Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
9 To You, my God, I will sing a new song;
I will sing Your sweet praises to the sound of a ten-stringed harp,
10 For You deliver kings from their enemies
and You rescue Your servant, David, from the sword of evil.
11 Rescue me,
and save me from the grasp of these foreigners
Who speak only lies
and don’t have truth in their deeds.
12 May our sons be like healthy plants
as they grow and mature,
And may our daughters be like the corner pillars
that decorate a palace.
13 May our storehouses be full
with abundant supplies of every crop,
And may the flocks of our fields
multiply into thousands and tens of thousands!
14 May our cattle be strong and productive,
without miscarriage, without loss,
and may there be no riots or protests in our streets!
15 Happy are the people for whom all this is true;
happy are the people whose God is the Eternal!
6 Young Women of Jerusalem: Who is this coming up from the desert,
with billowing clouds of dust and smoke,
with a sweet aroma of burning myrrh and frankincense,
with fragrant spices fresh from the merchant?
The royal litter carries the groom to the wedding, and upon the litter is the king with his crown.
7 Look, it is Solomon’s litter,
surrounded by 60 strong men,
some of the very best soldiers in Israel,
8 All armed swordsmen,
battle-hardened heroes, experts at war,
Marching with swords at their sides,
ready to guard the king from the terrors of the night.
9 King Solomon built his own royal carriage
from the trees of Lebanon.
10 He had its posts fashioned from silver,
its back made of gold,
its seat covered with royal purple,
its interior decorated with love by the young women of Jerusalem.
11 O go out, young women of Zion,
and see King Solomon
Wearing the crown with which his mother has crowned him on his wedding day,
on the day his heart overflows with joy.
Paul turns from moral character to solid doctrine. People were believing strange doctrines and passing rumors. Timothy is expected to confront legalism and immorality with truth and right thinking.
6 Place these truths before the brothers and sisters. If you do, you will be a good servant of Jesus the Anointed, raised and fed on words of true belief, trained in the good instruction you have so clearly followed. 7 Reject worldly fables. Refuse old wives’ tales. Instead, train yourself toward godliness. 8 Although training your body has certain payoffs, godliness benefits all things—holding promise for life here and now and promise for the life that is coming. 9 This statement is worthy of trust and our full acceptance. 10 This is what we work so hard for! This is why we are constantly struggling: because we have an assured hope fixed upon a living God who is the Savior of all humankind—especially all of us who believe.
11 So go out and insist on these things. Teach them. 12 Don’t let anyone belittle you because you are young. Instead, show the faithful, young and old, an example of how to live: set the standard for how to talk, act, love, and be faithful and pure. 13 Until I get there, make sure to devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, and to teaching. 14 Don’t neglect the gift that was given to you through the prophecy spoken when the company of the elders laid their hands on you. 15 Cultivate all these practices; live by them so that all will see how you are advancing and growing. 16 Take care of yourself, concentrate on your teaching, and stick with these things. If you do, then you will be effective in bringing salvation to yourself and all who hear you.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.