Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Lord, the Fair and Holy King
99 The Lord ·is king [reigns; 47:2; 93:1; 96:10; 97:1; 98:6; Rev. 19:6].
Let the peoples ·shake [tremble; C with fear].
He sits between the ·gold creatures with wings [L cherubim; C above the Ark of the Covenant; Ex. 25:17–22; 1 Kin. 8:7].
Let the earth shake.
2 The Lord in ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple] is great;
he is ·supreme [exalted] over all the peoples.
3 Let them ·praise [thank] your name;
it is great, holy and ·to be feared [awesome].
4 The King is ·powerful [strong] and loves justice.
Lord, you ·made [established] things fair;
you have done what is ·fair [righteous] and ·right [just]
for the people of Jacob [C another name for Israel].
5 ·Praise [Exalt] the Lord our God,
and ·worship [bow down] at the footstool of his feet [C the Ark located in the Temple].
He is holy.
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
and Samuel was among ·his worshipers [L those who called on his name].
They called to the Lord,
and he answered them [Ex. 32:11–13, 30–32; Num. 12:13; 14:13–19; 1 Sam. 7:5, 8–9; 12:16–18; Jer. 15:1].
7 He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud [Ex. 13:21].
They ·kept [observed; guarded] the ·rules [statutes; ordinances; requirements] and ·laws [decrees; testimonies] he gave them.
8 Lord our God, you answered them.
You showed them that you are a forgiving God,
but you ·punished them [are an avenger] for their wrongs [Deut. 32:35; Is. 34:8; Ezek. 24:8; 25:14–17; Nah. 1:2; Rom. 12:19; 1 Thess. 4:6].
9 ·Praise [Exalt] the Lord our God,
and ·worship [bow down] at his holy mountain,
because the Lord our God is holy.
Aaron and His Sons Offer Sacrifices
9 On the eighth day after the time of appointing, Moses called for Aaron and his sons and for the elders of Israel. 2 He said to Aaron, “Take a bull calf and a ·male sheep [ram] ·that have nothing wrong with them [unblemished], and offer them to the Lord. The calf will be a ·sin [or purification; 4:3] offering, and the male sheep will be a whole burnt offering [1:1–17]. 3 Tell the ·people [L sons; children] of Israel, ‘Take a male goat for a ·sin [or purification; 4:3] offering and a calf and a lamb for a whole burnt offering [1:1–17]; each must be one year old, and it must ·have nothing wrong with it [be unblemished]. 4 Also take a bull and a male sheep for ·fellowship [or peace; well-being] offerings [3:1], along with a ·grain [L gift; tribute] offering [2:1] mixed with oil. Offer all these things to the Lord, because the Lord will appear to you today.’”
5 So all the ·people [community; congregation; assembly] came to the front of the Meeting Tent, bringing the things Moses had commanded them to bring, and they stood before the Lord. 6 Moses said, “You have done what the Lord commanded, so you will see the Lord’s glory [C his manifest presence].”
7 Then Moses told Aaron, “Go to the altar and offer ·sin [or purification; 4:3] offerings and whole burnt offerings [1:1–17]. Do this to ·remove your sins and the people’s sins so you will belong to God [make atonement for you and the people]. Offer the sacrifices for the people and ·perform the acts to remove their sins for them so they will belong to the Lord [make atonement for them] as the Lord has commanded.”
8 So Aaron went to the altar and ·killed [slaughtered] the bull calf as a ·sin [purification; 4:3] offering for himself. 9 Then Aaron’s sons brought the blood to him, and he dipped his finger in the blood and put it on the ·corners [horns; 27:2] of the altar. He poured out the rest of the blood at the ·bottom [base] of the altar. 10 Aaron took the fat, the kidneys, and the ·best part [appendage] of the liver from the ·sin [or purification; 4:3] offering and ·burned them [L turned them into smoke] on the altar, in the way the Lord had commanded Moses. 11 The meat and skin he burned outside the camp.
22 Then Aaron lifted his hands toward the people and blessed them. When he had finished offering the ·sin [or purification; 4:3] offering, the burnt offering [1:1–17], and the ·fellowship [or peace; well-being] offering [3:1], he stepped down from the altar.
23 Moses and Aaron went into the Meeting Tent. Then they came out and blessed the people, and the Lord’s glory [C his manifest presence] came to all the people. 24 Fire came out from the Lord and burned up the burnt offering [1:1–17] and fat on the altar. When the people saw this, they shouted with joy and bowed facedown on the ground.
Change Your Lives
4 [L Therefore] Since Christ suffered while he was in his ·body [T flesh], ·strengthen [arm] yourselves with the same ·way of thinking Christ had [intention; attitude; resolve]. [L Because] The person who has suffered in the ·body [T flesh] ·is finished with sin [or has broken from the power of sin]. 2 ·Strengthen [Arm] yourselves so that you will live ·here on earth [L the rest of the time in the flesh] doing ·what God wants [the will of God], ·not the evil things people want [or not pursuing your own human desires]. 3 ·In the past you wasted too much time [or For you have spent enough time in the past] doing what ·nonbelievers [Gentiles; pagans] enjoy. You were guilty of sexual sins, evil desires, drunkenness, wild and drunken parties, and ·hateful [lawless; detestable] idol worship. 4 ·Nonbelievers [The Gentiles/pagans] think it is ·strange [surprising] that you do not ·do the many wild and wasteful things they do [L run with them into the same flood/excess of debauchery], so they ·insult you [abuse/slander you; or blaspheme]. 5 But they will have to ·explain [T give account of] this to God, who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 For this reason the ·Good News [Gospel] was preached to those who are now dead. Even though they were judged ·like all people [L according to human beings in the flesh], the Good News was preached to them so they could live ·in the spirit as God lives [or in the Spirit as God lives; L according to God in the spirit/Spirit; C though Christians will die physically, because of the Good News they will live forever with God].
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.