Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Book 4: Psalms 90–106
God Is Eternal, and We Are Not
A prayer of Moses, the man of God.
90 Lord, you have been our ·home [dwelling place; Deut. 33:27]
·since the beginning [L from all generations].
2 Before the mountains were born
and before you ·created [brought forth] the earth and the world,
you are God [Prov. 8:22–31].
You have always been, and you will always be.
3 You turn people back into ·dust [L what is crushed; Gen. 2:7; 3:19; Eccl. 12:7].
You say, “·Go back into dust [L Return; Turn back], human beings.”
4 ·To you [L In your eyes], a thousand years
is like the passing of a day [2 Pet. 3:8],
or ·like a few hours [L a watch; C the night was divided into four watches of three hours each] in the night.
5 While people sleep, you ·take [put an end to] their lives.
They are like grass that ·grows up [is new] in the morning.
6 In the morning they ·are fresh and new [blossom and are renewed],
but by evening they ·dry up [fade] and ·die [wither].
7 We are ·destroyed [annihilated] by your anger;
we are terrified by your hot anger.
8 You have ·put [set] ·the evil we have done [our guilt/iniquity] right in front of you;
·you clearly see our secret sins [L our hidden/secret sins in the light of your face].
9 All our days pass while you are angry.
Our years end with a ·moan [sigh].
10 ·Our lifetime is [L The days of our years are] seventy years
or, if we are strong, eighty years.
But ·the years are full of [L their pride are] ·hard work [toil] and ·pain [trouble; Eccl. 1:2].
They pass quickly, and then we ·are gone [L fly away].
11 Who knows the ·full power [strength] of your anger?
Your anger is as great as our fear of you should be.
12 ·Teach us [Make us know] ·how short our lives really are [L to count our days]
so that we ·may be wise [L gain a wise heart].
13 Lord, how long before you ·return [turn]
and show ·kindness [compassion] to your servants?
14 ·Fill [Satisfy] us with your ·love [loyalty] every morning.
Then we will sing and rejoice all our ·lives [L days].
15 We have seen years of ·trouble [harm; hurt].
Now give us as ·much [L many days of] joy as you gave us ·sorrow [affliction].
16 Show your servants ·the wonderful things you do [your miracles];
·show your greatness [your splendor/beauty] to their children.
17 Lord our God, ·treat us well [favor us].
·Give us success in what we do [L Establish the work of our hands for us];
·yes, give us success in what we do [L establish the work of our hands].
24 So the Lord God ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts],
the Mighty One of Israel, says:
“[L Woe; Alas; Aha,] I will ·take revenge on [vent my wrath against; or get relief from; console myself by destroying] my ·foes [enemies; adversaries].
I will pay back my ·enemies [foes].
25 I will turn [L my hand] against you
and ·clean away all your wrongs as if with soap [or purify you as metal is refined; L purge your dross as with lye/potash/soap];
I will ·take all the worthless things out of you [L remove all your impurities/slag].
26 I will ·bring back [restore] judges as you had ·long ago [formerly; at the first];
your ·counselors [advisors] will be like those you had in the beginning.
Then you will be called the City ·That Is Right with God [of Righteousness/Justice],
the ·Loyal [Faithful; Trustworthy] City.”
27 By ·doing what is fair [justice],
·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple] will be ·free again [redeemed; restored].
By ·doing what is right [righteousness],
her ·people who come back to the Lord [penitent/repentant ones; or returnees] will have freedom.
28 But ·those who turn against him [rebels] and sinners will be destroyed;
those who ·have left [abandon; forsake] the Lord will ·die [perish; come to an end; cease].
29 “You will be ashamed,
because ·you have worshiped gods under the oak trees [L of the oaks you have desired; C pagan worship sites].
You will be ·disgraced [embarrassed],
because ·you have worshiped idols in your gardens [L of the gardens you have chosen; 66:17].
30 You will be like an oak whose leaves are ·dying [withered]
or like a garden without water.
31 Powerful people will ·be [or become] like ·small, dry pieces of wood [tinder; kindling],
and their works will be like sparks.
They will burn together,
and no one will be able to put out that fire.”
The People Want a Miracle(A)
29 As the crowd grew larger, Jesus ·said [began to say], “·The people who live today are evil [L This generation is an evil/wicked generation]. They ·want to see [seek] a ·miracle for a sign [L sign], but no sign will be given them, except the sign of Jonah [Matt. 12:39–40]. 30 As Jonah was a sign for those people who lived in Nineveh, the Son of Man will be a sign for ·the people of this time [this generation]. 31 ·On the judgment day [At the judgment] the Queen of the South [C the Queen of Sheba] will stand up with the people ·who live now [of this generation]. She will ·show they are guilty [condemn them], because she came from ·far away [L the ends of the earth] to listen to Solomon’s wise teaching [1 Kin. 10:1–13]. And ·I tell you that [L look; T behold] ·someone [or something; C either Jesus or his message of the Kingdom of God] greater than Solomon is here. 32 ·On the judgment day [At the judgment] the ·people [or men; C the Greek term usually refers to males] of Nineveh will stand up with ·the people who live now [this generation], and they will ·show that you are guilty [condemn it]. [L Because] When Jonah preached to them, they ·were sorry and changed their lives [repented]. And I tell you that ·someone [or something; v. 31] greater than Jonah is here.
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