Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Good Wife
10 ·It is hard to [L Who can…?] find a ·good [noble; virtuous] wife [Ruth 3:11],
because she is worth more than ·rubies [or pearls].
11 Her husband ·trusts her completely [entrusts his heart to her].
With her, he ·has everything he needs [L lacks no plunder; C a military image].
12 She ·does [brings] him good and not ·harm [trouble; evil]
·for as long as she lives [L all the days of her life].
13 She ·looks for [goes out to find] wool and flax
and likes to work with her hands.
14 She is like a ·trader’s [merchant] ship,
bringing food from far away.
15 She gets up while it is still ·dark [night]
and ·prepares food for [L gives prey to] her family
and ·feeds [L a portion to] her servant girls.
16 She ·inspects [surveys] a field and ·buys it [takes it over].
With ·money she earned [L the fruits of her hands], she plants a vineyard.
17 ·She does her work with energy [L Her loins are girded with strength],
and her arms are strong.
18 She knows that ·what she makes is good [or her trading is successful].
Her lamp ·burns late into the [L she does not extinguish at] night.
19 She ·makes thread with her hands [L sends her hands to the distaff]
and ·weaves her own cloth [L her palms hold the spindle tightly].
20 She ·welcomes [L stretches her palm to] the poor
and ·helps [L sends her hands to] the needy.
21 She ·does not worry about [is not afraid for] her family when it snows,
because they all have fine clothes to keep them warm.
22 She makes bed coverings for herself;
her clothes are made of linen [C from Egypt] and ·other expensive material [L purple].
23 Her husband is known at the city ·meetings [L gates; C the place where city leaders meet],
where he ·makes decisions as one of [L sits with] the ·leaders [L elders] of the land.
24 She makes ·linen clothes [garments] and sells them
and ·provides [supplies] ·belts [sashes] to the merchants.
25 ·She is strong and is respected by the people [L Strength and dignity/honor are her clothing].
She ·looks forward to the future with joy [L laughs at the future; C she is not anxious].
26 She ·speaks wise words [L opens her mouth with wisdom]
and ·teaches others to be kind [L loving instruction is on her tongue].
27 She ·watches over her family [L is a lookout point for the doings of her household]
and ·never wastes her time [L does not eat the bread/food of laziness].
28 Her children ·speak well of [L rise up and bless] her.
Her husband also praises her,
29 saying, “·There are many fine women [L Many daughters act nobly],
but you ·are better than [surpass] all of them.”
30 Charm ·can fool you [is deceptive], and beauty ·can trick you [is meaningless; or fleeting],
but a woman who ·respects [fears] the Lord [1:7] should be praised.
31 Give her the ·reward she has earned [L fruit of her hands];
she should be praised in ·public [the gates; 31:23] for what she has done.
Book 1: Psalms 1–41
Two Ways to Live
1 ·Happy [Blessed] are those who don’t ·listen to [L walk in the counsel of] the wicked,
who don’t ·go where sinners go [L stand in the way of sinners],
who don’t ·do what evil people do [L sit in the seat of mockers].
2 They ·love [delight in] the Lord’s ·teachings [laws; instructions],
and they ·think about [meditate on] those ·teachings [laws; instructions] day and night.
3 They are like a tree planted by ·a river [L streams of water; C full of life, strong, vibrant].
The tree produces fruit in season,
and its leaves don’t ·die [wither].
Everything they do will ·succeed [prosper].
4 But wicked people are not like that.
They are like chaff that the wind blows away [C dead, unstable].
5 So the wicked will not ·escape God’s punishment [L stand in the judgment].
Sinners will not ·worship with God’s people [L be in the assembly of the righteous].
6 This is because the Lord ·takes care of his people [L knows the way of the righteous],
but the way of the wicked will be destroyed.
True Wisdom
13 Are there those among you who are truly wise and ·understanding [insightful; discerning]? Then they should show it by ·living right [their good life/conduct/lifestyle] and ·doing good things [their deeds/works] with a ·gentleness [humility; meekness; Matt. 5:5; 11:29; Gal. 6:1] that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter ·jealousy [or envy] and ·are selfish [have selfish ambition] in your hearts, do not ·brag [boast; Jer. 9:23–24]. Your ·bragging [boasting] is a lie ·that hides [that denies; L against] the truth [or Don’t cover up the truth with bragging or lying]. 15 That kind of “wisdom” does not come ·from God [L down from above; C that is, from heaven] but ·from the world [is earthly]. It is ·not spiritual [natural; “soulish”; C human life apart from God; 1 Cor. 2:14]; it is ·from the devil [demonic]. 16 Where ·jealousy [or envy] and ·selfishness [selfish ambition] are, there will be ·confusion [chaos; disorder] and every ·kind of evil [evil thing/practice]. 17 But the wisdom that comes from ·God [L above; 3:15] is first of all pure, then peaceful [peace-loving], gentle [patient; considerate], and ·easy to please [or willing to yield; or open to reason]. This wisdom is ·always ready to help those who are troubled and to do good for others [L full of mercy and good fruits]. It is ·always fair [impartial] and ·honest [sincere; unhypocritical]. 18 ·People who work for peace in a peaceful way plant a good crop of right living [or Peacemakers who sow with peace will harvest a crop of justice/righteousness; Gal. 5:22–23].
Give Yourselves to God
4 Do you know where your ·fights [conflicts; wars] and ·arguments [disputes; quarrels; battles] come from? They come from ·the selfish desires [cravings] that war ·within you [L in your members; C probably parts of the body, but could be members of the church]. 2 You ·want [desire] things, but you ·do not [or cannot] have them. So you ·are ready to kill [L murder] and are ·jealous [envious] of other people, but you still cannot get what you want. So you argue and ·fight [wage war]. You do not get what you want, because you do not ask God. 3 Or when you ask, you do not receive because ·the reason you ask is wrong [or you ask with the wrong motives; L you ask badly/wrongly]. You want things so you ·can use [L spend] them for your own pleasures.
7 So ·give yourselves completely [submit] to God. ·Stand against [Resist] the devil [1 Pet. 5:9], and the devil will ·run [flee] from you. 8 Come near to God, and God will come near to you. You sinners, ·clean sin out of your lives [L cleanse/purify your hands; C a metaphor for cleaning up your behavior]. ·You who are trying to follow God and the world at the same time [L You double-minded ones], ·make your thinking pure [L purify your hearts; C a metaphor for cleaning up your interior life].
Jesus Again Talks About His Death(A)
30 Then Jesus and his ·followers [disciples] left that place and went through Galilee. He didn’t want anyone to know where he was, 31 because he was teaching his ·followers [disciples]. He said to them, “The Son of Man will be ·handed over [delivered over; betrayed] to ·people [L human hands], and they will kill him [C the “handing over” may be Judas’ betrayal or God’s actions in “giving up” his Son to accomplish salvation; Rom. 4:25]. After three days, he will rise from the dead.” 32 But they did not understand what Jesus meant, and they were afraid to ask him.
Who Is the Greatest?(B)
33 Jesus and his ·followers [disciples] went to Capernaum. When they went into a house there, he asked them, “What were you ·arguing about [discussing] on the road?” 34 But they did not answer, because their ·argument [discussion] on the road was about which one of them was the greatest.
35 Jesus sat down and called ·the twelve apostles [the Twelve] to him. He said, “Whoever wants to be ·the most important [first] must be last of all and servant of all.”
36 Then Jesus took a small child and had ·him [or her; C the Greek here does not specify gender] stand among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said, 37 “Whoever ·accepts [welcomes; receives] a child like this in my name [C as a representative or follower of Jesus] accepts me. And whoever ·accepts [welcomes; receives] me accepts [not only me, but] the One who sent me.” [C Children had low social status, so the saying indicates concern for the lowly.]
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