Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Thanksgiving for Escaping Death
116 I love the Lord,
because he ·listens to my prayers for help [L hears/or heard my voice, my prayer of supplication].
2 He ·paid attention [L extends his ear] to me,
so I will ·call to him for help [call; pray] ·as long as I live [L in my days].
12 What can I ·give [L return to] the Lord
for all the ·good things [benefits] he has given to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation,
and I will pray ·to [L in the name of] the Lord.
14 I will ·give the Lord what I promised [pay my vow to the Lord]
in front of all his people.
15 The death of ·one that belongs to the Lord [his loyal ones/saints]
is precious in his ·sight [L eyes].
16 Lord, I am your servant;
I am your servant and the son of your female servant.
You have ·freed me from [loosened] my chains.
17 I will give you ·an offering to show thanks to you [a thanksgiving offering],
and I will pray ·to [L in the name of] the Lord.
18 I will ·give the Lord what I promised [pay my vow to the Lord]
in front of all his people,
19 in the ·Temple courtyards [L courtyards of the house of the Lord]
in your midst, Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!
A Wife for Isaac
24 Abraham was now very old, ·along in years [L going in days], and the Lord had blessed him in every way. 2 Abraham said to his oldest servant [L in his house], who was in charge of everything he owned, “Put your hand under my ·leg [L thigh; C a euphemism for male genitalia, expressing commitment to keep a promise]. 3 ·Make a promise to me before [Swear to me by] the Lord, the God of heaven and [L the God of] earth. Don’t get a wife for my son from the ·Canaanite girls [L daughters of the Canaanites] who live around here. 4 Instead, go back to my country, to the land of my relatives, and get a wife for my son Isaac.”
5 The servant said to him, “·What if [Perhaps] this woman does not want to return with me to this land? Then, should I take your son with me back to your homeland?”
6 Abraham said to him, “No! ·Don’t take [L Be careful not to take] my son back there. 7 The Lord, the God of heaven, brought me from the home of my father and the land of my relatives. And he ·promised [swore to] me, ‘I will give this land to your ·descendants [L seed].’ The Lord will send his ·angel [messenger] before you to help you get a wife for my son there. 8 If the ·girl [woman] won’t come back with you, you will be ·free [declared innocent] from this promise. But you must not take my son back there.” 9 So the servant put his hand under his master’s ·leg [L thigh; 24:2] and ·made a promise [swore] to Abraham about this.
35 “This Moses was the same man the two men of Israel rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and judge [Ex. 2:14; C compare the rejection of Jesus in v. 52]?’ This same man God sent to be a ruler and ·savior [rescuer; liberator; redeemer], with the ·help [L hand] of the angel that ·Moses saw [L appeared to him] in the burning bush. 36 ·So Moses [L This man] led the people out of Egypt. He worked ·miracles [wonders] and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea [C the Hebrew OT calls it the Sea of Reeds; the Septuagint (the Greek OT) calls it the Red Sea; Ex. 13:18; 15:4], and then in the ·desert [wilderness] for forty years. 37 This is the same Moses that said to the ·people [L sons; children] of Israel, ‘God will ·give [L raise up for] you a prophet like me, ·who is one of your own ·people [L from among your brothers; Deut. 18:15].’ 38 This is the Moses who was with the ·gathering of the Israelites [assembly; congregation] in the ·desert [wilderness]. He was with the angel that spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and he was with our ·ancestors [forefathers; fathers]. He received ·commands from God that give life [life-giving messages; or living oracles], and he gave those commands to us [Ex. 19—24].
39 “But our ·ancestors [forefathers; fathers] did not want to obey Moses. They ·rejected him [pushed him away] and ·wanted to go [L in their hearts turned] back to Egypt. 40 They said to Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will ·lead [L go before] us. Moses led us out of Egypt, but we don’t know what has happened to him [Ex. 32:1].’ 41 So [L in those days] the people made an idol that looked like a calf. Then they ·brought [or offered up] sacrifices to it and ·were proud of [celebrated; L rejoiced about] what they had made with their own hands. 42 But God turned ·against [or away from] them and did not try to stop them from worshiping the ·sun, moon, and stars [L host of heaven]. This is what is written in the book of the prophets: God says,
‘·People [L House] of Israel, you did not ·bring [offer up to] me sacrifices and offerings
while you traveled in the ·desert [wilderness] for forty years.
43 You have carried with you
the tent to worship Molech [C a pagan deity; Lev. 18:21; 20:2–5]
and the idols of ·the star god [or the star of your god] Rephan [C a pagan deity, perhaps associated with the planet Saturn] that you made to worship.
So I will send you away [C into exile] beyond Babylon [Amos 5:25–27].’
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.