Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
It Is Better to Confess Sin
A ·maskil [skillful psalm; meditation] of David.
32 ·Happy [Blessed] is the person
whose ·sins [transgressions] are forgiven,
whose ·wrongs [sins] are ·pardoned [L covered].
2 ·Happy [Blessed] is the person
whom the Lord ·does not consider guilty [imputes no guilt to]
and in ·whom [L whose spirit] there is nothing ·false [deceptive].
3 When I kept ·things to myself [silent],
·I felt weak deep inside me [L my bones wasted away].
I ·moaned [sighed] all day long.
4 Day and night ·you punished me [L your hand was heavy on me].
My strength was ·gone [dried up; sapped] as in the summer heat. ·
5 Then I ·confessed [made known; disclosed] my sins to you
and didn’t ·hide [cover up] my guilt.
I said, “I will confess my ·sins [transgressions] to the Lord,”
and you forgave ·my guilt [L the guilt of my sin]. ·
6 For this reason, all ·who obey you [your saints/holy ones]
should pray to you while ·they still can [or you may be found; L at a time of finding only; Prov. 1:24–27].
When troubles rise like a flood,
they will not reach them.
7 You are my hiding place.
You protect me from ·my troubles [distress]
and ·fill [L surround] me with ·songs [loud cries] of ·salvation [rescue; T deliverance]. ·
8 The Lord says, “I will ·make you wise [instruct you] and ·show [teach] you ·where to [L the way you should] go.
I will ·guide [counsel] you and ·watch over [L my eye will be on] you.
9 So don’t be like a horse or donkey,
that doesn’t understand.
·They must be led [L …whose temper/or gallop must be restrained] with bits and reins,
or they will not come near you.”
10 Wicked people have many ·troubles [pains; torments; woes],
but the Lord’s ·love [loyalty; covenant love] surrounds those who ·trust [have confidence in] him.
11 ·Good [Righteous] people, rejoice and be happy in the Lord.
·Sing [Shout joyfully] all you whose hearts are ·right [upright; virtuous].
Rocks to Remind the People
4 After all the ·people [nation] had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, 2 “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe. 3 ·Tell [Command; Instruct] them to get twelve rocks from the middle of the river, from where the priests stood. Carry the rocks and put them down where you ·stay [camp; lodge] tonight.”
4 So Joshua ·chose [appointed] one man from each tribe. Then he called the twelve men together 5 and said to them, “Go out into the river where the Ark of the Lord your God is. Each of you bring back one rock, one for each tribe of Israel, and carry it on your shoulder. 6 They will be a ·sign [reminder; memorial] among you. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these rocks mean [L to you]?’ 7 Tell them the water stopped flowing in the Jordan when the Ark of the ·Agreement with [Covenant/Treaty of] the Lord crossed the ·river [L Jordan]. These rocks will always remind the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] of this [C stone memorials are common in the OT; 7:26; 24:26–27; Gen. 28:18–22; 31:45–47].”
8 So the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] obeyed Joshua and carried twelve rocks from the middle of the Jordan River, one rock for each of the twelve tribes of Israel, just as the Lord had commanded Joshua. They carried the rocks with them and put them down where they made their camp. 9 Joshua also put twelve rocks in the middle of the Jordan River where the priests had stood while carrying the Ark of the ·Agreement [Covenant; Treaty]. These rocks are still there today.
10 The priests carrying the Ark continued standing in the middle of the river until everything was done that the Lord had commanded Joshua to tell the people, just as Moses had told Joshua. The people hurried across the river. 11 After they finished crossing the river, the priests carried the Ark of the Lord to the other side as the people watched. 12 The men from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and ·East [L the half-tribe of] Manasseh obeyed what Moses had told them. They were dressed for war, and they crossed the river ahead of the other people. 13 About forty thousand soldiers prepared for war passed before the Lord as they marched across the river, going toward the plains of Jericho.
Living by Faith
16 So we do not ·give up [despair; lose heart]. Though our ·physical body [L outer person] is ·becoming older and weaker [decaying; being destroyed], our ·spirit inside us [L inner (person)] is ·made new [being renewed] every day. 17 ·We have small troubles for a while now, but they [L For our brief and insignificant trials/tribulations] are ·helping us gain [or producing in us] an eternal ·glory [L burden/weight of glory] that ·is much greater than [overwhelmingly exceeds] the troubles. 18 We set our eyes not on what we see but on what we cannot see. [L For; Because] What we see ·will last only a short time [L is temporary/transitory], but what we cannot see ·will last forever [L is eternal].
5 [L For] We know that ·when [if] our ·body [L earthly house]—the tent we live in here on earth—is destroyed, ·God will have a house for us [L we have a building from God]. It will not be made by human hands, but will be an eternal home ·in heaven [or in the heavens]. 2 But now we ·groan [sigh] in this ·tent [or body; L one], longing to be clothed in our heavenly ·home [dwelling place], 3 because it will clothe us so we will not be naked. 4 While we live in this ·body [L tent], we ·have burdens [are weighed down], and we ·groan [sigh]. We do not want to be ·naked [stripped; unclothed], but we want to be clothed with our heavenly home. Then ·this body that dies [L the mortal] will be ·fully covered with [L swallowed up by] life [Is. 25:8; 1 Cor. 15:54]. 5 This is what God ·made [designed; prepared] us for, and he has given us the Spirit to be a ·guarantee for this new life [deposit; down payment; 1:22].
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