Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer for the King
Of Solomon.
72 God, give the king your good judgment
and the king’s son your ·goodness [righteousness].
2 Help him judge your people ·fairly [rightly]
and decide what is ·right [just] for the poor.
3 Let there be ·peace [or prosperity] on the mountains
and ·goodness [righteousness] on the hills for the people.
4 Help him be ·fair [just] to the poor
and ·save [give victory to] the ·needy [or children of the needy]
and ·punish [crush] those who ·hurt [oppress; exploit] them.
5 May they ·respect [fear] you as long as the sun
and as long as the moon, throughout the generations.
6 Let him ·be [L come down] like rain on the mown grass,
like showers that water the earth.
7 Let ·goodness [righteousness] ·be plentiful [bloom forth] while he lives.
Let ·peace [or prosperity] continue ·as long as there is a [L until there is no] moon.
8 ·Let his kingdom go [L May he have dominion/rule] from sea to sea,
and from the ·Euphrates River [L river] to the ends of the earth.
9 Let the people of the ·desert [wilderness] ·bow down to [cringe/cower before] him,
and make his enemies lick the dust.
10 Let the kings of Tarshish [48:7] and the ·faraway lands [L islands]
bring him ·gifts [tribute].
Let the kings of Sheba [C an unknown location, perhaps present-day Yemen, Eritrea, or Ethiopia; see 1 Kin. 10:1–13] and Seba [C either in southern Egypt or further south; Gen. 10:7; Is. 43:3; 45:14]
bring their ·presents [tribute] to him.
11 Let all kings ·bow down [bend the knee] to him
and all nations serve him [Ps. 2].
12 He will ·help [protect] the poor when they cry out
and the needy when no one else will help.
13 He will ·be kind to [take pity on] the poor and the needy,
and he will ·save their lives [give victory to the needy].
14 He will ·save [redeem] them from ·cruel people who try to hurt them [L violence and oppression],
because their ·lives [L blood] are precious to ·him [L his eyes].
15 Long live the king!
Let him receive gold from Sheba [v. 10].
Let people always pray for him
and ·bless [praise] him all day long.
16 Let ·the fields grow plenty of grain [L there be much grain in the land/earth]
and ·the hills be covered with crops [L let there be abundance on the top of the mountains; or let it wave on the top of the mountains].
·Let the land be as fertile as Lebanon [L May its fruit be like that of Lebanon],
and let the cities grow like the grass in a field.
17 Let ·the king be famous [L his name/fame be] forever;
let ·him be remembered as long as the sun shines [L his name/fame continue as long as the sun].
Let the nations be ·blessed [praised] because of him,
and may they all ·bless [praise] him [Gen. 12:3].
18 ·Praise [Blessed be] the Lord God, the God of Israel,
who alone does such ·miracles [wonderful things].
19 Praise his glorious name forever.
Let his glory [C manifest presence] fill the whole world.
Amen and amen.
20 This ends the prayers of David son of Jesse [C at one time it did, but see other Davidic psalms at Ps. 101, 103, 108–110, and others].
Praise the Lord’s Goodness
111 Praise the Lord!
I will ·thank [praise] the Lord with all my heart
in the ·meeting of his good people [council of the upright/virtuous, in the assembly].
2 The ·Lord does great things [L deeds of the Lord are great];
those who enjoy them ·seek [study] them.
3 ·What he does is [L His deeds are] ·glorious [beautiful] and ·splendid [majestic],
and his ·goodness [righteousness] ·continues [stands] forever.
4 His ·miracles [wonderful acts] are ·unforgettable [remembered; well-known].
The Lord is ·kind [gracious] and ·merciful [compassionate].
5 He gives ·food [L prey] to those who fear him [Prov. 1:7].
He remembers his ·agreement [covenant; treaty] forever.
6 He has ·shown [proclaimed to] his people ·his power [L the power/strength of his deeds]
when he gave them the ·lands [L inheritance] of other nations [C the conquest; Josh. 1–12].
7 ·Everything he does is [L The deeds of his hands are] ·good [faithful; true] and ·fair [just];
all his ·orders [precepts] ·can be trusted [are faithful/true/reliable].
8 They will ·continue [endure; be unshakeable] forever.
They were made ·true [faithful] and ·right [virtuous; with integrity].
9 He ·sets his people free [L sent redemption to his people].
He ·made his agreement everlasting [L commanded his covenant/treaty forever].
·He [L His name] is holy and ·wonderful [awesome].
10 ·Wisdom begins with respect for [L The beginning/foundation of wisdom is fear of] the Lord [Prov. 1:7];
those who ·obey [L do] ·his orders [L them] have good ·understanding [insight].
He ·should be praised [endures; L stands] forever.
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!
9 ·The Lord is trying to teach the people a lesson [L Who is he teaching knowledge?];
·he is trying to make them understand his teachings [L To whom is he explaining the message?].
·But the people are like babies too old for breast milk [Those weaned from milk?],
·like those who no longer nurse at their mother’s breast [Those taken from the breast?].
10 So ·they make fun of the Lord’s prophet and say [or the Lord must repeat himself again and again; L For it is]:
“·A command here, a command there [T Precept upon precept, precept upon precept].
·A rule here, a rule there [T Line upon line, line upon line; C Hebrew: tsav latsav tsav latsav / kav lakav kav lakav; it may be the people mocking the words of the prophets as nonsense; or it may refer to God repeating himself because the people will not listen].
A little lesson here, a little lesson there [L A little there, a little there].”
11 So the Lord will use ·strange words [mocking/stammering lips] and foreign ·languages [tongues]
to speak to these people.
12 God said to them,
“Here is a place of rest;
let the ·tired people [weary] come and rest.
This is the place of peace.”
But the people would not listen.
13 So the words of the Lord will be,
“·A command here, a command there [T Precept upon precept, precept upon precept].
·A rule here, a rule there [T Line upon line, line upon line].
·A little lesson here, a little lesson there [L A little there, a little there; C see v. 10; God now uses the same words to mimic the foreign language of the Assyrian invaders].”
They will fall back and be ·defeated [broken];
they will be ·trapped and captured [snared and taken].
14 So listen to the Lord’s message, you who ·brag [mock; scoff; Prov. 1:22; 9:7, 8, 12; 13:1],
you ·leaders [L who rule this people] in Jerusalem.
15 You say, “We have made an ·agreement [treaty; covenant] with death;
we have a ·contract [agreement; pact] with ·death [or the grave; L Sheol].
When ·terrible punishment [an overwhelming scourge/flood] passes by,
it won’t ·hurt [touch; reach] us.
Our lies ·will keep us safe [L are our refuge],
and ·our tricks [falsehood] ·will hide us [is our refuge/shelter].”
16 Because of these things, this is what the Lord God says:
“I will ·put [lay; establish] a stone in the ground in ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple],
a tested stone.
·Everything will be built on this important and precious rock [L …a precious cornerstone for a firm foundation].
Anyone who trusts in it will never ·be disappointed [or panic; waver; be shaken; Rom. 9:33; 1 Pet. 2:6].
17 I will use justice as a measuring line
and ·goodness [righteousness] as the ·standard [plumb line].
The lies you ·hide behind [take refuge in] will be ·destroyed [swept away] as if by hail.
·They [Your hiding place/shelter] will be washed away as if in a flood.
18 Your ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with death will be ·erased [annulled];
your contract with ·death [or the grave; L Sheol] will not ·help you [stand; last].
When ·terrible punishment [overwhelming scourge/flood] comes,
you will be ·crushed [beaten down] by it.
19 Whenever ·punishment [L it] comes, it will take you away.
It will come morning after morning;
it will ·defeat you [sweep through] by day and by night.
Those who understand this punishment will be terrified.”
20 ·You will be like the person who tried to sleep
on a bed that was too short [L For the bed is too short to stretch out on]
and ·with a blanket that [L the blanket] was too narrow
to wrap around himself.
21 The Lord will ·fight [L rise up] as he did at Mount Perazim [2 Sam. 5:20].
He will be ·angry [rouse himself] as he was in the Valley of Gibeon [Josh. 10:10–14].
He will do his work, his ·strange [peculiar] work.
He will finish his job, his ·strange [unusual] job.
22 Now, ·you must not make fun of these things [do not mock; or stop your mocking],
or the ·ropes [or chains; bonds] around you will become ·tighter [or heavier].
The Lord God ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] has ·told me [decreed to me]
how the whole ·earth [land] will be destroyed.
9 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last ·troubles [plagues] came to me, saying, “·Come with me [L Come], and I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb [C the church; Eph. 5:27–29].” 10 And the angel carried me away ·by the Spirit [or in the spirit] to a very large and high mountain. He showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. 11 It ·was shining with [possessed; L had] the glory of God and was ·bright [radiant; brilliant] like a ·very expensive jewel [precious stone], like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12 The city had a great high wall with twelve gates with twelve angels at the gates, and on each gate was written the name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. 13 There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south, and three on the west [Ezek. 48:30–35]. 14 The walls of the city were built on twelve foundation stones, and on the stones were written the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15 The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod made of gold to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. 16 The city ·was built in a square [L lies foursquare], and its length was equal to its width. The angel measured the city with the rod. The city was ·1,500 miles long, 1,500 miles wide, and 1,500 miles high [L 1,200 stadia—its length and width and height are equal; C the unit of measure called a stadium was approximately 600 feet]. 17 The angel also measured the wall. It was ·216 feet [L 144 cubits] ·high [or thick; C the Greek is ambiguous], by human measurements, which the angel was using. 18 The wall was made of jasper, and the city was made of pure gold, as pure as glass. 19 The foundation stones of the city walls were ·decorated [ornamented] with every kind of ·jewel [precious stone; Ex. 28:15–21; Is. 54:11–12]. The first foundation was jasper, the second was sapphire, the third was ·chalcedony [agate], the fourth was emerald, 20 the fifth was ·onyx [sardonyx], the sixth was carnelian, the seventh was ·chrysolite [yellow quartz], the eighth was beryl, the ninth was topaz, the tenth was ·chrysoprase [turquoise], the eleventh was jacinth, and the twelfth was amethyst [C the specific identity of some of these jewels is uncertain]. 21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate having been made from a single pearl. And the ·street [main street; square] of the city was made of pure gold as clear as glass.
An Angel Appears to Mary
26 During Elizabeth’s sixth month of pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel [1:19] to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin. She was ·engaged to marry [pledged to; C engagement was a binding contract between two families and could only be broken by divorce] a man named Joseph ·from the family [a descendent; L from the house] of David. ·Her [L The virgin’s] name was Mary. 28 The angel came to her and said, “·Greetings [Hello; L Rejoice; C a common greeting]! ·The Lord has blessed you and is with you [or …favored one, the Lord is with you].”
29 But Mary was ·very startled [disturbed; perplexed; troubled] by what the angel said and wondered what ·this greeting might mean [sort of greeting this was].
30 The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary; [L for; because] ·God has shown you his grace [L you have found favor/grace with God]. 31 ·Listen [L Look; T Behold]! You will ·become pregnant [L conceive in your womb] and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus [Is. 7:14]. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of ·King David, his ancestor [L his father David]. 33 He will ·rule [reign] over the ·people [L house] of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end [2 Sam. 7:13, 16; Dan. 7:14, 27].”
34 Mary said to the angel, “How ·will [can] this happen since ·I am a virgin [L I have not known a man (sexually)]?”
35 The angel said to Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come ·upon [over] you, and the power of the Most High will ·cover [overshadow] you. For this reason the ·baby will be holy and [holy one to be born] will be called the Son of God. 36 ·Now [L And look/T behold] Elizabeth, your relative, ·is also pregnant with [has also conceived] a son ·though she is very old [in her old age]. ·Everyone thought she could not have a baby, but she has been pregnant for six months. [L And this is the sixth month for the woman they called barren!] 37 ·God can do anything […because nothing is impossible with God; or …because no word/message from God will ever fail; Gen. 18:14; Jer. 32:17]!”
38 Mary said, “[L Look; T Behold] I am the ·servant [bondservant; T handmaid] of the Lord. Let this happen to me ·as you say [according to your word]!” Then the angel ·went away [left her].
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.