Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Cry for Help
For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies.” A psalm of David.
69 God, ·save me [give me victory],
because the water has risen to my neck [C the waters of chaos].
2 I’m sinking down into the ·mud [mire],
and there is nothing to stand on.
I ·am in deep water [have come into the depths of the waters],
and the flood ·covers [overwhelms] me.
3 I am ·tired [exhausted] from calling for help;
my throat is ·sore [dry].
My eyes are ·tired [worn out] from ·waiting [hoping]
for God to help me.
4 There are more people who hate me for no reason than hairs on my head;
·powerful [or many] enemies want to destroy me for no reason.
They make me ·pay back [return]
what I did not steal.
5 God, you know ·what I have done wrong [my foolishness];
I cannot hide my guilt from you.
30 I will praise ·God [L the name of God] in a song
and will ·honor [magnify] him by giving thanks.
31 That will please the Lord more than ·offering him cattle [L an ox],
more than sacrificing a bull with horns and hoofs.
32 Poor people will see this and be glad [C offering an ox or bull is expensive].
·Be encouraged, you who worship God [The hearts of those who seek God will be enlivened].
33 The Lord listens to those in need
and does not ·look down on [despise] ·captives [prisoners].
34 Heaven and earth should praise him,
the seas and ·everything in them [L all that swarms in them].
35 God will ·save Jerusalem [L give Zion victory; C the location of the Temple]
and rebuild the cities of Judah.
Then people will live there and own the land.
36 The ·descendants [L seed] of his servants will inherit that land,
and those who love ·him [L his name] will live there.
14 Do not be afraid ·even though you are weak as a worm [L you worm, Jacob],
you ·few people of Israel who are left [or people of Israel; or maggot, Israel].
I myself will help you,” says the Lord.
“·The one who saves you [Your redeemer/protector] is the Holy One of Israel [1:4].
15 Look, I ·have made [or will make] you like a new threshing ·board [sledge]
with many sharp teeth.
So you will ·walk on [thresh the] mountains and crush them;
you will make the hills like ·chaff [straw].
16 You will ·throw them into the air [winnow them], and the wind will carry them away;
a ·windstorm [gale; tempest] will scatter them.
Then you will ·be happy [rejoice] in the Lord;
you will ·be proud of [boast in] the Holy One of Israel [1:4].
17 “The poor and needy people look for water,
but ·they can’t find any [there is none].
Their tongues are ·dry [parched] with thirst.
But I, the Lord, will answer ·their prayers [L them];
I, the God of Israel, will not ·leave them to die [L abandon/forsake them].
18 I will ·make rivers flow [L open rivers] on the ·dry hills [barren heights]
and springs flow through the valleys.
I will change the ·desert [wilderness] into ·a lake [pools] of water
and the ·dry [arid; parched] land into ·fountains [springs] of water.
19 I will ·make trees grow [plant; put] in the ·desert [wilderness]—
cedars, acacia, myrtle, and olive trees.
I will put pine, fir, and cypress trees
growing together in the desert.
20 [L …so that] People will see these things and ·understand [know];
they will ·think carefully about these things [consider] and ·learn [comprehend]
that the Lord’s ·power [L hand] did this,
that the Holy One of Israel [1:4] ·made these things [created it].”
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him. John said, “Look, the Lamb of God [C lambs were used for sacrifice; Gen. 22:8], who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the One I was talking about [1:15] when I said, ‘A man will come after me, but he is greater than I am, because he ·was living [existed] before me.’ 31 Even I did not ·know [recognize] who he was, although I came baptizing with water so that ·the people of Israel would know who he is [he might be revealed to Israel].”
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.