Book of Common Prayer
The Word of God
119 ·Happy [Blessed] are those ·who live pure lives [L whose way is blameless],
who follow the Lord’s ·teachings [instructions; law].
2 Happy are those who keep his ·rules [decrees; testimonies],
who ·try to obey [L seek] him with their whole heart.
3 They don’t do what is wrong;
they follow his ways.
4 Lord, you ·gave [commanded] your ·orders [precepts]
to be obeyed completely.
5 ·I wish I [L O that my ways] were more ·loyal [steadfast; established; set]
in obeying your ·demands [statutes; ordinances; requirements].
6 Then I would not be ashamed
·when I study [staring/gazing at] your commands.
7 When I learned that your ·laws [judgments] are fair,
I ·praised [thanked] you with an ·honest [upright] heart.
8 I will obey your ·demands [statutes; ordinances; requirements],
so please don’t ever ·leave [abandon; forsake] me.
9 How can a young person ·live a pure life [L keep his way pure]?
By ·obeying [guarding; keeping] your word.
10 With all my heart I ·try to obey [seek] you.
Don’t let me ·break [stray from] your commands.
11 I have ·taken your words to heart [treasured/stored your words in my heart]
so I would not sin against you.
12 Lord, you ·should be praised [are blessed].
Teach me your ·demands [statutes; ordinances; requirements].
13 My lips will ·tell about [recount]
all the ·laws you have spoken [L judgments of your mouth].
14 I enjoy ·living by your rules [the way of your decrees/testimonies]
as people enjoy great riches.
15 I ·think about [meditate on] your ·orders [precepts]
and ·study [look at] your ways.
16 I enjoy ·obeying your demands [your statutes/ordinances/requirements],
and I will not forget your word.
17 ·Do good [Grant this] to me, your servant, so I can live,
so I can ·obey [keep; guard] your word.
18 Open my eyes to see
the ·miracles [wonders] in your ·teachings [instructions; law].
19 I am a ·stranger [sojourner; alien resident] ·on earth [or in the land].
Do not hide your commands from me.
20 ·I wear myself out [My soul pines away] with ·desire [longing]
for your ·laws [judgments] all the time.
21 You ·scold [rebuke; reprimand] ·proud [arrogant] people;
those who ·ignore [wander from] your commands are cursed.
22 ·Don’t let me be insulted and hated [L Take away insult and contempt]
because I keep your ·rules [decrees; testimonies].
23 Even if princes sit around and speak against me,
I, your servant, will ·think [meditate] about your ·demands [statutes; ordinances; requirements].
24 Your ·rules [statutes; ordinances; requirements] give me pleasure;
they ·give me good advice [L are my advisors/counselors].
A Prayer Against Liars
For the director of music. Upon the ·sheminith [L eighth; C a reference to an eight-stringed instrument or possibly the manner of singing]. A psalm of David.
12 Save me, Lord, because the ·good [faithful; godly; covenantal; loyal] people are all gone;
·no true believers are left on earth [L the faithful have vanished among humanity].
2 Everyone ·lies [L speaks falsehood] to his neighbors;
they ·say one thing and mean another [speak with flattering lips and with a double heart/L heart and heart].
3 The Lord will ·stop [L cut off] those flattering lips
and those bragging tongues.
4 They say, “Our tongues will ·help us win [prevail].
·We can say what we wish [L Our lips belong to us]; ·no one [L who…?] is our master.”
5 But the Lord says,
“I will now rise up,
because the ·poor [weak] are ·being hurt [destroyed; plundered; oppressed].
Because of the ·moans [groans; sighs] of the ·helpless [needy],
I will give them the ·help [victory] they ·want [long for].”
6 The Lord’s ·words [or promises] are ·pure [flawless],
like silver ·purified [refined] ·by fire [or in a furnace],
·purified [refined] seven times over [18:30; 119:140].
7 Lord, you will ·keep us safe [L guard/protect them];
you will always ·protect [guard] us from such ·people [a generation].
8 But the wicked ·are [L walk] all around us;
·everyone loves what is wrong [L what is vile is lifted up among the sons of man/humanity].
A Prayer for God to Be Near
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
13 How long will you forget me, Lord? Forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I ·worry [or bear pain; L hold counsels]
and ·feel sad [hold sorrow] in my heart all day?
How long will my enemy ·win [rise up] over me?
3 Lord, look at me.
Answer me, my God;
·tell me [L light up my eyes], or I will ·die [L sleep the sleep of death].
4 Otherwise my enemy will say, “I have ·won [finished him off]!”
·Those against me [My foes] will rejoice that I’ve been ·defeated [shaken; moved].
5 I ·trust [have confidence] in your ·love [loyalty; covenant love].
My heart ·is happy [rejoices] because ·you saved me [of your victory/salvation].
6 I sing to the Lord
because he has ·taken care of [been good to] me.
The Unbelieving Fool
For the director of music. Of David.
14 Fools say ·to themselves [L in their hearts],
“There is no God [C Psalm 53 largely parallels this psalm].”
·Fools are evil [L They are corrupt] and do ·terrible [detestable] things [Deut. 32:5];
there is no one who does anything good.
2 The Lord looked down from heaven on all people
to see if anyone ·understood [L was wise/insightful],
if anyone was ·looking to God for help [seeking God].
3 But all have ·turned [wandered] away.
Together, everyone has become ·evil [perverse].
There is no one who does anything good,
not even one [Rom. 3:10–12].
4 Don’t ·the wicked [L those who do evil] ·understand [know]?
They ·destroy [consume; L eat] my people as if they were ·eating [consuming] bread.
They do not ·ask the Lord for help [call on the Lord].
5 But the wicked are ·filled [terrified] with terror,
because God is with ·those who do what is right [the company of the righteous].
6 The wicked ·upset [confuse; frustrate] the plans of the poor,
but the Lord ·will protect them [is their refuge].
7 I pray that ·victory [salvation] will come to Israel from Mount Zion [C the location of the Temple]!
May the Lord ·bring them back [restore the fortunes of his people; C perhaps at the end of the exile].
Then the people of Jacob will rejoice,
and the people of Israel will be glad.
Job Answers Eliphaz
6 Then Job answered [L and said]:
7 “·People have [L Do not people have…?] a hard ·task [service] on earth,
and their days are like those of a [L hired] laborer [C hard work with little profit].
2 They are like a ·slave [servant] ·wishing [L panting] for the evening shadows,
like a [L hired] laborer waiting to be paid.
3 But I ·am given [L inherit] months that are ·empty [vain; futile],
and nights of ·misery [or toil] have been ·given [L allotted] to me.
4 When I lie down, I think, ‘How long until I get up?’
The night is long, and I toss until dawn.
5 My body is covered with worms and ·scabs [L clods of dust/dirt],
and my skin ·is broken and full of sores [L crusts over and oozes].
6 “My days go by faster than a weaver’s ·tool [shuttle],
and they come to an end without hope.
7 Remember, God, that my life is only a breath.
My eyes will never see happy times again.
8 ·Those who [L The eyes that] see me now will see me no more;
you will look for me, but I will ·be gone [L be no more; not exist].
9 As a cloud ·disappears [fades] and is gone,
people go to ·the grave [L Sheol; C the grave or the underworld] and never return.
10 They will never come back to their houses again,
and their places will not know them anymore.
11 “So I will not ·stay quiet [L restrain my mouth];
I will speak out in the ·suffering [distress; L pinch] of my spirit.
I will ·complain [groan] ·because I am so unhappy [L in the bitterness of my soul].
12 ·I am not [L Am I…?] ·the sea [L Yam] or ·the sea monster [L Tannin; C Yam and Tannin are legendary sea monsters representing chaos].
·So why have you […that you] set a guard over me?
13 Sometimes I think my bed will comfort me
or that my couch will ·stop my complaint [ease my groans].
14 Then you ·frighten [terrorize] me with dreams
and ·terrify [scare] me with visions.
15 My throat prefers to be choked;
my bones welcome death.
16 I ·hate [L reject] my life; I don’t want to live forever.
Leave me alone, because my days have no meaning.
17 “Why do you make people so important
and ·give them so much attention [L set your heart on them; C contrast Ps. 8:4]?
18 You ·examine [visit] them every morning
and test them ·every moment [all the time].
19 Will you never look away from me
or leave me alone even long enough to swallow [L my saliva]?
20 If I have sinned, what have I done to you,
you watcher of humans?
Why have you made me your target?
Have I become a ·heavy load [burden] for you?
21 Why don’t you ·pardon [forgive] my ·wrongs [transgressions]
and ·forgive my sins [carry away my guilt]?
I will soon lie down in the dust of death.
Then you will ·search [look] for me, but I will be no more.”
Peter Teaches Cornelius
10 At Caesarea [C a coastal city, 25 miles south of Mount Carmel; a center of Roman government for Palestine] there was a man named Cornelius, ·an officer [L a centurion; C an officer in charge of about a hundred soldiers] in the Italian ·group of the Roman army [L cohort; regiment; C a cohort was about six hundred soldiers]. 2 Cornelius was a ·religious [pious; godly] man. He and all ·the other people who lived in his house [his household] ·worshiped the true God [L feared God; C “God-fearers” were Gentiles who worshiped the one true God of Israel]. He gave much of his money to ·the poor [or the Jewish people; L the people] and prayed to God often. 3 ·One afternoon about three o’clock [L About the ninth hour of the day], Cornelius clearly saw a vision. An angel of God came to him and said, “Cornelius!”
4 Cornelius stared at the angel. He ·became afraid [was terrified] and said, “What do you want, ·Lord [or sir]?”
The angel said, “·God has heard your prayers. He has seen that you give to the poor, and he remembers you [L Your prayers and your alms have gone up to God as a memorial/memorial offering]. 5 Send some men now to Joppa [9:36] to bring back a man named Simon who is also called Peter. 6 He is staying [as a guest] with a man, ·also named Simon, who is a tanner [or named Simon Byrseus; 9:43] and has a house beside the sea.” 7 When the angel who spoke to Cornelius left, Cornelius called two of his ·servants [household slaves/servants] and a soldier, a ·religious [devout; pious; godly] man who ·worked for him [or was on his staff; or was loyal to him]. 8 Cornelius explained everything to them and sent them to Joppa.
9 About ·noon [L the sixth hour] the next day as they ·came near Joppa [L journeyed and drew near the city], Peter was going up to the roof [C in ancient Israel flat roofs were used as living spaces and for storage] to pray. 10 He was hungry and wanted to eat, but while the food was being prepared, he ·had a vision [or fell into a trance]. 11 He saw heaven opened and ·something [an object] coming down that looked like a big sheet being lowered to earth by its four corners. 12 In it were all kinds of ·animals [L four-footed creatures], reptiles, and birds [L of the air/sky]. 13 Then a voice said to Peter, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.”
14 But Peter said, “·No [Absolutely not], Lord! I have never eaten food that is ·unholy [profane; common] or ·unclean [ritually defiled; C the OT food laws differentiated Israelites from Gentiles; Lev. 11; Ezek. 4:13–15].”
15 But the voice said to him again, “God has made these things clean, so don’t call them ·‘unholy’ [‘profane’; ‘common’]!” 16 This happened three times, and at once the ·sheet [L object; thing] was taken back to heaven.
Jesus’ Brothers Don’t Believe
7 After this, Jesus ·traveled [walked] around Galilee. He did not want to ·travel [walk] in Judea, because the ·Jewish leaders [L Jews] there ·wanted [sought] to kill him [see 5:18]. 2 [L But] It was [L near the] time for the Feast of ·Shelters [Tabernacles; Booths; C an important annual festival celebrating harvest, sometimes known as Ingathering, and commemorating the exodus from Egypt; Ex. 23:16; Lev. 23:33–44; Deut. 16:13–17]. 3 So Jesus’ brothers [C children of Joseph and Mary born after Jesus, or children of Joseph from a previous marriage; Mark 3:21, 31–35] said to him, “You should leave here and go to Judea so your ·followers [disciples] there can see the ·miracles [L works] you do. 4 [L For] Anyone who wants to be ·well [publicly] known does not ·hide what he does [L act in secret]. If you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” 5 ([L For] Even Jesus’ brothers did not believe in him.)
6 [L Therefore] Jesus said to his brothers, “·The right time for me [L My time; 2:4] has not yet come, but any time is right for you [C they could go to Jerusalem anytime; but Jesus had a special destiny to fulfill there]. 7 The world cannot hate you [C because they are part of it], but it hates me, because I ·tell it [testify concerning; witness to] ·the evil things it does [L that its works are evil]. 8 So you go [L up] to the feast. I will not go [L up] yet[a] to this feast, because ·the right time for me [my time] has not yet ·come [fully come; L been fulfilled].” 9 After saying this, Jesus ·stayed [remained behind] in Galilee.
10 But after Jesus’ brothers had gone [L up] to the feast, Jesus went [L up] also. But he did not ·let people see him [L go publicly, but in secret]. 11 At the feast ·some people [the Jewish leaders; L the Jews] were ·looking for [watching for] him and saying, “Where is that man?”
12 Within the large crowd there, many people were ·whispering [arguing; murmuring; grumbling] to each other about Jesus. Some said, “He is a good man.”
Others said, “No, he ·fools [deceives; misleads] the people.” 13 But no one was brave enough to talk about Jesus openly, because they were afraid of the ·elders [the Jewish leaders; L the Jews].
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.