Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 120
A Cry for Truth and Peace
A song of ascents.
1 In my distress I called to the Lord,
and He answered me.(A)
2 “Lord, deliver me from lying lips
and a deceitful tongue.”(B)
The Decree of Cyrus
1 In(A) the first year of Cyrus king of Persia,[a] the word of the Lord spoken through Jeremiah was fulfilled.(B) The Lord put it into the mind(C) of King Cyrus to issue a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom and to put it in writing:
2 This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: “The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and has appointed me to build Him a house at Jerusalem in Judah.(D) 3 Whoever is among His people, may his God be with him, and may he go to Jerusalem in Judah and build the house of the Lord, the God of Israel,(E) the God who is in Jerusalem. 4 Let every survivor,(F) wherever he lives, be assisted by the men of that region with silver, gold, goods, and livestock, along with a freewill offering for the house of God in Jerusalem.”
Return from Exile
5 So the family leaders of Judah and Benjamin, along with the priests and Levites—everyone God had motivated[b](G)—prepared to go up and rebuild the Lord’s house in Jerusalem. 6 All their neighbors supported them[c](H) with silver articles, gold, goods, livestock, and valuables, in addition to all that was given as a freewill offering. 7 King Cyrus also brought out the articles of the Lord’s house that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem and had placed in the house of his gods.(I) 8 King Cyrus of Persia had them brought out under the supervision of Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah.(J) 9 This was the inventory:
30 gold basins, 1,000 silver basins,
29 silver knives, 10 30 gold bowls,
410 various[d] silver bowls, and 1,000 other articles.
11 The gold and silver articles totaled 5,400. Sheshbazzar brought all of them when the exiles went up from Babylon to Jerusalem.
A Clear Conscience
12 For this is our confidence: The testimony(A) of our conscience(B) is that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you, with God-given sincerity and purity, not by fleshly[a] wisdom(C) but by God’s grace.(D) 13 Now we are writing nothing to you other than what you can read and also understand. I hope you will understand completely— 14 as you have partially understood us—that we are your reason for pride,(E) as you are ours,(F) in the day of our[b] Lord Jesus.(G)
A Visit Postponed
15 I planned with this confidence to come to you first,(H) so you could have a double benefit,[c] 16 and to go on to Macedonia(I) with your help, then come to you again from Macedonia and be given a start by you(J) on my journey(K) to Judea.(L) 17 So when I planned this, was I irresponsible? Or what I plan, do I plan in a purely human[d](M) way so that I say “Yes, yes” and “No, no” simultaneously? 18 As God is faithful,(N) our message to you is not “Yes and no.” 19 For the Son of God,(O) Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silvanus[e](P) and Timothy—did not become “Yes and no”; on the contrary, a final “Yes” has come in Him.(Q)
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.