Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
17 ·Do good [Grant this] to me, your servant, so I can live,
so I can ·obey [keep; guard] your word.
18 Open my eyes to see
the ·miracles [wonders] in your ·teachings [instructions; law].
19 I am a ·stranger [sojourner; alien resident] ·on earth [or in the land].
Do not hide your commands from me.
20 ·I wear myself out [My soul pines away] with ·desire [longing]
for your ·laws [judgments] all the time.
21 You ·scold [rebuke; reprimand] ·proud [arrogant] people;
those who ·ignore [wander from] your commands are cursed.
22 ·Don’t let me be insulted and hated [L Take away insult and contempt]
because I keep your ·rules [decrees; testimonies].
23 Even if princes sit around and speak against me,
I, your servant, will ·think [meditate] about your ·demands [statutes; ordinances; requirements].
24 Your ·rules [statutes; ordinances; requirements] give me pleasure;
they ·give me good advice [L are my advisors/counselors].
25 ·I am about to die [L My soul clings to the dust].
Give me life, as you have promised.
26 I ·told you about my life [L recounted my way], and you answered me.
Teach me your ·demands [statutes; ordinances; requirements].
27 Help me understand your ·orders [L the way of your precepts].
Then I will ·think [meditate] about your ·miracles [wonders].
28 ·I am sad and tired [L My soul is weary/melts with sorrow affliction].
Make me ·strong [L rise up] again as you have promised.
29 ·Don’t let me be dishonest [L Turn me away from a false way];
·have mercy on me by helping me obey your teachings [graciously teach me your instructions/laws].
30 I have chosen the way of ·truth [faithfulness];
I have ·obeyed [placed before me] your ·laws [judgments].
31 I ·hold on [cling] to your ·rules [decrees; testimonies].
Lord, do not let me be ·disgraced [shamed].
32 I will ·quickly obey [L run the way of] your commands,
because you have ·made me happy [L enlarged my heart/mind].
13 ·At that time [L In that day] the beautiful ·young women [virgins] and the young men
will ·become weak [faint] from thirst.
14 They ·make promises [swear oaths] by the ·idol in [L sin of] Samaria
and say, ‘As surely as the god of Dan lives … [1 Kin. 12:29]’
and, ‘As surely as the ·god of [L way to; C perhaps the pilgrimage route to the pagan worship there] Beersheba lives, we promise….’ [C Dan was the city farthest north in Israel and Beersheba farthest south.]
So they will fall
and never get up again.”
Israel Will Be Destroyed
9 I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and he said:
“·Smash [Strike] the top of the pillars
so that even the ·bottom of the doors [thresholds] will shake.
·Make the pillars fall [L Strike/Shatter them] on the people’s heads;
anyone left alive I will kill with a sword.
Not one person will get away;
no one will escape.
2 If they dig down ·as deep as the place of the dead [or into the depths of the earth; L into Sheol],
·I [L My hand] will pull them up from there.
If they climb up into heaven,
I will bring them down from there.
3 If they hide at the top of Mount Carmel,
I will ·find them [hunt them down] and ·take them away [seize them].
If they try to hide from me at the bottom of the sea,
I will command ·a snake [or the serpent; C perhaps the mythological beast symbolic of chaos] to bite them.
4 If they are ·captured and taken away [driven into exile] by their enemies,
I will command the sword to ·kill [slay] them.
I will ·keep watch over them [fix my eyes on them],
but ·I will keep watch to give them trouble, not to do them good [L for evil/harm, not for good/prosperity].”
Jesus Is Our Helper
2 My ·dear children [L little children; C a term of endearment], I write ·this letter [L these things] to you so you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have a ·helper [counselor; advocate; Rom. 8:34] in the presence of the Father—Jesus Christ, ·the One who does what is right [or the Righteous One]. 2 He ·died in our place to take away [is the atoning sacrifice/T propitiation for] our sins [C his death pays the penalty and removes God’s anger from us; 4:10; Rom. 3:25; Heb. 2:17], and not only our sins but the sins of ·all people [L the whole world].
3 We ·can be sure [know] that we know ·God [L him] if we ·obey [keep] his commands. 4 Anyone who says, “I know ·God [L him],” but does not ·obey [keep] ·God’s [L his] commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. 5 But if someone ·obeys [keeps] ·God’s teaching [L his word], then in that person ·God’s love [or love for God] has ·truly reached its goal [been fulfilled/perfected/completed]. This is how we can be sure we are ·living in God [L in him]: 6 Whoever says that he ·lives [abides; remains] in God must ·live [L walk] as ·Jesus lived [L he walked].
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.