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.
13 Look! ·The enemy [L He] rises up like a cloud,
and his chariots come like a ·tornado [whirlwind].
His horses are faster than eagles.
·How terrible it will be for [Woe to] us! We are ·ruined [devastated]!
14 People of Jerusalem, ·clean [wash] the evil from your hearts so that you can be ·saved [rescued; 2:22; Ps. 51:7].
·Don’t continue making [L How long will you lodge in your heart/mind] evil plans.
15 A voice from Dan makes an announcement
and ·brings bad news [L proclaims disaster/trouble] from the mountains of Ephraim.
16 “Report this to the nations.
·Spread this news [L Make it heard] in Jerusalem:
‘Invaders are coming from a faraway country [C Babylon],
shouting [C war cries] against the cities of Judah.
17 The enemy has surrounded Jerusalem as men guard a field,
because Judah ·turned [rebelled; transgressed] against me,’” says the Lord.
18 “·The way you have lived and acted [L Your path/way and your deeds]
has brought this trouble to you.
This is your ·punishment [trouble; disaster].
How ·terrible [bitter] it is!
·The pain stabs [L It reaches] your heart!”
Jeremiah’s Cry
19 Oh, ·how I hurt [my pain/anguish/L innards]! ·How I hurt [My pain/anguish/L innards]!
·I am bent over in pain [L My heart writhes].
Oh, the ·torture in [L walls of] my heart!
My heart is pounding inside me.
I cannot keep quiet,
because I have heard the sound of the ·trumpet [ram’s horn].
I have heard the shouts of war.
20 Disaster after disaster is reported;
the whole country has been ·destroyed [devastated].
My tents are ·destroyed [devastated] ·in only a moment [suddenly].
My curtains are torn down quickly.
21 How long must I look at the war flag?
How long must I listen to the ·war trumpet [L sound of the ram’s horn]?
29 At the sound of the horsemen and the archers,
all the people in the towns ·run away [flee].
They ·hide [L go] in the thick bushes
and climb up into the rocks.
All of the cities of Judah are ·empty [abandoned; forsaken];
no one lives in them.
30 You destroyed nation [C Judah], what are you doing?
Why do you put on ·scarlet [purple; C an expensive dress]
and decorate yourself with gold jewelry?
Why do you ·put color around your eyes [L enlarge your eyes with black eye paint]?
You make yourself beautiful, ·but it is all useless [in vain; without purpose].
Your lovers ·hate [despise; reject] you;
they ·want to kill you [L seek your life].
31 I hear a cry like a woman ·having a baby [writhing in labor],
·distress [trouble] like a woman having her first child.
It is the sound of ·Jerusalem [L the daughter of Zion; C the location of the Temple] gasping for breath.
She ·lifts [L spreads] her hands in prayer and says,
“·Oh! I am about to [Woe to me, for I am] faint
before my murderers!”
11 “I am the good shepherd [contrast Zech. 11:17]. The good shepherd ·gives [lays down] his life for the sheep. 12 The ·worker who is paid to keep the sheep [L hired hand] is different from the shepherd who owns them. When the worker sees a wolf coming, he runs away and leaves the sheep alone. Then the wolf ·attacks [or snatches; seizes] the sheep and scatters them. 13 The man runs away because he is only a ·paid worker [hired hand] and does not really care about the sheep.
14 “I am the good shepherd. I know my ·sheep [L own], and my ·sheep [L own] know me, 15 just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. I ·give [lay down] my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not in this ·flock [fold; pen; C a reference to future Gentile followers of Christ], and I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock and one shepherd. 17 The Father loves me because I ·give [lay down] my life so that I can ·take [receive] it back again. 18 No one takes it away from me; I ·give [lay down] my own life ·freely [voluntarily; of my own free will]. I have the ·right [power; authority] to ·give [lay down] my life, and I have the ·right [power; authority] to ·take [receive] it back. This is what my Father commanded me to do.”
19 Again ·the leaders did not agree with each other [L there was a division among the Jews] because of these words of Jesus. 20 Many of them said, “·A demon has come into him and made him crazy [L He has a demon and is crazy]. Why listen to him?”
21 But others said, “A man who is ·crazy with a demon [L demon-possessed] does not say things like this. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
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