·change [transform; transfigure] our humble bodies and make them like his own glorious body.
What the Christians Are to Do
4 [L Therefore; So then] My brothers and sisters, ·I love you and want to see you [L my beloved and longed-for ones]. ·You bring me joy and make me proud of you [L …my joy and crown; 1 Thess. 2:19; C a wreath bestowed for victory or honor], so stand ·strong [firm] in the Lord as I have told you, ·dear friends [beloved].
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