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 Saves the People
41 The next day all the ·Israelites [L community/congregation/assembly of the sons/T children of Israel] ·complained [grumbled] against Moses and Aaron and said, “You have killed the Lord’s people.”
42 When the ·people [community; congregation; assembly] ·gathered [assembled] to ·complain [grumble] against Moses and Aaron, they turned toward the Meeting Tent, and the cloud covered it. The glory of the Lord [C representing his manifest presence] appeared. 43 Then Moses and Aaron went in front of the Meeting Tent.
44 The Lord said to Moses, 45 “Move away from ·these people [this community/congregation/assembly] so I can ·destroy [consume] them quickly.” So Moses and Aaron ·bowed facedown [L fell on their faces].
46 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Get your ·pan [censer; firepan], and put fire from the altar and incense in it. Hurry to the people and ·remove their sin [make atonement for them]. The Lord is angry with them; the ·sickness [plague; pestilence] has already started.” 47 So Aaron did as Moses said. He ran to the middle of the ·people [assembly; crowd], where the ·sickness [plague; pestilence] had already started among them. So Aaron offered the incense to ·remove their sin [make atonement for them]. 48 He stood between the dead and the living, and the ·sickness [plague; pestilence] stopped there. 49 But 14,700 people died from that ·sickness [plague; pestilence], in addition to those who died because of Korah. 50 Then Aaron went back to Moses at the entrance to the Meeting Tent. The terrible ·sickness [plague; pestilence] had been stopped.
Use God’s Gifts Wisely
7 The ·time is near when all things will end [T end of all things is near]. So ·think clearly [be serious/alert] and ·control [discipline] yourselves so you will be able to pray. 8 Most importantly, love each other ·deeply [earnestly], because love ·will cause people to forgive each other for many sins [L covers a multitude of sins; Prov. 10:12; Luke 7:46–47]. 9 ·Open your homes [Be hospitable] to each other, without ·complaining [grumbling]. 10 Each of you has received a gift to use to serve others. Be good ·servants [stewards; managers] of God’s various gifts of grace [Rom. 5:15–16; 6:23]. 11 Anyone who speaks should speak ·words from God [or oracles from God; or as one bringing God’s message]. Anyone who serves should serve with the strength God gives so that in everything God will be ·praised [glorified] through Jesus Christ. Glory and power belong to him forever and ever [Col. 3:17]. Amen.
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