Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
In Praise of God the Almighty
147 Praise the Lord!
It is good to sing praise to our God;
it is pleasant and right to praise him.
2 The Lord is restoring Jerusalem;
he is bringing back the exiles.
3 He heals the broken-hearted
and bandages their wounds.
4 He has decided the number of the stars
and calls each one by name.
5 Great and mighty is our Lord;
his wisdom cannot be measured.
6 He raises the humble,
but crushes the wicked to the ground.
7 Sing hymns of praise to the Lord;
play music on the harp to our God.
8 He spreads clouds over the sky;
he provides rain for the earth
and makes grass grow on the hills.
9 He gives animals their food
and feeds the young ravens when they call.
10 His pleasure is not in strong horses,
nor his delight in brave soldiers;
11 but he takes pleasure in those who honor him,
in those who trust in his constant love.
20 He has not done this for other nations;
they do not know his laws.
Praise the Lord!
36 1-2 Be patient and listen a little longer
to what I am saying on God's behalf.
3 My knowledge is wide; I will use what I know
to show that God, my Creator, is just.
4 Nothing I say to you is false;
you see before you a truly wise man.
5 How strong God is! He despises no one;
there is nothing he doesn't understand.
6 He does not let sinners live on,
and he always treats the poor with justice.
7 He protects those who are righteous;
he allows them to rule like kings
and lets them be honored forever.
8 But if people are bound in chains,
suffering for what they have done,
9 God shows them their sins and their pride.
10 He makes them listen to his warning
to turn away from evil.
11 If they obey God and serve him,
they live out their lives in peace and prosperity.
12 But if not, they will die in ignorance
and cross the stream into the world of the dead.
13 Those who are godless keep on being angry,
and even when punished, they don't pray for help.
14 They die while they are still young,
worn out by a life of disgrace.
15 But God teaches people through suffering
and uses distress to open their eyes.
16 God brought you out of trouble,
and let you enjoy security;
your table was piled high with food.
17 But now you are being punished as you deserve.
18 Be careful not to let bribes deceive you,
or riches lead you astray.
19 It will do you no good to cry out for help;
all your strength can't help you now.
20 Don't wish for night to come,
the time when nations will perish.
21 Be careful not to turn to evil;
your suffering was sent to keep you from it.
22 Remember how great is God's power;
he is the greatest teacher of all.
23 No one can tell God what to do
or accuse him of doing evil.
Rights and Duties of an Apostle
9 Am I not a free man? Am I not an apostle? Haven't I seen Jesus our Lord? And aren't you the result of my work for the Lord? 2 Even if others do not accept me as an apostle, surely you do! Because of your life in union with the Lord you yourselves are proof of the fact that I am an apostle.
3 When people criticize me, this is how I defend myself: 4 Don't I have the right to be given food and drink for my work? 5 Don't I have the right to follow the example of the other apostles and the Lord's brothers and Peter, by taking a Christian wife with me on my trips? 6 Or are Barnabas and I the only ones who have to work for our living? 7 What soldiers ever have to pay their own expenses in the army? What farmers do not eat the grapes from their own vineyard? What shepherds do not use the milk from their own sheep?
8 I don't have to limit myself to these everyday examples, because the Law says the same thing. 9 (A)We read in the Law of Moses, “Do not muzzle an ox when you are using it to thresh grain.” Now, is God concerned about oxen? 10 Didn't he really mean us when he said that? Of course that was written for us. Anyone who plows and anyone who reaps should do their work in the hope of getting a share of the crop. 11 (B)We have sown spiritual seed among you. Is it too much if we reap material benefits from you? 12 If others have the right to expect this from you, don't we have an even greater right?
But we haven't made use of this right. Instead, we have endured everything in order not to put any obstacle in the way of the Good News about Christ. 13 (C)Surely you know that the men who work in the Temple get their food from the Temple and that those who offer the sacrifices on the altar get a share of the sacrifices. 14 (D)In the same way, the Lord has ordered that those who preach the gospel should get their living from it.
15 But I haven't made use of any of these rights, nor am I writing this now in order to claim such rights for myself. I would rather die first! Nobody is going to turn my rightful boast into empty words! 16 I have no right to boast just because I preach the gospel. After all, I am under orders to do so. And how terrible it would be for me if I did not preach the gospel!
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.