Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
2 Behold, God is my salvation!
I will trust and will not be afraid.
For the Lord Adonai is my strength
and my song.
He also has become my salvation.”[a]
3 With joy you will draw water
from the wells of salvation.
4 In that day you will say:
“Give thanks to Adonai.
Proclaim His Name!
Declare His works to the peoples,
so they remember His exalted Name.
5 Sing to Adonai, for He has done gloriously.
Let this be known in all the earth.
6 Cry out and shout, inhabitant of Zion!
For great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”
At Ease in Zion
6 Oy! You who are at ease in Zion,
trusting in Samaria’s hill!
Distinguished ones of the foremost of nations—
to whom the house of Israel comes
2 Go over to Calneh and look.
From there go to great Hamath,
go down to Gath of the Philistines.
Are you better than these kingdoms?
Or is their territory larger than yours?
3 Dismissing the day of calamity,
you bring near the throne of violence.
4 Reclining on beds of ivory,
sprawling on their couches,
dining on lambs from the flock
and calves from amid the stall,
5 chanting to the sound of harp like David,
inventing their own instruments of song,
6 drinking wine from bowls,
anointing with choice ointments—
yet they are not sickened over the breakdown of Joseph.
7 Therefore now they will go into exile at the head of the exiles.
Sprawling revelry will cease.
8 My Lord Adonai has sworn by Himself
—declares Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot—
“I loathe the arrogance of Jacob,
I despise his palaces,
so I will shut down the city and everything in it.”
Eagerness to Give
8 Now we make known to you, brothers and sisters, the grace God has given to Messiah’s communities in Macedonia— 2 that in much testing by affliction, the abundance of their joy and their extreme poverty overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For I testify that according to their ability, and even beyond their ability, they gave of their own free will— 4 begging us with much urging for the favor of sharing in the relief of the kedoshim. 5 Moreover, it was not just as we had hoped, but they gave of themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will. 6 So we urged Titus that, just as he had made a start before, so he should also complete this gracious service for you. 7 But as you excel in everything—in faith and speech and knowledge and all diligence, and in your love for us—also excel in this grace. 8 I am saying this not as a command, but I am trying to prove by the diligence of others the genuineness of your love as well. 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah—that even though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that through His poverty you might become rich. 10 Now I give my opinion in this matter, that it is a credit to you that a year ago you were the first to start—not only to do but even to be willing. 11 But now finish doing it, so that just as there was eagerness to be willing, so also to finish it, out of what you have. 12 For if the eagerness is present, the gift is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he doesn’t have. 13 For it is not relief for others and hardship for you, but as a matter of equality. 14 Your abundance at this present time meets their need, so that their abundance may also meet your need—so that there may be equality. 15 As it is written, “He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little.”[a]
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.