Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God Knows Everything
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
139 Lord, you have ·examined [investigated; searched] me
and know all about me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I ·get up [rise].
You ·know [understand] my thoughts ·before I think them [L from afar].
3 You ·know [L measure] ·where I go [L my path] and ·where I lie down [L my lying down].
You ·know [are familiar with] ·everything I do [L all my path].
4 Lord, even ·before I say a word [L when no word is on my tongue],
you already know ·it [L all of it].
5 You ·are all around me [L hem me in]—in front and in back—
and have put your hand on me.
6 Your knowledge is ·amazing [wonderful; or overwhelming] to me;
it is ·more than I can understand [too high/unattainable. I am not able to grasp it; Rom. 11:33].
13 You ·made [created] my ·whole being [inward parts];
you ·formed [knitted] me in my mother’s ·body [belly; womb].
14 I ·praise [thank] you because you made me in an ·amazing [awesome] and wonderful way.
What you have done is wonderful.
I know this very well.
15 ·You saw my bones being formed [L My bones were not hidden from you]
as I ·took shape [was made] in ·my mother’s body [L secret].
When I was ·put together [L woven] ·there [L in the depths of the earth],
16 ·you [L your eyes] saw my ·body as it was formed [L embyro].
All the days ·planned [L formed] for me
were written in your book
·before I was one day old [not one of them existed].
17 God, your thoughts are precious to me.
·They are so many [L How vast are their sum; Job 42:3]!
18 If I could count them,
they would be more than all the grains of sand.
When I ·wake up [or come to the end],
I am still with you.
Jeremiah’s Second Complaint
10 Mother, ·I am sorry [woe to me] that you gave birth to me
·since I must accuse and criticize [L a man of strife and contention to] the whole land.
I have not loaned or borrowed anything,
but everyone curses me.
11 The Lord said,
“·I have [L Have I not…?] ·saved [or intervened for] you for a good reason.
·I have made your enemies beg you [or Will I not bring the enemy against you…?]
in times of ·disaster [harm; evil] and ·trouble [distress].
12 ·No one can smash a piece of iron or bronze
that comes from the north [L Can iron break the iron of the north and the bronze?; C the iron is Babylon (1:13–15; 4:6) and the bronze is Jeremiah (15:20)].
13 Your wealth and treasures
I will give ·to others free of charge [L as plunder without price/charge],
because of all your [C the people of Judah] sins
throughout the country.
14 I will make you ·slaves to [serve] your enemies
in a land you have never known.
My anger ·is [L kindles] like a hot fire,
and it will burn against you.”
15 Lord, you ·understand [L know].
Remember me and take care of me.
·Punish for me [Avenge me on] those who are ·hurting [persecuting; pursuing] me.
Don’t ·destroy [snatch] me while you remain patient with them.
Think about the ·shame [reproaches] I ·suffer [endure] for you.
16 Your words ·came to me [L were found], and I ·listened carefully to [L ate] them.
Your words made me very happy
and were the delight of my heart,
because I am called by your name,
Lord God ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts].
17 I never sat with the ·crowd
as they laughed [L crowd of merrymakers/revelers] and ·had fun [L I did not rejoice].
I sat by ·myself [alone], ·because you were there [L from before your hand/power],
and you filled me with anger [C at the evil people around him].
18 ·I don’t understand why my pain has [L Why does my pain have…?] no end.
·I don’t understand why my injury is not cured or healed [L My wound is uncurable and refuses to be healed].
Will you be like a ·brook that goes dry [L deceitful brook]?
Will you be like a ·spring that stops flowing [L unreliable spring]?
19 So this is what the Lord says:
“If you ·change your heart and return to me [L return/repent], I will ·take you back [L return to you].
Then you may ·serve me [L stand before me].
And if you [C Jeremiah] speak things that ·have worth [are precious],
not useless words,
then you may ·speak for me [L be like my mouth].
Let them [C the people of Judah] turn to you,
but you must not ·change and be like them [L turn to them].
20 I will make you as strong as a wall to this people,
·as strong [fortified] as a wall of bronze [v. 12].
They will fight against you,
but they will not ·defeat [prevail over] you,
because I am with you.
I will ·save [have victory for] you and ·rescue [protect] you,” says the Lord.
21 “I will ·rescue [protect] you from ·these wicked people [L the hand/control of evil people]
and redeem you from ·these cruel people [L the hand of the violent].”
25 [L But; or Meanwhile,] I thought ·I should [it necessary to] send back to you Epaphroditus [4:18], my ·brother in Christ [L brother] and coworker, ·who serves with me in Christ’s army [L and fellow soldier]. He was your messenger, sent as a ·servant [minister] to meet my needs. 26 I am sending him because he ·wants very much to see [greatly misses; L longs for] all of you. He is ·worried [distressed] because you heard that he was sick. 27 Yes, he was sick, and nearly died, but God had mercy on him and me too so that I would not have ·more sadness [L sorrow upon sorrow]. 28 I ·want very much [am very eager] to send him to you so that when you see him you can ·be happy [rejoice], and I can stop worrying about you. 29 Welcome him in the Lord with much joy. Give honor to people like him, 30 because he almost died for the work of Christ. He risked his life to give me the help you could not give in your service to me.
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