Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Prayer for Forgiveness
For the director of music. A psalm of David when the prophet Nathan came to David after ·David’s sin with Bathsheba [he committed adultery with/L had gone to Bathsheba; 2 Sam. 11:1—12:25].
51 God, be ·merciful [gracious] to me
·because you are loving [according to your love/loyalty].
·Because you are always ready to be merciful [According to your abundant compassion],
·wipe [blot] out all my ·wrongs [transgressions].
2 Wash ·away [L me thoroughly from] all my guilt
and make me clean ·again [L from my sin].
3 I know about my ·wrongs [transgressions],
and ·I can’t forget my sin [L my sin is continually before me].
4 You ·are the only one [alone] I have sinned against;
I have done ·what you say is wrong [L evil in your eyes].
You are ·right [vindicated] when you speak
and ·fair [pure; blameless] when you judge.
5 I was ·brought into this world [born] in ·sin [guilt].
In sin my mother ·gave birth to [conceived] me [Rom. 3:9–20; 7:18].
6 You ·want me to be completely truthful [L desire truth/faithfulness in my inward parts],
·so teach me wisdom [L and secretly you make me know wisdom].
7 ·Take away my sin [L Remove my sin with hyssop; Ex. 12:22; C a plant used in purification rituals; Lev. 14:4, 6, 49–51; Num. 19:18], and I will be clean.
Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow [Is. 1:18].
8 Make me hear sounds of joy and gladness;
let the bones you crushed ·be happy [rejoice] again.
9 ·Turn [L Hide] your face from my sins
and ·wipe [blot] out all my guilt.
10 Create in me a ·pure [clean] heart, God,
and ·make my spirit right again [L renew a right/steadfast spirit in me].
11 Do not send me away from you
or take your ·Holy Spirit [or holy spirit] away from me.
12 ·Give me back [Restore to me] the joy of your ·salvation [rescue].
·Keep me strong by giving [Sustain in] me a willing spirit.
19 When Moses came close to the camp, he saw the gold calf and the dancing, and he became very angry. He threw down the stone tablets that he was carrying and broke them at the bottom of the mountain [C signifying the broken covenant]. 20 Then he took the calf that they had made and melted it in the fire. He ground it into powder. Then he ·threw [scattered] the powder into the water and forced the Israelites to drink it [C paralleling an ancient Near Eastern ritual for destroying a statue of a god].
21 Moses said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you? Why did you ·cause them to do [L bring on them] such a terrible sin?”
22 Aaron answered, “Don’t be angry, ·master [sir]. You know that these people are always ready to do wrong. 23 They said to me, ‘[L This man] Moses ·led [brought] us out of Egypt, but we don’t know what has happened to him. Make us ·gods [or a god; or an image of God] who will ·lead [L go before] us.’ 24 So I told them. ‘·Take off your gold jewelry [L Whoever has gold, pull it off].’ When they gave it to me, I threw it into the fire and out ·came [popped] this calf!”
25 Moses saw that the people were ·acting wildly [out of control]. Aaron had let them ·get out of control [act wildly] and become ·fools [the object of slander] in front of their enemies. 26 So Moses stood at the ·entrance [L gate] to the camp and said, “·Let anyone who wants to follow [L Whoever is for] the Lord come to me.” And all the ·people from the family of [L sons of] Levi gathered around Moses.
The Lord’s Supper
17 In the ·things [instructions; commands] I tell you now I do not praise you, because ·when you come together you [your meetings as a congregation] do more harm than good. 18 First, I hear that when you meet together as a church ·you are divided [there are divisions among you], and I believe some of this. 19 (It is necessary to have ·differences [factions] among you so that it may be clear which of you really have God’s approval [C controversy is necesssary because error must be opposed].) 20 When you ·come together [meet as a congregation], you are not really eating the Lord’s Supper [C the worship meal Jesus told his followers to celebrate to remember his death; Luke 22:14–20]. 21 This is because when you eat, each person eats without waiting for the others [C the wealthy church members were arriving early to avoid sharing with the poorer members; such social distinctions were common throughout the Greco-Roman world]. Some people do not get enough to eat, while others ·have too much to drink [get drunk]. 22 Don’t you have homes in which to eat and drink? Or do you ·despise [have contempt for; have no regard for] God’s church and so ·embarrass [humiliate] those who ·are poor [have nothing]? What should I tell you? Should I praise you? I will not praise you for doing this [C the Corinthians were turning a time meant for unity into one of discrimination].
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.