Book of Common Prayer
A Welcome for God into the Temple
A psalm of David.
24 The earth belongs to the Lord, and ·everything in it [L its fullness]—
the world and all its ·people [inhabitants].
2 He ·built [founded] it on the waters
and ·set [established] it on the rivers [Gen. 1:9–10; Is. 45:18].
3 Who may go up on the mountain of the Lord [C Zion, the location of the Temple]?
Who may stand in his holy ·Temple [L place]?
4 Only those with clean hands and pure hearts [C innocent in actions and thoughts],
who have not ·worshiped idols [L lifted their souls to false things],
who have not made promises ·in the name of a false god [or deceitfully].
5 They will receive a blessing from the Lord;
the God who ·saves [rescues; T delivers] them will ·declare them right [vindicate them].
6 ·They try to follow God [L This is the generation/people of those who seek him];
they ·look to the God of Jacob for help [L search for your face, O God of Jacob]. ·
7 ·Open up [L Lift up your heads], you gates.
·Open wide [L Be lifted up], you ·aged [ancient] doors
and the ·glorious King [King of glory] will come in.
8 Who is this ·glorious King [King of glory]?
The Lord, strong and mighty.
The Lord, ·the powerful warrior [mighty in battle].
9 ·Open up [L Lift up your heads], you gates.
·Open wide [L Be lifted up], you ·aged [ancient] doors
and the ·glorious King [King of glory] will come in.
10 Who is this ·glorious King [King of glory]?
The Lord ·All-Powerful [of Heaven’s Armies/T Hosts]—
he is the ·glorious King [King of glory]. ·
God in the Thunderstorm
A psalm of David.
29 ·Praise [T Ascribe to] the Lord, you ·angels [L sons of God; C God’s council];
·Praise the Lord’s [T Ascribe to the Lord] glory and power.
2 ·Praise the Lord for [T Ascribe to the Lord] the glory of his name;
worship the Lord ·because he is holy [L in the splendor of his holiness].
3 The Lord’s voice [C thunder] is heard over the ·sea [L waters; C a symbol of chaos].
The glorious God thunders;
the Lord thunders over the ·ocean [L many/mighty waters].
4 The Lord’s voice is powerful;
the Lord’s voice is ·majestic [splendid; awesome].
5 The Lord’s voice breaks the ·trees [L cedars];
the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon [C the most famous cedar forests].
6 He makes the land of Lebanon dance like a calf
and ·Mount Hermon [L Sirion] jump like a baby bull.
7 The Lord’s voice ·makes the lightning flash [strikes with flashes of lightning].
8 The Lord’s voice shakes the ·desert [wilderness];
the Lord shakes the ·Desert [Wilderness] of Kadesh.
9 The Lord’s voice ·shakes the oaks [or makes the deer give birth]
and strips the ·leaves off the trees [L forests bare].
In his Temple everyone says, “Glory!”
10 The Lord ·controls [L is enthroned over] the flood [C controls chaos].
The Lord ·will be [L is enthroned as] King forever.
11 The Lord gives strength to his people;
the Lord blesses his people with peace.
The Lord’s Greatness
For the director of music. On the gittith [C perhaps a musical term or instrument]. A psalm of David.
8 Lord our Lord,
·Your name is the most wonderful name [L How majestic is your name] in all the earth [Ex. 3:14–15]!
·It brings you praise [L You have set your splendor/glory] in heaven above [Rom. 1:20].
2 ·You have taught children and babies
to sing praises to you [L Out of the mouth of babies and infants you have established/founded strength]
because of your enemies.
And so you silence your enemies
and those who try to get ·even [revenge].
3 I look at your heavens,
·which you made with [L the work of] your fingers.
I see the moon and stars,
which you ·created [L established; Gen. 1:17–18].
4 ·But why are people even important to you [L What are people that you remember them]?
Why do you take care of ·human beings [L the son of man]?
5 You made them a little lower than ·the angels [or God]
and crowned them with glory and honor [Gen. 1:26–27].
6 You ·put them in charge of [give them rule over] ·everything you made [L the work of your hands].
You put all things under their ·control [L feet; Heb. 2:6–8]:
7 all the sheep, the cattle,
and the ·wild animals [L beasts of the field],
8 the birds in the ·sky [heavens],
the fish in the sea,
and everything that ·lives under water [L passes/travels on the paths of the sea; Gen. 1:28; 9:1–3].
9 Lord our Lord,
·your name is the most wonderful [L how majestic is your] name in all the earth!
Wishing to Be in the Temple
For the director of music. On the gittith [C perhaps a musical term or instrument]. A psalm of the sons of Korah [C descendants of Kohath, son of Levi, who served as temple musicians; 1 Chr. 6:22].
84 Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts],
how lovely is your ·Temple [L residence; dwelling place]!
2 I ·want more than anything
to be in [L long, even faint for] the courtyards of the ·Lord’s Temple [L Lord].
My ·whole being wants
to be with [L heart/mind and flesh sing for joy to] the living God.
3 The sparrows have found a home,
and the swallows have nests.
They raise their young near your altars,
Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], my King and my God.
4 ·Happy [Blessed] are the people who live at your ·Temple [L house];
they are always praising you. ·
5 ·Happy [Blessed] are those whose strength comes from you,
·who want to travel to Jerusalem [L in whose hearts are highways; C they want to make pilgrimage to Jerusalem to celebrate religious festivals].
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca [C “weeping,” location unknown],
they make it ·like [L a place with] a spring.
The ·autumn [early] rains ·fill [wrap; cover] it with ·pools of water [or blessings].
7 The people ·get stronger as they go [L go from strength to strength],
and everyone ·meets with [L sees] ·God [L the God of gods] in ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple].
8 Lord God ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], hear my prayer;
God of Jacob [C another name for Israel], ·listen to me [give ear]. ·
9 God, look at our shield [C the king];
be kind to your ·appointed king [anointed; Messiah; C the king, ultimately Jesus; Acts 4:25–28].
10 One day in your courtyards is better
than a thousand days anywhere else.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the Temple of my God
than live in the ·homes [L tents] of the wicked.
11 The Lord God is like a sun and shield;
the Lord gives us ·kindness [mercy; grace] and ·honor [glory].
He does not hold back anything good
from those ·whose lives are innocent [L who walk in innocence/blamelessness].
12 Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts],
·happy [blessed] are the people who ·trust [have confidence in] you!
16 You know how we lived in Egypt and how we passed through the countries when we came here. 17 You saw their ·hateful idols [L detestable things, the filthy idols] made of wood, stone, silver, and gold. 18 Make sure no man, woman, ·family group [clan], or tribe among you ·leaves [L whose heart turns away from] the Lord our God to go and serve the gods of those nations. They would be to you like a ·plant [L root] that grows bitter, poisonous fruit.
19 These are the kind of people who hear ·these curses [or the words of this oath] but bless themselves ·internally [L in their hearts/minds], thinking, “We will ·be safe [have peace] ·even though we continue doing what we want to do.” Those people may destroy all of your land, both wet and dry [or if we act with determination so water may bring an end to the drought]. 20 The Lord will ·not [be unwilling to] forgive them. His anger will be like a burning fire against those people, and all the curses written in this ·book [scroll] will come on them [chs. 27–28]. The Lord will ·destroy [blot out; wipe away] ·any memory of them on the earth [L their name from under the heavens]. 21 He will separate them from all the tribes of Israel for punishment. All the curses of the ·Agreement [Covenant; Treaty] that are written in this ·Book [Scroll] of the ·Teachings [Laws; Instructions] will happen to them.
22 Your children, the generation that will come after you, as well as foreigners from faraway lands, will see the disasters that come to this land and the diseases the Lord will send on it. They will say, 23 “The land is ·nothing but burning cinders [burned by sulphur] and salt. Nothing is planted, nothing grows, and nothing blooms. It is like Sodom and Gomorrah [Gen. 19], and Admah and Zeboiim [Gen. 14:2; Hos. 11:8], which the Lord ·destroyed [overturned] ·because he was very angry [L in his anger and his wrath].” 24 All the other nations will ask, “Why has the Lord done this to the land? Why is he so angry?”
25 And the answer will be, “It is because the people broke the ·Agreement [Covenant; Treaty] of the Lord, the God of their ·ancestors [fathers], which he ·made [L cut] with them when he brought them out of Egypt. 26 They went and served other gods and bowed down to gods they did not even know. The Lord did not ·allow [permit] that, 27 so he became very angry at the land and brought all the curses on it that are written in this ·book [scroll; chs. 27–28]. 28 Since the Lord became angry, upset, and furious with them, he took them out of their land and put them in another land where they are today.”
29 There are some things the Lord our God has kept secret, but there are some things he has ·let us know [revealed]. These things belong to us and our children forever so that we will do everything in these ·teachings [laws; instructions].
The Woman and the Dragon
12 And then a great ·wonder [sign; portent; C symbolic descriptions of heavenly/spiritual realities] appeared in heaven: A woman was clothed with the sun, and the moon was under her feet [C indicating authority or victory; Gen. 37:9], and a crown [C a reward of victory] of twelve stars was on her head [C representing the twelve tribes of Israel; the woman is a symbol of the persecuted people of God]. 2 She was ·pregnant [L in the womb] and cried out with [L labor] pain, because she was about to give birth [C to the Messiah]. 3 Then another ·wonder [sign; portent; 12:1] appeared in heaven: There was a giant red dragon with seven heads [C reminiscent of the many-headed Leviathan representing evil and chaos, here representing Satan; Ps. 74:14; Is. 27:1; Dan. 7:1–9] and seven ·crowns [diadems; royal crowns] on each head. He [or It; C the Greek masculine pronoun can refer to a person or thing] also had ten horns [C symbols of strength and power; Dan. 7:7–8, 20, 24]. 4 His tail swept a third of the stars out of ·the sky [or heaven] and ·threw [cast; hurled; Dan. 8:10] them down to the earth [C representing an early victory against God’s people; 12:1]. He stood in front of the woman who was ready to give birth so he could ·eat [devour] her ·baby [child; C Jesus the Messiah] as soon as it was born. 5 Then the woman gave birth to ·a son [L a son, a male child,] who will ·rule [or shepherd] all the nations with an iron ·rod [sceptre; 19:15; Ps. 2:9]. And her child was ·taken up [or snatched away; C probably a symbolic reference to the resurrection, where Satan’s victory was thwarted] to God and to his throne. 6 The woman ·ran away [fled] into the ·desert [wilderness] to a place God prepared for her where she would ·be taken care of [nourished; fed] for one thousand two hundred sixty days [C equal to three and one-half years; see 11:3].
7 Then there was a war in heaven. Michael [C an archangel and protector of God’s people; Dan. 10:13, 21; 12:1; Jude 9] and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But the dragon was not strong enough, and he and his angels lost their place in heaven. 9 The ·giant [great] dragon was ·thrown down [cast; hurled] out of heaven. (He is that ·old snake [ancient serpent] called the devil or Satan [Gen. 3:1, 15], who ·tricks [deceives; leads astray] the whole world.) The dragon with his angels was ·thrown down [cast; hurled] to the earth.
10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven saying:
“The salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God
and the ·authority [power] of his ·Christ [Messiah; Anointed One] have now come [Dan. 7:14].
[L For] The accuser [C the name Satan means “Accuser” in Hebrew; Job 1:6–12; 2:1–6; Zech. 3:1–2] of our brothers and sisters,
who accused them day and night before our God,
has been ·thrown [cast; hurled] down.
11 And our brothers and sisters ·defeated [conquered] him
by the blood of the ·Lamb’s death [L Lamb; C by means of Christ’s sacrificial death]
and by the ·message they preached [L word of their witness/testimony].
[L And] They did not love their lives so much
that they ·were afraid of [avoided] death.
12 So rejoice, you heavens
and all who live there!
But ·it will be terrible for [L woe to] the earth and the sea,
because the devil has come down to you!
He is filled with ·anger [wrath],
because he knows he ·does not have much time [L has little time].”
Jesus Heals Many People(A)
29 After leaving there, Jesus went along ·the shore of Lake Galilee [T the Sea of Galilee]. He went up on ·a hill [or the mountain] and sat there.
30 Great crowds came to Jesus, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, ·those who could not speak [the mute/deaf; C the word can refer to speech or hearing; v. 31 suggests it here means “mute”], and many others. They ·put [laid] them at Jesus’ feet, and he healed them. 31 The crowd was ·amazed [astonished; marveled] when they saw that ·people who could not speak before [the mute/deaf] were now able to speak. The crippled were ·made strong [well; whole]. The lame could walk, and the blind could see. And they ·praised [glorified] the God of Israel for this.
More than Four Thousand Fed(B)
32 Jesus called his ·followers [disciples] to him and said, “I ·feel sorry [have compassion] for these people, because they have already been with me three days, and they have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry. They might ·faint [collapse] while going home.”
33 His ·followers [disciples] asked him, “·How [L From where] can we get enough bread in this ·remote place [desolate place; desert] to feed ·all these people [L so great a crowd]?”
34 Jesus asked, “How many loaves of bread do you have?”
They answered, “Seven, and a few small fish.”
35 Jesus told the people to ·sit [recline] on the ground. 36 He took the seven loaves of bread and the fish and gave thanks to God. Then he ·divided the food [L broke them] and gave it to his ·followers [disciples], and they gave it to the people. 37 All the people ate and were satisfied. Then his ·followers [disciples] filled seven ·baskets [large baskets; C a different word than in the feeding of the five thousand; 14:20] with the leftover pieces of food. 38 There were about four thousand men there who ate, besides women and children. 39 After ·sending the people home [dismissing the crowds], Jesus got into the boat and went to the ·area [region] of Magadan [C an unknown place, probably on the western shore of Lake Galilee; perhaps Magdala, the hometown of Mary Magdalene].
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.