Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Israel’s Failure to Trust God
106 Praise the Lord!
Thank the Lord because he is good.
His ·love [loyalty] continues forever.
2 ·No one [L Who…?] can tell all the mighty things the Lord has done;
·no one [L who…?] can ·speak [declare] all his praise.
3 ·Happy [Blessed] are those who ·do [keep; observe; guard] ·right [justice],
who do what is ·fair [righteous] at all times.
4 Lord, remember me when you ·are kind [show favor] to your people;
·help [come to] me when you ·save them [give them victory].
5 Let me see the ·good things you do for [prosperity of] your chosen people.
Let me ·be happy [rejoice] along with your ·happy [rejoicing] nation;
let me join your ·own people [inheritance] in praising you.
6 We have sinned just as our ·ancestors [fathers] did.
We have done wrong; we have done evil.
7 Our ·ancestors [fathers] in Egypt
did not ·learn [grow in wisdom] from your ·miracles [wonderful acts].
They did not remember all your ·kindnesses [loyalty],
so they ·turned [rebelled] against you at the ·Red [or Reed] Sea [78:13; Ex. 14–15].
8 But the Lord ·saved them [gave them victory] ·for his own sake [L because of his name],
to ·show [reveal] his great power.
9 He ·commanded [reprimanded; rebuked] the ·Red [or Reed] Sea [v. 7], and it dried up.
He led them through the deep sea as if it were a ·desert [wilderness].
10 He ·saved them [gave them victory over] from those who hated them.
He ·saved [redeemed] them from the ·power [hand] of their enemies,
11 and the water covered their foes.
Not one of them ·escaped [L was left].
12 Then the people ·believed what the Lord said [L had faith in his word],
and they sang praises to him.
12 “Wake up, wake up, Deborah!
Wake up, wake up, sing a song!
Get up, Barak!
·Go capture your enemies [L Take captive your captives], son of Abinoam!
13 “Then ·those who were left [the remnant/survivors] ·came down to the important leaders [or of the nobles/leaders came down].
The Lord’s people came down to me ·with strong men [or against the mighty].
14 They came from Ephraim ·in the mountains of [or whose roots were in; or who uprooted] Amalek.
·Benjamin was among the people who followed you [or They follow you, Benjamin, with your people/soldiers].
From ·the family group of Makir [L Makir], the commanders came down.
And from Zebulun came those who ·lead [L carry the officer’s/commander’s staff].
15 The princes of Issachar were with Deborah.
The people of Issachar were loyal to Barak
and ·followed him [were sent under his command; L were sent at his feet] into the valley.
·The Reubenites [L Among the clans of Reuben they] ·thought hard
about what they would do [greatly searched their hearts; or had great indecision].
16 Why did you stay by the sheepfold?
Was it to hear the ·music played [whistling] for your ·sheep [flocks]?
·The Reubenites [L Among the clans of Reuben they] ·thought hard
about what they would do [greatly searched their hearts; or had great indecision].
17 ·The people of Gilead [L Gilead; C the grandson of Manasseh, though the term is used for the tribe of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh east of the Jordan] stayed east of the Jordan River.
·People of Dan [L Dan; 1:34], why did you stay by the ships [C Dan remained on the Mediterranean coast rather than help in the battle]?
The people of Asher stayed at the seashore,
at their ·safe harbors [coves; landings].
18 But the people of Zebulun ·risked their lives [L despised their lives even to death],
as did the people of Naphtali on the ·battlefield [L heights of the field].
19 “The kings came, and they fought.
At that time the kings of Canaan fought
at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo.
But they took away no ·silver or possessions of Israel [plunder of silver].
20 The stars fought from heaven [C personified as God’s army];
from their ·paths [courses], they fought Sisera.
21 The Kishon River swept Sisera’s men away,
that ·old river [ancient torrent], the Kishon ·River [torrent; C a rainstorm sent from God swelled the river].
March on, my soul, with strength!
We Have Eternal Life Now
13 ·I write this letter [L I have written these things] to you who believe in the [L name of the] Son of God so you will know you have eternal life. 14 And this is the ·boldness [confidence] we have ·in God’s presence [L before God; 3:21]: that if we ask God for anything ·that agrees with what he wants [L according to his will], he hears us. 15 [L And] If we know he hears us ·every time we ask him [in whatever we ask], we know we have what we ask from him [3:21–22; Mark 11:24].
16 If anyone sees a brother or sister [C fellow believer] sinning (sin that does not lead to ·eternal death [L death]), that person should ·pray [ask; intercede], and God will give the sinner life. I am talking about people whose sin does not lead to ·eternal death [L death]. There is ·sin [or a sin] that leads to [eternal] death [C probably referring to the false teachers, their rejection of the Spirit’s work having put them beyond repentance; compare Mark 3:29]. I do not mean that a person should ·pray [ask; intercede] about that sin. 17 ·Doing wrong is always sin [L All unrighteousness is sin], but there is sin that does not lead to ·eternal death [L death].
18 We know that those who ·are God’s children [L are born of/begotten by God] do not ·continue to sin [L sin; 3:6, 9]. The ·Son of God [L the one born of/begotten by God; C Jesus] ·keeps them safe [protects them], and the Evil One [C the Devil] cannot ·touch [harm] them. 19 We know that we ·belong to God [or are children of God; L are of God], but the Evil One controls the whole world. 20 We also know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we can know the True One. And ·our lives [L we] are in the True One and in his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the true God and the eternal life.
21 So, dear children [2:1], ·keep yourselves away [guard yourselves] from ·false gods [L idols; C either literal idols or false ideas about God].
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