Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Prayer for Help
120 I cried to the Lord in my trouble, and He answered me. 2 O Lord, save me from lying lips and a false tongue. 3 What will be given to you and what more will be done to you, you false tongue? 4 He will punish you with sharp arrows of the soldier, and with the hot fire of the broom tree.
5 It is bad for me, for I travel in Meshech and live among the tents of Kedar! 6 I have lived too long with those who hate peace. 7 I am for peace. But when I speak, they are for war.
Cyrus Lets the Jews Return
1 In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, the words of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah came true. The Lord worked in the spirit of King Cyrus of Persia so that he made it known through all his nation, and also put it in writing, saying, 2 “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the nations of the earth. He has chosen me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Whoever there is among you of all His people, may his God be with him! Let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah, and build again the house of the Lord, the God of Israel. He is the God Who is in Jerusalem. 4 Let each one who is still alive, at whatever place he may live, be helped by the men of his place with silver and gold and with good things and cattle. Let the men also give a free-will gift for the house of God in Jerusalem.’”
5 Then the leaders of the family groups of Judah and Benjamin and the religious leaders and Levites stood up, everyone in whose spirit the Lord had worked to go up and build the Lord’s house in Jerusalem again. 6 All those around them helped them with gifts of silver, gold, good things, cattle, and things worth much money, besides all that was given as a free-will gift. 7 King Cyrus brought out the objects of the house of the Lord, which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and put in the house of his gods. 8 King Cyrus of Persia had them brought out by Mithredath, the man who took care of the nation’s riches. And he numbered them as he handed them over to Sheshbazzar, the leader of Judah. 9 This was their number: 30 gold dishes, 1,000 silver dishes, 29 other dishes, 10 30 gold pots, 410 silver pots, and 1,000 other objects. 11 There were 5,400 objects of gold and silver in all. Sheshbazzar brought all of them back when the people who had been taken away went up from Babylon to Jerusalem.
Paul Wants to Visit Corinth
12 I am happy to say this. Whatever we did in this world, and for sure when we were with you, we were honest and had pure desires. We did not trust in human wisdom. Our power came from God’s loving-favor. 13 We write to you only what we know you can understand. I hope you will understand everything. 14 When the Lord Jesus comes again, you can be as proud of us as we will be proud of you. Right now you do not understand us real well.
15 It was because of this, I wanted to visit you first. In that way, you would be helped two times. 16 I wanted to stop to visit you on my way to the country of Macedonia. I would stop again as I came from there. Then you could help me on my way to the country of Judea. 17 Yes, I changed my mind. Does that show that I change my mind a lot? Do I plan things as people of the world who say yes when they mean no? You know I am not like that! 18 As God is true, my yes means yes. I am not the kind of person who says one thing and means another. 19 Timothy and Silvanus and I have preached to you about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. In Him there is no yes and no. In Him is yes.
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