Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Prayer of Someone Far from Home
A psalm for going up to worship.
120 When I was in trouble, I called to the Lord,
and he answered me.
2 Lord, save me from liars
and from those who plan evil.
3 You who plan evil, what will God do to you?
How will he punish you?
4 He will punish you with the sharp arrows of a warrior
and with burning coals of wood.
5 How terrible it is for me to live in the land of Meshech,
to live among the people of Kedar.
6 I have lived too long
with people who hate peace.
7 When I talk peace,
they want war.
Cyrus Helps the Captives Return
1 In the first year Cyrus was king of Persia, the Lord caused Cyrus to send an announcement to his whole kingdom and to put it in writing. This happened so the Lord’s message spoken by Jeremiah would come true. He wrote:
2 This is what Cyrus king of Persia says:
The Lord, the God of heaven, has given all the kingdoms of the earth to me, and he has appointed me to build a Temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. 3 May God be with all of you who are his people. You are free to go to Jerusalem in Judah and build the Temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, who is in Jerusalem. 4 Those who stay behind, wherever they live, should support those who want to go. Give them silver and gold, supplies and cattle, and special gifts for the Temple of God in Jerusalem.
5 Then the family leaders of Judah and Benjamin and the priests and Levites got ready to go to Jerusalem—everyone God had caused to want to go to Jerusalem to build the Temple of the Lord. 6 All their neighbors helped them, giving them things made of silver and gold, along with supplies, cattle, valuable gifts, and special gifts for the Temple. 7 Also, King Cyrus brought out the bowls and pans that belonged in the Temple of the Lord, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem and put in the temple of his own god. 8 Cyrus king of Persia had Mithredath the treasurer bring them and count them out for Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah.
9 He listed thirty gold dishes, one thousand silver dishes, twenty-nine pans, 10 thirty gold bowls, four hundred ten matching silver bowls, and one thousand other pieces.
11 There was a total of fifty-four hundred pieces of gold and silver. Sheshbazzar brought all these things along when the captives went from Babylon to Jerusalem.
The Change in Paul’s Plans
12 This is what we are proud of, and I can say it with a clear conscience: In everything we have done in the world, and especially with you, we have had an honest[a] and sincere heart from God. We did this by God’s grace, not by the kind of wisdom the world has. 13-14 We write to you only what you can read and understand. And I hope that as you have understood some things about us, you may come to know everything about us. Then you can be proud of us, as we will be proud of you on the day our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.
15 I was so sure of all this that I made plans to visit you first so you could be blessed twice. 16 I planned to visit you on my way to Macedonia and again on my way back. I wanted to get help from you for my trip to Judea. 17 Do you think that I made these plans without really meaning it? Or maybe you think I make plans as the world does, so that I say yes, yes and at the same time no, no.
18 But since you can believe God, you can believe that what we tell you is never both yes and no. 19 The Son of God, Jesus Christ, that Silas and Timothy and I preached to you, was not yes and no. In Christ it has always been yes.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.