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.
The Last Words of Joshua
23 The Lord gave Israel ·peace [rest] from their enemies around them. Many years passed, and Joshua grew very old. 2 He called a meeting of ·all [L all Israel:] the elders, heads of families, judges, and officers of Israel. He said, “I am now very old. 3 You have seen what the Lord has done to ·our enemies [L these nations] to help us. The Lord your God fought for you. 4 ·Remember that [See; T Behold] ·your people have been given their [L I have alloted to you the] land between the Jordan River and the ·Mediterranean [L Great] Sea in the west, the land I promised to give you. 5 The Lord your God will ·force [drive] out the people living there. The Lord will push them out ahead of you. And you will ·own the [occupy/possess their] land, as he has promised you.
6 “Be strong. You must be careful to obey everything ·commanded [L that is written] in the Book of the ·Teachings [Law] of Moses. Do not ·stray [L turn aside] from it either from the left or the right. 7 Don’t ·become friends [associate; mix] with ·the people living among us who are not Israelites [L these nations remaining among you]. Don’t ·say [mention; or invoke] the names of their gods or make anyone swear by them. Don’t serve or ·worship [bow down before] them. 8 You must ·continue to follow [L hold fast to; cling to] the Lord your God, as you have done ·in the past [L to this day].
9 “The Lord has ·forced to leave [driven out] many great and powerful nations. No nation has been able to ·defeat [resist; stand before] you [L to this day]. 10 With his help, one Israelite ·could defeat [routs] a thousand, because the Lord your God fights for you, as he promised to do. 11 So you must be careful to love the Lord your God.
12 “[L But] If you turn away from the way of the Lord and ·become friends with [ally yourselves with; cling to] ·these people who are not part of Israel [the remnant of these nations who remain among you] and marry them, 13 the Lord your God will not ·help you defeat [drive out] your enemies. They will be like ·traps [L a snare and a trap] for you, like whips on your back and thorns in your eyes, ·and none of you will be left in [L until you perish from] this good land the Lord your God has given you.
14 “·It’s almost time for me to die [L Look, today I am going the way of all the earth]. You know ·and fully believe [L in your hearts and souls] that the Lord has not failed to keep a single one of the good promises he made. He has fulfilled every one of them. Not one of them has failed. 15 Every good promise that the Lord your God made has come true, and in the same way, his other promises will come true. He promised that evil will come to you and that he will destroy you from this good land that he gave you. 16 This will happen if you don’t keep your ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with the Lord your God. If you go and serve other gods and ·worship [bow down before] them, the ·Lord will become very angry with you [L anger of the Lord will burn against you]. Then ·none of you will be left in [L you will quickly perish from] this good land he has given you.”
27 So a person who eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in ·a way that is not worthy of it [or an inappropriate manner] will be ·guilty of sinning against [or held responsible for; liable for; L guilty of] the body and the blood of the Lord. 28 ·Look into your own hearts [L Let a person examine himself] before you eat the bread and drink the cup, 29 because all who eat the bread and drink the cup without ·recognizing [discerning; careful regard for] the body eat and drink judgment against themselves. 30 That is why many in your group are sick and weak, and ·some [a number] of you have ·died [L fallen asleep; C a euphemism for death]. 31 But if we ·judged ourselves in the right way [evaluated/examined ourselves], ·God would not judge us [L we would not be judged/punished]. 32 But when the Lord judges us, he disciplines us so that we will not be ·destroyed [condemned] along with the world.
33 So my brothers and sisters, when you ·come together [gather as a congregation] to eat, wait for each other. 34 Anyone who is too hungry should eat at home so that in meeting together you will not bring God’s judgment on yourselves. I will tell you what to do about ·the other things [additional matters] when I come.
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