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!
Zophar Speaks to Job
11 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered:
2 “Should ·these [L such a large number of] words go unanswered?
·Is this talker in the right [or Should a talkative man be declared righteous]?
3 Your ·lies [L empty words] do not make people quiet;
people should ·correct [L shame] you when you ·make fun of God [L mock].
4 You ·say [claim], ‘My teachings are ·right [L pure],
and I am clean in ·God’s sight [L your eyes].’
5 I wish God would speak
and open his ·lips [L mouth] against you
6 and tell you the secrets of wisdom,
because ·wisdom [resourcefulness] has ·two [or many] sides.
Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin [C he has been tolerant of Job’s sin].
7 “Can you ·understand [L discover] the ·secrets [L deep things] of God?
Can you ·search [L discover] the limits of ·the Almighty [Shaddai]?
8 His limits are higher than the heavens; ·you cannot reach them [L what can you do]!
They are deeper than ·the grave [L Sheol]; you cannot understand them!
9 His limits are longer than the earth
and wider than the sea.
13 “You must ·give your whole heart to him [focus your heart]
and ·hold [spread] out your hands to him for help.
14 ·Put away [Remove] the sin that is in your hand;
let no ·evil [iniquity] ·remain [L take up residence] in your tent [C Zophar urges Job to repent].
15 Then you can lift up your face without ·shame [L blemish],
and you can ·stand strong [L be secure] without fear.
16 You will forget your trouble
and remember it only as water ·gone by [running away].
17 Your life will be ·as bright as [brighter than] the noonday sun,
and darkness will seem like morning.
18 You will ·feel safe [be secure] because there is hope;
you will ·look around [explore] and ·rest [L lie down] in safety.
19 You will lie down, and ·no one will scare you [L not tremble with fear].
Many people will want favors from you.
20 But the ·wicked will not be able to see [L eyes of the wicked will fail],
so ·they will not escape [L their escape route will be lost to them].
Their only ·hope [expectation] will be to die.”
5 Then I saw a scroll in the right hand of the One sitting on the throne. The scroll had writing on both sides and was ·kept closed [L sealed] with seven seals [C a wax stamp that sealed a document shut]. 2 And I saw a ·powerful [mighty] angel ·calling [proclaiming] in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” 3 But there was no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth who could open the scroll or look inside it. 4 I cried ·bitterly [L much] because there was no one who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. 5 But one of the elders said to me, “Do not cry! [L Look; T Behold] The Lion from the tribe of Judah [C a messianic title; Gen. 49:9–10], ·David’s descendant [L the root of David; C a messianic title applied to Christ; Is. 11:10], has ·won the victory [overcome; conquered] so that he is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
6 Then I saw a Lamb [C Jesus] standing ·in the center of the throne and in the middle of the four living creatures and the elders [or between the throne and the living creatures and among the elders]. The Lamb looked as if he had been ·killed [slaughtered; slain]. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God [C either angels or the “sevenfold Spirit”; see 1:4] that were sent into all the world. 7 The Lamb came and ·took [received] the scroll from the right hand of the One sitting on the throne. 8 When he took the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders [4:4] ·bowed down [fell] before the Lamb. Each one of them had a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s holy people [Ps. 141:2]. 9 And they all sang a new song [Ps. 33:3; 40:3; 98:1] to the Lamb:
“You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because you were ·killed [slaughtered; slain],
and with ·the blood of your death [L your blood] you ·bought [ransomed; purchased; redeemed] people for God
from every tribe, language, people, and nation.
10 You made them to be a kingdom ·of priests [or and priests; Ex. 19:6] for our God,
and they will ·rule [reign; C other manuscripts have “they reign” (present tense)] on the earth.”
11 Then I looked, and I heard the voices of many angels around the throne, and the four living creatures, and the elders. There were ·thousands and thousands [L myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands; C a myriad can mean either ten thousand or many thousands; here means “countless”] of angels, 12 saying in a loud voice:
“The Lamb who was ·killed [slaughtered; slain] is worthy
to receive power, wealth, wisdom, and strength,
honor, glory, and ·praise [or blessing]!”
13 Then I heard all creatures in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea saying:
“To the One who sits on the throne
and to the Lamb
be ·praise [or blessing] and honor and glory and power
forever and ever.”
14 The four living creatures said, “Amen [C Hebrew for “so be it”],” and the elders ·bowed down [fell] and worshiped.
Jesus Teaches the People(A)
5 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on ·a hill [the mountain] and sat down. His ·followers [disciples] ·came to [gathered around] him, 2 and he began to teach them, saying:
3 “·They are blessed [or Blessed are those…; C and so through v. 10] who ·realize their spiritual poverty [L are the poor in spirit],
for the kingdom of heaven ·belongs to them [is theirs].
4 They are blessed who ·grieve [mourn],
for ·God will comfort them [L they will be comforted; C the passive verb implies God as subject].
5 They are blessed who are ·humble [meek; gentle],
for ·the whole earth will be theirs [L they shall inherit the earth; Ps. 37:11].
6 They are blessed who hunger and thirst after ·justice [righteousness],
for they will be ·satisfied [filled].
7 They are blessed who show mercy to others,
for ·God will show mercy to them [L they will be shown mercy; C the passive verb implies God as subject].
8 They are blessed ·whose thoughts are pure [or whose hearts are pure; T the pure in heart],
for they will see God.
9 They are blessed who work for peace [T Blessed are the peacemakers],
for they will be called God’s ·children [or sons].
10 They are blessed who are persecuted for ·doing good [doing what’s right; L the sake of righteousness],
for the kingdom of heaven ·belongs to them [is theirs].
11 “·You are blessed [T Blessed are you; or God will bless you] when people ·insult [mock; abuse; revile] you and ·hurt [persecute] you. They will lie and say all kinds of evil things ·about [against] you because ·you follow [L of] me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because you have a great reward in heaven. ·People did the same evil things to [L They likewise persecuted] the prophets who lived before you.
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