Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 69
For the choir director; according to shoshannim; by David.
1 Save me, O Elohim!
The water is already up to my neck!
2 I am sinking in deep mud.
There is nothing to stand on.
I am in deep water.
A flood is sweeping me away.
3 I am exhausted from crying for help.
My throat is hoarse.
My eyes are strained from looking for my Elohim.
4 Those who hate me for no reason
outnumber the hairs on my head.
Those who want to destroy me are mighty.
They have no reason to be my enemies.
I am forced to pay back what I did not steal.
5 O Elohim, you know my stupidity,
and the things of which I am guilty are not hidden from you.
30 I want to praise the name of Elohim with a song.
I want to praise its greatness with a song of thanksgiving.
31 This will please Yahweh more than sacrificing an ox
or a bull with horns and hoofs.
32 Oppressed people will see this and rejoice.
May the hearts of those who look to Elohim for help be refreshed.
33 Yahweh listens to needy people.
He does not despise his own who are in prison.
34 Let heaven and earth, the seas, and everything that moves in them, praise him.
35 When Elohim saves Zion, he will rebuild the cities of Judah.
His servants will live there and take possession of it.
36 The descendants of his servants will inherit it.
Those who love him will live there.
14 Don’t be afraid, Jacob, you worm.
You people of Israel, I will help you,”
declares Yahweh, your Go’el, Qedosh Yisrael.
15 “I am going to make you into a new threshing[a] sledge
with sharp, double-edged teeth.
You will thresh the mountains and crush them to dust.
You will turn the hills into straw.
16 You will winnow[b] them.
The wind will carry them away.
The windstorm will scatter them.
But you will find joy in Yahweh
and praise Qedosh Yisrael.
17 “The poor and needy are looking for water, but there is none.
Their tongues are parched with thirst.
I, Yahweh, will answer them.
I, the Elohim of Israel, will not abandon them.
18 I will make rivers flow on bare hilltops.
I will make springs flow through valleys.
I will turn deserts into lakes.
I will turn dry land into springs.
19 I will plant cedar, acacia, myrtle, and wild olive trees in the desert.
I will place cedar, fir, and cypress trees together in the wilderness.
20 People will see and know.
Together they will consider and understand
that Yahweh’s power has done this,
that Qedosh Yisrael has created it.
John Identifies Jesus as the Lamb of God
29 John saw Yeshua coming toward him the next day and said, “Look! This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. 30 He is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘A man who comes after me was before me because he existed before I did.’ 31 I didn’t know who he was. However, I came to baptize with water to show him to the people of Israel.”
32 John said, “I saw the Spirit come down as a dove from heaven and stay on him. 33 I didn’t know who he was. But God, who sent me to baptize with water, had told me, ‘When you see the Spirit come down and stay on someone, you’ll know that person is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen this and have declared that this is the Son of God.”
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.