Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Cry for Help
For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies.” A psalm of David.
69 God, ·save me [give me victory],
because the water has risen to my neck [C the waters of chaos].
2 I’m sinking down into the ·mud [mire],
and there is nothing to stand on.
I ·am in deep water [have come into the depths of the waters],
and the flood ·covers [overwhelms] me.
3 I am ·tired [exhausted] from calling for help;
my throat is ·sore [dry].
My eyes are ·tired [worn out] from ·waiting [hoping]
for God to help me.
13 But I pray to you, Lord, ·for favor [or at an appropriate time].
God, because of your great ·love [loyalty], answer me.
You are ·truly able [faithful] to ·save [give victory].
14 ·Pull [Protect] me from the ·mud [mire],
and do not let me sink.
·Save [Protect] me from those who hate me
and from the deep water.
15 Do not let the flood ·drown [overwhelm] me
or the deep water swallow me
or the ·grave [L pit] close its mouth over me.
16 Lord, answer me because your ·love [loyalty] is so good.
Because of your ·great kindness [abundant compassion], turn to me.
30 I will praise ·God [L the name of God] in a song
and will ·honor [magnify] him by giving thanks.
31 That will please the Lord more than ·offering him cattle [L an ox],
more than sacrificing a bull with horns and hoofs.
32 Poor people will see this and be glad [C offering an ox or bull is expensive].
·Be encouraged, you who worship God [The hearts of those who seek God will be enlivened].
33 The Lord listens to those in need
and does not ·look down on [despise] ·captives [prisoners].
34 Heaven and earth should praise him,
the seas and ·everything in them [L all that swarms in them].
35 God will ·save Jerusalem [L give Zion victory; C the location of the Temple]
and rebuild the cities of Judah.
Then people will live there and own the land.
36 The ·descendants [L seed] of his servants will inherit that land,
and those who love ·him [L his name] will live there.
The First Family
4 ·Adam [L The man; 1:27] ·had sexual relations with [L knew] his wife Eve, and she ·became pregnant [conceived] and gave birth to Cain. Eve said, “With the Lord’s help, I have ·given birth to [L produced; or acquired; C the verb resembles Cain’s name] a man.” 2 After that, Eve gave birth to Cain’s brother Abel [C resembles the word for vapor or breath]. Abel took care of flocks, and Cain ·became a farmer [L was a tiller/worker of the ground].
3 ·Later [In due course; L At the end of the days], Cain brought some ·food [produce; fruit] from the ground as a ·gift [tribute; Lev. 2] to God. 4 Abel brought the ·best parts [fat portions; Lev. 3:16] from some of the firstborn of his flock [Heb. 11:4]. The Lord ·accepted [looked with favor on] Abel and his ·gift [tribute], 5 but he did not ·accept [look with favor on] Cain and his ·gift [tribute]. So Cain became very angry and ·felt rejected [or felt dejected; L his face/countenance fell].
6 The Lord asked Cain, “Why are you angry? Why ·do you look so unhappy [L has your face/countenance fallen; 4:5]? 7 If you do things ·well [correctly; appropriately], ·I will [L will I not…?] accept you, but if you do not do them ·well [correctly; appropriately], sin is ·ready to attack you [L crouching at the door]. Sin ·wants [desires to control; 3:16] you, but you must rule over it.”
8 Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out into the field.”[a] While they were out in the field, Cain ·attacked [L rose up against] his brother Abel and killed him [Matt. 23:35; Luke 11:51; Heb. 12:24; 1 John 3:11–12; Jude 11].
9 Later, the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”
Cain answered, “I don’t know. ·Is it my job to take care of my brother [T Am I my brother’s keeper]?”
10 Then the Lord said, “What have you done? Your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground. 11 And now you will be cursed ·in your work with [L and banished from] the ground, ·the same ground where your brother’s blood fell and where your hands killed him [L which has opened its mouth to take the blood of your brother from your hand]. 12 You will ·work [till] the ground, but it will not ·grow good crops [L yield its strength] for you anymore, and you will ·wander around [be a fugitive and a wanderer/homeless wanderer] on the earth.”
13 Then Cain said to the Lord, “This punishment is more than I can ·stand [bear]! 14 Today you have forced me ·to stop working [L from] the ground, and now I ·must hide from you [or will be hidden from your face]. I ·must wander around [L will be a fugitive and wanderer/homeless wanderer] on the earth, and anyone who ·meets [finds] me can kill me.”
15 The Lord said to Cain, “No! If anyone kills you, I will ·punish [avenge] that person seven times more.” Then the Lord put a mark [C the nature of the mark is uncertain] on Cain warning anyone who ·met [finds] him not to kill him.
Cain’s Family
16 So Cain went away from the Lord and lived in the land of Nod [C resembles a Hebrew word meaning “wanderer”], east of Eden.
You People Also Are Sinful
2 [L Therefore] If you think you can judge others, [L O man,] you are ·wrong [L without excuse]. [L For] When you judge them, you are really judging yourself guilty, because you [L who are judging] do the same things they do. 2 God judges those who do ·wrong [L such] things, and we know that his judging is ·right [just; justified; L based on truth]. 3 You judge those who do ·wrong [L such things], but you do ·wrong [L the same things] yourselves. Do you think [L O man,] you will be able to escape the judgment of God? 4 You [L Do you…?] ·think nothing of [despise; have contempt for; disregard] his kindness, ·tolerance [forbearance] and patience. Perhaps you do not understand that God is kind to you so you will ·change your hearts and lives [repent]. 5 But because you are stubborn and ·refuse to change [L have an unrepentant heart], you are ·making your own punishment even greater [L storing up wrath for yourself] on the day ·he shows his anger [of (God’s) wrath]. ·On that day everyone will see [L …and the day of the revelation of] God’s ·right [righteous; just] judgments. 6 God will ·reward or punish [give back to; repay] every person for what that person has done. 7 Some people, by ·always continuing [persevering] to do good, ·live for [seek after; aim for] ·God’s glory [L glory], for honor, and for ·life that has no end [immortality]. God will give them ·life forever [eternal life]. 8 But other people are ·selfish [self-seeking], ·refusing to follow [disobeying; or disbelieving] truth and instead ·following [obeying; or believing] evil. God will give them his ·punishment [wrath] and anger. 9 ·He will give [or There will be] ·trouble [affliction; tribulation] and ·suffering [distress] to everyone who does evil—to the Jews first and also to ·those who are not Jews [L the Greek; C here meaning all Gentiles; see 1:13, 14, 16]. 10 But ·he will give [or there will be] glory, honor, and peace to everyone who does good—to the Jews first and also to ·those who are not Jews [L the Greek; v. 9]. 11 For ·God judges all people in the same way [L there is no partiality with God].
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