Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
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.
Warnings About Leather Wine Bags
12 “Say to them: ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: All ·leather bags for holding wine [wineskins] should be filled with wine.’ People will say to you: ‘·Of course, we know [L Do we not know that…?] all wine bags should be filled with wine.’ 13 Then you will say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says: I will ·make everyone in this land like a drunken person [L fill with drunkenness all who live in this land; C they will drink from the “cup of God’s wrath” (25:15–18)]—the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests and the prophets, and all the people who live in Jerusalem. 14 I will make them smash against one another, fathers and sons alike, says the Lord. I will not feel sorry or have pity on them or show ·mercy [compassion] that would stop me from destroying them.’”
Threat of Slavery
15 Listen and ·pay attention [L give ear].
Don’t ·be too proud [exalt yourself],
because the Lord has spoken to you.
16 Give glory to the Lord your God
before he brings darkness
and before ·you slip and fall [L your feet stumble]
on the dark hills.
You hope for light,
but he will turn it into thick darkness;
he will change it into deep gloom [Amos 5:18–20].
17 If you don’t listen to him,
I will cry secretly
because of your pride.
I will cry painfully,
and my eyes will ·overflow [run down] with tears,
because the ·Lord’s people [L the flock of the Lord] will be ·captured [exiled].
18 Tell this to the king and the queen mother [L perhaps Jehoiachin and his mother Nehushta who went into exile in 597 bc (22:26; 29:2; 2 Kin. 24:8–17)]
“Come down from your thrones,
because your ·beautiful [splendid; glorious] crowns
·have fallen [or will fall] from your heads.”
19 The cities of ·southern Judah [L the Negev] are ·locked [shut] up,
and no one can open them.
All Judah will be ·taken as captives to a foreign land [exiled; C to Babylon];
they will ·be carried away [exiled] completely [C the exile in 597 bc was a precursor to the more complete one in 586 bc].
26 “·Brothers, [L Men, brothers] ·sons [or descendants] of the family of Abraham, and others who ·worship [fear; 13:16] God, listen! The ·news [word; message] about this salvation has been sent to us. 27 Those who live in Jerusalem and their leaders ·did not realize that Jesus was the Savior [L were ignorant of this; or did not recognize him]. They did not understand the ·words that the prophets wrote [L voices of the prophets], which are read every Sabbath day. But they ·made them come true [L fulfilled them] when they ·said Jesus was guilty [L condemned him]. 28 They could not find any real ·reason [cause; basis] for Jesus to be put to death, but they asked Pilate to have him ·killed [executed]. 29 When they had done to him all that ·the Scriptures had said [L was written about him], they took him down from the ·cross [L tree; 5:30; 10:39; Deut. 21:23; Gal. 3:13] and laid him in a tomb. 30 But God raised him up from the dead! 31 After this, for many days, ·those who had gone with Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem saw him [or he appeared to those…Jerusalem]. They are now his witnesses to the people. 32 We tell you the ·Good News [Gospel] about the promise God made to our ·ancestors [forefathers; fathers; Gen. 12:1–3; 2 Sam. 7:12–16]. 33 ·God has made this promise come true [He has fulfilled this promise] for us, their ·children [descendants], by raising Jesus from the dead. We read about this also in the second psalm:
‘You are my Son.
Today I have ·become your Father [fathered you; T begotten you; Ps. 2:7].’
34 God raised Jesus from the dead, and he will never go back to ·the grave and become dust [L corruption; decay]. So God said:
‘I will give you the holy and ·sure blessings [L faithful things]
that I promised to David [Is. 55:3].’
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