Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer in Time of Sickness
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
41 ·Happy [Blessed] are those who ·think about [or care for] the poor [James 1:27].
·When trouble comes [L In the day of trouble/evil], the Lord will ·save [rescue; T deliver] them.
2 The Lord will ·protect [guard; keep] them and ·spare their life [keep them alive]
and will ·bless them [make them happy] in the land.
He will not ·let their enemies take them [L give their lives to their enemy; or give them over to the desire of their enemy].
3 The Lord will give them strength when they are ·sick [L on their sickbed],
and he will ·make them well again [L restore them from their bed of illness].
4 I said, “Lord, have ·mercy [compassion] on me.
Heal me, because I have sinned against you.”
5 My enemies are saying evil things about me.
They say, “When will he die and ·be forgotten [L his name/reputation perish]?”
6 Some people come to see me,
but ·they lie [L speak deceptive/vain things].
·They just come to get bad news [L Their hearts collect iniquities].
Then they go ·and gossip [L out and speak].
7 All ·my enemies [L those who hate me] whisper about me
and ·think [imagine] ·the worst [trouble; evil] about me.
8 They say, “·He has a terrible disease [or An evil spell has been cast on him].
He ·will never get out of bed again [L lies down and will not get up].”
9 ·My best and truest friend [L A man of peace in whom I trust/find support], who ate at my table,
has ·even turned against me [L lifted his heel against me; C an act of treachery; 55:12–14; Matt. 26:23; Mark 14:18; Luke 22:21; John 13:18].
10 Lord, have ·mercy [compassion] on me.
·Give me strength [L Raise me up] so I can pay them back.
11 Because my enemies do not ·defeat [triumph over; or make fun of] me,
I know you are ·pleased [delighted] with me.
12 Because I am ·innocent [blameless], you support me
and will ·let me be with you [L set me in your presence] forever.
13 ·Praise [Blessed be] the Lord, the God of Israel.
·He has always been [L …from everlasting to everlasting],
and he will always be.
Amen and amen [C verse 13 is a doxology that closes Book 1].
God Will Punish the Proud
For the director of music. A ·maskil [skillful psalm; meditation] of David. When Doeg the Edomite came to Saul and ·said [reported] to him, “David ·is in [L has come to/entered] Ahimelech’s house [1 Sam. 21:7; 22:7–23].”
52 Mighty warrior, why do you ·brag [boast] about the evil you do?
God’s ·love [loyalty] will continue ·forever [L everyday; all day].
2 You think up ·evil plans [L destruction].
Your tongue is like a sharp razor [Prov. 18:21],
making up ·lies [deception].
3 You love ·wrong [evil] more than ·right [good]
and ·lies [falsehood] more than speaking the truth. ·
4 You love words that ·bite [destroy; L swallow up]
and ·tongues that lie [deceptive tongues; James 3:1–12].
5 But God will ·ruin you [L break you down] forever.
He will grab you and ·throw [tear] you out of your tent;
he will ·tear you away [uproot you] from the land of the living. ·
6 Those who ·do right [are righteous] will see this and ·fear God [L fear; Prov. 1:7].
They will laugh at you and say,
7 “·Look what happened to [T Behold] the man
who did not ·depend on God [L make God his refuge]
but ·depended on [trusted/put his confidence in] ·his money [L the abundance of his wealth].
He grew strong by his ·evil [destructive] plans.”
8 But I am like ·an olive tree
growing [L a green olive tree] in God’s ·Temple [L house; 1:3; 92:12–13; Jer. 11:16].
I ·trust [have confidence in] God’s ·love [loyalty]
forever and ever.
9 God, I will ·thank [praise] you forever for what you have done.
With ·those who worship you [his loyal ones/saints], I will ·trust [put my confidence in] you because you are good.
A Prayer for Help
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].
44 God, we have heard ·about you [L with our ears; 78:3].
Our ·ancestors [fathers] ·told [recited to] us
what you did in their days,
in days long ago.
2 With your ·power [L hand] you ·forced [dispossessed] the nations out of the land
and ·placed [L planted] our ancestors here.
You ·destroyed [troubled] ·those other nations [L the peoples],
but you ·made our ancestors grow strong [set them free].
3 It wasn’t their swords that ·took [possessed] the land.
It wasn’t their ·power [L arm] that gave them victory.
But it was your ·great power [L arm] and ·strength [L right hand].
·You were with them [L …and the light of your face] because you ·loved [delighted in] them.
4 My God, you are my King.
·Your commands led Jacob’s people to victory [or You command victory for Jacob; C Jacob is another name for Israel].
5 With your help we pushed ·back [down] our enemies.
In your name we trampled those who ·came [rose up] against us.
6 I don’t trust my bow to help me,
and my sword can’t ·save me [give me victory].
7 You ·saved us from [gave us victory over] our foes,
and you made ·our enemies [L those who hate us] ashamed.
8 We will praise God every day;
we will ·praise [give thanks to] your name forever. ·
9 But you have rejected us and ·shamed [humiliated] us.
You don’t ·march [L go out] with our armies anymore [Ex. 15:3; 2 Chr. 20:20–21].
10 You let our enemies push us back,
and those who hate us have ·taken our wealth [plundered us].
11 You ·gave us away [made us] like sheep ·to be eaten [for slaughter]
and have scattered us among the nations.
12 You sold your people for nothing
and made no profit on the sale.
13 You made us a ·joke [reproach] to our neighbors;
those around us ·laugh [ridicule] and make fun of us.
14 You made us a ·joke [byword; proverb] to the other nations;
people shake their heads.
15 I am always in disgrace,
and ·I am [L my face is] covered with shame.
16 My enemy is getting ·even [revenge]
with ·insults [taunts] and curses.
17 All these things have happened to us,
but we have not forgotten you
or ·failed to keep [been false to; betrayed] our ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with you [C perhaps a reference to the covenant with Moses; Ex. 19–24].
18 Our hearts haven’t turned ·away [back] from you,
and ·we haven’t stopped following you [L our steps have not departed from your way].
19 But you crushed us in this place where ·wild dogs [jackals] live [C desolate areas],
and you covered us with ·deep darkness [or the shadow of death; Nah. 1:8].
20 If we had forgotten the name of our God
or ·lifted [L spread] our hands in prayer to ·foreign [L strange] gods,
21 ·God would have known [L Would not God discover this…?],
because he knows ·what is in [L the secrets of] our hearts.
22 But for you we are ·in danger of death [L killed] all the time.
People think we are worth no more than sheep to be ·killed [slaughtered; Is. 53:7].
23 Wake up, Lord! Why are you sleeping?
Get up! Don’t reject us forever [Lam. 5:22].
24 Why do you hide your face from us?
Have you forgotten our ·pain [affliction] and ·troubles [oppression]?
25 We have ·been pushed down [sunk down] into the ·dirt [dust];
·we are flat on the ground [L our stomachs cleave to the earth].
26 ·Get [Rise] up and help us.
Because of your ·love [loyalty], ·save [redeem; ransom] us.
God Controls the Future
48 The Lord says, “·Family [L House] of Jacob, listen to me.
You are called [L by the name of] Israel,
and you come from the ·family [L waters; wellsprings] of Judah.
You ·swear [take oaths] by the Lord’s name
and ·praise [confess; call on] the God of Israel,
but ·you are not honest or sincere [L not in truth or in righteousness].
2 You call yourselves ·people of [or by the name of; L from] the holy city,
and you ·depend on [trust in] the God of Israel,
who is named the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts].
3 Long ago I told you ·what would happen [L the former things].
·I said these things and [L They went out from my mouth and I] made them known;
suddenly I acted, and these things happened.
4 I knew you were stubborn;
your neck was like an iron muscle,
and your ·head [forehead; brow] was like bronze.
5 So a long time ago I told you about these things;
I told you about them before they happened
so you couldn’t say, ‘My idols did this,
and my ·wooden [carved images] and metal statues ·made these things happen [decreed/ordained/commanded them].’
6 “You heard and saw everything that happened,
·so you should [L will you not…?] tell this news to others.
·Now [From this time on] I will tell you about new things,
hidden things that you don’t know yet.
7 ·These things are happening [L They are created] now, not long ago;
you have not heard about them before today.
So you cannot say, ‘[L Look; or Yes; T Behold] We already knew about that.’
8 But you have not heard; you have not understood.
Even long ago ·you did not listen [L your ear has not been opened].
I knew you would surely ·turn [act treacherously] against me;
you ·have fought against me [L were called a rebel] ·since you were born [L from the womb].
9 But for my ·own [L name’s] sake I will ·be patient [L hold back my anger].
·People will praise me because [L For the sake of my praise] I did not become angry
and ·destroy you [cut you off].
10 I have ·made you pure [refined you], but not by fire, as silver is made pure.
I have purified you ·by giving you troubles [L in the furnace of affliction/suffering].
11 I do this for myself, for my own sake.
·I will not [L How could I…?] let ·people speak evil against me [L my name be defiled/profaned],
and I will not ·let some god take my glory [L give/share my glory with another].
1 From Paul, an ·apostle [messenger]. ·I was not chosen to be an apostle by human beings, nor was I sent from human beings [L …not from men/humans or by a man/human authority]. ·I was made an apostle [L …but] through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Jesus from the dead. 2 This letter is also from all ·those of God’s family [L the brothers (and sisters)] who are with me.
To the churches in Galatia [C a Roman province in present-day central Turkey; Paul started churches in Galatia on his first missionary journey (Acts 13—14)]:
3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to ·free [rescue; deliver] us from this ·evil world we live in [present evil age], as God the Father ·planned [willed; desired]. 5 ·The glory belongs to God [L …to whom be glory] forever and ever. Amen.
The Only Good News
6 I am amazed that you are so quickly ·turning away from [deserting; forsaking] ·God [L the one] who called you by ·his grace given through Christ [L the grace of Christ], and are believing ·something different than the Good News [L a different Gospel]. 7 ·Really, there is no other Good News [L …which is not another]. But some people are ·confusing [troubling; disturbing] you; they want to ·change [distort] the ·Good News [Gospel] of Christ. 8 But even if we ourselves or an angel from heaven were to preach to you a different message than the Good News we preached, ·we should be [L let him be] ·judged guilty [condemned; accursed; L anathema]! 9 I said this before, and now I say it again: If anyone is preaching a different message than the one you received, ·that person should be [L let him be] ·judged guilty [condemned; accursed; L anathema]!
10 Do you think I am now trying to ·make people accept me [seek human favor/acceptance]? ·No, God is the One I am trying to please [L …or (the favor of) God?]. Am I trying to please people? If I still wanted to please people, I would not be a ·servant [slave; bondservant] of Christ.
Paul’s Authority Is from God
11 Brothers and sisters, I want you to know that the ·Good News [Gospel] I preached to you was not ·made up by human beings [devised by man; of human origin]. 12 I did not get it from ·humans [a human source; man], nor did anyone teach it to me, but ·Jesus Christ showed it to me [L by a revelation of/from/about Jesus Christ; Acts 9].
13 [L For] You have heard about my past life in the Jewish religion. I ·attacked [intensely/severely persecuted] the church of God and tried to destroy it. 14 I was ·becoming a leader in the Jewish religion [L advancing/progressing in Judaism], doing better than most other Jews of my age. I ·tried harder than anyone else [was exceedingly zealous] to follow the ·teachings handed down by our [traditions of my] ·ancestors [forefathers].
15 But God ·set me apart [or chose/appointed me] for his work ·even before I was born [L from my mother’s womb]. He called me through his grace 16 and ·showed [revealed] his son to me so that I might ·tell the Good News [preach the Gospel] about him to the Gentiles [Acts 9:15; 22:21]. When God called me, I did not ·get advice or help from [confer/consult with] ·any person [L flesh and blood]. 17 I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was. ·But [Instead; Rather] I went away to Arabia [C probably the Nabatean kingdom south of Damascus] and later went back to Damascus.
Jesus Gives Life to a Dead Girl and Heals a Sick Woman(A)
21 When Jesus went in the boat back to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him there. 22 A leader of the synagogue, named Jairus, came there, saw Jesus, and ·fell [bowed; knelt] at his feet. 23 He begged Jesus, ·saying again and again [earnestly saying], “My daughter is dying. Please come and ·put [lay] your hands on her so she will be healed and will live.” 24 So Jesus went with him.
A large crowd followed Jesus and pushed very close around him. 25 Among them was a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years [C probably a chronic menstrual disorder]. 26 She had suffered very much from many doctors and had spent all the money she had, but instead of improving, she was getting worse. 27 When the woman heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his ·coat [cloak; garment]. 28 [L For] She ·thought [said], “If I can just touch his clothes, I will ·be healed [get well; be saved].” 29 Instantly her bleeding stopped, and she felt in her body that she was healed from her disease.
30 At once Jesus ·felt [perceived] power go out from him. So he turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
31 His ·followers [disciples] said, “Look at how many people are pushing against you! And you ask, ‘Who touched me?’”
32 But Jesus continued looking around to see who had touched him. 33 The woman, knowing that she was healed, came and fell at Jesus’ feet. Shaking with fear, she told him the whole truth. 34 Jesus said to her, “·Dear woman [L Daughter], ·you are made well because you believed [your faith has saved/healed you]. Go in peace; be healed of your disease.”
35 While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of the synagogue leader. They said, “Your daughter is dead. ·There is no need to bother the teacher anymore.” [L Why trouble the teacher anymore?”]
36 But Jesus ·paid no attention to [or overheard] what they said. He told the synagogue leader, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”
37 Jesus let only Peter, James, and John the brother of James go with him. 38 When they came to the house of the synagogue leader, Jesus found many people there making lots of noise and ·crying loudly [L weeping and wailing loudly]. 39 Jesus entered the house and said to them, “Why are you ·crying [weeping] and making so much noise? The child is not dead, only asleep.” 40 But they ·laughed at [ridiculed] him. So, after ·throwing [putting] them [L all] out of the house, Jesus took the child’s father and mother and his three followers into the room where the child was. 41 Taking hold of the girl’s hand, he said to her, “Talitha, koum!” (This means [C in Aramaic, the language Jesus commonly spoke], “Little girl, I tell you to stand up!”) 42 At once the girl stood right up and began walking. (She was twelve years old.) Everyone was completely amazed. 43 Jesus gave them strict orders not to tell people about this. Then he told them to give the girl something to eat.
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