Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer for Protection
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
140 Lord, rescue me from evil people;
protect me from ·cruel [violent] people
2 who ·make evil plans [L consider evil in their hearts],
who ·always start fights [L every day stir up war; Prov. 15:18; 29:22].
3 They make their tongues sharp as a snake’s;
·their words are like snake poison [L the venom of vipers is under their lips; Rom. 3:13]. ·
4 Lord, ·guard [keep] me from the ·power [L hand] of wicked people;
protect me from ·cruel [violent] people
who plan ·to trip me up [my downfall].
5 The ·proud [arrogant] hid a trap for me.
They spread out a net [L with cords] beside the road;
they set ·traps [snares] for me. ·
6 I said to the Lord, “You are my God.”
Lord, ·listen [L give ear] to my prayer ·for help [of supplication].
7 Lord God, my ·mighty [strong] ·savior [victor],
you ·protect me in [L cover my head in the day of] battle.
8 Lord, do not give the wicked what they ·want [desire].
Don’t let their plans succeed,
or they will become ·proud [exalted]. ·
9 Those around me have ·planned trouble [L uplifted heads].
Now let ·it [L the trouble of their lips] come to them.
10 Let burning coals ·fall [rain] on them.
·Throw them [Let them fall] into the fire
or into pits from which they cannot ·escape [get up].
11 Don’t let ·liars [L a tongue-man] ·settle [be established] in the land.
Let evil ·quickly [or with blows] hunt down ·cruel [violent] people.
12 I know the Lord will get justice for the poor
and will defend the needy in court.
13 ·Good [Righteous] people will ·praise [thank] his name;
·honest [virtuous] people will live in his presence.
A Prayer for Safety
A ·maskil [skillful psalm; meditation] of David when he was in the cave [C at Adullam (1 Sam. 22:1, 4) or En-Gedi (1 Sam. 24:1–22)]. A prayer.
142 I cry out to the Lord;
I ·pray [cry out] to the Lord for ·mercy [grace].
2 I pour out my ·problems [complaint] to him;
I tell him my ·troubles [distress].
3 When ·I am afraid [I am depressed; L my spirit is faint],
you, Lord, know ·the way out [L my way].
In the path where I walk,
·a trap is hidden [L they have hidden a trap] for me.
4 Look ·around me [L at/on my right hand] and see.
No one cares about me.
·I have no place of safety [L A place of refuge perishes from me];
no one ·cares if I live [L seeks for my soul].
5 Lord, I cry out to you.
I say, “You are my ·protection [refuge].
·You are all I want in this life [L …my portion in the land of the living].”
6 ·Listen [Pay attention] to my cry,
because I am ·helpless [brought very low].
·Save [Protect] me from those who are ·chasing [pursuing; persecuting] me,
because they are too strong for me.
7 ·Free me [L Bring me out] from my prison,
and then I will ·praise [thank] your name.
Then ·good [righteous] people will surround me,
because you have ·taken care of me [given me my reward].
A Prayer Not to Sin
A psalm of David.
141 Lord, I ·call [pray] to you. Come quickly to me.
·Listen to me [L Give ear to my voice] when I ·call [pray] to you.
2 Let my prayer be like incense placed before you [Ex. 30:7–8; Rev. 5:8],
and ·my praise [L the lifting of my hands] like the evening sacrifice.
3 Lord, ·help me control my tongue [L set a guard on my mouth];
·help me be careful about what I say [L keep watch on the door of my mouth; Prov. 13:3; 21:23; James 3:1–12].
4 ·Take away my desire to do evil [L Don’t incline my heart to an evil matter]
or to join others in doing wrong.
Don’t let me eat tasty food
with those who do evil.
5 If a ·good [righteous] person ·punished [L hit] me, that would be ·kind [an act of loyalty].
If he corrected me, that would be like perfumed oil on my head.
·I [L My head] shouldn’t refuse it.
But I pray against those who do evil.
6 Let their ·leaders [judges] be thrown down the cliffs.
Then people will ·know that I have spoken correctly [L listen to my words for they are pleasant]:
7 “·The ground [or The rock; L Like it] is plowed and broken up.
In the same way, our bones have been scattered at the ·grave [L mouth of Sheol; C the grave or the underworld].”
8 God, ·I look to you for help [L my eyes are to you].
I ·trust [find refuge] in you, Lord. Don’t let ·me die [L my life pour out].
9 ·Protect [Guard; Keep] me from the traps they set for me
and from the net that evil people have spread.
10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
but let me pass by safely.
A Prayer Not to Be Killed
A psalm of David.
143 Lord, hear my prayer;
·listen [L give ear] to my ·cry for mercy [prayer of supplication].
Answer me
because you are ·loyal [faithful] and ·good [righteous].
2 Don’t ·judge me [L bring me into judgment], your servant,
because no one alive is ·right [righteous] before you [Rom. 3:22; Gal. 2:16].
3 My enemies are ·chasing [pursuing; persecuting] me;
they crushed me to the ground.
They made me ·live [sit] in darkness
like those long dead [Lam. 3:6].
4 ·I am afraid [I am depressed; L my spirit is faint; 142:3];
my ·courage is gone [L heart within me is desolated].
5 I remember ·what happened long ago [L the former days];
I ·consider [meditated on] everything you have done.
I ·think [considered] ·about all you have made [L the work of your hands].
6 I ·lift my hands to you in prayer [L spread out my hands to you].
·As a dry land needs rain, I thirst [L My life/soul is like a thirsty/parched land] for you. ·
7 Lord, answer me quickly,
because ·I am getting weak [L my spirit languishes].
Don’t ·turn away [L hide your face] from me,
or I will be like those who ·are dead [L go down to the pit].
8 ·Tell me [Make me hear] in the morning about your ·love [loyalty],
because I ·trust [have confidence in] you.
·Show me what I should do [L Make me know the way I should walk],
because ·my prayers go up [L I lift up my soul] to you.
9 Lord, ·save [protect] me from my enemies;
I hide in you.
10 Teach me to do ·what you want [your will],
because you are my God.
Let your good Spirit [or spirit]
·lead [guide] me on level ground.
11 Lord, let me live
·so people will praise you [L for the sake of your name].
In your ·goodness [righteousness]
·save me [L bring me out] from my ·troubles [distress].
12 In your ·love [loyalty] ·defeat [destroy] my enemies.
·Destroy [L Make perish] all those who ·trouble [distress] me,
because I am your servant.
19 The whole land of Israel had no blacksmith because the Philistines had said, “The Hebrews ·might [L must not] make swords and spears.” 20 So all the Israelites had to go down to the Philistines to have their plows, hoes, axes, and sickles sharpened. 21 The Philistine blacksmiths charged ·about one-fourth of an ounce of silver [L two-thirds of a shekel] for sharpening plows and hoes. And they charged ·one-eighth of an ounce of silver [L one-third of a shekel] for sharpening picks, axes, and the ·sticks used to guide oxen [goads].
22 So when the battle came, the ·soldiers [people] with Saul and Jonathan had no swords or spears [L in their hands]. Only Saul and his son Jonathan had them.
Israel Defeats the Philistines
23 A ·group from [unit/detachment of] the Philistine army had gone out to the pass at Micmash.
14 One day Jonathan, Saul’s son, said to ·the officer who carried his armor [his armor bearer], “Come, let’s go over to the Philistine ·camp [outpost] on the other side.” But Jonathan did not tell his father.
2 Saul was sitting under a pomegranate tree at ·the threshing floor [or Migron] near Gibeah. He had about six hundred men with him. 3 One man was Ahijah who was wearing the ·holy vest [ephod; Ex. 28:6–14]. (Ahijah was a son of Ichabod’s brother Ahitub. Ichabod was the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the Lord’s priest in Shiloh.) No one knew Jonathan had left.
4 There was a ·steep slope [rocky crag/cliff] on each side of the pass that Jonathan planned to go through to reach the Philistine ·camp [outpost]. The cliff on one side was named Bozez, and the cliff on the other side was named Seneh. 5 One ·cliff [crag] faced north toward Micmash. The other faced south toward Geba.
6 Jonathan said to his ·officer who carried his armor [armor bearer], “Come. Let’s go to the ·camp [outpost] of those men who are not circumcised [C Philistines were among the few Near Eastern people of the day who did not practice circumcision; it had special significance in Israel; Gen. 17:9–14]. Maybe the Lord will ·help [act/work something for] us. The Lord ·can give us victory if [is able to save/rescue whether] we have many people, or just a few.”
7 ·The officer who carried Jonathan’s armor [His armor bearer] said to him, “Do whatever you think is best. Go ahead. ·I’m with you [Our hearts/minds are one].”
8 Jonathan said, “Then come. We will cross over to the Philistines and let them see us. 9 If they say to us, ‘Stay there until we come to you [C in order to kill them],’ we will stay where we are. We won’t go up to them. 10 But if they say, ‘Come up to us [C in order to fight],’ we will climb up, and the Lord will ·let us defeat them [L give them into our hands]. This will be the sign for us.”
11 When they both let the Philistines see them, the Philistines said, “Look! The Hebrews are crawling out of the holes they were hiding in!” 12 The Philistines in the ·camp [outpost] shouted to Jonathan and his officer, “Come up to us. ·We’ll teach you a lesson [or We have something to tell/show you]!”
Jonathan said to his ·officer [armor bearer], “Climb up behind me, because the Lord has given the Philistines ·to [L into the hands of] Israel!” 13 So Jonathan climbed up, using his hands and feet, and his ·officer [armor bearer] climbed just behind him. ·Jonathan struck down the Philistines [L And they fell before Jonathan] as he went, and his ·officer [armor bearer] killed ·them as he followed [those who came from] behind him. 14 In that first ·fight [attack; slaughter] Jonathan and his officer killed about twenty Philistines over a ·half acre [L yoke] of ground.
15 All the Philistine soldiers panicked—those in the ·camp [outpost] and those in the raiding party. ·The ground itself shook [An earthquake struck]! God had caused the panic.
Saul Is Converted
9 ·In Jerusalem [L But; Meanwhile] Saul was still ·threatening [L breathing threats against] the ·followers [disciples] of the Lord by saying he would kill them. So he went to the high priest [C probably Caiaphas; 4:6] 2 and asked him to write letters to the synagogues in the city of Damascus [C in Syria, 135 miles north of Jerusalem]. Then if Saul found any ·followers of Christ’s Way [or who belonged to the Way; C a name for the Christian movement], men or women, he would ·arrest [take them prisoner; L bind] them and bring them back to Jerusalem.
3 So Saul headed toward Damascus. As he came near the city, a bright light from heaven suddenly flashed around him [C in the OT lightning sometimes signaled the appearance of God; Ex. 19:16]. 4 Saul fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”
5 Saul said, “Who are you, ·Lord [or sir]?”
The voice answered, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 Get up now and go into the city. ·Someone there will tell you [L You will be told] what you must do.”
7 The ·people [men] traveling with Saul stood there ·but said nothing [speechless; or unable to speak]. They heard the voice, but they saw no one. 8 Saul got up from the ground and opened his eyes, but he could not see. So those with Saul took his hand and led him into Damascus. 9 For three days Saul could not see and did not eat or drink.
Jesus Is Crucified(A)
26 As they led Jesus away, Simon, a man from Cyrene [C a port city in North Africa (modern Libya)], was coming in from the ·fields [countryside; country; C Simon may be a Jewish pilgrim visiting Jerusalem for Passover or an immigrant living there]. They forced him to carry Jesus’ cross and to walk behind him.
27 A large crowd of people was following Jesus, including some women who were ·sad [mourning] and ·crying [wailing; lamenting] for him. 28 But Jesus turned and said to them, “·Women [L Daughters] of Jerusalem, don’t ·cry [weep] for me. ·Cry [Weep] for yourselves and for your children. 29 [L For look/T behold] The ·time is [days are] coming when people will say, ‘Blessed are ·the women who cannot have children [L the barren women and the wombs that never gave birth] and ·who have no babies to nurse [L the breasts that have never nursed].’ 30 Then people will say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ And they will say to the hills, ‘·Cover [Bury] us [Hos. 10:8]!’ 31 If they act like this now when ·life is good [L the tree is green], what will happen when ·bad times come [L it is dry; C probably an allusion to the siege and destruction of Jerusalem in ad 70]?”
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