Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
2 [L Look; T Behold] God is ·the one who saves me [L my salvation];
I will trust him and not be afraid.
The Lord, the Lord ·gives me [L is my] strength and ·makes me sing [L my song; or my defense/protection].
He has ·saved me [L become salvation/deliverance/victory for me].”
3 You will joyfully draw water
from the ·wells [springs] of salvation.
4 ·At that time [L In that day] you will say,
“Praise the Lord and ·worship him [L call on his name].
·Tell everyone [L Make known among the nations/peoples] what he has done
and ·how great he is [L announce that his name is exalted/lifted up].
5 Sing praise to the Lord, because he has done ·great [glorious; majestic] things.
Let all the world know what he has done.
6 Shout and sing for joy, you people of ·Jerusalem [L Zion; 1:27],
because the Holy One of Israel [1:4] ·does great things before your eyes [L is great among you].”
Israel Will Be Destroyed
6 ·How terrible it will be for [L Woe to] those who ·have an easy life [are complacent/at ease] in Jerusalem,
for those who feel ·safe living [secure] on Mount Samaria.
You think you are ·the important people [notable/renowned men] of the ·best nation in the world [first among the nations];
the ·Israelites [L house of Israel] come to you for help.
2 Go look at the city of Calneh,
and from there go to the great city Hamath [C Aramean city-states under the control of Israel];
then go down to Gath of the Philistines.
·You are no better than these kingdoms [L Are they better than your kingdoms?].
·Your land is no larger than theirs [L Is their territory greater than yours?].
3 You put off the ·day of punishment [day of disaster/doom; L evil day],
but you ·bring near [establish] ·the day when you can do evil to others [a reign of terror; L the seat of violence].
4 You lie on beds ·decorated with ivory [L of ivory]
and stretch out on your couches.
You eat ·tender lambs [L lambs from the flock]
and ·fattened calves [L calves from the midst of the stall].
5 You ·make up songs [or strum away; or sing idly] on your ·harps [stringed instruments],
and, like David, you ·compose [or improvise] songs on musical instruments.
6 You drink wine by the bowlful
and ·use [anoint yourselves with] the ·best perfumed lotions [finest oils].
But you ·are not sad [do not grieve; are unconcerned] over the ruin of Israel,
7 so you will be some of the first ones ·taken as slaves [to go into exile].
Your ·feasting and lying around [reclining at banquets] will come to an end.
8 The Lord God ·made this promise [L has sworn by himself]; the Lord God ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says:
“I ·hate [abhor] the pride of ·the Israelites [L Jacob],
and I ·hate [detest] their ·strong buildings [fortresses; palaces],
so I will ·let the enemy take [deliver up] the city
and everything in it.”
Christian Giving
8 And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace God gave the churches in Macedonia [1:16]. 2 Although they have been tested by great ·troubles [trials; tribulation] ·and are very poor, they gave much because of their great joy [L their deep poverty and abundant joy overflowed into rich generosity]. 3 I can ·tell you [testify] that they gave as much as they were able and even more than they could afford. No one told them to do it. 4 But they begged and pleaded with us ·to let them [L for the privilege/grace to] share in this service for ·God’s people [T the saints]. 5 And they gave in a way we did not expect: They first gave themselves to the Lord and to us. ·This is what God wants […by the will of God]. 6 So we ·asked [urged; encouraged] Titus [2:13] to help you finish this special work of grace since he is the one who started it. 7 You ·are rich [excel] in everything—in faith, in speaking, in knowledge, in ·truly wanting to help [eagerness; zeal], and in the love ·you learned [L that is in you] from us.[a] In the same way, ·be strong [excel] also in the grace of giving.
8 I am not commanding you to give. But I want to ·see [test; prove] if your love is true by comparing you with ·others that really want to help [L the zeal/eagerness of others]. 9 [L For] You know the ·grace [gift] of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, for your sake he became poor so that by his becoming poor you might become rich.
10 This is ·what I think you should do [L my opinion on this matter for your benefit]: Last year you were the first to want to give, and you were the first who gave. 11 So now finish the work you started. Then your ·“doing” [L completion] will be equal to your ·“wanting to do” [eager desire]. Give from what you have. 12 If you ·want [are eager/willing] to give, your gift will be accepted. It will be judged by what you have, not by what you do not have. 13 [L For] We do not want you to have ·troubles [hardships; trials] while other people ·are at ease [have relief], but we want everything to be equal [C giving is not intended to impoverish the giver, but to distribute God’s resources]. 14 At this time ·you have plenty and what you have [L your abundance] can help others who are in need. ·Then later, when they have plenty, they [or In the same way, their abundance] can help you when you are in need, and all will be equal [C Paul may be saying, (1) that the Jerusalem church may one day reciprocate by helping the Corinthians financially; or, (2) that the Corinthians’ financial gift will be reciprocated through Jerusalem’s spiritual gifts]. 15 As it is written in the Scriptures, “The person who gathered more did not have too much, nor did the person who gathered less have too little [Ex. 16:18].”
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