Book of Common Prayer
A Song for the King’s Wedding
For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies.” A ·maskil [skillful psalm; meditation]. A love song of the sons of Korah [C descendants of Kohath, son of Levi, who served as Temple musicians; 1 Chr. 6:22].
45 ·Beautiful words fill my mind [L My heart is stirred with a good word].
I ·am speaking of royal things [or address my work to the king].
My tongue is like the pen of a skilled writer [Ezra 7:6].
2 You are more ·handsome [or excellent] than anyone,
and ·you are an excellent speaker [L grace flows from your lips; Prov. 22:11],
so God has blessed you forever.
3 Put on your sword ·at your side [L on your thigh], powerful warrior.
Show your ·glory [splendor] and majesty.
4 In your majesty ·win [L ride forth for] the victory
for what is ·true [faithful] and ·right [righteous].
Your ·power [L right hand] ·will do [L teaches you] amazing things.
5 Your sharp arrows will ·enter [pierce]
the hearts of the king’s enemies.
·Nations [Peoples] will ·be defeated before [L fall beneath] you.
6 ·God, your throne will last [or Your throne is a throne of God] forever and ever.
·You will rule your kingdom with fairness [L A scepter of virtue will be the scepter of your kingdom].
7 You love ·right [righteousness] and hate ·evil [wickedness],
so God has ·chosen [anointed] you from among your ·friends [companions];
·he has set you apart with much joy [L …with the oil of joy; C kings were anointed with oil at their coronation; 1 Sam. 10:1; 16:13; Heb. 1:8–9].
8 Your clothes smell like myrrh, aloes, and cassia.
From palaces of ivory
·music [stringed instruments] comes to make you happy.
9 Kings’ daughters are among your honored women.
Your ·bride [queen; consort] stands at your right side
wearing gold from Ophir [C perhaps a region in southern Arabia].
10 Listen to me, daughter; look and ·pay attention [L incline your ear].
Forget your people and your father’s ·family [L house; Gen. 2:24].
11 The king ·loves [L desires; longs for] your beauty.
Because he is your ·master [lord], you should ·obey [L bow yourself before] him.
12 ·People from the city [L The daughter] of Tyre have brought ·a gift [tribute].
Wealthy people ·will want to meet you [seek your favor].
13 The ·princess [L daughter of the king] is ·very beautiful [L all glorious within].
Her gown is woven with gold.
14 In her ·beautiful [embroidered] clothes she is brought to the king.
·Her bridesmaids [Virgins] follow behind her,
and ·they are also brought to him [L her friends follow].
15 They come with happiness and joy;
they enter the king’s palace.
16 You will have sons to replace your fathers [C addressed to the king].
You will make them ·rulers [princes] through all the land.
17 I will make your name famous from now on,
so people will praise you forever and ever.
God, the King of the World
For the director of music. A psalm of the sons of Korah [C descendants of Kohath, son of Levi, who served as Temple musicians; 1 Chr. 6:22].
47 Clap your hands, all you people.
Shout to God with ·joy [jubilant shouts/cries/L sound].
2 The Lord Most High is ·wonderful [awesome].
He is the great King over all the earth!
3 He ·defeated [subdues] ·nations [or armies] ·for [L under] us
and ·put them under our control [L peoples under our feet].
4 He chose ·the land we would inherit [L for us our heritage/inheritance].
We are the ·children [L pride] of Jacob, whom he loved. ·
5 God has risen with a shout of joy;
the Lord has risen ·as the trumpets sounded [L with the sound of the ram’s horn].
6 Sing praises to God. Sing praises.
Sing praises to our King. Sing praises.
7 God is King of all the earth,
so sing a ·song of praise [psalm; a skillful psalm; meditation; L maskil] to him.
8 God is King over the nations.
God sits on his holy throne.
9 The ·leaders [princes] of the ·nations [or armies] ·meet [L gather together]
with the ·people [or army] of the God of Abraham,
because the ·leaders [L shields; C military leaders] of the earth belong to God.
He is ·supreme [highly exalted].
Jerusalem, the City of God
A psalm of the sons of Korah [C descendants of Kohath, son of Levi, who served as Temple musicians; 1 Chr. 6:22].
48 The Lord is great; ·he should [L and greatly to] be praised
in the city of our God, on his holy mountain [C Mount Zion, the location of the Temple].
2 It is ·high and beautiful [beautiful in elevation]
·and brings joy to [L the joy of] the whole world [Lam. 2:15].
Mount Zion ·is like the high mountains [L on the sides] of ·the north [or Zaphon; C comparing Yahweh’s mountain with the mountain of Baal];
it is the city of the Great King.
3 God is within its ·palaces [citadels];
he is known as its defender.
4 Kings joined together
and came ·to attack the city [L on together; 2:1].
5 But when they saw it, they were ·amazed [astonished].
They ran away in ·fear [panic].
6 ·Fear [L Trembling] ·took hold of [seized] them;
they ·hurt [were in pain] like a woman ·having a baby [in labor].
7 You ·destroyed [broke up] the ·large trading ships [L ships of Tarshish; C large trading vessels capable of going to distant ports; Tarshish may have been in Spain (Tartessus) or an island in the eastern Mediterranean; Is. 2:16; Jon. 1:3]
with an east wind.
8 First we heard
and now we have seen
that God ·will always keep his city safe [establishes forever].
It is the city of the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts],
the city of our God. ·
9 God, we come into your Temple
to ·think [ponder; meditate] about your ·love [loyalty].
10 God, your name is known everywhere;
·all over the earth people [L the ends of the earth] praise you.
Your right hand is full of ·goodness [righteousness; or victory].
11 Mount Zion is happy
and ·all the towns [L the daughters] of Judah rejoice,
because ·your decisions are fair [or of your judgments].
12 Walk around Jerusalem
and count its towers.
13 ·Notice how strong they are [L Set your heart on its ramparts].
Look at the ·palaces [citadels].
Then you can ·tell [recount it to] ·your children about them [L a later generation].
14 This God is our God forever and ever.
He will guide us from now on.
Nabal Insults David
25 Now Samuel died, and all the Israelites ·met [L gathered; assembled] and ·had a time of sadness [mourned] for him. Then they buried him at his home in Ramah.
David moved to the ·Desert [Wilderness] of Maon.[a] 2 A man in Maon who had ·land [business] at Carmel was very rich. He had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. He was ·cutting the wool off his sheep [having his sheep shorn] at Carmel. 3 His name was Nabal [C meaning “Fool” in Hebrew], and he was a descendant of Caleb [Num. 13:6, 30; 14:6, 24, 30; Josh. 14:6; 15:14; Judg. 1:12–20]. His wife was named Abigail. She was ·wise [intelligent; clever; sensible] and beautiful, but Nabal was ·cruel [harsh; crude; surly] and mean. He was a Calebite.
4 While David was in the ·desert [wilderness], he heard that Nabal was ·cutting the wool from [shearing] his sheep. 5 So he sent ten young men and told them, “Go to Nabal at Carmel, and greet him ·for me [L in my name]. 6 Say to Nabal, ‘May you and your ·family [L house] and all who belong to you have ·good health [long life; peace; prosperity]! 7 I have heard that you are ·cutting the wool from [shearing] your sheep. When your shepherds were with us, we did not ·harm [mistreat] them. All the time your shepherds were at Carmel, ·we stole nothing from them [they missed/lost nothing]. 8 Ask your ·servants [L young men], and they will tell you. We come at a ·happy time [feast day; festive time], so ·be kind [show favor] to my young men. Please give anything [C provisions] you ·can find [have at hand] for them and for your son David.’”
9 When David’s men arrived, they gave the message to Nabal [L in David’s name], ·but Nabal insulted them [L and then waited]. 10 He answered them, “Who is David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many ·slaves [servants] are running away from their masters ·today [these days]! 11 I have bread and water, and I have meat that I ·killed [slaughtered] for my ·servants who cut the wool [shearers]. ·But I won’t give it to men I don’t know [L Why should I give it to men from who knows where?].”
12 David’s men went back and told him all Nabal had said. 13 Then David said to them, “·Put [Strap; Buckle; T Gird] on your swords!” So they ·put [strapped; buckled; T girded] on their swords, and David put [strapped; buckled; T girded] on his also. About four hundred men went with David, but two hundred men stayed with the ·supplies [equipment; baggage].
14 One of Nabal’s ·servants [young men] said to Abigail, Nabal’s wife, “David sent messengers from the ·desert [wilderness] to greet our master, but Nabal ·insulted [scorned] them. 15 These men were very good to us. They did not ·harm [mistreat] us. ·They stole nothing from us [Nothing was missing] during all the time we were out in the field with them. 16 Night and day they ·protected us. They were […were] like a wall around us while we were with them ·caring for [tending; minding] the sheep. 17 Now ·think about it [make up your mind], and ·decide [consider] what you ·can [should] do. ·Terrible trouble is coming to [Disaster is certain for; Evil is fated for] our master and all his ·family [household]. Nabal is such a ·wicked [ill-tempered; quarrelsome] man that no one can even talk to him.”
18 Abigail hurried. She took two hundred loaves of bread, two ·leather bags [wineskins] full of wine, five ·cooked [prepared; slaughtered] sheep, ·a bushel [five measures/L seahs] of ·cooked [roasted] grain, a hundred ·cakes [clusters] of raisins, and two hundred cakes of pressed figs and ·put [loaded] all these on donkeys. 19 Then she told her ·servants [L young men], “Go on [L ahead]. I’ll follow you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal.
20 Abigail rode her donkey and came down toward ·the [a] mountain ·hideout [ravine]. There she met David and his men coming down toward her.
21 David had just said, “·It’s been useless! [In vain have ] I ·watched over [guarded; protected] Nabal’s property in the ·desert [wilderness]. I made sure ·none of his sheep was missing [nothing was stolen]. I did good to him, but he has paid me back with evil. 22 May God punish ·me [L David][b] even more than my enemies if I leave even one of Nabal’s ·men [L one who urinates against a wall] alive until morning.
Paul and Barnabas in Iconium
14 In Iconium [13:51], ·Paul and Barnabas [L they] went as usual to the Jewish synagogue [C they typically appealed to their fellow Jews first]. They spoke ·so well [L in such a way] that a great many Jews and Greeks believed. 2 But the Jews who did not believe ·excited [stirred up] the Gentiles and ·turned them [poisoned their minds; L harmed/did evil to their souls] against the ·believers [L brothers (and sisters)]. 3 [L So; Therefore] ·Paul and Barnabas [L They] stayed in Iconium a long time and spoke ·bravely [or boldly] for the Lord. He ·showed [testified; confirmed] that their ·message [word] about his grace was true by giving them the power to work [miraculous] signs and ·miracles [wonders]. 4 But [L the people/population of] the city was divided. Some of the people agreed with the Jews, and others ·believed [L were with] the apostles.
5 Some Gentiles, some Jews, and some of their rulers ·wanted [intended; plotted] to mistreat Paul and Barnabas and to stone them to death. 6 When ·Paul and Barnabas [L they] learned about this, they ·ran away [fled; escaped] to Lystra [C eighteen miles south of Iconium] and Derbe [C sixty miles southeast from Lystra], cities in Lycaonia [C the administrative district], and to the areas around those cities. 7 They ·announced the Good News [preached the Gospel] there, too.
Paul in Lystra and Derbe
8 In Lystra [v. 6] there sat a man who had been ·born crippled [L lame from the womb of his mother]; he had never walked. 9 As this man was listening to Paul speak, Paul looked straight at him and saw that he ·believed [had faith that] God could heal him. 10 So he ·cried out [L said with a loud voice], “Stand up on your feet!” The man jumped up and began walking around. 11 When the crowds saw what Paul did, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have ·become like humans [or taken on human form] and have come down to us!” 12 Then the people began to call Barnabas “Zeus” [C main god of the Greek pantheon] and Paul “Hermes,” [C the Greek god who delivered messages] because he was the main speaker. 13 The priest in the temple of Zeus, which was ·near [or beside; at the entrance of] the city, brought some ·bulls [or oxen] and ·flowers [garlands; wreaths] to the ·gates [temple gates; or city gates; C but it is doubtful that Lystra had city walls at this time]. He and the people wanted to offer a sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas. 14 But when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard about it, they tore their clothes [C indicating outrage or sorrow]. They ran in among the people, shouting, 15 “·Friends [L Men], why are you doing these things? We are only human beings ·like [of the same nature as] you. We are bringing you the ·Good News [Gospel] and are telling you to turn away from these worthless things and turn to the living God. He is the One who made the sky, the earth, the sea, and everything in them [Ex. 20:11; Ps. 146:6]. 16 In the past [L generations], God let all the nations ·do what they wanted [L go their own way]. 17 Yet he ·proved he is real [L has not left himself without a witness] by ·showing kindness [doing good], by giving you rain from heaven and crops at the right ·times [seasons], by ·giving you [satisfying/filling you with] food and filling your hearts with joy [Ps. 104:13–15].” 18 Even with these words, they were barely able to keep the crowd from offering sacrifices to them.
Use What You Have(A)
21 Then Jesus said to them, “Do you hide a lamp under a ·bowl [basket] or under a bed? No! You put the lamp on a lampstand. 22 [For] Everything that is hidden will be ·made clear [revealed; disclosed] and every ·secret [concealed] thing will be ·made known [brought to light/into the open]. 23 ·Let those with ears use them and listen! [L “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”]
24 [And he said to them,] “·Think carefully about [Pay attention to] what you hear. ·The way you give to others is the way God will give to you [or The standard you use to judge others will be the standard used for you; L With the measure you measure, it will be measured to you], ·but God will give you even more [and even more will be added to you]. 25 Those who ·have understanding [L have] will be given more. But those who do not ·have understanding [L have], even what they have will be taken away from them. [C The Greek does not say what they have; but the context suggests spiritual understanding to comprehend the mysteries of the kingdom (v. 11).]
Jesus Tells a Story About Seed
26 Then Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is like someone who ·plants seed in [scatters seed on] the ground. 27 Night and day, whether the person is asleep or awake, the seed still [sprouts and] grows, but the person does not know how it grows. 28 By itself the earth produces grain. First the ·plant [blade; stalk] grows, then the head, and then ·all the [the ripe] grain in the head. 29 When the grain is ready, the farmer cuts it [with a sickle], because this is the harvest time.”
A Story About Mustard Seed(B)
30 Then Jesus said, “How can I show you what the kingdom of God is like? What ·story [parable; see 3:23] can I use to explain it? 31 The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, the smallest seed you plant in the ground. [C The mustard seed was the smallest seed known to Jesus’ hearers.] 32 But when planted, this seed grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants. It produces large branches, and the wild birds can make nests in its shade.”
33 Jesus used many ·stories [parables] like these to teach the crowd God’s ·message [word]—as much as they could ·understand [hear]. 34 He always used ·stories [parables] to teach them. But when he and his ·followers [disciples] were alone, Jesus explained everything to them.
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