Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Prayer for the Nation
For the director of music. A psalm of the sons of Korah [C descendants of Kohath, son of Levi, who served as temple musicians; 1 Chr. 6:22].
85 Lord, you ·have been kind to [delight in] your land;
you ·brought back [restored the fortunes of; C perhaps at the end of the exile] the people of Jacob [C another name for Israel].
2 You forgave the guilt of the people
and covered all their sins. ·
3 You ·stopped [drew back from] all your anger;
you turned back from your ·strong [burning] anger.
4 God our Savior, ·bring us back again [restore us again].
Stop being angry with us.
5 Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you ·stay angry [draw out your anger against us] from now on?
6 Won’t you give us life again?
Your people would rejoice in you.
7 Lord, show us your ·love [loyalty],
and ·save us [L give to us your salvation/victory].
8 I will listen to what God the Lord says.
He has ·ordered [spoken; promised] ·peace [prosperity] for ·those who worship him [L his people, his saints/loyal ones].
Don’t let them go back to foolishness.
9 ·God will soon save those who respect him [L His salvation/victory is near to those who fear him; Prov. 1:7],
and his glory will ·be seen [L dwell] in our land.
10 ·Love [Loyalty] and ·truth [faithfulness] ·belong to God’s people [L meet];
·goodness [righteousness] and ·peace [prosperity] ·will be theirs [L kiss].
11 ·On earth people will be loyal to God [Faithfulness sprouts/blooms from the earth/land],
and ·God’s goodness [righteousness] will ·shine [look] down from heaven.
12 The Lord will give his ·goodness [or good gifts],
and the land will give its crops.
13 ·Goodness [Righteousness] will go before ·God [L him]
and prepare the way for ·him [L his steps].
God’s Word Against the Leaders
5 “·Listen [Hear this], you priests.
Pay attention, ·people [L house] of Israel.
Listen, ·royal family [L house of the king],
because you will all be judged.
You have been like a ·trap [snare] at Mizpah
and like a net spread out at Mount Tabor [C hunting places in Israel].
2 ·You have done many evil things [L The rebels are deep into slaughter; or You have dug a deep pit at Shittim/Acacia],
so I will ·punish [discipline] you all.
3 I know all about Ephraim [C Israel; 4:17];
what Israel has done is not hidden from me.
Now Ephraim acts like a prostitute,
and Israel has ·made itself unclean [L defiled himself].
4 “·They will not give up their deeds
and [or Their deeds won’t let them] return to their God.
·They are determined to be unfaithful to me [L For a spirit of prostitution is within them];
they do not know the Lord.
5 Israel’s ·pride [arrogance] testifies against them.
·The people of Israel [L Israel and Ephraim; 4:17] will stumble because of their ·sin [iniquity],
and ·the people of Judah [L Judah] will stumble with them.
6 They will come to ·worship [L seek] the Lord,
bringing their flocks and herds,
but they will not be able to find him,
because he has ·left [withdrawn from] them.
7 They have ·not been true to [been unfaithful to; dealt treacherously with] the Lord;
they ·are children who do not belong to him [or bear illegitimate/alien children].
So ·their false worship [L a new moon; C a festival]
will ·destroy [L devour] them and their ·land [wealth; portion].
8 “Blow the ·horn [trumpet; ram’s horn] in Gibeah
and the trumpet in Ramah [C used to sound a warning or call to battle].
·Give the warning [Sound the alarm; Raise the battle cry] at Beth Aven [4:15],
·and be first into battle [or lead on; or we are with you], ·people of Benjamin [L Benjamin].
9 ·Israel [L Ephraim; 4:17] will be ·ruined [laid waste; desolate]
on the day of ·punishment [rebuke; reckoning].
To the tribes of Israel
I ·tell the truth [L make known what is certain].
10 The ·leaders [princes] of Judah are like those
who ·steal other people’s land [L move boundary markers; C a serious crime in the ancient world; Deut. 19:14; 27:17; Prov. 15:25].
I will pour my ·punishment over [wrath on] them
like ·a flood of water [L water].
11 ·Israel [L Ephraim; 4:17] is ·beaten down [oppressed] and crushed by the ·punishment [judgment],
because it ·decided [was determined] to follow ·idols [or worthless things; or human precepts].
12 I am like a moth to ·Israel [L Ephraim; 4:17],
like ·a rot [wood rot; decay] to the ·people [L house] of Judah.
13 “When ·Israel [L Ephraim; 4:17] saw its illness
and Judah saw its ·wounds [or sores],
·Israel [L Ephraim] went to Assyria for help
and sent to the great ·king of Assyria [L king].
But he cannot heal you
or cure your wounds.
14 I will be like a lion to ·Israel [L Ephraim; 4:17],
like a young lion to ·Judah [L the house of Judah].
·I will attack them
and tear them to pieces [L I, even I, will tear them and go away].
I will drag them off,
and no one will be able to ·save [rescue] them.
15 Then I will go back to my ·place [lair; dwelling place]
until they ·suffer for [or admit] their guilt and ·turn back to me [L seek my face].
In their ·trouble [distress; affliction] they will look for me.”
22 “·People of Israel [L Men, Israelites], ·listen to [hear] these words: Jesus ·from Nazareth [or the Nazarene] was a very special man. God clearly ·showed [attested; pointed out] this to you by the ·miracles [mighty deeds], wonders, and signs he did through Jesus. You all know this, because it happened ·right here among you [L in your midst]. 23 Jesus was ·given [handed over] to you, and ·with the help [L by the hands] of ·those who don’t know the law [or lawless ones; wicked people; C a reference to the Gentiles/Romans who crucified Jesus], you put him to death by nailing him to a cross. But this was ·God’s plan which he had made long ago [L according to God’s predetermined plan]; ·he knew all this would happen [L …and his foreknowledge]. 24 God raised Jesus from the dead and set him free from the ·pain [agony; birthpains] of death, because death could not hold him. 25 For David said this about him:
‘I ·keep [L saw] the Lord before me always.
Because he is ·close by my side [L at my right hand; C a soldier’s shieldbearer would stand at his right side to protect him],
[L so that] I will not be ·hurt [L shaken].
26 So ·I am [L my heart was] glad, and ·I rejoice [L my tongue rejoiced].
Even my body ·has [L will live in; or will rest in] hope,
27 because you will not ·leave [abandon] ·me [L my soul/life] in ·the grave [L Hades; C the underworld].
You will not let your Holy One [experience; L see] decay.
28 You ·will teach me [L have made known to me] ·how to live a holy life [L the way/path of life].
·Being with you [Your presence; L Your face] will fill me with joy [Ps. 16:8–11].”
29 “·Brothers and sisters [L Men, brothers], I can tell you ·truly [or with confidence] that David, ·our ancestor [L the patriarch], died and was buried. His ·grave [tomb] is still here with us today. 30 [But because] He was a prophet and knew God had ·promised him [sworn with an oath] that he would ·make a person from David’s family a king just as he was [L put one of his descendants on his throne; C a reference to the Davidic covenant; 2 Sam. 7:13; Ps. 132:11]. 31 ·Knowing this before it happened [L Foreseeing this], David talked about the ·Christ [Messiah] rising from the dead. He said:
‘He was not ·left [abandoned] in ·the grave [Hades].
His ·body [flesh] did not ·rot [L see/experience decay; 2:27].’
32 So Jesus is the One whom God raised from the dead. And we are all witnesses to this. 33 Jesus was ·lifted up to heaven and is now at [L exalted to] God’s right ·side [L hand; C a position of highest honor beside the king]. The Father has given the Holy Spirit to Jesus as he promised. So Jesus has poured out that Spirit, and this is what you now see and hear. 34 David was not the one who ·was lifted up [went up; ascended] to heaven, but he said:
‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit by me at my right ·side [L hand; v. 33],
35 until I ·put your enemies under your control [L make your enemies a footstool for your feet; Ps. 110:1].”’
36 “·So [Therefore], all the ·people [L house] of Israel should know this ·truly [with certainty]: God has made Jesus—the man you ·nailed to the cross [crucified]—both Lord and ·Christ [Messiah].”
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.