Book of Common Prayer
The World Should Praise the Lord
148 Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the ·skies [heavens].
Praise him ·high above the earth [in the heights].
2 Praise him, all you ·angels [messengers].
Praise him, all ·you armies of heaven [his hosts; C the angelic army].
3 Praise him, sun and moon.
Praise him, all you ·shining stars [L stars of light].
4 Praise him, ·highest heavens [L heaven of heavens]
and you waters above the ·sky [heavens].
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
because ·they were created by his command [L he commands and they were created; Gen. 1].
6 He ·put them in place [L made them stand] forever and ever;
he made a ·law [statute; requirement; ordinance] that will never ·change [pass].
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
you large sea ·animals [monsters; C like Leviathan; 74:12–17; 104:26; Gen. 1:21; Job 3:8; 41; Is. 27:1] and all the ·oceans [deeps],
8 ·lightning [L fire] and hail, snow and ·mist [cloud; or smoke],
and stormy winds that ·obey him [L do his word],
9 mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars,
10 wild animals and all cattle,
crawling animals and birds,
11 kings of the earth and all ·nations [peoples],
princes and all ·rulers [judges] of the earth,
12 young men and women,
old people and ·children [youth].
13 Praise the name of the Lord,
because ·he [L his name] alone is ·great [exalted].
·He is more wonderful than [L His splendor is over] heaven and earth.
14 God has ·given his people a king [exalted/raised a horn over his people; C an animal’s horn symbolizes power].
He should be praised by all ·who belong to him [his saints/loyal ones];
he should be praised by the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel], the people ·closest to his heart [L nearest to him].
Praise the Lord!
Praise the God of Israel
149 Praise the Lord!
Sing a new song [C celebrating victory; 33:3; 40:3; 96:1; 98:1; 144:9; Is. 42:10; Rev. 5:9; 14:3] to the Lord;
sing his praise in the ·meeting [assembly; congregation] of his ·people [saints; loyal ones].
2 Let the Israelites ·be happy [rejoice] because of God, [L in] their Maker.
Let the ·people of Jerusalem [L sons of Zion; C location of the Temple] rejoice ·because [L in] of their King.
3 They should praise him with dancing.
They should ·sing praises [make a psalm] to him with tambourines and harps.
4 The Lord is pleased with his people;
he ·saves [L endows with salvation/victory] the ·humble [needy].
5 Let ·those who worship him [the saints/loyal ones] rejoice in his glory [C God’s manifest presence].
Let them sing for joy even in bed!
6 Let them ·shout his praise [L exalt God with their throats]
with their two-edged swords in their hands.
7 They will ·punish [execute vengeance against] the nations
and ·defeat [punish] the people.
8 They will put those kings in chains
and ·those important men [honored men] in iron bands.
9 They will ·punish them as God has written [L accomplish a written judgment].
God is honored by ·all who worship him [his saints/loyal ones].
Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord with Music
150 Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his ·Temple [L holy place; or holiness];
praise him in his ·mighty heaven [L strong firmament; Gen. 1:7].
2 Praise him for his strength;
praise him for his [L abundant] greatness.
3 Praise him with trumpet blasts;
praise him with harps and lyres.
4 Praise him with tambourines and dancing;
praise him with stringed instruments and flutes.
5 Praise him with loud cymbals;
praise him with crashing cymbals.
6 Let everything that breathes praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord!
God Brought Israel from Egypt
114 When ·the Israelites [Israel] went out of Egypt,
the ·people [L house] of Jacob left ·that foreign country [L a people of incomprehensible language].
2 Then Judah became God’s holy place [Ex. 19:6];
Israel became ·the land he ruled [his dominion].
3 The Sea [C Red (or Reed) Sea; Ex. 14–15] looked and ·ran away [fled];
the Jordan River turned back [Josh. 3].
4 The mountains ·danced [skipped] like ·sheep [rams]
and the hills like little lambs.
5 Sea, why did you ·run away [flee]?
Jordan, why did you turn back?
6 Mountains, why did you ·dance [skip] like ·sheep [rams]?
Hills, why did you ·dance [skip] like little lambs?
7 Earth, ·shake with fear [writhe; tremble] before the Lord,
before the God of Jacob.
8 He turned a rock into a pool of water,
a hard ·rock [flint] into a spring of water [Ex. 17:1–7; Num. 20:1–13].
The One True God
115 ·It does not belong [L Not to us, not] to us, Lord.
The glory belongs to ·you [L your name]
because of your ·love [loyalty] and ·loyalty [faithfulness].
2 Why do the nations ask,
“Where is their God?”
3 Our God is in heaven.
He does what he pleases.
4 Their idols are made of silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
5 They have mouths, but they cannot speak.
They have eyes, but they cannot see.
6 They have ears, but they cannot hear.
They have noses, but they cannot smell.
7 They have hands, but they cannot feel.
They have feet, but they cannot walk.
No sounds come from their throats.
8 People who make ·idols [L them] ·will be [or are] like them,
and so will those who ·trust [have confidence in] them [135:15–18; Is. 44:9–20; 46:6–7; Jer. 10:1–9; Hab. 2:18–19].
9 ·Family of [L O] Israel, ·trust [have confidence in] the Lord;
he is your helper and your ·protection [L shield].
10 ·Family [L House] of Aaron [C the priests], ·trust [have confidence in] the Lord;
he is your helper and your ·protection [L shield].
11 You who ·respect [fear] the Lord [Prov. 1:7] should ·trust [have confidence in] him;
he is your helper and your ·protection [L shield].
12 The Lord remembers us and will bless us.
He will bless the ·family [L house] of Israel;
he will bless the ·family [L house] of Aaron [C the priests].
13 The Lord will bless those who ·respect [fear] him [Prov. 1:7],
from the ·smallest [or least] to the greatest.
14 May the Lord ·give you success [make you increase],
and may he give you and your children ·success [increase].
15 May you be blessed by the Lord,
who made heaven and earth [Gen. 1].
16 Heaven belongs to the Lord,
but he gave the earth to people.
17 Dead people do not praise the Lord;
those ·in the grave are silent [L who go down in silence].
18 But we will praise the Lord
now and forever.
Praise the Lord!
A Letter to the Captives in Babylon
29 This is the ·letter [L words of the scroll] that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the remaining elders who were among the ·captives [exiles], the priests, and the prophets. He sent it to all the other people Nebuchadnezzar had taken as ·captives [exiles] from Jerusalem to Babylon [C in 597 bc; 2 Kin. 24:12–17; 2 Chr. 36:6–8].
4 This is what the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], the God of Israel, says to all those ·people I sent away [exiles] from Jerusalem as ·captives [exiles] to Babylon: 5 “Build houses and settle ·in the land [down]. Plant gardens and eat ·the food they grow [L their fruit]. 6 ·Get married [L Take wives] and have sons and daughters. ·Find [L Take] wives for your sons, and let your daughters be married so they also may have sons and daughters. ·Have many children in Babylon [L Multiply there]; don’t become fewer in number. 7 ·Also do good things for [L Seek the peace/security of] the city where I ·sent you as captives [exiled you]. Pray to the Lord for the city where you are living, because ·if good things happen in the city, good things will happen to you also [L in its peace/security you will have peace/security].” 8 The Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], the God of Israel, says: “Don’t let the prophets among you and the ·people who do magic [L diviners] ·fool [deceive] you. Don’t listen to ·their dreams [their/or your dreams that they/or you dream]. 9 They are prophesying ·lies [falsehoods] to you, ·saying that their message is from me [L …in my name]. But I did not send them,” says the Lord.
10 This is what the Lord says: “·Babylon will be powerful for seventy years. After that time I will come to [L Only after the seventy years of Babylon are filled will I visit; 25:11] you, and I will ·keep my promise [L confirm my good word] to ·bring [restore] you back to ·Jerusalem [L this place]. 11 I say this because I know ·what [L the plans] I am planning for you,” says the Lord. “I have ·good plans for you [L plans for your peace/security], not plans ·to hurt you [L for your harm]. I will give you hope and a good future. 12 Then you will call ·my name [L me]. You will come to me and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will search for me. And when you search for me with all your heart, you will find me [Dan. 9:4–19]! 14 I will let you find me,” says the Lord. “And I will ·bring you back from your captivity [restore your fortunes]. I ·forced you to leave [drove you from] this place, but I will gather you from all the nations, from the places I have ·sent you as captives [exiled you],” says the Lord. “And I will ·bring you back [restore you] to this place.”
Paul Is Called to Macedonia
6 ·Paul and those with him [L They] went through the areas of Phrygia [C a region in north central Asia Minor; 18:23] and Galatia [C either the Roman province of Galatia or the old kingdom of Galatia in its north] since the Holy Spirit ·did not let them [prohibited them to; C either through circumstances or divine revelation] ·preach the Good News [L speak the word] in Asia [C a Roman province, in present-day Turkey]. 7 When they came ·near [or opposite] the country of Mysia [C the northwest section of Asia Minor, present-day Turkey], they tried to go into Bithynia [C northern Asia Minor further east than Mysia], but the Spirit of Jesus did not let them. 8 So they passed by Mysia and went to Troas [C a city in northwest Asia Minor]. 9 That night Paul saw in a vision a man from Macedonia [C an area across the Aegean Sea in mainland Greece]. The man stood and ·begged [urged; encouraged], “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we [C the switch to first person plural (“we”) indicates that the author, Luke, joined them (see also 20:5—21:18; 27:1—28:16)] immediately ·prepared [made plans; attempted] to leave for Macedonia, ·understanding [or convinced] that God had called us to ·tell the Good News [preach the Gospel] to those people.
Lydia Becomes a Christian
11 We ·left [embarked/put out to sea from] Troas and sailed straight to the island of Samothrace [C a mountainous island in the north Aegean]. The next day we sailed to Neapolis [C city in Macedonia, the first city Paul visited on the continent of Europe]. 12 Then we went by land to Philippi, a Roman colony [C a town begun by Romans with Roman laws, customs, and privileges] and ·the leading city in that part [or one of the leading cities in that district; or a city in the first district] of Macedonia. We stayed there for several days.
13 On the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate to the river where we ·thought [expected] we would find a special place for prayer [C Philippi evidently had no synagogue because of its small Jewish population]. Some women had gathered there, so we sat down and talked with them. 14 One of the listeners was a woman named Lydia from the city of Thyatira [C in western Asia Minor] ·whose job was selling [who was a dealer/merchant in] purple cloth [C the most expensive type of material]. She was a worshiper of God [C a God-fearing Gentile; 10:2], and the Lord opened her ·mind [L heart] to pay attention to what Paul was saying. 15 She and ·all the people in her house [her household] were baptized. Then she ·invited us to her home [L urged us], saying, “If you ·think I am truly [L have judged me to be] ·a believer in [or faithful to] the Lord, then come stay in my house.” And she ·persuaded us [urged us strongly] to stay with her.
Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-Two(A)
10 After this, the Lord ·chose [appointed] ·seventy-two[a] [C the number may reflect the 70 nations listed in the “table of nations” in Genesis 10 (the Greek text of which reads “72”) and so foreshadows the mission to the Gentiles] others and sent them out in pairs ahead of him into every town and place where he ·planned [was about] to go. 2 He said to them, “·There are a great many people to harvest [L The harvest is great/large], but ·there are only a few workers [L the workers/laborers are few]. So pray to the Lord ·who owns [who is in charge of; L of] the harvest, that he will send more ·workers [laborers] ·to gather [L into] his harvest. 3 Go now, but ·listen [L look; T behold]! I am sending you out like ·sheep [lambs] among wolves. 4 Don’t carry ·a purse [money bag], a ·bag [traveling bag], or sandals, and don’t ·waste time talking with people [greet anyone] on the road [C because of the urgency of the task]. 5 ·Before [When] you go into a house, [L first] say, ‘Peace be with this house.’ 6 If ·peace-loving people [L a son/child of peace] live there, your ·blessing of peace [L peace] will ·stay with [rest on] them, but if not, then ·your blessing [L it] will come back to you. 7 Stay in the same house, eating and drinking what the people there give you. [L For] A worker ·should be given his pay [deserves his wages; T is worthy of his hire; 1 Tim. 5:18]. Don’t move from house to house [C to avoid the temptation of constantly seeking better accommodations]. 8 If you go into a town and the people welcome you, eat what they give you. 9 Heal the sick who live there, and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’ 10 But if you go into a town, and the people don’t welcome you, then go into the streets and say, 11 ‘Even the ·dirt [dust] from your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you [C in protest and as a warning of judgment]. But ·remember [know; recognize] that the kingdom of God ·is near [has come near; is at hand].’ 12 I tell you, on ·the Judgment Day [L that day] it will be ·better [more bearable/tolerable] for the people of Sodom [C a city God destroyed because the people were so evil; Gen. 19] than for the people of that town.
Satan Falls
17 When the ·seventy-two[a] came back, they were very ·happy [joyful] and said, “Lord, even the demons ·obeyed [submit to] us ·when we used your name [L in your name]!”
18 Jesus said, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven [C symbolically in the exorcisms; Is. 14:12; Rev. 12:13]. 19 ·Listen [L Look; T Behold], I have given you ·power [authority] to ·walk on [trample] snakes and scorpions, ·power that is greater than the enemy has [L …and authority over all the power of the enemy]. So nothing will hurt you. 20 But you should not ·be happy [rejoice] because the spirits ·obey [submit to] you but because your names are ·written [recorded] in heaven.”
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.