Psalm 102
Expanded Bible
A Cry for Help
A prayer of a person who is suffering when he is ·discouraged [faint; disturbed] and ·tells the Lord his complaints [L pours out his concerns before the Lord].
102 Lord, listen to my prayer;
let my cry for help come to you.
2 Do not hide your ·presence [L face] from me
in my time of ·trouble [distress].
·Pay attention [L Extend your ear] to me.
·When I cry for help [L On the day I call], answer me quickly.
3 My ·life [L days] is ·passing away [vanishing] like smoke,
and my bones are burned up ·with fire [L like a furnace/oven/or glowing embers].
4 My heart is like grass
that has been ·cut [stricken] and dried.
I forget to eat my ·food [or bread].
5 Because of ·my grief [L the sounds of my groans],
my ·skin hangs on my bones [L bones cling to my flesh].
6 I am like a ·desert [wilderness] owl,
like an owl living among the ·ruins [wastelands; Is. 34:10–15; Zeph. 2:13–15].
7 I ·lie awake [or keep watch].
I am like a lonely bird on a ·housetop [roof].
8 All day long enemies ·insult [scorn; reproach] me;
those who ·make fun of [mock] me use my name as a curse.
9 I eat ashes for ·food [or bread],
and my tears ·fall into [mingle with] my drinks.
10 Because of your ·great anger [L wrath and indignation],
you have picked me up and thrown me away.
11 My days are like a passing shadow;
I am like dried grass.
12 But, Lord, you ·rule [L are enthroned] forever,
and your ·fame [memory] ·goes on and on [L throughout the generations].
13 You will ·come [L rise up] and have ·mercy [compassion] on ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple],
because the time has now come to be ·kind [gracious] to her;
the ·right [appointed] time has come.
14 Your servants ·love even [are pleased/delighted with] her stones;
they even ·care about [L have pity/compassion for] her dust.
15 Nations will fear the name of the Lord,
and all the kings on earth ·will honor you [L your glory; C God’s manifest presence].
16 The Lord will rebuild ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple];
there his glory [C manifest presence] will be seen.
17 He will answer the prayers of the ·needy [lowly; L naked];
he will not ·reject [despise] their prayers.
18 Write these things for ·the future [L a future generation]
so that people who are not yet ·born [created] will praise the Lord.
19 The Lord looked down from his holy place above;
from heaven he ·looked [gazed] down at the earth.
20 He heard the ·moans [groans] of the prisoners,
and he ·freed [released] those sentenced to die.
21 The name of the Lord will be ·heard [recounted] in ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple];
his praise ·will be heard there [L in Jerusalem].
22 People will ·come [gather] together,
and kingdoms will serve the Lord.
23 ·God has made me tired of living [He broke my strength in midcourse/L the way];
he has cut short my ·life [L days].
24 So I said, “My God, do not take me in the middle of my ·life [L days].
Your years ·go on and on [endure for generations].
25 In the beginning you ·made [founded] the earth,
and ·your hands made the skies [L the heavens are the work of your hands; Gen. 1].
26 They will be destroyed, but you will ·remain [endure].
They will all wear out like ·clothes [garments].
And, like clothes, you will change them
and throw them away.
27 But you ·never change [are the same/L he],
and your ·life [L years] will never end.
28 ·Our children [L The children of your servants] will live in your presence,
and their ·children [offspring; L seed] will remain with you.”
Psalm 107:1-32
Expanded Bible
Book 5: Psalms 107–150
God Saves from Many Dangers
107 Thank the Lord because he is good.
His ·love [loyalty] continues forever.
2 That is what those whom the Lord has ·saved [redeemed] should say.
He has ·saved [redeemed] them from the ·enemy [foe]
3 and has gathered them from other lands,
from east and west, north and south [Is. 51:11; C perhaps after the Babylonian exile].
4 Some people had wandered in the ·desert lands [L wilderness, wasteland].
They found no way to a city in which to live.
5 They were hungry and thirsty,
and they were ·discouraged [faint].
6 In their ·misery [distress] they cried out to the Lord,
and he ·saved [rescued; protected] them from their troubles [vv. 13, 19, 28].
7 He led them on a straight road
to a city where they could live.
8 Let them ·give thanks to [praise] the Lord for his ·love [loyalty]
and for the ·miracles [wonderful works] he does for people [vv. 15, 21, 31].
9 He satisfies the thirsty
and fills ·up [L with good things] the hungry [Is. 58:10–11; Jer. 31:25; Luke 1:53].
10 Some sat in ·gloom [darkness] and ·darkness [deep darkness];
they were prisoners ·suffering [afflicted] in ·chains [irons].
11 They had ·turned [rebelled] against the words of God
and had ·refused [rejected] the advice of God Most High.
12 So he ·broke their pride by [L made their hearts cower with] hard work.
They stumbled, and no one helped.
13 In their ·misery [distress] they cried out to the Lord,
and he ·saved them from [gave them victory over] their troubles [vv. 6, 19, 28].
14 He brought them out of their ·gloom [darkness] and ·darkness [deep darkness]
and ·broke [burst] their chains.
15 Let them ·give thanks to [praise] the Lord for his ·love [loyalty]
and for the ·miracles [wonderful works] he does for people [vv. 8, 21, 31].
16 He ·breaks down [shatters] bronze gates
and cuts apart iron bars.
17 Some ·fools turned against God [L became fools in the way of transgression]
and ·suffered [were afflicted] ·for the evil they did [L because of their guilt].
18 ·They refused to eat anything [L Their appetite loathed any food],
so they ·almost died [L approached the gates of death].
19 In their ·misery [distress] they cried out to the Lord,
and he ·saved them [gave them victory] from their troubles [vv. 6, 13, 28].
20 God ·gave the command [L sent forth his word] and healed them,
so they were ·saved [rescued] from ·dying [destruction; or their pits].
21 Let them ·give thanks to [praise] the Lord for his ·love [loyalty]
and for the ·miracles [wonderful works] he does for people [vv. 8, 15, 31].
22 Let them offer ·sacrifices to thank him [thanksgiving offerings].
With joy they should ·tell [recount] what he has done.
23 Others went out to sea in ships
and did ·business [work] on the ·great oceans [L many waters].
24 They saw what the Lord could do,
the ·miracles [worderful works] he did in the deep oceans.
25 He spoke, and a ·storm [L stormy wind] ·came [L stood] up,
which ·blew [raised] up high waves.
26 ·The ships [L They] ·were tossed as high as [L went up to] the ·sky [heavens] and fell low to the depths.
·The storm was so bad that they lost their courage [L Their life/soul melted in evil/trouble].
27 They ·stumbled [reeled; leapt] and ·fell [tottered; staggered] like people who were drunk.
·They did not know what to do [L All their wisdom was confused].
28 In their ·misery [distress] they cried out to the Lord,
and he ·saved [L brought them out] them from their troubles [vv. 6, 13, 19].
29 He ·stilled [quieted] the storm
and ·calmed [hushed] the waves.
30 They were happy that it was quiet,
and God guided them to the ·port [harbor] they wanted.
31 Let them ·give thanks to [praise] the Lord for his ·love [loyalty]
and for the ·miracles [wonderful works] he does for people [vv. 8, 15, 21].
32 Let them ·praise his greatness [exalt him] in the ·meeting [assembly] of the people;
let them praise him in the meeting of the elders.
Numbers 20:1-13
Expanded Bible
Moses Disobeys God
20 In the first month all the ·people [L sons; T children] of Israel, the community [congregation; assembly] arrived at the ·Desert [Wilderness] of Zin, and they stayed at Kadesh. There Miriam [C Moses’ sister; Ex. 15:20–21; Num. 12:1–13] died and was buried. 2 There was no water for the ·people [community; congregation; assembly], so they ·came together [assembled] against Moses and Aaron. 3 They ·argued with [contended with; brought a case against] Moses and said, “We should have died in front of the Lord as our brothers did. 4 Why did you bring the Lord’s ·people [community; congregation; assembly] into this ·desert [wilderness]? Are we and our animals to die here? 5 Why did you bring us from Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain, figs, grapevines, or pomegranates, and there’s no water to drink!”
6 So Moses and Aaron left the ·people [community; congregation; assembly] and went to the entrance of the Meeting Tent. There they ·bowed facedown [L fell on their faces], and the glory of the Lord [C his manifest presence] appeared to them. 7 The Lord said to Moses, 8 “Take your ·walking stick [staff], and you and your brother Aaron should gather the ·people [community; congregation; assembly]. Speak to that rock in front of them so that its water will flow from it. When you bring the water out from that rock, give it to the ·people [community; congregation; assembly] and their animals.”
9 So Moses took the ·stick [staff] from in front of the Lord, as he had said. 10 Moses and Aaron ·gathered [assembled] the ·people [community; congregation; assembly] in front of the rock, and Moses said, “Now listen to me, you ·who turn against God [L rebels]! Do you want us [C rather than God] to bring water out of this rock?” 11 Then Moses lifted his hand and hit the rock twice with his ·stick [staff; C he was supposed to speak to it, 20:8]. Water began pouring out, and the ·people [community; congregation; assembly] and their animals drank it.
12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not ·believe [trust] me, and because you did not ·honor me as holy [show my holiness] before the ·people [L sons/T children of Israel], you will not lead ·them [L this community; congregation; assembly] into the land I will give them [20:22–29; Deut. 34:1–12].”
13 These are the waters of Meribah [C “Argument”], where the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] ·argued with [contended with; brought a case against] the Lord and where he showed them he was holy.
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Romans 5:12-21
Expanded Bible
Adam and Christ Compared
12 [L Therefore, just as] Sin came into the world ·because of what one man did [L through one man], and with sin came death. ·This is why [L …and so; or and in this way] ·everyone must die [death spread/passed to all people]—because everyone sinned. 13 Sin was in the world before ·the law of Moses [L the law], but sin is not ·counted against us as breaking a command [charged to one’s account; recorded as sin] when there is no law [4:15]. 14 But from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, ·everyone had to die [L death reigned/ruled], even those who had not sinned ·by breaking a command, as Adam had [L in the likeness of Adam’s disobedience/transgression].
Adam was ·like [a type/pattern/prefigurement of] the One who was coming in the future. 15 But ·God’s free gift [L the gift] is not like Adam’s ·sin [violation; transgression]. [L For if] Many people died because of the ·sin [violation; transgression] of that one man. ·But the grace from God was much greater, since many people received God’s gift of life [L …how much more did God’s grace and gift abound/multiply to the many] by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ [C the death of the “one” saved the “many”; see v. 19; Is. 53:11]. 16 But the gift of God is different from ·Adam’s [L the one man’s] sin. After Adam sinned once, ·he was judged guilty [L his judgment brought condemnation]. [L But] God’s free gift came after many ·sins [violations; transgressions], and it ·makes people right with God [L brought justification]. 17 [L For if] One man’s ·sin [violation; transgression] caused death to ·rule over all people [L reign; rule] because of that one man. How much more, then, will those people who ·accept [receive] ·God’s full grace [L the abundance of grace] and the great gift of ·being made right with him [righteousness] ·have true life and rule [or rule in the future life; L reign/rule in life] through the one man, Jesus Christ. [C Just as death “ruled” in Adam, so believers “rule” over death through Christ.]
18 So as one ·sin of Adam [L violation; trangression] brought ·the punishment of death [condemnation] to all people, so too one ·good act that Christ did [L righteous act/deed] ·makes all people right with God, bringing them true life [L brings justification of life to all people]. 19 [L For just as…] One man disobeyed God, and many became sinners. ·In the same way, [L …so also] one man obeyed God, and many will be made ·right [righteous]. 20 The law came ·to make sin worse [or to reveal the true extent of sin; L to increase the violation/transgression]. But when sin ·grew worse [increased; multiplied], God’s grace ·increased [multiplied/abounded all the more]. 21 ·Sin once used death to rule us [L Just as sin reigned in death…], ·but God gave people more of his grace so that grace could rule [L …so grace will reign] ·by making people right with him [through justification/righteousness]. And this brings ·life forever [eternal life] through Jesus Christ our Lord.
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Matthew 20:29-34
Expanded Bible
Jesus Heals Two Blind Men(A)
29 When ·Jesus and his followers [L they] were leaving Jericho, a ·great many people [large crowd] followed him. 30 [L And look/T behold] Two blind men sitting by the road heard that Jesus was going by, so they shouted, “Lord, Son of David [C a title for the Messiah, a descendant of King David; 2 Sam. 7:11–16], ·have mercy [take pity] on us!”
31 The people ·warned [rebuked; scolded] the blind men to be quiet, but they shouted even more, “Lord, Son of David, ·have mercy [take pity] on us!”
32 Jesus stopped and said to the blind men, “What do you want me to do for you?”
33 They answered, “Lord, ·we want to see [L let our eyes be opened].”
34 Jesus felt ·sorry [compassion] for the blind men and touched their eyes, and at once they could see. Then they followed Jesus.
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