Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
22 ·Being respected [L A good name/reputation] is more important than having great riches.
·To be well thought of [High esteem] is better than silver or gold [Eccl. 7:1].
2 The rich and the poor ·are alike [have a common bond]
in that the Lord made them all.
8 Those who ·plan [L sow] ·evil [injustice] will ·receive [L reap; harvest] ·trouble [evil; Matt. 26:52].
·Their cruel anger [L The rod of their fury] will come to an end.
9 Generous people ·will be blessed [or he will bless],
because they share their food with the poor.
22 Do not ·abuse [L steal from] poor people because they are poor,
and do not ·take away the rights of [oppress] the needy in ·court [L the gate].
23 The Lord will ·defend them in court [accuse their accusers]
and will ·take the life of those who take away their rights [L press/squeeze the life out of those who press/squeeze them; Ex. 22:21–23; 23:6; Deut. 24:14–15].
God Protects Those Who Trust Him
A song ·for going up to worship [of ascents; C perhaps sung while traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate an annual religious festival like Passover].
125 Those who ·trust [have confidence in] the Lord are like Mount Zion [C the location of the Temple],
which sits unmoved forever.
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
the Lord surrounds his people
now and forever.
3 The ·wicked will not rule
over [L scepter of the wicked will not rest on; C the scepter is a symbol of rule] ·those who do right [L the allotment of the righteous].
·If they did, the people who do right
might use their power to do evil [L …so the righteous do not send forth their hands in evil].
4 Lord, ·be [or do] good to those who are good,
whose hearts are ·honest [virtuous; filled with integrity].
5 But, Lord, when you ·remove [turn aside] those who ·do evil [are twisted/perverted],
also ·remove [L make go away] those who ·stop following you [L do evil].
Let there be peace in Israel.
Love All People
2 My dear brothers and sisters [C fellow believers], as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, never ·think some people are more important than others [show favoritism/partiality; Lev. 19:15; Deut. 10:17–18]. 2 Suppose someone comes into your ·church meeting [gathering; assembly; C the word can mean “synagogue,” but here refers to a house church gathering] wearing nice clothes and a gold ring. At the same time a poor person comes in wearing ·old, dirty [shabby; filthy] clothes. 3 You ·show special attention to [take notice of; look favorably on] the one wearing nice clothes and say, “Please, sit here in this good seat.” But you say to the poor person, “Stand over there,” or, “Sit on the floor ·by my feet [or beside my footstool].” 4 ·What are you doing? You are making some people more important than others [L Are you not discriminating among yourselves…?], and ·with evil thoughts you are deciding that one person is better [or you are judging with evil thoughts; or you are acting like judges with evil motives].
5 Listen, my ·dear [L beloved] brothers and sisters [C fellow believers]! ·God chose [L Did not God choose…?] the poor in the world [1 Cor. 1:26–29] to be rich with faith and to ·receive [L be heirs of] the kingdom God promised to those who love him [Luke 6:20]. 6 But you ·show no respect to [dishonor; have insulted] the poor. ·The rich are always trying to control your lives. They are the ones who take you to court [L Don’t the rich exploit/oppress you and drag you into court?]. 7 ·And they are the ones who speak against Jesus, who owns you [or Don’t they slander the noble/good name by which you were called? L Don’t they blaspheme the noble/good name that was invoked over you? C The “name” may be the person’s name or the name of Jesus, to whom they belong].
8 This royal law [C because God the king decreed it, or because it is the supreme law] is found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor as you love yourself [Lev. 19:18; Matt. 22:37–40].” ·If you [or If you really; or If you, however,] ·obey [fulfill; carry out] this law, you are doing ·right [well]. 9 But if you ·treat one person as being more important than another [show favoritism/partiality; 2:1], you are sinning. You are ·guilty of breaking God’s law [L convicted by the law as lawbreakers/ transgressors]. 10 [L For] A person who ·follows [keeps; obeys] all of God’s law but ·fails to obey even one command [L stumbles/falls in one point] is guilty of breaking all the commands in that law.
11 [L For] The same God who said, “You must not ·be guilty of [commit] adultery [Ex. 20:14; Deut. 5:18],” also said, “You must not murder anyone [Ex. 20:13; Deut. 5:17].” So if you do not ·take part in [commit] adultery but you murder someone, ·you are guilty of breaking all of God’s law [L you have become a breaker/transgressor of the law; Matt. 5:18–19; Gal. 5:3]. 12 ·In everything you say and do, remember that you [L So speak and so act as those who] will be judged by the law ·that makes people free [L of freedom/liberty]. 13 ·So you must show mercy to others, or God will not show mercy to you when he judges you [L For judgment is without mercy to the one who does not act mercifully]. ·But the person who shows mercy can stand without fear at the judgment [L But mercy triumphs over judgment].
Faith and Good Works
14 My brothers and sisters [C fellow believers], if people ·say [claim] they have faith, but do nothing, ·their faith is worth nothing [what good/profit/gain is it?]. Can faith like that save them? 15 [L Suppose; If] A brother or sister in Christ ·might need clothes or food [L is naked and lacks daily food]. 16 If you say to that person, “·God be with you [or I wish you well; L Go in peace]! ·I hope you stay warm and get plenty to eat, [T Be warmed and filled]” but you do not ·give what that person needs [provide for the needs of their body], ·your words are worth nothing [L what good/profit/gain is that?]. 17 In the same way, faith by itself—·that does nothing [L if it does not have works]—is dead.
Jesus Helps a Gentile Woman(A)
24 Jesus left that place and went to the area around Tyre[a] [C a Gentile city on the coast north of Israel]. When he went into a house, he did not want anyone to know he was there, but he could not stay hidden. 25 A woman whose daughter had an ·evil [defiling; L unclean] spirit in her heard that he was there. So she ·quickly [immediately] came to Jesus and ·fell [bowed] at his feet. 26 She was ·Greek [a Gentile; C “Greek” is sometimes used for any non-Jew; Rom. 1:16], born in Phoenicia, in Syria. She ·begged [kept asking] Jesus to ·force [drive; cast] the demon out of her daughter.
27 Jesus told the woman, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and ·give [throw] it to the dogs. First let the children eat all they want.” [C “Children” refers to Israel; “dogs” to the Gentiles.]
28 But she answered, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table can eat the children’s crumbs.”
29 Then Jesus said, “Because of your answer, you may go. The demon has left your daughter.”
30 The woman went home and found her daughter lying in bed; the demon was gone.
Jesus Heals a Deaf Man(B)
31 Then Jesus left the area around Tyre and went through Sidon to Lake Galilee [T the Sea of Galilee], to the area of ·the Ten Towns [or Decapolis; C an area east of Lake Galilee that once had ten main towns; 5:20]. 32 While he was there, some people brought a man to him who was deaf and ·could not talk plainly [had a speech impediment]. The people begged Jesus to put his hand on the man to heal him.
33 Jesus led the man away from the crowd, by himself. He put his fingers in the man’s ears and then spit and touched the man’s tongue. [C The use of saliva is mentioned in other ancient accounts of healing, and elsewhere in the Gospels; see 8:23; John 9:6.] 34 Looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to the man, “Ephphatha!” (This means [C in Aramaic], “Be opened.”) 35 Instantly the man was able to hear and to use his tongue so that he spoke clearly.
36 Jesus ·commanded [ordered; instructed] the people not to tell anyone about what happened. But the more he ·commanded [ordered; instructed] them, the more they ·told about [proclaimed] it. 37 They were completely amazed and said, “Jesus does everything well. He makes the deaf hear! And ·those who can’t talk [the mute] he makes able to speak.”
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