Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God Promises Moses the Stone Tablets
12 The Lord said to Moses, “Come up the mountain to me. Wait there, and I will give you two stone tablets [C perhaps two copies of the Ten Commandments]. On these are the ·teachings [laws; instructions] and the commands I have written to instruct the people.”
13 So Moses and his ·helper [assistant] Joshua ·set out [L got up], and Moses went up to ·Sinai, the mountain of God [L the mountain of God]. 14 Moses said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we come back to you. Aaron and Hur are with you, and anyone who ·has a disagreement with others [has many words/a dispute; L is a master of words] can take it to them.”
Moses Meets with God
15 When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud [C representing God’s presence] covered it. 16 The glory of the Lord [C representing his manifest presence] ·came down [L settled] on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from inside the cloud. 17 To the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] the glory of the Lord looked like a fire burning on top of the mountain. 18 Then Moses went into the cloud and went higher up the mountain. He was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights.
The Lord’s Chosen King
2 Why ·are the nations so angry [do the nations rage/or conspire]?
Why ·are the people making useless plans [do the people plot in vain]?
2 The kings of the earth ·prepare to fight [L take their stand],
and their leaders ·make plans [plot] together
against the Lord
and his ·appointed one [anointed; Messiah; C the king, ultimately Jesus; Acts 4:25–28].
3 They say, “Let’s break ·the chains that hold us back [L their chains/bonds]
and throw off ·the ropes that tie us down [L their ropes/cords from us].”
4 But the one who sits in heaven [C God] laughs;
the Lord ·makes fun of [ridicules; derides] them.
5 Then the Lord ·warns them [L speaks to them in anger]
and frightens them with his ·anger [fury].
6 He says, “I have ·appointed [installed; set] my own king
over my holy mountain, Zion [C the location of the Temple in Jerusalem; 9:11; 48:2, 11; 50:2; 1 Kin. 8:1].”
7 Now I will ·tell [recount to] you what the Lord has ·declared [decreed]:
He said to me, “You are my son.
Today I have become your father [2 Sam. 7:14; Matt. 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22; Acts 13:32–33; Heb. 1:5].
8 ·If you ask me [L Ask of me], I will give you the nations as your inheritance;
all the ·people on [L ends of the] earth will be ·yours [L your possession].
9 You will rule over them with an iron ·rod [scepter; C a symbol of royal authority; Rev. 12:5; 19:15].
You will ·break [dash] them into pieces like pottery.”
10 ·So [Now], kings, be wise;
·rulers [L rulers/judges of the earth], ·learn this lesson [be warned].
11 ·Obey [Serve] the Lord with great fear.
·Be happy [Rejoice], ·but tremble [L with trembling].
12 ·Show that you are loyal to his [L Kiss the] son,
or ·you will be destroyed by his anger [L he will be angry and you will perish on the way],
because he can quickly become angry.
But ·happy [blessed] are those who ·trust him for protection [find refuge in him].
The Lord, the Fair and Holy King
99 The Lord ·is king [reigns; 47:2; 93:1; 96:10; 97:1; 98:6; Rev. 19:6].
Let the peoples ·shake [tremble; C with fear].
He sits between the ·gold creatures with wings [L cherubim; C above the Ark of the Covenant; Ex. 25:17–22; 1 Kin. 8:7].
Let the earth shake.
2 The Lord in ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple] is great;
he is ·supreme [exalted] over all the peoples.
3 Let them ·praise [thank] your name;
it is great, holy and ·to be feared [awesome].
4 The King is ·powerful [strong] and loves justice.
Lord, you ·made [established] things fair;
you have done what is ·fair [righteous] and ·right [just]
for the people of Jacob [C another name for Israel].
5 ·Praise [Exalt] the Lord our God,
and ·worship [bow down] at the footstool of his feet [C the Ark located in the Temple].
He is holy.
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
and Samuel was among ·his worshipers [L those who called on his name].
They called to the Lord,
and he answered them [Ex. 32:11–13, 30–32; Num. 12:13; 14:13–19; 1 Sam. 7:5, 8–9; 12:16–18; Jer. 15:1].
7 He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud [Ex. 13:21].
They ·kept [observed; guarded] the ·rules [statutes; ordinances; requirements] and ·laws [decrees; testimonies] he gave them.
8 Lord our God, you answered them.
You showed them that you are a forgiving God,
but you ·punished them [are an avenger] for their wrongs [Deut. 32:35; Is. 34:8; Ezek. 24:8; 25:14–17; Nah. 1:2; Rom. 12:19; 1 Thess. 4:6].
9 ·Praise [Exalt] the Lord our God,
and ·worship [bow down] at his holy mountain,
because the Lord our God is holy.
We Saw Christ’s Glory
16 [L For] When we ·told [made known to] you about the ·powerful coming [or power and coming] of our Lord Jesus Christ, we were not ·telling [following; repeating] ·just clever stories that someone invented [or cleverly-concocted myths]. But we ·saw the greatness of Jesus with our own eyes [L were eyewitness of his majesty]. 17 [L For] ·Jesus heard the voice of God, the Greatest Glory [L When that voice came to him from the Majestic Glory], when he received honor and glory from God the Father. The voice said, “This is my Son, whom I love, and I am very pleased with him [C a reference to the Transfiguration; Matt. 17:5; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35].” 18 We heard that voice from heaven while we were with Jesus on the ·holy [sacred] mountain.
19 ·This makes us more sure about the message the prophets gave [or And we also have a reliable message from the prophets; L And we have the prophetic word confirmed; C probably referring to the Old Testament]. ·It is good for you [You do well] to follow closely what they said as you would follow a ·light [L lamp] shining in a dark place, until the day ·begins [L dawns] and the morning star rises in your hearts [Num. 24:17; Rev. 22:16; C the planet Venus as seen before sunrise, here symbolizing Christ]. 20 ·Most [First] of all, you must understand this: No prophecy in the Scriptures ·ever comes from the prophet’s own interpretation [or is a matter of one’s own interpretation]. 21 No prophecy ever came from ·what a person wanted to say [L human will/intention], but people ·led [carried; moved] by the Holy Spirit spoke words from God. [C True prophecy originates with God, not with the prophet.]
The Transfiguration on the Mountain(A)
17 Six days later, Jesus took Peter, James, and John, the brother of James, [L and led them] up on a high mountain by themselves. 2 ·While they watched [In their presence; In front of them], Jesus’ appearance was ·changed [transformed; T transfigured]; his face ·became bright [shined] like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. 3 Then Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Jesus. [C God had given the Law through Moses, and Elijah was an important prophet (see Mark 6:15); together they signify that Jesus fulfills the OT.]
4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you want, I will put up three ·tents [shelters; shrines; tabernacles; Lev. 23:42] here—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” [C Perhaps Peter wanted to prolong their stay or to commemorate their visit.]
5 While Peter was talking, [L look; T behold] a bright cloud ·covered [overshadowed; Ex. 24:15] them. A voice came from the cloud and said, “This is my ·Son, whom I love [dearly beloved Son; Ps. 2:7; Gen. 22:2], ·and I am very pleased with him [in whom I take great delight; Is. 42:1; Matt. 3:17]. Listen to him [Deut. 18:15; Acts 3:22]!”
6 When his ·followers [disciples] heard the voice, they were so frightened they fell ·to the ground [L on their faces]. 7 But Jesus went to them and touched them and said, “Stand up. Don’t be afraid.” 8 ·When they looked up [Lifting up their eyes], they saw ·Jesus was now alone [L no one except Jesus alone].
9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ·commanded [instructed] them not to tell anyone about ·what they had seen [the vision] until the Son of Man had ·risen [been raised] from the dead.
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