Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Thanksgiving for Victory
118 ·Thank [Praise] the Lord because he is good.
His ·love [loyalty] ·continues [endures] forever.
2 Let Israel say,
“His ·love [loyalty] ·continues [endures] forever.”
19 Open for me the ·Temple gates [L gates of righteousness].
Then I will come in and ·thank [praise] the Lord.
20 This is the Lord’s gate;
only ·those who are good [the righteous] may enter through it [15; 24:3–6].
21 Lord, I ·thank [praise] you for answering me.
You have ·saved me [given me victory].
22 The stone that the builders rejected
became the chief cornerstone [Luke 20:17; Acts 4:11; Eph. 2:20; 1 Pet. 2:7].
23 ·The Lord did this [L This is from the Lord],
and it is wonderful ·to us [L in our eyes; Matt. 21:42; Mark 12:10–11].
24 This is the day that the Lord has made.
Let us rejoice and be glad ·today [L in it]!
25 Please, Lord, ·save us [give us victory];
please, Lord, give us ·success [prosperity].
26 ·God bless [Blessed be] the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
We bless all of you from the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord [Mark 11:9; Luke 13:35; 19:38].
27 The Lord is God,
and he has ·shown kindness to [illuminated; given light to] us.
·With branches in your hands, join the feast [L Bind the feast/procession with branches].
Come to the ·corners [L horns; Ex. 27:2] of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will ·thank [praise] you;
you are my God, and I will ·praise your greatness [L exalt you].
29 ·Thank [Praise] the Lord because he is good.
His ·love [loyalty] ·continues [endures] forever.
The Promise of the Lord
33 While Jeremiah was still ·locked up [confined; imprisoned] in the courtyard of the guards, the Lord spoke his word to him a second time: 2 “These are the words of the Lord, who made it [C the earth; Gen. 1], ·shaped [formed; C like a potter] it, and ·gave it order [established it], whose name is the Lord: 3 ‘Pray [L Call] to me, and I will answer you. I will tell you ·important secrets [L great and hidden things] you have never ·heard [L known] before.’ 4 This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says about the houses in this city [C Jerusalem] and the ·royal palaces [L houses of the king] of Judah that have been torn down ·to be used in defense of the attack by the Babylonian army [L against the siege ramps and against the sword]: 5 ‘Some people will come to fight against the ·Babylonians [L Chaldeans]. They will fill them [C the houses] with ·the bodies of people [corpses] I ·killed [struck] in my ·hot anger [L anger and my wrath]. I have ·turned away [L hidden my face] from this city because of all the evil its people have done.
6 “‘But then I will bring ·health [recovery] and healing to the people there. I will heal them and ·let them enjoy [L reveal to them] ·great [an abundance of] peace and ·safety [security]. 7 I will ·bring Judah and Israel back from captivity [restore the fortunes of Judah and Israel] and ·make them strong countries [L rebuild them] as in the past. 8 They sinned against me, but I will ·wash away [cleanse them from] that sin. They did ·evil [iniquity] and ·turned away from [transgressed against] me, but I will forgive them. 9 Then it [C Jerusalem] will be to me a name that brings joy! And people from all nations of the earth will praise [L and glorify] it when they hear about the good things I am doing there. They will ·be surprised [fear] and ·shocked [tremble] at all the good things and the ·peace [or prosperity] I will bring to it.’
Be the People God Wants You to Be
12 My ·dear friends [beloved], you have always obeyed God when I was with you. It is even more important that you obey now while I am away from you. ·Keep on working to complete [Continue working out] your salvation with ·fear [awe; reverence] and trembling, 13 because God is working in you ·to help you want to do and be able to do [L both to will/desire and to work] what pleases him.
14 Do everything without ·complaining [grumbling] or arguing. 15 Then you will be ·innocent [blameless] and ·without any wrong [innocent; pure; harmless], God’s children without ·fault [blemish; C as are sacrificial animals]. ·But you are living with people that are crooked and evil [L …in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation; Deut. 32:5], among whom you shine like stars in the ·dark world [or sky; L world]. 16 You ·offer [or hold firmly/fast to] the ·teaching that gives life [message/word of life]. So ·when Christ comes again [L on the day of Christ; C judgment day], I can ·be happy [L be proud; boast] because I ·ran the race and won [L did not run for nothing/in vain]. ·My work was not wasted [L …nor did I labor for nothing/in vain].
17 Your faith makes you offer your lives as a sacrifice in serving God. [L Even] If I ·have to offer my own blood [L am poured out as a drink offering] with your sacrifice, I will be ·happy [rejoicing] and full of joy with all of you. 18 You also should be ·happy [rejoicing] and full of joy with me.
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