Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer for Protection
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. Of David.
61 God, hear my cry;
·listen [pay attention] to my prayer.
2 I call to you from the ends of the earth [C far from the Temple]
when ·I am afraid [L my heart grows faint].
·Carry [Lead] me away to ·a high mountain [L the rock that is higher than I am; C a place of refuge, perhaps referring to God as the rock; 18:2, 46; 19:14; 62:2].
3 You have been my ·protection [refuge],
like a strong tower against my enemies.
4 Let me ·live [sojourn] in your ·Holy Tent [L tent; C the sanctuary] forever.
Let me find ·safety [refuge] in the shelter of your wings [C an image of compassion, or perhaps referring to the cherubim whose wings cover the Ark of the Covenant; Ex. 25:20]. ·
5 God, you have heard my ·promises [vows].
You have given me what belongs to those who fear ·you [L your name].
6 ·Give the king a long life [L Add days to the days of the king];
let ·him live many years [L his years be forever and ever].
7 Let him ·rule [reign] in the presence of God forever.
Protect him with your ·love [loyalty] and ·truth [faithfulness].
8 Then I will ·praise [sing a psalm to] your name forever,
and every day I will ·keep my promises [fulfill my vows].
Trust Only in God
For the director of music. For Jeduthun [C a Levitical musician; 1 Chr. 16:41–42; 25:1, 6; 2 Chr. 5:12]. A psalm of David.
62 I ·find rest [wait quietly] in God;
only he can ·save me [give me victory].
2 He is my rock [61:2] and my ·salvation [victory].
He is my ·defender [fortress];
I will not be ·defeated [shaken].
3 How long will you ·attack [assault] someone?
Will all of you ·kill [murder] that person?
Who is like a leaning wall, like a fence ·ready to fall [that totters; C the wicked take advantage of the weak]?
4 They are planning to make that person ·fall [totter].
They enjoy telling lies.
With their mouths they bless,
but in their ·hearts [L innards] they curse. ·
5 I ·find rest [wait quietly] in God;
·only he gives me hope [L for my hope is in him].
6 He is my rock [61:2] and my ·salvation [victory].
He is my ·defender [fortress];
I will not be ·defeated [shaken].
7 My ·honor [glory] and ·salvation [victory] come from God.
He is my ·mighty [strong] rock and my ·protection [refuge].
8 People, ·trust [have confidence in] God all the time.
·Tell him all your problems [L Pour out your heart before him],
because God is our ·protection [refuge]. ·
9 The least of people are only a ·breath [vapor; bubble; vanity],
and even the greatest are just a ·lie [delusion].
On the scales, they ·weigh nothing [L go up];
together they are only a ·breath [vapor; bubble; vanity].
10 Do not ·trust [have confidence] in ·force [oppression; extortion].
Stealing is ·of no use [meaningless].
Even if you gain more riches,
don’t ·put your trust in [L set your heart on] them.
11 God has said this once,
and I have heard it ·over and over [L twice]:
God is strong.
12 The Lord is ·loving [loyal].
You ·reward [repay] people for what they have done [1 Pet. 1:17; Rev. 20:12–13; 22:12].
Praise God Who Saved the Nation
For the director of music. A psalm of David. A song.
68 Let God rise up and scatter his enemies;
let those who hate him ·run away [flee] from him.
2 Blow them away as smoke
is ·driven [blown] away by the wind [Hos. 13:3].
As wax melts before a fire,
let the wicked ·be destroyed [perish] before God [Mic. 1:4].
3 But ·those who do right [the righteous] should be glad
and should rejoice before God;
they should be happy and glad.
4 Sing to God; ·sing praises [make a psalm] to his name.
Prepare the way for him
who rides ·through the desert [on the clouds; C as on a chariot; 18:10–19; 104:3; Is. 19:1; Dan. 7:13–14; Luke 21:27; Rev. 1:7],
whose name is the Lord.
Rejoice before him.
5 God is in his holy ·Temple [L abode].
He is a father to orphans [10:14; 146:9],
and he defends the widows [146:9].
6 God gives the lonely a home.
He leads prisoners out ·with joy [with singing; or to prosperity],
but ·those who turn against God [L the rebellious] will live in a dry land.
7 God, you led your people out
when you marched through the ·desert [wasteland; wilderness]. ·
8 The ·ground [earth; land] shook
and the ·sky [heavens] poured down rain
before God, the God of Mount Sinai [Ex. 19],
before God, the God of Israel.
9 God, you sent much rain;
you ·refreshed [restored] your ·tired [withering] ·land [L inheritance].
10 Your people settled there.
God, in your goodness
you took care of the poor.
11 The Lord gave the command,
and a great ·army [or company of women] told the news:
12 “Kings and their ·armies [hosts] ·run away [L flee].
·In camp they [L The abode of the house; C may indicate the women] divide the ·wealth taken in war [plunder].
13 Those who stayed ·by the campfires [L between the saddlebags/or sheepfolds]
will share the ·riches taken in battle [L wings of a dove covered with silver and its feathers with green gold; C specific precious items among the plunder].”
14 The Almighty scattered kings
like snow on Mount Zalmon [C perhaps near Shechem; Judg. 9:48].
15 The mountains of Bashan [C in the Golan heights, east of the Sea of Galilee] are ·high [mighty];
the mountains of Bashan have many peaks.
16 Why do you mountains with many peaks look with ·envy [or hostility]
on the mountain that God ·chose [L desired] for his home [C Zion, the location of the Temple]?
The Lord will live there forever.
17 God comes with ·millions [L twice ten thousand, thousands of thousands] of chariots;
the Lord ·comes from Mount Sinai to his holy place [L is among them Sinai in holiness].
18 When you went up to the heights,
you led a parade of captives.
You received gifts from the people,
even from those who ·turned [rebelled] against you [2 Cor. 2:14; Eph. 4:8].
And the Lord God will live there.
19 ·Praise [Blessed be] the Lord, God our ·Savior [Victor],
who ·helps us [L bears our burdens] every day. ·
20 Our God is a God who ·saves us [gives us victory];
the Lord God ·saves us [L brings us out] from death.
21 God will ·crush [shatter] his enemies’ heads,
the hairy ·skulls [pates; C tops of their heads] of those who continue to ·sin [L walk in their guilt].
22 The Lord said, “I will bring ·the enemy [L them] back from Bashan [v. 15];
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea [C representing chaos].
23 Then you can ·stick [bathe; or shatter] your feet in their blood,
and ·your dogs can lick [L the tongues of your dogs can have] their share.”
24 God, people have seen your victory ·march [procession];
God my King marched into the holy place [C the Tabernacle].
25 The singers are in front and the ·instruments [musicians] are behind.
In the middle are the girls with the tambourines.
26 ·Praise [Bless] God in the ·meeting place [assembly];
·praise [bless] the Lord ·in the gathering [or the fountain] of Israel.
27 There is the smallest tribe, Benjamin, ·leading them [L bringing them down].
And there are the ·leaders [princes] of Judah with their group.
There also are the ·leaders [princes] of Zebulun and of Naphtali.
28 God, ·order up [command] your power;
show the mighty power you have used for us before.
29 Kings will bring their ·wealth [L presents; gifts] to you,
·to [or because of] your Temple in Jerusalem.
30 ·Punish [Reprimand; Rebuke] the beast in the ·tall grass along the river [L reed; C crocodile or hippopotamus representing Egypt].
·Punish [Reprimand; Rebuke] ·those bulls among the cows [L the herd of bulls among the calves of the peoples; C leaders of other nations].
·Defeated [Trampled], they will bring you their silver.
Scatter those ·nations [peoples] that ·love [delight in] war.
31 Messengers will come from Egypt;
the people of ·Cush [Ethiopia] will ·pray [L stretch their hands] to God.
32 Kingdoms of the earth, sing to God;
·sing praises [make a psalm] to the Lord. ·
33 Sing to the one who rides through the ·skies [heavens], ·which are from long ago [the ancient heavens; v. 4].
He ·speaks with a thundering voice [L puts forth his voice, his strong voice].
34 ·Announce [Ascribe] that God is ·powerful [strong].
·He rules [L His majesty is] over Israel,
and his power is in the ·skies [clouds].
35 God, you are ·wonderful [awesome] in your ·Temple [sanctuary; L Holy Place].
The God of Israel gives his people strength and power.
·Praise [Bless] God!
A Baby for Sarah
21 The Lord ·cared for [visited] Sarah as he had said and did for her what he had promised. 2 Sarah ·became pregnant [conceived] and gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age. Everything happened at the time God had said it would. 3 Abraham named his son Isaac, the son Sarah gave birth to. 4 He circumcised [17:10] Isaac when he was eight days old as God had commanded.
5 Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born. 6 And Sarah said, “God has made me laugh [C the name Isaac is related to a Hebrew word meaning “laugh”]. Everyone who hears about this will laugh ·with [or at] me. 7 No one thought that I would ·be able to have Abraham’s child [L suckle/nurse children], but even though Abraham is old I have given him a son.”
Hagar and Ishmael Leave
8 Isaac grew, and when he ·became old enough to eat food [was weaned], Abraham gave a great feast [L on the day of his weaning]. 9 But Sarah saw ·Ishmael [L the son of Hagar the Egyptian] ·making fun of Isaac [laughing; or playing]. 10 So Sarah said to Abraham, “·Throw [Drive] out this slave woman and her son. Her son should not inherit anything; my son Isaac should receive it all [Gal. 4:21—5:1].”
11 This ·troubled [distressed; upset] Abraham very much because Ishmael was also his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, “Don’t be ·troubled [distressed; upset] about the boy and the slave woman. Do ·whatever [all] Sarah tells you. ·The descendants I promised you will be from [L The seed will be named for you through] Isaac. 13 I will also make the ·descendants of Ishmael [L the son of your slave woman] into a great nation because he is your ·son [L seed], too.”
14 Early the next morning Abraham [L got up and] took some food and a ·leather bag full [skin] of water. He gave them to Hagar and sent her away. Carrying these things and her son [L on her shoulder], Hagar went and wandered [C the verb may imply moving aimlessly and without hope] in the ·desert [wilderness] of Beersheba [C an area in the northern part of the Negev, southern Canaan].
15 Later, when all the water was ·gone [finished] from the ·bag [skin], Hagar put her son under a bush. 16 Then she went a good way off, the distance of a bowshot, and sat down across from him. She thought, “My son will die, and I cannot watch this happen.” She sat there across from him and began to cry.
17 God heard the ·boy crying [L sound/voice of the boy], and God’s ·angel [messenger; 16:7] called to Hagar from heaven. He said, “What is wrong, Hagar? Don’t be afraid! God has heard the ·boy crying [L the sound/voice of the boy] there. 18 ·Help [Get up and lift] him up and take him by the hand. I will make ·his descendants [L him] into a great nation.” [C Ishmael is considered the ancestor of the Arab people.]
19 Then God [L opened her eyes and] showed Hagar a well of water. So she went to the well and filled her ·bag [skin] with water and gave the boy a drink.
20 God was with the boy as he grew up. Ishmael lived in the ·desert [wilderness] and became an archer. 21 He lived in the Desert of Paran [C a region in the eastern Sinai peninsula], and his mother found a wife for him in Egypt [C Hagar’s original homeland].
13 All these great people died in faith. They did not ·get [receive] the things that God promised his people, but they saw them ·coming far in the future [L from afar] and ·were glad [welcomed/greeted them]. They ·said [acknowledged/recognized that] they were like ·strangers [foreigners] and ·visitors [sojourners; refugees; resident aliens] on earth. 14 When people say such things, they show they are looking for a ·country that will be their own [homeland]. 15 If they had been thinking about the country they had left, they ·could have gone back [L would have had an opportunity to return]. 16 But [as it is; L now] they were ·waiting [desiring; longing] for a better country—a heavenly one. So God is not ashamed to be called their God, because he has prepared a city for them.
17 It was by faith that Abraham, when God tested him, offered his son Isaac as a sacrifice [Gen. 22:1–10]. ·God made the promises to Abraham, but Abraham [L The one who received the promises] was ready to offer his ·own [unique; one of a kind; John 3:16] son as a sacrifice. 18 God had said, “·The descendants I promised you will be from Isaac [Through Isaac your offspring/seed will carry on your name; Gen. 21:12].” 19 Abraham ·believed [considered; reasoned] that God ·could [had the power to] raise the dead, and ·really [in one sense; in a manner of speaking; figuratively speaking], it was as if Abraham ·got [received] Isaac back from death.
20 It was by faith that Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau ·in regard to their future [L concerning things to come; Gen. 27]. 21 It was by faith that Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each one of Joseph’s sons [Gen. 49]. Then he ·worshiped [or bowed in reverent worship] as he leaned on the top of his ·walking stick [staff; Gen. 47:31].
22 It was by faith that Joseph, while he was dying, spoke about ·the Israelites leaving Egypt [L the exodus of the children/sons of Israel] and ·gave instructions [commanded] about ·what to do with his body [L his bones; Gen. 50:24–25; Ex. 13:19].
41 ·Some people [The Jewish leaders; L The Jews] began to ·complain [grumble; murmur] about Jesus because he said, “I am the bread that comes down from heaven.” 42 They said, “·This is [L Is this not…?] Jesus, the son of Joseph. We know his father and mother. How can he [L now] say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”
43 But Jesus ·answered [responded], “Stop ·complaining to each other [grumbling/murmuring among yourselves]. 44 The Father is the One who sent me. No one can come to me unless the Father draws him to me, and I will raise that person up on the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘They will all be taught by God [Is. 54:13].’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. 46 ·No one has [or Not that anyone has] seen the Father except the One who is from God; only he has seen the Father. [C Some interpreters put the previous sentence in parentheses as a side comment made by the author.] 47 ·I tell you the truth [L Truly, truly I say to you], whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the ·bread that gives life [T bread of life]. 49 Your ·ancestors [forefathers; L fathers] ate the manna [see 6:31] in the ·desert [wilderness], but still they died. 50 Here is the bread that comes down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will never die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give up so that the world may have life.”
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