Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Prayer for God to Be Near
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
13 How long will you forget me, Lord? Forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I ·worry [or bear pain; L hold counsels]
and ·feel sad [hold sorrow] in my heart all day?
How long will my enemy ·win [rise up] over me?
3 Lord, look at me.
Answer me, my God;
·tell me [L light up my eyes], or I will ·die [L sleep the sleep of death].
4 Otherwise my enemy will say, “I have ·won [finished him off]!”
·Those against me [My foes] will rejoice that I’ve been ·defeated [shaken; moved].
5 I ·trust [have confidence] in your ·love [loyalty; covenant love].
My heart ·is happy [rejoices] because ·you saved me [of your victory/salvation].
6 I sing to the Lord
because he has ·taken care of [been good to] me.
5 The ·people [assembly] of Judah and Jerusalem met in front of the new courtyard in the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. Then Jehoshaphat stood up, 6 and he said, “Lord, God of our ·ancestors [fathers], ·you are the [L are you not…?] God in heaven. ·You [L Do you not…?] rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. You have power and strength in your hand, so no one can ·stand against [withstand; resist] you. 7 Our God, ·you forced [L did you not drive…?] out the people who lived in this land ·as your people Israel moved in [before your people Israel]. And you gave this land forever to the descendants of your friend Abraham. 8 They lived in this land and built a ·Temple [sanctuary here] for ·you [L your name]. They said, 9 ‘If ·trouble [disaster; evil] comes upon us, or ·war [L the sword], ·punishment [judgment; C this term should perhaps be combined with the previous one to read “the sword of judgment”], ·sickness [plague; pestilence], or ·hunger [famine], we will stand before you and before this ·Temple [L house] ·where you have chosen to be worshiped [for your name is in this house]. We will cry out to you ·when we are in trouble [in our distress]. Then you will hear and ·save [rescue; T deliver] us.’
10 “But now here are men from Ammon, Moab, and ·Edom [L Mount Seir]. You wouldn’t let the Israelites ·enter [invade] their lands when the Israelites came from Egypt. So the Israelites ·turned away [bypassed/went around them] and did not destroy them. 11 But see how they repay us! They have come to force us out of your ·land [possession], which you gave us as our ·own [inheritance]. 12 Our God, ·punish those people [will you not judge them?]. We have no power against this ·large army [vast horde; T great multitude] that is attacking us. We don’t know what to do, so ·we look to you for help [L our eyes are on you].”
7 You were running a good race. Who ·stopped [hindered] you from ·following [or obeying; or your conviction about] the ·true way [truth]? 8 This ·change [persuasion; enticement] did not come from the One who ·chose [called] you. 9 Be careful! “Just a little ·yeast [leaven; 1 Cor. 5:6–7] makes the whole batch of dough rise [C a little error will spread through the whole community].” 10 But I ·trust [L have confidence/am persuaded about you] in the Lord that you will ·not believe those different ideas [take no different view]. Whoever is ·confusing [troubling] you with such ideas will ·be punished [pay the penalty; L bear the condemnation], ·no matter who he is [L whoever he may be].
11 My brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching ·that a man must be circumcised [L circumcision; C some were evidently accusing Paul of this], why am I still being ·attacked [persecuted]? If I still taught circumcision, ·my preaching about the cross would not be a problem [the scandal/offense of the cross has been removed/abolished]. 12 I wish the people who are bothering you would ·castrate themselves [make themselves eunuchs; L cut it off]! [C Paul sarcastically says that if circumcision is so helpful, why not go even further?]
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