Book of Common Prayer
A Hymn of Praise
117 All you nations, praise the Lord.
All you people, ·praise [extol] him
2 because ·the Lord loves us very much [L great is his loyalty/love toward us],
and his ·truth [faithfulness] is everlasting.
Praise the Lord!
Thanksgiving for Victory
118 ·Thank [Praise] the Lord because he is good.
His ·love [loyalty] ·continues [endures] forever.
2 Let Israel say,
“His ·love [loyalty] ·continues [endures] forever.”
3 Let the ·family [L house] of Aaron [C the priests] say,
“His ·love [loyalty] ·continues [endures] forever.”
4 Let those who ·respect [fear] the Lord [Prov. 1:7] say,
“His ·love [loyalty] ·continues [endures] forever.”
5 I was in ·trouble [distress], so I ·called [prayed] to the Lord.
The Lord answered me and set me ·free [L in a broad place].
6 I will not ·be afraid [fear], because the Lord is with me [Rom. 8:31].
·People can’t do anything [L What can people do…?] to me [Heb. 13:6].
7 The Lord is with me to help me,
so I will ·see my enemies defeated [L look on my enemy; C in triumph].
8 It is better to ·trust [find refuge in] the Lord
than to ·trust [have confidence in] people.
9 It is better to ·trust [find refuge in] the Lord
than to ·trust [have confidence in] princes.
10 All the nations surrounded me,
but I ·defeated them [warded them off] in the name of the Lord.
11 They surrounded me; they surrounded me on every side,
but ·with the Lord’s power [L in the name of the Lord] I ·defeated them [warded them off].
12 They surrounded me like a swarm of bees,
but they ·died [L were extinguished] as quickly as thorns burn.
·By the Lord’s power [L In the name of the Lord], I ·defeated them [warded them off].
13 They [or You] ·chased me [pushed me hard] until I ·was almost defeated [almost fell],
but the Lord helped me.
14 The Lord ·gives me strength and a song [L is my strength and song/or might].
He has ·saved me [given me victory].
15 Shouts of joy and victory
come from the tents of ·those who do right [the righteous]:
“The right hand of the Lord has done powerful things.”
16 The ·power [L right hand] of the Lord ·has won the victory [is exalted];
with his ·power [L right hand] the Lord has done powerful things.
17 I will not die, but live,
and I will ·tell [recount] what the Lord has done.
18 The Lord has ·taught me a hard lesson [L surely disciplined/instructed me],
but he did not ·let me die [L give me over to death].
19 Open for me the ·Temple gates [L gates of righteousness].
Then I will come in and ·thank [praise] the Lord.
20 This is the Lord’s gate;
only ·those who are good [the righteous] may enter through it [15; 24:3–6].
21 Lord, I ·thank [praise] you for answering me.
You have ·saved me [given me victory].
22 The stone that the builders rejected
became the chief cornerstone [Luke 20:17; Acts 4:11; Eph. 2:20; 1 Pet. 2:7].
23 ·The Lord did this [L This is from the Lord],
and it is wonderful ·to us [L in our eyes; Matt. 21:42; Mark 12:10–11].
24 This is the day that the Lord has made.
Let us rejoice and be glad ·today [L in it]!
25 Please, Lord, ·save us [give us victory];
please, Lord, give us ·success [prosperity].
26 ·God bless [Blessed be] the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
We bless all of you from the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord [Mark 11:9; Luke 13:35; 19:38].
27 The Lord is God,
and he has ·shown kindness to [illuminated; given light to] us.
·With branches in your hands, join the feast [L Bind the feast/procession with branches].
Come to the ·corners [L horns; Ex. 27:2] of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will ·thank [praise] you;
you are my God, and I will ·praise your greatness [L exalt you].
29 ·Thank [Praise] the Lord because he is good.
His ·love [loyalty] ·continues [endures] forever.
Honest People Are Blessed
112 Praise the Lord!
·Happy [Blessed] are those who ·respect [fear] the Lord [Prov. 1:7; 31:30],
who ·want [take great delight in] ·what he [L his] commands.
2 Their ·descendants [L seed] will be ·powerful [strong] in the land;
the ·children [generation] of ·honest [virtuous] people will be blessed.
3 Their houses will be full of wealth and riches,
and their ·goodness [righteousness] will ·continue [endure; L stand] forever.
4 A light shines in the dark for ·honest [virtuous] people,
for those who are ·merciful [gracious] and ·kind [compassionate] and ·good [merciful].
5 It is good to be ·merciful [gracious] and ·generous [to lend].
Those who ·are fair in their business [conduct their affairs justly]
6 will never be ·defeated [moved].
·Good [Righteous] people will always be remembered.
7 They ·won’t be afraid of [do not fear] ·bad news [to hear evil; Prov. 30:25];
their hearts are ·steady [steadfast; established; prepared] because they ·trust [have confidence in] the Lord.
8 They ·are confident [endure; are unshakeable; 111:8] and will not ·be afraid [fear];
they will look down on their ·enemies [foes].
9 They ·give freely [L distribute/scatter, they give] to the ·poor [needy].
·The things they do are right and [Their righteousness] will ·continue [endure] forever [2 Cor. 9:9].
·They will be given great honor [L Their horn is exalted in glory; C an animal’s horn symbolizes strength].
10 The wicked will see this and become angry;
they will ·grind [gnash] their teeth [C in anger] and then ·disappear [melt away].
The ·wishes [cravings; desires] of the wicked will ·come to nothing [perish].
Praise for the Lord’s Kindness
113 Praise the Lord!
Praise him, you servants of the Lord;
praise the name of the Lord.
2 The Lord’s name ·should [is to] be ·praised [blessed]
now and forever.
3 The Lord’s name ·should [is to] be praised
from where the sun rises to where it sets.
4 The Lord is ·supreme [exalted] over all the nations [99:2];
his glory [C God’s manifest presence] ·reaches to the skies [is over the heavens].
5 ·No one [L Who…?] is like the Lord our God,
who ·rules [L is seated/enthroned] ·from heaven [on high],
6 who ·bends [stoops] down to look
at the ·skies [heavens] and the earth.
7 The Lord ·lifts [raises] the poor from the ·dirt [dust]
and ·takes [exalts] the ·helpless [needy] from the ashes.
8 He ·seats [enthrones] them with princes,
the princes of his people [1 Sam. 2:8; Luke 1:52].
9 He gives ·children to the woman who has none [L the barren woman a home]
and makes her ·a happy mother [L joyful with children].
Praise the Lord!
Water from a Rock
17 The whole ·Israelite community [congregation/assembly of the sons/T children of Israel] left the ·Desert [Wilderness] of Sin and ·traveled from place to place [journeyed by stages], as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water there for the people to drink. 2 So the people ·quarreled with [accused; made a case against] Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.”
Moses said to them, “Why do you ·quarrel with [accuse; make a case against] me? Why are you ·testing [putting on trial] the Lord?”
3 But the people were very thirsty for water, so they ·grumbled [complained] against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Was it to kill us, our children, and our farm animals with thirst?”
4 So Moses cried to the Lord, “What can I do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me to death.”
5 The Lord said to Moses, “Go ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you. Carry with you the ·walking stick [staff] that you used to strike the Nile River [14:21]. Now go! 6 I will stand in front of you on a rock at ·Mount Sinai [L Horeb; C another name for Sinai; 3:1]. ·Hit [Strike] that rock with the ·stick [staff], and water will come out of it so that the people can drink.” Moses did these things as the elders of Israel watched. 7 He named that place Massah [C Hebrew for “test”], because the Israelites tested the Lord when they asked, “Is the Lord with us or not?” He also named it Meribah [C Hebrew for “quarrel”], because they ·quarreled [accused; made a case].
The Importance of Christ
15 The Son [L …who] is ·the image of [exactly like; the visible representation of] the invisible God [John 1:18; Heb. 1:3]. He ·ranks higher than [L is the firstborn of/over] ·everything that has been made [all creation; Prov. 8:22–30]. 16 ·Through his power [L In him; or By him] all things were created [John 1:3; Heb. 1:2]—things in heaven and on earth, things seen and unseen, all ·powers [or heavenly authorities; L thrones], ·authorities [dominions; kingdoms], ·lords [rulers], and ·rulers [authorities; C these four may refer to angelic hierarchies, or to earthly and heavenly rulers]. All things were created through Christ and for Christ. 17 He ·was there before anything was made [L is before all things], and all things ·continue [endure; or hold together; unite] ·because of [or in] him. 18 He is the head of the body, which is the church. He is the beginning [C meaning (1) the source of the church; (2) the creator of all things; or (3) the beginning/initiator of the end-time resurrection]. He is the ·first one who was raised [L firstborn] from the dead. So in all things Jesus has ·first place [supremacy]. 19 God was pleased for all ·of himself [that he is; L of his fullness] to live in ·Christ [or the Son; L him]. 20 And through ·Christ [L him], God has ·brought all things back to himself again [L reconciled all things to himself]—things on earth and things in heaven. ·God made [L …by making] peace through the blood of ·Christ’s death on the cross [L his cross].
21 At one time you were ·separated [alienated; estranged] from God. You were his enemies in your minds, ·and the evil things you did were against God [or because of your evil deeds]. 22 But now God has ·made you his friends again [reconciled you] through Christ’s death in ·the body [his physical body; L the body of his flesh], so that he might bring you into God’s presence as people who are holy, ·with no wrong [without blemish; C as were sacrificial animals], and ·with nothing of which God can judge you guilty [blameless; innocent; free of accusation]. 23 This will happen if you continue ·strong [grounded; established] and ·sure [firm; steadfast] in your faith. You must not ·be moved [shift; drift] away from the hope ·brought to you by [or found in; L of] the ·Good News [the Gospel] that you heard. That same ·Good News [Gospel] has been ·told [preached; proclaimed] to ·everyone [L every creature; or in all creation] ·in the world [L under heaven], and I, Paul, ·help in preaching [L am a servant/minister of] it.
Jesus Talks About the Spirit
37 On the last and ·most important [L greatest] day of the feast Jesus stood up and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. [C The feast of Shelters/Tabernacles featured a water pouring ritual that may stand in the background of Jesus’ speech.] 38 If anyone believes in me, rivers of living water will flow out from that person’s ·heart [L belly; gut], as the Scripture says [Is. 55:1; 58:11; Ezek. 47:1–12; Zech. 14:8, compare John 4:10–11; Rev. 7:17; 22:1].” 39 Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit. The Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet been ·raised to glory [glorified]. But later, those who believed in Jesus would receive the Spirit.
The People Argue About Jesus
40 When the people heard Jesus’ words, some of them said, “This man really is the Prophet [1:21; C the “prophet like Moses” of Deut. 18:15–18].”
41 Others said, “He is the ·Christ [Messiah].”
Still others said, “The ·Christ [Messiah] will not come from Galilee. 42 The Scripture says that the ·Christ [Messiah] will come from David’s ·family [offspring; L seed; 2 Sam. 7:12–16; Ps. 89:3–4; Is. 9:7; 55:3] and from Bethlehem, the ·town [village] where David lived [Mic. 5:2].” 43 So ·the people did not agree with each other [L there was a division in the crowd] about Jesus. 44 Some of them wanted to ·arrest [seize] him, but no one was able to ·touch [L lay a hand on] him.
Some Leaders Won’t Believe
45 [L Therefore] The Temple ·guards [police; officers] went back to the ·leading [T chief] priests and the Pharisees, who asked, “Why didn’t you bring Jesus?”
46 The ·guards [police; officers] answered, “·The words he says are greater than the words of any other person who has ever spoken [L No one has ever spoken like this]!”
47 [L Therefore] The Pharisees answered them, “So Jesus has ·fooled [deceived; led astray] you also! 48 Have any of the ·leaders [rulers; authorities] or the Pharisees believed in him? No! 49 But ·these people [L this crowd], who know nothing about the law, are ·under God’s curse [accursed].”
50 Nicodemus, who had gone to see Jesus before [see 3:1–21], was in that group. He said, 51 “·Our law does not [L Does our law…?] judge a person without hearing him and knowing what he has done.”
52 They answered, “Are you from Galilee, too? ·Study the Scriptures, and you will learn [L Search and see] that no prophet comes from Galilee.”
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