Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Unbelieving Fool
For the director of music. Of David.
14 Fools say ·to themselves [L in their hearts],
“There is no God [C Psalm 53 largely parallels this psalm].”
·Fools are evil [L They are corrupt] and do ·terrible [detestable] things [Deut. 32:5];
there is no one who does anything good.
2 The Lord looked down from heaven on all people
to see if anyone ·understood [L was wise/insightful],
if anyone was ·looking to God for help [seeking God].
3 But all have ·turned [wandered] away.
Together, everyone has become ·evil [perverse].
There is no one who does anything good,
not even one [Rom. 3:10–12].
4 Don’t ·the wicked [L those who do evil] ·understand [know]?
They ·destroy [consume; L eat] my people as if they were ·eating [consuming] bread.
They do not ·ask the Lord for help [call on the Lord].
5 But the wicked are ·filled [terrified] with terror,
because God is with ·those who do what is right [the company of the righteous].
6 The wicked ·upset [confuse; frustrate] the plans of the poor,
but the Lord ·will protect them [is their refuge].
7 I pray that ·victory [salvation] will come to Israel from Mount Zion [C the location of the Temple]!
May the Lord ·bring them back [restore the fortunes of his people; C perhaps at the end of the exile].
Then the people of Jacob will rejoice,
and the people of Israel will be glad.
20 Look up and see [C addressed to queen mother]
the people coming from the north [C the Babylonian army].
Where is the flock ·God gave you to care for [L given to you],
·the flock you bragged about [L your splendid flock; C the people of Judah]?
21 What will you say when ·they [or God] appoint as your ·heads [rulers]
those you had thought were your ·friends [allies]?
Won’t ·you have much pain and trouble [L pain seize you],
like a woman giving birth to a baby [4:31; 6:24; 22:23; 30:6; 48:41; 49:22, 24; 50:43]?
22 You might ·ask yourself [L say in your heart],
“Why has this happened to me?”
It happened because of your many ·sins [iniquities].
Because of your ·sins [iniquities], your skirt was torn off
and your ·body [L heel; C euphemism for genitals] has been ·treated badly [violated].
23 Can a person from ·Cush [Ethiopia] change ·his skin [L its color]?
Can a leopard change his spots?
In the same way, you [C Jerusalem] cannot change and do good,
because you are accustomed to doing evil.
24 “I will scatter you like chaff that is ·blown away [driven] by the ·desert [wilderness] wind.
25 This is ·what will happen to you [L your lot];
·this is your part in my plans [L the portion decreed for you],” says the Lord.
“Because you forgot me
and ·trusted [had confidence] in ·false gods [falsehood; lies],
26 I will pull your skirts up over your face
so everyone will see your ·shame [humiliation; Nah. 3:6].
27 I have seen the terrible things you have done:
your acts of adultery and your ·snorting [neighing; C like a horse in heat],
your prostitution,
your ·hateful [abominable; detestable] acts
on the hills and in the fields [C where they had shrines to false gods].
·How terrible it will be for [Woe to] you, Jerusalem.
How long will you continue being unclean?”
1 From Paul, an ·apostle [messenger] of Christ Jesus, by the command of God our Savior and Christ Jesus our hope.
2 To Timothy [Acts 16:1–5; 1 Cor. 16:10–11; Phil. 2:19–24], a ·true [genuine] child to me ·because you believe [or in the faith]:
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Warning Against False Teaching
3 I ·asked [urged; encouraged] you to stay longer in Ephesus [C a major port city in the Roman province of Asia, present-day western Turkey; Acts 19] when I went into Macedonia [C a Roman province in present-day northern Greece] so you could ·command [charge; instruct] some people there ·to stop teaching [or not to teach] ·false things [L different doctrine/teachings; C different from Paul’s Gospel, and so false]. 4 Tell them not to ·spend their time on [occupy themselves with; devote themselves to] ·stories that are not true [myths] and ·on long lists of names in family histories [endless/useless genealogies; Titus 3:9]. These things only bring ·arguments [controversy; or useless speculation]; they do not help God’s ·work [plan; redemptive purpose], which ·is done in [or operates by; or is received by; or is known by] faith. 5 The ·purpose [goal; aim] of this ·command [charge; instruction] is for people to have love, a love that comes from a pure heart and a ·good [clear] conscience and a ·true [genuine; sincere] faith. 6 Some people have ·missed [departed/deviated from] these things and turned to ·useless talk [empty/meaningless/foolish discussion]. 7 They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not understand either what they are talking about or what they ·are sure about [so confidently assert].
8 But we know that the law [C the OT law of Moses] is good if someone uses it ·lawfully [legitimately; as God intended]. 9 ·We also know [or …recognizing this:] that the law is not ·made [intended; laid down] for ·good people [L the just/righteous person] but for those who are ·against the law [lawbreakers; lawless] and for ·those who refuse to follow it [rebels; criminals]. It is for people who are ·against God [godless; ungodly] and are sinful, who are unholy and ·ungodly [irreverent; profane], who ·kill [or strike] their fathers and mothers, who murder, 10 who take part in sexual sins, who ·have sexual relations with people of the same sex [are practicing homosexuals], who ·sell slaves [are kidnappers/slave traders], who tell lies, who speak falsely, and ·who do anything against [or all who live contrary to] the true teaching of God. 11 That teaching ·is part of [accords with; conforms to] the ·Good News [Gospel] of the blessed God that he ·gave me to tell [entrusted to me].
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