Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Trust in the Lord
For the director of music. Of David.
11 I ·trust in the Lord for protection [find refuge in the Lord].
So why do you say to me,
“·Fly [L Flee] like a bird to your mountain.
2 For, look, the wicked ·string [bend] their bows;
they set their arrows on the bowstrings.
They shoot from dark places
at those who are ·honest [L upright/virtuous in heart].
3 When the foundations [C a stable society] collapse,
what can ·good [righteous] people do?”
4 The Lord is in his holy Temple;
the Lord sits on his throne in heaven.
·He sees what people do [L His eyes watch];
·he keeps his eye on them [L his gaze examines/tests people].
5 The Lord ·tests [examines] ·those who do right and those who do wrong [the righteous and the wicked],
but he hates those who love ·to hurt others [violence].
6 He will ·send [L rain] hot coals and burning sulfur on the wicked.
A ·whirlwind [scorching wind] is ·what they will get [L the portion of their cup; C an image of judgment; Is. 51:17, 22; Ezek. 23:31–33; Matt. 26:39].
7 The Lord ·does what is right [is righteous], and he loves ·justice [righteousness],
so ·honest people [the upright/virtuous] will see his face.
13 King Solomon ·forced [conscripted] thirty thousand men of Israel to help in this work. 14 He sent ·a group [shifts; relays] of ten thousand men each month to Lebanon. Each group worked in Lebanon one month, then went home for two months. A man named Adoniram was in ·charge [charge of the forced labor/or this labor force]. 15 Solomon ·forced [had] eighty thousand men to work in the hill country, cutting stone, and he had seventy thousand ·men to carry the stones [common laborers]. 16 There were also thirty-three hundred ·men who directed the workers [foremen; overseers]. 17 King Solomon commanded them to cut large blocks of ·fine [costly; high-quality] stone to ·be used for the foundation of the Temple [lay the foundation of the house with dressed/cut stone]. 18 Solomon’s and Hiram’s builders and the ·men from Byblos [L Gebalites; C Gebal was a Phoenician city the Greeks called Byblos] carved the stones and prepared the stones and the ·logs [timber] for building the ·Temple [L house].
Wives and Husbands
21 ·Yield [Submit; Be subject; L …yielding/submitting; C grammatically linked to the previous sentence, and so part of being filled with the Spirit] to each other out of ·reverence [respect; fear; awe] for Christ.
22 Wives, ·yield to [submit to; be subject to; L to] your husbands, as you do to the Lord, 23 because the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the church. And he is the Savior of the body, which is the church. 24 As the church ·yields [submits; is subject] to Christ, so you wives should ·yield [submit; be subject] to your husbands in everything [Col. 3:18; 1 Pet. 3:1–6].
25 Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church [Col. 3:19; 1 Pet. 3:7] and gave himself for her 26 to ·make her holy [sanctify her], cleansing her in the washing of water by the word [C the “washing” may be (1) baptism, (2) spiritual cleansing (Titus 3:5), or (3) an analogy drawn from the Jewish prenuptial bath (Ezek. 16:8–14); the “word” may be (1) the Gospel, (2) a baptismal formula, or (3) the confession of the one baptized]. 27 He did this so that he could present the church to himself ·like a bride in all her beauty [in splendor; glorious], with no ·evil or sin [L stain or wrinkle] or any other ·wrong thing in it [L such thing], but ·pure [holy] and ·without fault [blameless]. 28 In the same way, husbands should love their wives as they love their own bodies. The man who loves his wife loves himself. 29 [L For] No one ever hates his own ·body [T flesh], but feeds and takes care of it. And that is what Christ does for the church, 30 because we are ·parts [members] of his body. 31 The Scripture says, “·So [For this reason] a man will leave his father and mother and be ·united [joined] with his wife, and the two will become one ·body [flesh; Gen. 2:24].” 32 This ·secret [mystery] is ·very important [or great; profound]—I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 ·But [However; In any case; or To sum up] each one of you must love his wife as he loves himself, and a wife must ·respect [reverence; v. 21] her husband.
Children and Parents
6 Children, obey your parents ·as the Lord wants [L in the Lord], because this is ·the right thing to do [right; just]. 2 The command says, “Honor your father and mother [Ex. 20:12; Deut. 5:16].” This is the first command that has a promise with it— 3 “Then everything will be well with you, and you will have a long life on the earth [Ex. 20:12; Deut. 5:16].”
4 ·Fathers [or Parents; Heb. 11:23], do not make your children angry, but raise them with the ·training [discipline] and ·teaching [instruction] of the Lord [Col. 3:21].
Slaves and Masters
5 ·Slaves [Bondservants], obey your ·masters here on earth [human masters; L masters according to the flesh; Col. 3:22; 1 Pet. 2:18–25] with ·respect [fear] and ·fear [trembling] and from a sincere heart, ·just as you [or as you would] obey Christ. 6 You must do this not only ·while they are watching you [L with eye-service], ·to please them [L as people-pleasers]. But as ·slaves [bondservants] of Christ, do ·what God wants [God’s will] ·with all your [or from the] heart. 7 Do your work ·with enthusiasm [willingly; cheerfully]. Work as if you were serving the Lord, not people. 8 ·Remember [L …knowing] that the Lord will give ·a reward [or back] to everyone, slave or free, for doing good.
9 Masters, treat your slaves the same way. Do not threaten them. Remember that the One who is your Master and their Master is in heaven, and he ·treats everyone alike [has no favorites; shows no favoritism].
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