Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
24 Lord, ·you have made many things;
with your wisdom you made them all [Prov. 8:22–31].
The earth is full of your ·riches [or creatures].
25 Look at the sea, so big and wide,
with creatures large and small, ·creeping [swarming] things that cannot be counted.
26 Ships travel over the ocean,
and there is Leviathan [C a sea monster and symbol of chaos; 74:14; Job 3:8; 41:1; Is. 27:1],
which you made to play there.
27 All these things ·depend [hope; wait] on you
to give them their food at the right time.
28 When you give it to them,
they gather it up.
When you open your hand,
they are ·filled [satisfied] with good food.
29 When you ·turn away [L hide your face] from them,
they ·become frightened [are terrified].
When you take away their breath,
they ·die [expire] and turn to dust [Gen. 2:7; Eccl. 12:7].
30 When you ·breathe [L send your breath/or Spirit] on them,
they are created [Gen. 2:7],
and you make the land new again.
31 May the glory of the Lord [C his manifest presence] be forever.
May the Lord ·enjoy [rejoice in] what he has made.
32 He just looks at the earth, and it ·shakes [trembles].
He touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33 I will sing to the Lord all my life;
I will ·sing praises [make a psalm] to my God as long as I live.
34 May my ·thoughts [meditations] please him;
I ·am happy [will rejoice] in the Lord.
35 Let sinners be ·destroyed [obliterated] from the earth,
and let the wicked live no longer.
·My whole being [T O my soul], ·praise [bless] the Lord.
Praise the Lord.
The Vision of Dry Bones
37 I felt the ·power [L hand] of the Lord on me, and he brought me out by the ·Spirit [or spirit] of the Lord and put me down in the middle of a valley. It was full of bones. 2 He led me around among the bones, and I saw that there were many bones in the valley and [L look; T behold] that they were very dry. 3 Then he asked me, “·Human [T Son of man; 2:1], can these bones live?”
I answered, “Lord God, only you know.”
4 He said to me, “Prophesy ·to [over] these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 This is what the Lord God says to the bones: I will cause breath to enter you so you will come to life. 6 I will put ·muscles [tendons; sinews] on you and flesh on you and cover you with skin. Then I will put breath in you so you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. While I prophesied, there was a noise and a rattling. The bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked and saw ·muscles [sinews; tendons] come on the bones, and flesh grew, and skin covered the bones. But there was no breath in them.
9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the ·wind [breath; Spirit]. Prophesy, ·human [T son of man; 2:1], and say to the ·wind [breath; Spirit], ‘This is what the Lord God says: ·Wind [Breath; Spirit], come from the four winds, and breathe on these ·people who were killed [slain] so they can come back to life.’” 10 So I prophesied as the Lord commanded me. And the ·breath [wind; Spirit] came into them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, a very large army.
11 Then he said to me, “·Human [T Son of man; 2:1], these bones are like all the ·people [L house] of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope has ·gone [perished]. We are ·destroyed [cut off].’ 12 So, prophesy and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: [L Look; T Behold] My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves. Then I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 My people, you will know that I am the Lord when I open your graves and cause you to come up from them. 14 And I will put my ·Spirit [breath; wind] inside you, and you will come to life. Then I will ·put [settle] you in your own land. And you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken and ·done it [or will do it], says the Lord.’”
Jesus Appears to His Followers(A)
19 When it was evening on the first day of the week, Jesus’ ·followers [disciples] were together. The doors were ·locked [shut], because they were afraid of ·the elders [the Jewish leaders; L the Jews]. Then Jesus came and stood right in the middle of them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. His ·followers [disciples] ·were thrilled [rejoiced] when they saw the Lord.
21 Then Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, I now send you.” 22 After he said this, he breathed on them [Gen. 2:7] and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven. If you ·don’t forgive them [withhold forgiveness; L retain the sins of any; Matt. 16:19; 18:18], they are not forgiven.”
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.