Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God’s Works and Word
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
19 The heavens ·declare [recount; narrate] the glory [C the manifest presence] of God,
and the ·skies [firmament; dome; Gen. 1:6] ·announce [speak out] ·what his hands have made [L the works of his hands].
2 Day after day they ·tell the story [L bubble/pour forth speech];
night after night they ·tell it again [L declare knowledge].
3 They have no speech or words;
they have no voice to be heard.
4 But their ·message [L line] goes out through all the world;
their words go ·everywhere on [L to the ends of the] earth.
·The sky [Heaven; L In them] is like a ·home [L tent] for the sun.
5 The sun comes out like a bridegroom from his ·bedroom [L wedding chamber].
It rejoices like an ·athlete [strong man] eager to run a race.
6 The sun rises at one end of the ·sky [heavens]
and ·follows its path [L its circuit is] to the other end.
Nothing hides from its heat.
7 The ·teachings [laws; instructions] of the Lord are perfect;
they ·give new strength [T revive the soul].
The ·rules [testimonies] of the Lord ·can be trusted [are faithful/sure];
they make ·plain [simpleminded; immature] people wise [Prov. 1:4].
8 The orders of the Lord are ·right [virtuous];
·they make people happy [L rejoicing the heart].
The commands of the Lord are pure;
·they light up the way [L giving light to the eyes].
9 ·Respect [Fear] for the Lord [Prov. 1:7] is ·good [pure];
it will ·last [endure] forever.
The judgments of the Lord are true;
they are ·completely [altogether] ·right [righteous].
10 They are ·worth [desired; coveted] more than gold,
even ·the purest [fine] gold.
They are sweeter than honey,
even the ·finest honey [L droppings of the honeycomb].
11 By them your servant is warned.
·Keeping [Observing] them brings great reward.
12 ·People cannot [L Who can…?] ·see [detect; L understand] their own ·mistakes [errors].
·Forgive [Clear] me for my ·secret [hidden] sins.
13 ·Keep me [L Restrain your servant] from ·the sins of pride [proud thoughts];
don’t let them ·rule [dominate] me.
Then I can be pure
and innocent of the greatest of sins.
14 ·I hope my ·words [L The words of my mouth] and ·thoughts [meditations of my heart] ·please [L be before] you.
Lord, you are my Rock, ·the one who saves me [L and my redeemer].
The Lord’s Message of Freedom
61 The Lord God has put his Spirit in me,
because the Lord has ·appointed [anointed] me to ·tell [bring] the good news to the poor.
He has sent me to ·comfort [bind up] those whose hearts are broken,
to tell the captives they are free,
and to tell the prisoners they are released.
2 He has sent me to announce the ·time when the Lord will show his kindness [year of the Lord’s favor; C an allusion to the Year of Jubilee; Lev. 25:10; Luke 4:18–19]
and the ·time when our God will punish evil people [L day of vengeance of our God].
He has sent me to comfort all those who ·are sad [mourn]
3 and to help the ·sorrowing [mourning] people of ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C location of the Temple; 59:20].
I will give them a ·crown [garland; headdress] to replace their ashes,
and the oil of ·gladness [joy] to replace their ·sorrow [mourning],
and ·clothes [a garment] of praise to replace their ·spirit of sadness [discouragement; heavy heart].
Then they will be called ·Trees of Goodness [or Oaks of Righteousness],
trees planted by the Lord to show his ·greatness [glory; C manifest presence].
4 They will rebuild the ·old [ancient] ruins
and restore the places destroyed long ago [58:12].
They will repair the ruined cities
that were destroyed for ·so long [generations].
5 ·Foreigners [Strangers] will come to tend your sheep.
·People from other countries [Foreigners] will ·tend [plow] your fields and vineyards.
6 You will be called priests of the Lord;
you will be named the ·servants [ministers] of our God.
You will ·have riches from all the nations on earth [L eat the wealth of nations],
and ·you will take pride in them [L in their glory you will boast].
7 Instead of ·being ashamed [your shame], you will receive ·twice as much wealth [a double portion].
Instead of being ·disgraced [dishonored; humiliated], they will ·be happy because of what they receive [L rejoice over their portion].
They will receive a double share of the land,
so ·their happiness will continue forever [L everlasting joy will be theirs].
An Example from Marriage
7 Brothers and sisters, all of you understand the ·law of Moses [L law]. So surely you know that the law ·rules [has authority] over people only while they are alive. 2 For example, a ·woman must stay married [L married woman is bound by law] to her husband as long as he is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from the law of marriage. 3 But if she ·marries [or lives with] another man while her husband is still alive, ·the law says she is guilty of adultery [L she will be called/labeled an adulteress]. But if her husband dies, she is free from the ·law of marriage [L law]. Then if she marries another man, she is not ·guilty of adultery [L an adulteress].
4 In the same way, my brothers and sisters, ·your old selves died, and you became free from the law [L you died to the law] through the body of Christ. This happened so that you might belong to someone else—the One who was raised from the dead—and so that we might ·be used in service to [L bear fruit for] God. 5 [L For] When we were ·ruled by [controlled by; living in; L in] ·our sinful selves [our sinful nature; T the flesh], sinful ·desires [passions] stirred up by the law were at work ·in our bodies [or within us; L in our members/parts], so the things we did ·were bringing us [L produced fruit leading to] death. 6 But now we have been freed from the law, since we have died to that which ·held us like prisoners [controlled us; L held us]. So now we serve God in a new way ·with [by means of; in the power of] the Spirit, and not in the old way ·with written rules [or of the written law; L of the letter].
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