Book of Common Prayer
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.
The Lord’s Chosen King
2 Why ·are the nations so angry [do the nations rage/or conspire]?
Why ·are the people making useless plans [do the people plot in vain]?
2 The kings of the earth ·prepare to fight [L take their stand],
and their leaders ·make plans [plot] together
against the Lord
and his ·appointed one [anointed; Messiah; C the king, ultimately Jesus; Acts 4:25–28].
3 They say, “Let’s break ·the chains that hold us back [L their chains/bonds]
and throw off ·the ropes that tie us down [L their ropes/cords from us].”
4 But the one who sits in heaven [C God] laughs;
the Lord ·makes fun of [ridicules; derides] them.
5 Then the Lord ·warns them [L speaks to them in anger]
and frightens them with his ·anger [fury].
6 He says, “I have ·appointed [installed; set] my own king
over my holy mountain, Zion [C the location of the Temple in Jerusalem; 9:11; 48:2, 11; 50:2; 1 Kin. 8:1].”
7 Now I will ·tell [recount to] you what the Lord has ·declared [decreed]:
He said to me, “You are my son.
Today I have become your father [2 Sam. 7:14; Matt. 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22; Acts 13:32–33; Heb. 1:5].
8 ·If you ask me [L Ask of me], I will give you the nations as your inheritance;
all the ·people on [L ends of the] earth will be ·yours [L your possession].
9 You will rule over them with an iron ·rod [scepter; C a symbol of royal authority; Rev. 12:5; 19:15].
You will ·break [dash] them into pieces like pottery.”
10 ·So [Now], kings, be wise;
·rulers [L rulers/judges of the earth], ·learn this lesson [be warned].
11 ·Obey [Serve] the Lord with great fear.
·Be happy [Rejoice], ·but tremble [L with trembling].
12 ·Show that you are loyal to his [L Kiss the] son,
or ·you will be destroyed by his anger [L he will be angry and you will perish on the way],
because he can quickly become angry.
But ·happy [blessed] are those who ·trust him for protection [find refuge in him].
A Morning Prayer
David sang this when he ran away from his son Absalom [2 Sam. 15–19].
3 Lord, ·I have many enemies [L how many are my foes?]!
·Many people [L How many…?] have ·turned [L risen] against me.
2 Many are saying about me,
“·God won’t rescue him [L There is no salvation for him in God].” ·
3 But, Lord, you are my shield [C protector],
my ·wonderful God [L glory] who ·gives me courage [L lifts up my head].
4 I will ·pray [L lift my voice] to the Lord,
and he will answer me from his holy mountain [C Zion, the location of the Temple]. ·
5 I can lie down and go to sleep,
and I will wake up again,
because the Lord ·gives me strength [sustains/upholds me].
6 Thousands of troops may ·surround me [L set themselves around me],
but I am not afraid.
7 Lord, rise up!
My God, come ·save [rescue; T deliver] me!
You have struck my enemies on the cheek;
you have broken the teeth of the wicked.
8 ·The Lord can save his people [L Salvation/Rescue/Deliverance belongs to the Lord].
·Bless your people [L May your blessing be on your people]. ·
An Evening Prayer
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm of David.
4 Answer me when I ·pray [L call] to you,
my God who ·does what is right [is righteous; or who vindicates me].
·Make things easier for me [Give me room; Widen my way] when I am in trouble.
Have mercy on me and hear my prayer.
2 People, how long will you turn my ·honor [glory] into shame?
How long will you love what is ·false [empty] and ·look for [seek] lies [C possibly referring to false gods]? ·
3 You know that the Lord has ·chosen [set apart; distinguished] for himself those who are loyal to him [C in covenant relationship with him].
The Lord listens when I ·pray [call] to him.
4 When you ·are angry [are disturbed; L tremble], do not sin.
·Think about these things [Meditate; L Speak to your heart] quietly
·as you go to bed [L on your bed]. ·
5 ·Do what is right as a sacrifice to the Lord [L Sacrifice right/righteous sacrifices]
and trust the Lord.
6 Many people ask,
“Who will ·give us [L make us see] anything good?”
Lord, ·be kind to us [L let the light of your face shine on us; Num. 6:24–26].
7 But you have ·made me very happy [L given joy to my heart],
happier than they are,
even with all their grain and new wine.
8 I ·go to bed [L lie down] and sleep in peace,
because, Lord, only you ·keep me safe [make me secure].
A Prayer for Fairness
A shiggaion [C a musical or literary term of uncertain meaning] of David which he sang to the Lord about Cush, from the tribe of Benjamin [C an unknown person, but the tribe of Benjamin, Saul’s tribe, resisted David’s kingship at first; 2 Sam. 3–4].
7 Lord my God, I ·trust in you for protection [find refuge in you].
·Save [Rescue; T Deliver] me and rescue me
from those who are ·chasing [pursuing] me.
2 Otherwise, like a lion they will tear me apart.
They will ·rip me to pieces [or drag me away], and no one can ·save [rescue; T deliver] me.
3 Lord my God, what have I done?
Have my hands done something ·wrong [to make me guilty]?
4 Have I done wrong to ·my friend [L the one at peace with me]
or stolen without reason from my enemy?
5 If I have, let my enemy ·chase [pursue] me and ·capture [overtake] me.
Let him trample ·me [L my life] into the ·dust [earth]
and ·bury me [L lay my honor] in the ground. ·
6 Lord, rise up in your anger;
·stand up [L lift yourself up] against my enemies’ ·anger [fury].
·Get up [Wake up], ·my God [or for me], and ·demand fairness [insist on/L command judgment].
7 Gather the ·nations [L assembly/congregations of the peoples] around you
and ·rule [or take a seat over; L return] them from ·above [on high].
8 Lord, judge the people.
Lord, ·defend [judge] me ·because I am right [according to my righteousness],
·because I have done no wrong [according to my innocence].
9 God, you ·do what is right [are righteous].
You ·know [L test] our ·thoughts [L hearts/minds] and ·feelings [L kidneys; C the seat of emotions in Hebrew thought].
Stop those wicked actions done by evil people,
and ·help [establish] those who ·do what is right [are righteous].
10 God ·protects me like a [is my] shield;
he saves those whose hearts ·are right [have integrity].
11 God ·judges by what is right [is a righteous judge],
and God is ·always ready to punish the wicked [L angry every day].
12 If they do not ·change their lives [repent],
God will sharpen his sword;
he will string his bow and take aim.
13 He has prepared his deadly weapons;
he has made his flaming arrows.
14 There are people who ·think up [L conceive] evil
and ·plan [L are pregnant with] ·trouble [malice] and ·tell [L give birth to] lies.
15 They dig a ·hole [pit] ·to trap others [L and dig it deep],
but they will fall into it themselves.
16 ·They will get themselves into trouble [L Their trouble/malice will return to their head];
the violence they cause will ·hurt only themselves [L come down on their heads; Prov. 26:27; Matt. 26:52].
17 I praise the Lord ·because he does what is right [according to his righteousness].
I sing praises to the Lord Most High.
The First People
4 ·This is the story [L These are the generations; C introduces a new section of the book; see also 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10, 27; 25:12, 19; 36:1, 9] of the creation of the ·sky [heavens] and the earth. When the ·Lord God [Yahweh Elohim; C Elohim is the common term for God; Lord (capital letters) represents the divine name YHWH, usually pronounced “Yahweh”; see Ex. 3:14–15] first made the earth and the ·sky [heavens], 5 there were still no plants on the earth. Nothing was growing in the fields because the Lord God had not yet made it rain on the land. And there was no person to ·care for [or till; work] the ground, 6 but a ·mist [or stream] would rise up from the earth and water all the ground.
7 Then the Lord God took dust from the ground and formed a man from it [C there is wordplay between “ground” (adama) and “man” (adam)]. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nose, and the man became a living person. 8 ·Then the Lord God [or The Lord God had] planted a garden in the east [C probably east of Palestine], in a place called Eden [C related to a word meaning “luxurious”], and put the man he had formed into it. 9 The Lord God caused every ·beautiful [L desirous to see] tree and every tree that was good for food to grow out of the ground. In the middle of the garden, God put the tree ·that gives life [T of life] and also the tree ·that gives the knowledge [T of the knowledge] of good and evil.
10 A river flowed through Eden and watered the garden. From there the river ·branched out [divides] to become four ·rivers [L heads]. 11 The first river, named Pishon [C otherwise unknown], flows around the whole land of Havilah [C otherwise unknown], where there is gold. 12 The gold of that land is excellent. Bdellium [C a sweet-smelling resin like myrrh] and onyx [C a precious stone] are also found there. 13 The second river, named Gihon [C a small stream in Jerusalem (1 Kin. 1:33), but here perhaps referring to another river], flows around the whole land of Cush [C often referring to Ethiopia, but here likely a place in Mesopotamia; see 10:7]. 14 The third river, named Tigris [C a major river in Mesopotamia], flows out of Assyria [C in northern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq)] toward the east. The fourth river is the Euphrates [C a major river in Mesopotamia; the location of Eden is uncertain, but this passage suggests Mesopotamia].
15 The Lord God [L took and] put ·the man [or Adam; 1:27] in the garden of Eden to ·care for [or till] it and ·work [take care of; look after] it. 16 The Lord God commanded him, “You may eat the fruit from ·any tree [or all the trees] in the garden, 17 but you must not eat the fruit from the tree ·which gives the [T of the] knowledge of good and evil [C eating from this tree would make Adam, not God, the determiner of right and wrong]. If you ever eat fruit from that tree, you will [L certainly] die!”
The First Woman
18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper [C in the sense of a partner or ally; the word does not imply subordinate status; see Ps. 79:9] who ·is right for [is suitable for; corresponds with] him.”
19 From the ground God formed every ·wild animal [L animal of the field] and every bird in the ·sky [heavens], and he brought them to the man ·so the man could name them [L to see what he would call them]. Whatever the man called each living thing, that became its name. 20 The man gave names to all the ·tame animals [beasts; livestock], to the birds in the ·sky [heavens], and to all the ·wild animals [L animals of the field]. But ·Adam [or the man; 1:27] did not find a helper that was right for him [2:18]. 21 So the Lord God caused ·the man to sleep very deeply [L a deep sleep to fall on the man/Adam], and while he was asleep, God removed one of the man’s ·ribs [or sides]. Then God closed up the man’s skin at the place where he took the ·rib [or side]. 22 The Lord God used the ·rib [or side] from the man to ·make [L build; construct] a woman, and then he brought the woman to the man.
23 And the man said,
“·Now, this is someone whose bones came from my bones,
whose body came from my body [L At last, this is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh].
·I will call her [L She will be called] ‘woman [C Hebrew ‘ishshah],’
because she was taken out of man [C Hebrew ‘ish].”
24 So a man will leave his father and mother [C in the sense of a new primary loyalty] and be united with his wife, and the two will become one ·body [T flesh].
25 The man and his wife were naked, but they were not ashamed.
God Spoke Through His Son
1 ·In the past [Long ago] God spoke to our ·ancestors [forefathers; fathers] through the prophets ·many times [or in a fragmentary/partial way; L in many parts] and in many different ways. 2 But now in these last days God has spoken to us through ·his Son [or a son; 1:3]. God has ·chosen [appointed] his Son to ·own [be heir/inheritor of] all things, and through him he made the ·world [universe; ages; C comprising both space and time; John 1:3]. 3 The Son ·reflects [or radiates; shines forth] the glory of God [John 1:14] and ·shows exactly what God is like [L is the exact representation/imprint/stamp of his being/essence/nature]. He ·holds everything together [sustains/upholds all things] with his powerful word. When the Son ·made people clean from their [L provided purification/cleansing for] sins [9:14], he sat down at the right ·side [L hand; C the most honored position beside a king; Ps. 110:1] of ·God, the Great One in heaven [L the Majesty/Preeminence in the highest places; C a Jewish way to avoid saying the divine name of God]. 4 The Son became much ·greater [superior; better] than the angels, ·and [or just as; in the same way that] ·God gave him [L he inherited] a name [C either “Son” (v. 5), or referring to his nature or reputation] that is ·much greater than [far superior to] theirs.
5 This is because God never said to any of the angels,
“You are my Son.
Today I have ·become your Father [T begotten you; Ps. 2:7; see Heb. 5:5; Acts 13:33].”
·Nor did God say of any angel [L And again],
“I will be his Father,
and he will be my Son [2 Sam. 7:14].”
6 And [L again] when God brings ·his firstborn Son [L the firstborn; Rom. 8:29] into the world, he says,
“Let all God’s angels worship him [Ps. 97:7 (in the Greek version of the OT); C similar words are found in the Greek version of Deut. 32:43 and in a Hebrew copy among the Dead Sea Scrolls].”
7 This is what God said about the angels:
“·God makes his angels become like winds [or God makes winds into his messengers].
He makes ·his servants become like flames of fire [or flames of fire to be his servants; Ps. 104:4].”
8 But God said this about his Son:
“·God, your throne [L Your throne, O God; ] will last forever and ever.
You will rule your kingdom with ·fairness [L a just/righteous scepter; C a scepter symbolizes royal authority].
9 You love ·right [righteousness] and hate ·evil [wickedness; lawlessness],
so ·God [L God, your God,] has ·chosen [L anointed] you ·from among your friends [or above your peers; above anyone else];
he has ·set you apart with much joy [L anointed you with the oil of joy/rejoicing; Ps. 45:6–7].”
10 God also says,
“Lord, in the beginning you ·made [L laid the foundations of] the earth,
and your hands made the ·skies [heavens].
11 They will be destroyed, but you ·will remain [continue; C forever].
They will all wear out like ·clothes [a garment].
12 You will ·fold them [roll them up] like a ·coat [robe].
And, like ·clothes [a garment], you will change them.
But you ·never change [are the same; 13:8],
and your ·life [L years] will never ·end [fail; run out; Ps. 102:25–27].”
13 And God never said this to an angel:
“Sit by me at my right ·side [hand; v. 3]
until I put your enemies ·under your control [L as a footstool under your feet; Ps. 110:1].”
14 ·All the angels are [L Are they not…?] ·spirits who serve God [or ministering spirits] and are sent to ·help [serve] those who will ·receive [L inherit] salvation.
Christ Comes to the World
1 In the beginning [Gen. 1:1] ·there was the Word [the Word already existed; C the Word refers to Christ, God’s revelation of himself]. The Word was ·with [in the presence of; in intimate relationship with] God [C the Father], and the Word was [fully] God. 2 He was ·with [in the presence of; in intimate relationship with] God in the beginning. 3 All things ·were made [were created; came to be] ·by [through] him, and nothing ·was made [came to be] without him [Prov. 8:22–31]. 4 ·In him there was life [or What was made through him was life], and that life was the light of all people. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not ·overpowered [defeated; or understood; comprehended] it.
6 There was a man named John [C the Baptist; Matt. 3; Luke 3] who was sent by God. 7 He came to ·tell people the truth [testify; bear witness] about the Light so that ·through him all people could hear about the Light and believe [L everyone might believe through him]. 8 John was not the Light, but he came to ·tell people the truth [testify; bear witness] about the Light. * 9 The true Light that ·gives light to [shines on; illuminates; enlightens] all [people] was coming into the world! [or 9 The true Light gives light to all who have come into the world.]
10 ·The Word [L He] was in the world, and the world ·was made [was created; came into being] ·by [through] him, but the world did not ·know [recognize] him. 11 He came to ·the world that was his own [or his own country; L that which was his own], but his own people did not ·accept [receive] him. 12 But to all who did ·accept [receive] him and believe ·in him [L in his name; C the name indicating the character of the person] he gave the ·right [power; authority] to become children of God. 13 They did not become his children ·in any human way [by natural descent; by physical birth; L by blood]—by ·any human parents [human passion/decision; L desire/will of the flesh] or ·human desire [a husband’s decision; L desire/will of a man/husband]. They were born of God.
14 The Word became ·a human [T flesh] and ·lived [made his home; pitched his tabernacle; C God’s glorious presence dwelt in Israel’s tabernacle in the wilderness] among us. We saw his ·glory [majesty]—the glory that belongs to the ·only Son [one and only; T only begotten] ·of [who came from] the Father—and he was full of ·grace and truth [God’s gracious love and faithfulness; Ex. 34:5–7]. 15 John ·tells the truth about [testifies concerning; witnesses about] him and cries out, saying, “This is the One I told you about: ‘The One who comes after me [C in time] is greater than I am, because he ·was living [existed] before me [C a reference to Christ’s preexistence; 1:1–2].’”
16 ·Because he was full of grace and truth [L From his fullness; 1:14], from him we all received ·one gift after another [L grace for grace; C this could mean abundant grace or that the grace under Christ replaced grace under the law]. 17 The law was given through Moses [Ex. 19—24], but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God [C God the Father, who is pure spirit; 4:24]. But ·God the only Son[a] [God the one and only; the only Son who is himself God; T God the only begotten] is ·very close to [by the side of; close to the heart of; T in the bosom of] the Father, and he has ·shown us what God is like [made him known].
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