Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Book 2: Psalms 42–72
Wishing to Be Near God
For the director of music. A ·maskil [skillful psalm; meditation] of the sons of Korah [C descendants of Kohath, son of Levi, who served as Temple musicians; 1 Chr. 6:22].
42 As a deer ·thirsts [longs; T pants] for streams of water,
so ·I [T my soul] ·thirst [L longs] for you, God.
2 ·I [T My soul] thirst for the living God.
When can I go to ·meet with [L see] ·him [L the face of God]?
3 Day and night, my tears have been my food.
People are always saying,
“Where is your God?”
4 When I remember these things,
I ·speak with a broken heart [L pour out my soul].
I used to walk with the ·crowd [throng]
and lead them to ·God’s Temple [L the house of God]
with ·songs of praise [L the sound of praise and thanks, a crowd in procession].
5 Why ·am I so sad [L are you cast down, my soul]?
Why ·am I so upset [L are you groaning/in an uproar]?
I ·should [or will] ·put my hope in [wait for] God
and ·keep praising [or will again praise] him,
my ·Savior [Victor] and 6 my God.
·I am very sad [My soul is cast down].
So I remember you ·where the Jordan River begins [L from the land of Jordan],
·near the peaks of [L and from] Hermon and Mount Mizar [C far from the Temple where God made his presence known].
7 ·Troubles have come again and again [L Deep calls to deep], ·sounding like waterfalls [L at the sound of your torrents; C waters represent distress; 69:1–2].
Your waves and your breakers ·are crashing all around [L pass over] me.
8 The Lord ·shows [commands] his ·true love [loyalty; covenant love] every day.
At night I have a song,
and I pray to my living God.
9 I say to God, my Rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why am I ·sad [L going around in mourning]
and ·troubled [oppressed] by my enemies?”
10 My enemies’ ·insults [scorn] make me feel
as if my bones were ·broken [L murdered].
They are always saying,
“Where is your God?”
11 Why ·am I so sad [L are you cast down, my soul]?
Why ·am I so upset [are you groaning/in an uproar]?
I ·should [or will] ·put my hope in [wait for] God
and ·keep praising [or will again praise] him,
my ·Savior [Victor] and my God.
A Prayer for Protection
43 God, defend me.
·Argue my case [L Vindicate me, O God, and contend for/defend me] against ·those who don’t follow you [L a godless nation].
·Save [Rescue; T Deliver] me from ·liars [deceivers] and those who ·do evil [are unjust].
2 God, you are my ·strength [L refuge].
Why have you rejected me?
Why am I ·sad [L going around in mourning]
and ·troubled [oppressed] by my enemies?
3 Send me your light and ·truth [faithfulness]
to ·guide [lead] me.
Let them ·lead [bring] me to your holy mountain [C Zion, the location of the Temple],
to ·where you live [your dwelling].
4 Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God who is my joy and happiness.
I will praise you with a ·harp [lyre],
God, my God.
5 Why ·am I so sad [L are you downcast, my soul]?
Why ·am I so upset [are you groaning/in an uproar]?
I ·should [or will] ·put my hope in [wait for] God
and ·keep praising [or will again praise] him,
my ·Savior [Victor] and my God.
A Wife for Isaac
24 Abraham was now very old, ·along in years [L going in days], and the Lord had blessed him in every way. 2 Abraham said to his oldest servant [L in his house], who was in charge of everything he owned, “Put your hand under my ·leg [L thigh; C a euphemism for male genitalia, expressing commitment to keep a promise]. 3 ·Make a promise to me before [Swear to me by] the Lord, the God of heaven and [L the God of] earth. Don’t get a wife for my son from the ·Canaanite girls [L daughters of the Canaanites] who live around here. 4 Instead, go back to my country, to the land of my relatives, and get a wife for my son Isaac.”
5 The servant said to him, “·What if [Perhaps] this woman does not want to return with me to this land? Then, should I take your son with me back to your homeland?”
6 Abraham said to him, “No! ·Don’t take [L Be careful not to take] my son back there. 7 The Lord, the God of heaven, brought me from the home of my father and the land of my relatives. And he ·promised [swore to] me, ‘I will give this land to your ·descendants [L seed].’ The Lord will send his ·angel [messenger] before you to help you get a wife for my son there. 8 If the ·girl [woman] won’t come back with you, you will be ·free [declared innocent] from this promise. But you must not take my son back there.” 9 So the servant put his hand under his master’s ·leg [L thigh; 24:2] and ·made a promise [swore] to Abraham about this.
10 The servant took ten of Abraham’s camels and left, carrying with him many ·different kinds of beautiful gifts [L goods of his master]. He went to ·northwestern Mesopotamia [L Aram-Naharaim; C a region near the Habor and Euphrates rivers, about a month’s journey away] to ·Nahor’s city [or the city of Nahor]. 11 In the evening, when the women come out to get water [C most ancient towns had a single source of water for the community], he made the camels kneel down at the well outside the city.
12 The servant said, “Lord, God of my master Abraham, ·allow me to find a wife for his son [L grant me good fortune] today. Please show this ·kindness [loyalty] to my master Abraham. 13 Here I am, standing by the spring, and the ·girls [L daughters of the men] from the city are coming out to get water. 14 ·I will say to one of them [L Let the girl to whom I will say…], ‘Please put your jar down so I can drink.’ Then let her say, ‘Drink, and I will also give water to your camels.’ If that happens, I will know she is the ·right one [the one appointed/selected] for your servant Isaac and that you have shown ·kindness [loyalty] to my master.”
15 Before the servant had finished ·praying [L speaking], Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel, came out of the city. (Bethuel was the son of Milcah and Nahor, Abraham’s brother [11:27–30].) Rebekah was carrying her water jar on her shoulder. 16 She was ·very pretty [extremely beautiful], a virgin; she had never ·had sexual relations with [L known] a man. She went down to the spring and filled her jar, then came back up. 17 The servant ran to her and said, “Please give me a little ·water [sip] from your jar.”
18 Rebekah said, “Drink, ·sir [my master].” She quickly lowered the jar ·from her shoulder [L on her hand] and gave him a drink. 19 After ·he finished drinking [L she let him drink all he wanted], Rebekah said, “I will also pour some water for your camels [L until they have finished drinking].” 20 So she quickly ·poured [emptied] all the water from her jar into the drinking trough for the camels. Then she kept running to the well until she had given all the camels enough to drink.
21 The ·servant [L man] quietly ·watched [stared at] her. He wanted to ·be sure [L learn whether or not] the Lord had made his trip successful.
The Jews and the Law
17 What about you? You call yourself a Jew. You ·trust in [rely on] the ·law of Moses [L law] and ·brag that you are close to God [L boast in God]. 18 You know ·what he wants you to do [his will] and ·what is important [can discern/test what is best/superior], because you have ·learned [been instructed in] the law. 19 You ·think [are convinced/confident that] you are a guide for the blind and a light for those who are in darkness. 20 You think you ·can show foolish people what is right [L are an instructor to the foolish] and ·teach [L a teacher for] ·those who know nothing [the immature/ignorant; or children/infants]. You have the law; so you think you ·know everything and have all truth [L have the embodiment/formulation of knowledge and truth]. 21 You teach others, so why don’t you teach yourself? You ·tell [preach to] others not to steal, but do you steal? 22 You say that others must not commit adultery, but do you commit adultery? You ·hate [abhor; detest] idols, but do you steal from temples [C perhaps (1) profiting by selling stolen idols to Gentiles; or (2) withholding what is due to God and so “robbing” his temple]? 23 You ·brag [boast] about ·having God’s law [L the law], but do you ·bring shame to [dishonor] God by breaking his law? 24 It is just as the Scriptures say: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you [Is. 52:5; Ezek. 36:20].”
25 If you follow the law, your circumcision [C a key distinctive of Jewish identity; Gen. 17] has ·meaning [value; benefit]. But if you ·break [transgress; disobey] the law, it is as if you were never circumcised. 26 If those who are not circumcised ·do [keep; obey] ·what the law says [or the law’s righteous requirements], it is as if they were circumcised. 27 Those who are not circumcised in their bodies, but still ·obey [fulfill; carry out] the law, will ·pass judgment on [condemn] you who, though having the written law and circumcision, ·break [transgress; disobey] the law. 28 They can do this because a person is not a true Jew if he is only a Jew ·in his physical body [L by (physical) appearance]; true circumcision is not ·only on the outside of the body [L the appearance of the flesh]. 29 A person is a Jew only if he is a Jew ·inside [inwardly]; true circumcision is done in the heart by the Spirit, not by the written law. Such a person gets praise from God rather than from people.
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