Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
40 So the Lord became angry with his people
and ·hated [was disgusted with] his own ·children [L inheritance].
41 He ·handed them over to [L gave them over to the hand/power of] other nations
and let ·their enemies [L those who hated them] ·rule over [dominate] them.
42 Their enemies ·were cruel to [oppressed] them
and ·kept them [they were brought into subjection] under their ·power [L hand].
43 The Lord ·saved [rescued] his people many times,
but they continued to ·turn [rebel] against him.
So they ·became even more wicked [L were brought low by their iniquity].
44 But God saw their ·misery [distress]
when he heard their cry.
45 He remembered his ·agreement [treaty; covenant] with them,
and he felt ·sorry [compassion] for them because of his great ·love [loyalty].
46 He caused them to be ·pitied [shown mercy/compassion]
by those who held them captive.
47 Lord our God, ·save us [give us victory]
and ·bring us back [gather us] from other nations [C perhaps from the exile].
Then we will ·thank [praise] ·you [L your holy name]
and will ·gladly praise you [glory in your praise].
48 ·Praise [Bless] the Lord, the God of Israel.
He ·always was and always will be [is from everlasting to everlasting].
Let all the people say, “Amen!”
Praise the Lord!
12 What person is wise enough to understand these things? Is there someone who has been ·taught [L spoken to] by the Lord who can explain them [Hos. 14:9]? Why was the land ·ruined [scorched]? Why has it been made like an empty desert where no one goes?
13 The Lord answered, “It is because Judah ·quit following [abandoned; forsook] my ·teachings [laws; instructions] that I gave them. They have not ·obeyed me [L listened to my voice] or ·done what I told them to do [L walked in it]. 14 Instead, they ·were stubborn [L walked after their stubborn hearts] and ·followed [L walked after] the Baals, as their ·ancestors [fathers] taught them to do.” 15 So this is what the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], the God of Israel, says: “I will soon make the people of Judah eat ·bitter food [L wormwood; C the bitter tasting leaves of a shrub] and drink poisoned water. 16 I will scatter them through other nations that they and their ·ancestors [fathers] never knew about. I will ·chase [pursue; L send after] them [C the people of Judah] with the sword until they are all ·killed [consumed; finished].”
17 This is what the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says:
“Now, ·think about these things [L reflect; consider]!
Call for the women who ·cry at funerals [mourn; C professional mourners] to come.
Send for those women who are ·good at that job [skilled; wise].
18 Let them come quickly
and ·cry loudly [wail; L raise a lament] for us.
Then our eyes will ·fill [flow] with tears,
and ·streams of water will flow from our eyelids [L eyelids will run with water].
19 The sound of ·loud crying [lamentation] is heard from ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple]:
‘We are ·truly ruined [devastated; desolated]!
We are truly ·ashamed [humiliated]!
We must ·leave [abandon; forsake] our land,
because our ·houses [residences] are ·in ruins [L thrown down].’”
20 Now, women [C of Judah], listen to the word of the Lord;
·open your ears to hear [L let your ears take in] the words of his mouth.
Teach your daughters ·how to cry loudly [a lament].
Teach ·one another [L each her neighbor] a ·funeral song [dirge].
21 Death has climbed in through our windows
and has entered our ·strong cities [palaces].
·Death has taken away [L …to cut off] our children who play in the streets
and the young men ·who meet in [L from] the city squares.
22 Say, “This is what the Lord says:
‘The ·dead bodies [corpses] of people will ·lie [L fall]
in the open field like dung.
They will lie like grain ·a farmer has cut [L after the harvester/reaper],
but there will be no one to gather them.’”
23 This is what the Lord says:
“The wise must not ·brag [boast] about their wisdom.
The strong must not ·brag [boast] about their strength.
The rich must not ·brag [boast] about their ·money [riches].
24 But if people want to ·brag [boast], let them ·brag [boast]
that they understand and know me.
Let them ·brag [boast] that I am the Lord,
and that I am ·kind [loyal] and ·fair [just],
and ·that I do things that are right [righteous] on earth.
·This kind of bragging pleases me [L In this I am pleased],” says the Lord [1 Cor. 1:31; 2 Cor. 10:17; James 1:9–10].
25 The Lord says, “The ·time is [L days are] coming when I will punish all those who are circumcised only in the ·flesh [L foreskin; C observing external rituals (Gen. 17:9–14), but not from the heart; 4:4; 6:10]: 26 the people of Egypt, Judah, Edom, ·Ammon [L the sons of Ammon], Moab, and the ·desert [wilderness] people who ·cut their hair short [L shave their temples; Deut. 14:1]. ·The men in all those countries [L All these nations] are not circumcised. And the ·whole family [L house] of Israel ·does not give itself to serving me [L is uncircumcised in/of heart].”
Peter and John at the Council
4 While Peter and John were speaking to the people, they were approached by priests, the captain of the soldiers that guarded the Temple, and Sadducees [C Jewish religious party with most influence in the Jewish high court (Sanhedrin) and among the Temple leadership]. 2 They were ·upset [annoyed; disturbed] because the two apostles were teaching the people and were ·preaching [proclaiming] ·that people will rise from the dead through the power of Jesus [L the resurrection of the dead in Jesus; C Sadducees did not believe in the afterlife]. 3 They ·grabbed [seized; arrested] Peter and John and put them in ·jail [custody]. Since it was already ·night [evening], they kept them in jail until the next day. 4 But many of those who had heard Peter and John preach believed the ·things they said [message; L word]. ·There were now about five thousand in the group of believers [or The number of men grew to about five thousand; C probably referring to adult males and so household units].
5 The next day the rulers, the elders, and the ·teachers of the law [scribes] ·met [assembled] in Jerusalem. 6 Annas the high priest, Caiaphas [C Annas was the former high priest and father-in-law of Caiaphas, the official high priest; Luke 3:2], John, and Alexander [C perhaps sons of Annas] were there, as well as ·everyone [or others] from the high priest’s family. 7 They made Peter and John stand before them and then ·asked [questioned; interrogated] them, “By what power or ·authority [L in/by what name] did you do this?”
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and you elders, 9 are you ·questioning [examining] us [L today] about a ·good thing [good deed; act of kindness] that was done to a ·crippled [lame; sick] man? Are you asking us ·who made him well [or how he was made well/healed]? 10 We want all of you and all the people [of Israel] to know that this man was made well ·by the power [L in/by the name] of Jesus Christ ·from Nazareth [or the Nazarene]. You crucified him, but God raised him from the dead. This man was ·crippled [lame; sick], but he is now ·well [healthy] and able to stand here before you because of the ·power [L name] of Jesus. 11 Jesus is
‘the stone that you builders ·rejected [despised],
which has become the cornerstone [Ps. 118:22; C Jesus is the central stone that holds up the building].’
12 ·Jesus is the only One who can save people [L Salvation is found/present in no one else]. ·No one else [L No other name given to people] ·in the world [L under heaven] is able to save us.”
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.