Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Trust in the Lord
For the director of music. Of David.
11 I ·trust in the Lord for protection [find refuge in the Lord].
So why do you say to me,
“·Fly [L Flee] like a bird to your mountain.
2 For, look, the wicked ·string [bend] their bows;
they set their arrows on the bowstrings.
They shoot from dark places
at those who are ·honest [L upright/virtuous in heart].
3 When the foundations [C a stable society] collapse,
what can ·good [righteous] people do?”
4 The Lord is in his holy Temple;
the Lord sits on his throne in heaven.
·He sees what people do [L His eyes watch];
·he keeps his eye on them [L his gaze examines/tests people].
5 The Lord ·tests [examines] ·those who do right and those who do wrong [the righteous and the wicked],
but he hates those who love ·to hurt others [violence].
6 He will ·send [L rain] hot coals and burning sulfur on the wicked.
A ·whirlwind [scorching wind] is ·what they will get [L the portion of their cup; C an image of judgment; Is. 51:17, 22; Ezek. 23:31–33; Matt. 26:39].
7 The Lord ·does what is right [is righteous], and he loves ·justice [righteousness],
so ·honest people [the upright/virtuous] will see his face.
The Message About Jerusalem
2 Isaiah son of Amoz saw this ·message [vision; word] about Judah and Jerusalem:
2 [L It shall be] In the ·last [final; latter] days
the mountain ·on which the Lord’s Temple stands [L of the house of the Lord; C Mount Zion]
will ·become [be established as; endure as] the ·most important [chief; or highest] of all mountains.
It will be ·raised [exalted] above the hills,
and ·people from all nations [L all nations] will come streaming to it.
3 Many ·nations [peoples] will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the ·Temple [L house] of the God of Jacob.
·Then [or So that] he will teach us his ·ways [standards; path],
and we will ·obey his teachings [L walk in his paths].”
·His teachings [The Law; Instruction; L Torah] will go out from Jerusalem;
the ·message [word] of the Lord will go out from Jerusalem.
4 He will ·settle arguments among [judge/mediate between] the ·nations [peoples]
and will ·make decisions [settle disputes] for many ·peoples [nations].
Then they will ·make [beat; hammer] their swords into ·plows [T plowshares; C the metal tip of the plow]
and their spears into ·hooks for trimming trees [pruning hooks].
Nations will no longer ·fight [L raise the sword against] other nations,
nor will they train for war anymore [Mic. 4:1–3].
What Is Faith?
11 Faith means ·being sure [the assurance; or the tangible reality; or the sure foundation] of the things we hope for and ·knowing that something is real even if we do not see it [the conviction/assurance/evidence about things not seen]. 2 Faith is the reason ·we remember [or God commended/approved] ·great people who lived in the past [the people of old; the ancients; our spiritual ancestors].
3 It is by faith we understand that the ·whole world [universe; cosmos; ages] was made by God’s ·command [word; Gen. 1] so what we see was ·made by something that cannot be seen [L not made from/by visible things].
4 It was by faith that Abel offered God a ·better [more acceptable] sacrifice than Cain [Gen. 4:4–8]. God ·said he was pleased with [commended him for; bore testimony to] the gifts Abel offered and ·called Abel [commended him as; testified that he was] a ·good [righteous] man because of his faith. Abel died, but through his faith he is still speaking [12:24].
5 It was by faith that Enoch was taken to heaven so he would not ·die [experience/L see death]. He could not be found, because God had taken him away [Gen. 5:22–24]. Before he was taken, ·the Scripture says that he was [L he was commended as] a man who truly pleased God. 6 [L And] Without faith no one can please God. [L For; Because] Anyone who comes to God must believe that he ·is real [exists] and that he rewards those who ·truly want to find [earnestly/sincerely seek] him.
7 It was by faith that Noah heard God’s warnings about things he could not yet see [Gen. 6:13–22]. He ·obeyed God [responded with reverent fear] and built a ·large boat [T ark] to save his ·family [household]. By his faith, Noah ·showed that the world was wrong [L condemned/pronounced judgment against the world], and he became ·one of those who are made right with God [L an heir of the righteousness that comes] through faith.
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