Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Praise the Lord with Music
150 Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his ·Temple [L holy place; or holiness];
praise him in his ·mighty heaven [L strong firmament; Gen. 1:7].
2 Praise him for his strength;
praise him for his [L abundant] greatness.
3 Praise him with trumpet blasts;
praise him with harps and lyres.
4 Praise him with tambourines and dancing;
praise him with stringed instruments and flutes.
5 Praise him with loud cymbals;
praise him with crashing cymbals.
6 Let everything that breathes praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord!
Promises of Hope
30 These are the words that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah. 2 The Lord, the God of Israel, said: “Jeremiah, write in a ·book [scroll] all the words I have spoken to you. 3 The days will come when I will ·bring Israel and Judah back from captivity [restore the fortunes of my people of Israel and Judah],” says the Lord. “I will ·return [restore] them to the land I gave their ancestors, and they will ·own [possess] it!” says the Lord.
4 The Lord spoke this message about the people of Israel and Judah: 5 This is what the Lord said:
“We hear ·people crying from [L the voice/sound of] fear.
·They are afraid; there [L …and of dread, and there] is no peace.
6 Ask this question, and ·consider it [L see]:
·A man cannot [L Can a man…?] have a baby.
So why do I see every strong man
·holding his stomach in pain [L with his hands on his side/loins] like a woman ·having a baby [in labor; 13:21; 22:23; 49:24; 50:43; Is. 21:2–3; 26:16–21; 66:7–14]?
Why is everyone’s face turning white [C like a dead or frightened person’s face]?
7 This will be a ·terrible [L great] day!
There will never be another time like this.
This is a time of ·great trouble [distress] for the people of Jacob,
but they will be ·saved [rescued] from it.”
8 The Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says, “·At that time [L In that day]
I will break the yoke from ·their [or your] necks
and ·tear [snap] off the ropes that hold ·them [or you].
·Foreign people [L Strangers] will never again make my people slaves.
9 They will serve the Lord their God
and David their king,
whom I will ·send to [L raise up for] them.
10 “So people of Jacob, my servants, don’t be afraid.
Israel, don’t be ·frightened [terrified],” says the Lord.
“I will soon ·save [rescue] you from that faraway place.
I will ·save [rescue] your ·family [L seed] from that land of your captivity.
The people of Jacob will be at rest again;
no one will frighten them.
11 I am with you and will ·save [rescue] you,”
says the Lord.
“I will ·completely destroy [bring to an end] all those nations
where I scattered you,
but I will not ·completely destroy you [bring you to an end].
I will ·punish [discipline] you ·fairly [with justice],
but I will ·still punish you [L not leave you unpunished; 46:27–28].”
10 ·So we can see [L In this way it is apparent/revealed/evident] who God’s children are and who the devil’s children are: Those who do not ·do what is right [practice righteousness] are not ·God’s children [L from/of God], and those who do not love their brothers and sisters are not ·God’s children [L from/of God].
We Must Love Each Other
11 This is the ·teaching [message] you have heard from the beginning: We must love each other [C as Jesus himself taught: John 13:34–35; 15:12]. 12 Do not be like Cain who belonged to the Evil One and ·killed [murdered] his brother [Gen. 4; John 8:44]. And why did he ·kill [murder] him? Because the things Cain did were evil, and the things his brother did were ·good [righteous; just].
13 Brothers and sisters [C fellow believers], do not ·be surprised [be amazed; wonder] ·when [or that; or if] ·the people of the world hate [L the world hates] you. 14 We know we have ·left death and have come into life [passed/crossed from death to life; John 5:24] because we love ·each other [L the brothers and sisters]. Whoever does not love ·is still dead [abides/remains/continues in death]. 15 Everyone who hates a brother or sister [C fellow believer] is a murderer [C because they have killed that person in their heart; Matt. 5:21–26], and you know that no murderers have eternal life [L abiding; remaining] in them. 16 This is how we know what real love is: ·Jesus [L he] ·gave [laid down] his life for us [John 15:13]. So we should ·give [lay down] our lives for our brothers and sisters [C fellow believers; John 15:12].
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.