Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Praise for the Lord’s Glory
96 Sing to the Lord a new song [C celebrating victory; 33:3; 40:3; 98:1; 144:9; 149:1; Is. 42:10; Rev. 5:9; 14:3];
sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Lord and ·praise [bless] his name;
every day ·tell [announce the good news] ·how he saves us [L of his salvation/victory].
3 Tell the nations of his glory [C his manifest presence];
tell all peoples the ·miracles [wonderful acts] he does,
4 because the Lord is great; he should be praised ·at all times [or with vigor].
He ·should be honored [is awesome; should be feared] more than all the gods,
5 because all the gods of the nations are ·only idols [or worthless],
but the Lord made the heavens [Gen. 1].
6 The Lord has ·glory [splendor] and majesty;
he has power and beauty in his ·Temple [sanctuary; L Holy Place].
7 ·Praise [L Ascribe to] the Lord, all ·nations on earth [L families of peoples];
·praise the Lord’s [L ascribe to the Lord] glory and power.
8 ·Praise the glory of the Lord’s [L Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his] name.
Bring an ·offering [grain/gift/tribute sacrifice; Lev. 2:1] and come into his Temple courtyards.
9 ·Worship [Bow down to] the Lord ·because he is holy [L in the splendor of his holiness].
Tremble before him, everyone on earth.
10 Tell the nations, “The Lord ·is king [reigns; 47:2; 93:1; 97:1; 98:6; 99:1; Rev. 19:6].”
The earth is ·set [established], and it cannot be moved.
He will judge the people fairly.
11 Let the ·skies [heavens] rejoice and the earth be glad;
let the sea and everything in it ·shout [thunder; roar].
12 Let the fields and everything in them rejoice.
Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy
13 before the Lord, because he is coming.
He is coming to judge the world;
he will judge the world with ·fairness [righteousness]
and the peoples with ·truth [faithfulness; 98:9].
Choosing a King
14 When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, taking it as your ·own [possession] and living in it, you will say, “·Let’s appoint [L I will set] a king over ·us [L me] like the nations all around us [1 Sam. 8:5, 20].” 15 Be sure to ·appoint [set] over you the king the Lord your God chooses. He must be one of your own ·people [relatives; L brothers]. Do not ·appoint [set] as your king a foreigner who is not a ·fellow Israelite [relative; L brother]. 16 The king must not ·have too many [multiply] horses for himself [Is. 2:7–9], and he must not send people to Egypt to get more horses, because the Lord has told you, “Don’t return that way again.” 17 The king must not ·have many [multiply for himself] wives, or his heart will ·be led away [turn aside] from God [1 Kin. 11:1–13]. He must not have too much silver and gold.
18 When he ·becomes king [L sits on the throne of his kingdom], he should write a copy of ·the teachings [these laws/instructions] on a scroll for himself, a copy taken from the priests and Levites. 19 He should keep it with him all the time and read from it every day of his life. Then he will learn to ·respect [fear] the Lord his God, and he will obey all ·the teachings [these laws/instructions] and ·commands [statutes; ordinances; requirements]. 20 He should not ·think he is better than his fellow Israelites [L exalt his heart above his relatives/brothers], and he must not ·stop obeying [turn aside from] the law ·in any way [L to the right or the left] so that he and his ·descendants [sons] may rule the kingdom for a long time [2 Sam. 7:16].
The Flock of God
5 ·Now [L Therefore] I ·have something to say to [exhort; appeal to] the elders in your group. I also am an elder. I ·have seen [was a witness to] ·Christ’s [or the Messiah’s] sufferings [Matt. 16:13–23; Mark 8:27–33; Luke 9:18–22], and I will share in the glory that will be ·shown [revealed] to us. I ·beg [exhort; urge] you to 2 ·shepherd [tend] God’s flock [John 21:15–19], ·for whom you are responsible [which is under your care]. ·Watch over [Oversee] them because you want to, not because you are forced. That is how God wants it. Do it because you are ·happy [eager] to serve, not because ·you want money [of greed]. 3 Do not ·be like a ruler over people [T lord it over those; dominate those; Matt. 20:25–27; Mark 10:42–45; Luke 22:25–27] ·you are responsible for [under your care; L those allotted (to you)], but be good examples to ·them [L the flock]. 4 Then when the Chief Shepherd [C Christ] ·comes [L appears], you will get a glorious crown that will never ·lose its beauty [fade away; C crowns for athletic success made from flowers wilted quickly; 1 Cor. 9:25].
5 In the same way, younger people should be willing to ·be under [submit/be subject to] ·older people [or the elders]. And all of you should ·be very humble with each other [L clothe yourselves with humility toward one another]. [L Because:]
“God ·is against [resists; opposes] the proud,
but he gives grace to the humble [Prov. 3:34].”
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.