Book of Common Prayer
97 How I love your ·teachings [instructions; laws]!
I ·think about [ponder; meditate on] them all day long.
98 Your commands make me wiser than my enemies,
because they are mine forever.
99 I am ·wiser [more insightful] than all my teachers,
because I ·think about [ponder; meditate on] your ·rules [decrees; testimonies].
100 I have more understanding than the elders,
because I ·follow [protect] your ·orders [precepts].
101 I have ·avoided [L kept my feet from] every evil way
so I could ·obey [keep; guard] your word.
102 I haven’t ·walked [turned] away from your ·laws [judgments],
because you yourself are my teacher.
103 ·Your promises are sweet to me [L How sweet your words slip/slide down my palate],
sweeter than honey in my mouth!
104 Your ·orders [precepts] give me understanding,
so I hate lying ways.
105 Your word is like a lamp for my feet
and a light for my path [C it shows how life should be lived].
106 I ·will do what I have promised [L have sworn and confirmed it]
and ·obey [keep; guard] your ·fair [righteous] ·laws [judgments].
107 I have suffered ·for a long time [or greatly].
Lord, ·give me [spare my] life by your word.
108 Lord, accept my ·willing [offering of] praise
and teach me your ·laws [judgments].
109 My life is always in ·danger [L my hand],
but I haven’t forgotten your ·teachings [instructions; laws].
110 Wicked people have set a trap for me,
but I haven’t ·strayed [wandered] from your ·orders [precepts].
111 ·I will follow your rules forever [L Your rules/decrees/precepts are my inheritance forever],
because they make ·me [L my heart] happy.
112 I will ·try [L incline my heart] to do ·what you demand [L your statutes/ordinances]
forever, until the end.
113 I hate ·disloyal [or double-minded] people,
but I love your ·teachings [instructions; laws].
114 You are my hiding place and my shield;
I hope in your word.
115 Get away from me, you who do evil,
so I can ·keep [protect] my God’s commands.
116 ·Support [Uphold] me as you promised so I can live.
Don’t let me be embarrassed because of my hopes.
117 ·Help [Strengthen] me, and I will ·be saved [have victory].
I will always ·respect [care about] your ·demands [statutes; ordinances; requirements].
118 You ·reject [treat as worthless] those who ·ignore [go astray from] your ·demands [statutes; ordinances; requirements],
because their lies ·mislead them [leave them in the lurch].
119 You throw away the wicked of the world like ·trash [dross].
So I will love your ·rules [decrees; testimonies].
120 ·I [L My flesh] ·shake [shudder] in ·fear [dread] of you;
I ·respect [fear] your ·laws [judgments].
A Song for a Holiday
For the director of music. By the gittith [C perhaps a musical term or instrument]. A psalm of Asaph [C a Levitical musician, a descendant of Gershon, at the time of David; 1 Chr. 6:39; 15:17; 2 Chr. 5:12].
81 Sing for joy to God, our strength;
shout out loud to the God of Jacob [C another name for Israel].
2 ·Begin the music [Lift up a psalm]. ·Play [Sound; L Give] the tambourines [68:25; 149:3; 150:4; Ex. 15:20].
·Play pleasant music on the harps [L …the pleasant/sweet harps] and lyres.
3 Blow the ·trumpet [ram’s horn] at ·the time of the New Moon [L the month; C a monthly religious festival],
when the moon is full, when our feast begins.
4 This is the ·law [statute; ordinance; requirement] for Israel;
it is the ·command [judgment] of the God of Jacob [v. 1].
5 He ·gave [set] this ·rule [decree; testimony] to the people of Joseph [C reference to the northern tribes]
when they went out of the land of Egypt [C the exodus; Ex. 12–15].
I heard a ·language [L tongue] I did not know, saying [C God now speaks]:
6 “I ·took the load off [removed the burden from] their shoulders;
·I let them put down their baskets [L Their hands were removed from the baskets].
7 When you were in ·trouble [distress], you called, and I ·saved [rescued] you.
I answered you ·with thunder [L in the secret place of thunder; Ex. 19:18–19].
I tested you at the waters of Meribah [95:8; 106:32; Ex. 17:1–17; Num. 20:1–13]. ·
8 My people, listen. I ·am warning [bear testimony/witness against] you.
Israel, please listen to me!
9 You must not have ·foreign [strange] gods;
you must not worship any ·false [foreign] god.
10 I, the Lord, am your God,
who brought you out of Egypt.
·Open [L Widen] your mouth and I will feed you [Deut. 29:6; 32:10–14].
11 “But my people did not listen to ·me [L my voice];
Israel did not ·want [accept] me.
12 So I ·let them go their stubborn way [L threw them away because of their stubborn hearts]
and ·follow [walk according to] their own advice.
13 I wish my people would listen to me;
I wish Israel would ·live [L walk on] my way.
14 Then I would quickly ·defeat [subdue; quell] their enemies
and turn my hand against their foes.
15 Those who hate the Lord would ·bow [cringe; cower] before him.
Their ·punishment [doom] would continue forever.
16 But I would give you the finest wheat [Deut. 32:14]
and fill you with honey from the rocks [Deut. 32:13].”
A Cry for Justice
A psalm of Asaph [C a Levitical musician, a descendant of Gershon, at the time of David; 1 Chr. 6:39; 15:17; 2 Chr. 5:12].
82 God ·is in charge of the great meeting [L takes his place/presides in the great assembly/or the assembly of the gods/divine council; C the angels (powers and authorities; Eph. 6:12) are here called “gods”];
he judges among the “gods” [John 10:35–36].
2 He says, “How long will you ·defend evil people [or judge unfairly]?
How long will you show ·greater kindness [favor; preference] to the wicked? ·
3 ·Defend [Judge] the ·weak [or poor] and the orphans;
·defend the rights of [vindicate] the poor and ·suffering [needy].
4 ·Save [Rescue] the ·weak [or poor] and helpless;
·free [protect] them from the ·power [L hand] of the wicked.
5 “You know nothing. You don’t understand.
You walk in the dark,
while the ·world is falling apart [L foundations of the earth are tottering].
6 I said, ‘You are “gods.”
You are all sons of God Most High.’
7 But you will die like any other person;
you will fall like all the ·leaders [princes; C God will punish these evil angels].”
8 God, ·come [rise up] and judge the earth,
because you ·own [inherit] all the nations.
16 When the king of Egypt and his ·officers [servants] ·learned [L heard the report] that Joseph’s brothers had come, ·they were very happy [L it was good in their eyes]. 17 So ·the king [L Pharaoh] said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers to load their ·animals [donkeys] and go back to the land of Canaan 18 and bring their father and their ·families [L households] back here to me. I will give them the best land in Egypt, and they will eat the ·best food we have here [L fat of the land; Ezek. 34:3; 39:19]. 19 ·Tell [Command] them to take some wagons from Egypt for their ·children [little ones] and their wives and to bring their father back also. 20 Tell them not to ·worry [be troubled] about bringing any of their things with them, because we will give them the best of what we have in Egypt.”
21 So the sons of Israel did this. Joseph gave them wagons as the king had ordered and ·food [provisions] for ·their trip [the way]. 22 He gave each ·brother [L of them] a change of clothes, but he gave Benjamin five changes of clothes and about ·seven and one-half pounds [L three hundred pieces] of silver. 23 Joseph also sent his father ten donkeys loaded with the best things from Egypt and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and other food for his father ·on his trip back [L for the way]. 24 Then Joseph told his brothers to go. As they were leaving, he said to them, “Don’t quarrel on the way home.”
25 So the brothers left Egypt and went to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. 26 They told him, “Joseph is still alive and is the ruler over all the land of Egypt.” ·Their father [L His heart] was ·shocked [stunned] and did not believe them. 27 But when the brothers told him everything Joseph had said, and when Jacob saw the wagons Joseph had sent to carry him back to Egypt, ·he felt better [L the spirit of Jacob their father came alive/revived]. 28 Israel [C Jacob’s other name; 32:28] said, “·Now I believe you [Enough!]. My son Joseph is still alive, and I will go and see him before I die.”
About Food Offered to Idols
8 Now ·I will write about [or concerning your question about; L concerning; see 7:1; 12:1; 16:1] meat that is sacrificed to idols. We know that “we all have knowledge [C probably a slogan used by the Corinthians; see 6:12, 13; 7:1; 8:4; 10:23].” Knowledge puffs you up with pride, but love builds up. 2 If you think you know something, you do not yet know as ·well as you should [L you ought to know]. 3 But if any person loves God, that person is known by God.
4 So ·this is what I say about [L concerning] eating meat sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is really nothing in the world, and we know there is ·only one God [no God but one; Deut. 4:35, 39; C these may be other slogans the church was using to justify their behavior; see v. 1]. 5 Even though there are things called gods, in heaven or on earth (and there are many “gods” and “lords”), 6 for us there is only one God—the Father. All things came from him, and we live for him. And there is only one Lord—Jesus Christ. All things were made through him, and we also ·were made [exist; live] through him.
7 But not all people know this. Some people are still so used to idols that when they eat meat, they still think of it as being sacrificed to an idol. Because their conscience is weak, when they eat it, ·they feel guilty [L their conscience is defiled]. 8 But food will not ·bring us closer [make us acceptable] to God. Refusing to eat does not make us ·less pleasing to God [any worse; L lacking], and eating does not make us ·better in God’s sight [any better; L abounding].
9 But be careful that ·your freedom [this right/authority of yours] does not ·cause those who are weak in faith to fall into sin [L become a stumbling block to the weak]. 10 Suppose one of you who has knowledge eats in an idol’s temple. Someone who ·is weak in faith [or has a weak conscience] might see you eating there and be ·encouraged [enboldened] to eat meat sacrificed to idols ·while thinking it is wrong to do so [or as a result of his weak conscience]. 11 This weak ·believer [L brother] for whom Christ died is ·ruined [destroyed] because of your “knowledge.” 12 When you sin against your brothers and sisters in Christ like this and ·cause them to do what they feel is wrong [L wound their weak conscience], you are also sinning against Christ. 13 So if the food I eat causes them to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again so that I will not cause any of them to ·sin [stumble; fall into sin].
13 They ·forced [drove; cast] many demons out and ·put olive oil on [anointed with oil] many sick people and healed them.
How John the Baptist Was Killed(A)
14 King Herod [C Antipas; a son of Herod the Great; Luke 3:1] heard about Jesus, because he was now well known. Some people said,[a] “He is John the Baptist, who has risen from the dead. That is why ·he can work these miracles [L miraculous powers are at work in him].”
15 Others said, “He is Elijah [C a great OT prophet (1 Kin. 17), who was expected to return in the end times (Mal. 4:5)].”
Other people said, “Jesus is a prophet, like the prophets who lived long ago.”
16 When Herod heard this, he said, “I killed John by cutting off his head. Now he has risen from the dead!”
17 Herod himself had ·ordered [sent] his soldiers to arrest John and ·put [bound; chained] him in prison ·in order to please [L because of] his wife, Herodias. She had been the wife of Philip, Herod’s brother, but then Herod had married her. 18 John had been telling Herod, “It is not lawful for you to ·be married to [have] your brother’s wife.” 19 So Herodias ·hated [had a grudge against] John and wanted to kill him. But she couldn’t, 20 because Herod was afraid of John and protected him. He knew John was a ·good [righteous] and holy man. Also, though John’s preaching always ·bothered [disturbed; puzzled; perplexed] him, he enjoyed listening to John.
21 Then the ·perfect [opportune] time came for Herodias to cause John’s death. On Herod’s birthday, he gave a ·dinner party [banquet] for ·the most important government leaders [his nobles/high officials], the commanders of his army, and ·the most important people [leaders] in Galilee. 22 When the daughter of Herodias[b] came in and danced, she pleased Herod and the people eating with him.
So King Herod said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I will give it to you.” 23 He ·promised [swore/vowed to] her, “Anything you ask for I will give to you—up to half of my kingdom.”
24 The girl went [out] to her mother and asked, “What should I ask for?”
Her mother answered, “Ask for the head of John the Baptist.”
25 At once the girl ·went back [hurried back in] to the king and said to him, “I want [you to give me] the head of John the Baptist right now on a platter.”
26 Although the king was very ·sad [sorry; grieved; distressed], he had made a promise, and his dinner guests had heard it. So he did not want to refuse what she asked. 27 Immediately the king sent ·a soldier [an executioner] to bring John’s head. The ·soldier [executioner] went and cut off John’s head in the prison 28 and brought it back on a platter. He gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When John’s ·followers [disciples] heard this, they came and got John’s ·body [corpse] and put it in a tomb.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.