Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God’s Works and Word
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
19 The heavens ·declare [recount; narrate] the glory [C the manifest presence] of God,
and the ·skies [firmament; dome; Gen. 1:6] ·announce [speak out] ·what his hands have made [L the works of his hands].
2 Day after day they ·tell the story [L bubble/pour forth speech];
night after night they ·tell it again [L declare knowledge].
3 They have no speech or words;
they have no voice to be heard.
4 But their ·message [L line] goes out through all the world;
their words go ·everywhere on [L to the ends of the] earth.
·The sky [Heaven; L In them] is like a ·home [L tent] for the sun.
5 The sun comes out like a bridegroom from his ·bedroom [L wedding chamber].
It rejoices like an ·athlete [strong man] eager to run a race.
6 The sun rises at one end of the ·sky [heavens]
and ·follows its path [L its circuit is] to the other end.
Nothing hides from its heat.
7 The ·teachings [laws; instructions] of the Lord are perfect;
they ·give new strength [T revive the soul].
The ·rules [testimonies] of the Lord ·can be trusted [are faithful/sure];
they make ·plain [simpleminded; immature] people wise [Prov. 1:4].
8 The orders of the Lord are ·right [virtuous];
·they make people happy [L rejoicing the heart].
The commands of the Lord are pure;
·they light up the way [L giving light to the eyes].
9 ·Respect [Fear] for the Lord [Prov. 1:7] is ·good [pure];
it will ·last [endure] forever.
The judgments of the Lord are true;
they are ·completely [altogether] ·right [righteous].
10 They are ·worth [desired; coveted] more than gold,
even ·the purest [fine] gold.
They are sweeter than honey,
even the ·finest honey [L droppings of the honeycomb].
11 By them your servant is warned.
·Keeping [Observing] them brings great reward.
12 ·People cannot [L Who can…?] ·see [detect; L understand] their own ·mistakes [errors].
·Forgive [Clear] me for my ·secret [hidden] sins.
13 ·Keep me [L Restrain your servant] from ·the sins of pride [proud thoughts];
don’t let them ·rule [dominate] me.
Then I can be pure
and innocent of the greatest of sins.
14 ·I hope my ·words [L The words of my mouth] and ·thoughts [meditations of my heart] ·please [L be before] you.
Lord, you are my Rock, ·the one who saves me [L and my redeemer].
24 Though the lazy person ·puts [L buries] his hand in the dish,
he won’t lift the food to his mouth.
25 ·Whip those who make fun of wisdom [L Hit/Strike a mocker], and perhaps ·foolish [naive; immature; simpleminded] people will gain some ·wisdom [prudence].
Correct those with understanding, and they will gain knowledge.
26 A child who ·robs [devastates] his father and ·sends [drives] away his mother
brings shame and disgrace on himself.
27 Don’t stop listening to correction, my child,
or you will ·forget what you have already learned [L wander from knowledgeable speeches/words].
28 An ·evil [worthless] witness ·makes fun of fairness [mocks justice],
and ·wicked people love what is evil [L the mouth of the wicked conveys guilt].
29 ·People who make fun of wisdom will be punished [L Punishments were made for mockers],
and ·the backs of foolish people will be beaten [L blows for the backs of fools].
17 In the same way, faith by itself—·that does nothing [L if it does not have works]—is dead.
18 [L But] Someone might say, “You have faith, but I have ·deeds [works].” ·Show me [Prove; Demonstrate] your faith without ·doing anything [L works], and I will ·show you [prove; demonstrate] my faith by ·what I do [my works]. 19 You believe ·there is one God [or that God is one; Deut. 6:4]. ·Good [L You do well]! But the demons believe that, too, and they ·tremble with fear [shudder].
20 You ·foolish [senseless; emptyheaded] person! ·Must you be shown [Do you want evidence; Can’t you see] that faith ·that does nothing [without works] is ·worth nothing [useless; barren]? 21 Abraham, our ·ancestor [father; patriarch; Gen. 12:1–3], was ·made right with God [justified] by what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar [Gen. 22]. 22 So you see that Abraham’s faith and ·the things he did [his works] worked together. His faith was made ·perfect [complete] by ·what he did [his works]. 23 This ·shows the full meaning of [fulfills] the Scripture that says: “Abraham believed God, and ·God accepted Abraham’s faith, and that faith made him right with God [L it was credited/counted to him as righteousness; Gen. 15:6].” And Abraham was called God’s friend [2 Chr. 20:7; Is. 41:8]. 24 So you see that people are ·made right with God [justified] by ·what they do [their works], not by faith only.
25 ·Another example is Rahab, the prostitute, who was ·made right with God [justified] by ·something she did [works]. She welcomed the ·spies [L messengers; envoys] into her home and ·helped them escape [L sent them out] by a different road [Josh. 2; C she is named in Jesus’ genealogy (Matt. 1:5), and in Heb. 11:31 as a hero of the faith].
26 Just as a person’s body that does not have a spirit [C the force of life that animates the body; Gen. 2:7] is dead, so faith ·that does nothing [T without works] is dead!
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