Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
89 ·Lord, your word is everlasting [or The Lord is everlasting];
·it [L your word] ·continues forever [L is firm] in heaven.
90 Your ·loyalty [faithfulness; truth] will go on and on;
you ·made [established] the earth, and it ·still stands [endures].
91 All things ·continue [endure] to this day because of your ·laws [judgments],
because all things ·serve you [L are your servants].
92 If I had not ·loved [delighted in] your ·teachings [instructions; laws],
I would have ·died [perished] ·from my sufferings [in my afflictions].
93 I will never forget your ·orders [precepts],
because you have given me life by them.
94 I am yours. ·Save me [Give me victory].
I ·want to obey [seek] your ·orders [precepts].
95 Wicked people ·are waiting [hope] to ·destroy me [make me perish],
but I will ·think about [consider] your ·rules [decrees; testimonies].
96 Everything I see has its limits,
but your commands ·have none [L are very broad].
11 Micaiah son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the messages from the Lord that were on the scroll. 12 Micaiah went down to the ·royal secretary’s [scribe’s] room in the king’s ·palace [L house] where all of the officers were sitting: Elishama the ·royal secretary [scribe]; Delaiah son of Shemaiah; Elnathan son of Acbor [2 Kin. 22:8–10]; Gemariah son of Shaphan; Zedekiah son of Hananiah; and all the other officers. 13 Micaiah told those officers everything he had heard Baruch read to the people from the scroll.
14 Then the officers sent a man named Jehudi son of Nethaniah to Baruch. (Nethaniah was the son of Shelemiah, who was the son of Cushi.) Jehudi said to Baruch, “·Bring [L Take in your hand] the scroll that you read ·to [L in the ears of] the people and come with me.”
So Baruch son of Neriah took in his hand the scroll and went with Jehudi to the officers. 15 Then the officers said to Baruch, “Please sit down and read the scroll ·to us [L in our ears].”
So Baruch read the scroll ·to them [L in their ears] . 16 When the officers heard all the words, they became afraid and looked at each other. They said to Baruch, “We must certainly tell the king about these words.” 17 Then the officers asked Baruch, “Tell us, please, ·where did you get all these words you wrote on the scroll [L how did you write all these words]? ·Did you write down what Jeremiah said to you [At his dictation; L From his mouth]?”
18 “Yes,” Baruch answered. “Jeremiah spoke them ·all to me [L from his mouth], and I wrote them down with ink on this scroll.”
19 Then the officers said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah must go and hide, and ·don’t tell anyone [L no one must know] where you are.”
20 The officers put the scroll in the room of Elishama the ·royal secretary [scribe]. Then they went to the king in the courtyard and told ·him all about the scroll [L all these words in the ear of the king]. 21 So King Jehoiakim sent Jehudi to get the scroll. Jehudi brought the scroll from the room of Elishama the ·royal secretary [scribe] and read it ·to [L in the ears of] the king and ·to [L in the ears of] all the officers who stood around the king. 22 It was the ninth month of the year [C late autumn], so King Jehoiakim was sitting in the winter apartment. There was a fire burning in a ·small firepot [brazier] in front of him. 23 After Jehudi had read three or four columns, ·the king [L he] cut those columns off of the scroll with a penknife and threw them into the ·firepot [brazier]. Finally, the whole scroll was burned in the fire. 24 King Jehoiakim and his servants heard ·everything that was said [L all these words], but they were not frightened! They did not tear their clothes [C to show their sorrow]. 25 Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah ·even tried to talk [beseeched] King Jehoiakim out of burning the scroll, but he would not listen to them. 26 Instead, the king ordered Jerahmeel son of the king, Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest Baruch the ·secretary [scribe] and Jeremiah the prophet. But the Lord had hidden them.
Paul’s Joy
2 ·Open your hearts to [L Make room for] us. We have not done wrong to anyone, we have not ·ruined the faith of [L ruined; corrupted] anyone, and we have not ·cheated [exploited] anyone. 3 I do not say this to ·blame [condemn] you. [L For] I told you before that ·we love you so much [L you are in our hearts so that] we would live or die with you. 4 I ·feel very sure of you [am very confident in you; or have spoken very boldy/frankly to you] and am very proud of you. You give me much ·comfort [encouragement], and in all of our ·troubles [trials; tribulation] I ·have great [overflow with] joy.
5 [L For] When we came into Macedonia [1:16], ·we [our body/flesh] had no rest [C Here Paul picks up his account where he left off at 2:13]. We found ·trouble [trial; tribulation] all around us. We had ·fighting [battles; conflicts] on the outside and fear on the inside. 6 But God, who ·comforts [encourages] those who are ·troubled [downcast; discouraged], ·comforted [encouraged] us when Titus [2:13] came. 7 We were ·comforted [encouraged], not only by his ·coming [arrival; presence] but also by the comfort you gave him. Titus told us about your ·wish to see me [L longing] and ·that you are very sorry for what you did [L your sorrow/mourning; C regret for their treatment of Paul during his previous visit; 1:23; 2:1]. He also told me about your great ·care [or loyalty; L zeal] for me, and when I heard this, I ·was much happier [rejoiced even more].
8 [L For] Even if my letter [C Paul’s “severe” letter that he wrote after his painful visit; see 2:3–4, 9] made you ·sad [grieve], I am not sorry I wrote it. At first I was sorry, because it made you ·sad [grieve], but you ·were sad [grieved] only for a short time. 9 Now I ·am happy [rejoice], not because you were ·made sad [grieved], but because your sorrow ·made you change your lives [led to repentance]. You ·became sad [grieved] in the way God wanted you to, so you were not ·hurt by [or punished because of] us in any way [C the Corinthians’ repentance prevented further sorrow as well as discipline from God]. 10 [L For] The kind of sorrow God wants makes people ·change their hearts and lives [repent], leading to salvation, and ·you cannot be sorry for that [or there can be no regret for that kind of sorrow; L without regret]. But the kind of sorrow the world has ·brings [leads to; results in] death. 11 [L For] See what this sorrow—the sorrow God wanted you to have—has ·done to [led to/produced in] you: It has made you very ·serious [eager; earnest; zealous]. It made you want to ·restore [vindicate; defend] yourselves. It made you ·angry [indignant] and afraid. It made you ·want to see me [long for reconciliation]. It made you ·care [zealous]. It made you want to ·do the right thing [see justice done]. In every way you have ·regained your innocence [or proved yourselves innocent]. 12 I wrote that letter, not because of the one who did the wrong or because of the person who was ·hurt [wronged]. I wrote the letter so you could see, before God, the great ·care [eagerness; zeal] you have for us.
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