Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Song of Ascents[a]
A Prayer for Deliverance
120 I cried to the Lord in my distress,
and he responded to me.
2 “Lord, deliver me[b] from lips that lie
and tongues that deceive.”
3 What will be given to you,
and what will be done to you,
you treacherous tongue?
4 Like a[c] sharp arrow from a warrior,
along with fiery coals from juniper trees!
5 How terrible for me,
that I am an alien in Meshech,
that I reside among the tents of Kedar!
6 I have resided too long
with those who hate peace.
7 I am in favor of peace;
but when I speak,
they are in favor of war.
An Edict to Rebuild the Temple(A)
1 During the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, in fulfillment of the message from the Lord spoken through Jeremiah, the Lord prompted[a] Cyrus, king of Persia, to make this proclamation throughout his entire kingdom, which was also released in written form:
2 An Official Statement
from[b] Cyrus, King of Persia
All of the kingdoms of the earth have been given to me by the Lord God of Heaven, and he specifically charged me to build a temple[c] for him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Therefore, who among the Lord’s[d] people trusts in his God? Whoever among this group wishes to do so may travel to Jerusalem of Judah to rebuild the Temple of the Lord[e] God of Israel, the God of Jerusalem. 4 Furthermore, everyone who wishes to repatriate[f] from any territory where he now resides is to receive assistance from his fellow residents in the form of silver, gold, equipment, and pack animals, in addition to voluntary offerings for the Temple of the God of Jerusalem.
5 In response, the heads of the families[g] of Judah and Benjamin, the priests and descendants of Levi, and all those who had been prompted[h] by God, prepared to travel to rebuild the Temple of the Lord, which was in Jerusalem. 6 So all of their neighbors equipped the travelers[i] with silver, gold, equipment, pack animals, and valuable goods, in addition to voluntary offerings.
Temple Instruments Returned
7 King Cyrus also brought out from storage[j] the service instruments from the Temple of the Lord, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem and had placed in the temple of his gods.[k] 8 Cyrus, king of Persia, had them brought out to Mithredath the Treasurer, had them inventoried, and had them placed in care of[l] Sheshbazzar,[m] governor of Judah. 9 Here is a partial inventory:[n]
Gold dishes: 30
Silver dishes: 1,000
Sacrificial knives: 29
10 Gold bowls: 30
Silver bowls of another kind:[o] 410
Miscellaneous instruments: 1,000
11 The complete inventory of gold and silver vessels totaled 5,400. Sheshbazzar[p] brought them all to Jerusalem, along with the exiles from Babylon.
Paul’s Reason for Boasting
12 For this is what we boast about: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world with pure motives and godly sincerity, without earthly wisdom but with God’s grace—especially toward you. 13 For what we are writing you is nothing more than what you can read and also understand. I hope you will understand completely, 14 just as you have already understood us partially, so that on the Day of our[a] Lord Jesus we can be your reason to boast, even as you are ours.
Why Paul’s Visit Was Postponed
15 Because I was confident, I planned to come to you first so you might receive a double blessing. 16 I planned to leave you in order to go[b] to Macedonia, and then come back to you from Macedonia, and let you send me on to Judea.
17 When I planned this, I did not do it lightly, did I? Are my plans so fickle[c] that I can say “Yes” and “No”[d] at the same time? 18 As certainly as God is faithful, we haven’t talked to you with mixed messages like that.[e] 19 For God’s Son, Jesus the Messiah,[f] who was preached among you by us—by me, Silvanus, and Timothy—was not “Yes” and “No.” But with him it is always “Yes.”
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.