Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer in Time of Sickness
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
41 ·Happy [Blessed] are those who ·think about [or care for] the poor [James 1:27].
·When trouble comes [L In the day of trouble/evil], the Lord will ·save [rescue; T deliver] them.
2 The Lord will ·protect [guard; keep] them and ·spare their life [keep them alive]
and will ·bless them [make them happy] in the land.
He will not ·let their enemies take them [L give their lives to their enemy; or give them over to the desire of their enemy].
3 The Lord will give them strength when they are ·sick [L on their sickbed],
and he will ·make them well again [L restore them from their bed of illness].
4 I said, “Lord, have ·mercy [compassion] on me.
Heal me, because I have sinned against you.”
5 My enemies are saying evil things about me.
They say, “When will he die and ·be forgotten [L his name/reputation perish]?”
6 Some people come to see me,
but ·they lie [L speak deceptive/vain things].
·They just come to get bad news [L Their hearts collect iniquities].
Then they go ·and gossip [L out and speak].
7 All ·my enemies [L those who hate me] whisper about me
and ·think [imagine] ·the worst [trouble; evil] about me.
8 They say, “·He has a terrible disease [or An evil spell has been cast on him].
He ·will never get out of bed again [L lies down and will not get up].”
9 ·My best and truest friend [L A man of peace in whom I trust/find support], who ate at my table,
has ·even turned against me [L lifted his heel against me; C an act of treachery; 55:12–14; Matt. 26:23; Mark 14:18; Luke 22:21; John 13:18].
10 Lord, have ·mercy [compassion] on me.
·Give me strength [L Raise me up] so I can pay them back.
11 Because my enemies do not ·defeat [triumph over; or make fun of] me,
I know you are ·pleased [delighted] with me.
12 Because I am ·innocent [blameless], you support me
and will ·let me be with you [L set me in your presence] forever.
13 ·Praise [Blessed be] the Lord, the God of Israel.
·He has always been [L …from everlasting to everlasting],
and he will always be.
Amen and amen [C verse 13 is a doxology that closes Book 1].
God Will Punish the Proud
For the director of music. A ·maskil [skillful psalm; meditation] of David. When Doeg the Edomite came to Saul and ·said [reported] to him, “David ·is in [L has come to/entered] Ahimelech’s house [1 Sam. 21:7; 22:7–23].”
52 Mighty warrior, why do you ·brag [boast] about the evil you do?
God’s ·love [loyalty] will continue ·forever [L everyday; all day].
2 You think up ·evil plans [L destruction].
Your tongue is like a sharp razor [Prov. 18:21],
making up ·lies [deception].
3 You love ·wrong [evil] more than ·right [good]
and ·lies [falsehood] more than speaking the truth. ·
4 You love words that ·bite [destroy; L swallow up]
and ·tongues that lie [deceptive tongues; James 3:1–12].
5 But God will ·ruin you [L break you down] forever.
He will grab you and ·throw [tear] you out of your tent;
he will ·tear you away [uproot you] from the land of the living. ·
6 Those who ·do right [are righteous] will see this and ·fear God [L fear; Prov. 1:7].
They will laugh at you and say,
7 “·Look what happened to [T Behold] the man
who did not ·depend on God [L make God his refuge]
but ·depended on [trusted/put his confidence in] ·his money [L the abundance of his wealth].
He grew strong by his ·evil [destructive] plans.”
8 But I am like ·an olive tree
growing [L a green olive tree] in God’s ·Temple [L house; 1:3; 92:12–13; Jer. 11:16].
I ·trust [have confidence in] God’s ·love [loyalty]
forever and ever.
9 God, I will ·thank [praise] you forever for what you have done.
With ·those who worship you [his loyal ones/saints], I will ·trust [put my confidence in] you because you are good.
A Prayer for Help
For the director of music. A ·maskil [skillful psalm; meditation] of the sons of Korah [C descendants of Kohath, son of Levi, who served as Temple musicians; 1 Chr. 6:22].
44 God, we have heard ·about you [L with our ears; 78:3].
Our ·ancestors [fathers] ·told [recited to] us
what you did in their days,
in days long ago.
2 With your ·power [L hand] you ·forced [dispossessed] the nations out of the land
and ·placed [L planted] our ancestors here.
You ·destroyed [troubled] ·those other nations [L the peoples],
but you ·made our ancestors grow strong [set them free].
3 It wasn’t their swords that ·took [possessed] the land.
It wasn’t their ·power [L arm] that gave them victory.
But it was your ·great power [L arm] and ·strength [L right hand].
·You were with them [L …and the light of your face] because you ·loved [delighted in] them.
4 My God, you are my King.
·Your commands led Jacob’s people to victory [or You command victory for Jacob; C Jacob is another name for Israel].
5 With your help we pushed ·back [down] our enemies.
In your name we trampled those who ·came [rose up] against us.
6 I don’t trust my bow to help me,
and my sword can’t ·save me [give me victory].
7 You ·saved us from [gave us victory over] our foes,
and you made ·our enemies [L those who hate us] ashamed.
8 We will praise God every day;
we will ·praise [give thanks to] your name forever. ·
9 But you have rejected us and ·shamed [humiliated] us.
You don’t ·march [L go out] with our armies anymore [Ex. 15:3; 2 Chr. 20:20–21].
10 You let our enemies push us back,
and those who hate us have ·taken our wealth [plundered us].
11 You ·gave us away [made us] like sheep ·to be eaten [for slaughter]
and have scattered us among the nations.
12 You sold your people for nothing
and made no profit on the sale.
13 You made us a ·joke [reproach] to our neighbors;
those around us ·laugh [ridicule] and make fun of us.
14 You made us a ·joke [byword; proverb] to the other nations;
people shake their heads.
15 I am always in disgrace,
and ·I am [L my face is] covered with shame.
16 My enemy is getting ·even [revenge]
with ·insults [taunts] and curses.
17 All these things have happened to us,
but we have not forgotten you
or ·failed to keep [been false to; betrayed] our ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with you [C perhaps a reference to the covenant with Moses; Ex. 19–24].
18 Our hearts haven’t turned ·away [back] from you,
and ·we haven’t stopped following you [L our steps have not departed from your way].
19 But you crushed us in this place where ·wild dogs [jackals] live [C desolate areas],
and you covered us with ·deep darkness [or the shadow of death; Nah. 1:8].
20 If we had forgotten the name of our God
or ·lifted [L spread] our hands in prayer to ·foreign [L strange] gods,
21 ·God would have known [L Would not God discover this…?],
because he knows ·what is in [L the secrets of] our hearts.
22 But for you we are ·in danger of death [L killed] all the time.
People think we are worth no more than sheep to be ·killed [slaughtered; Is. 53:7].
23 Wake up, Lord! Why are you sleeping?
Get up! Don’t reject us forever [Lam. 5:22].
24 Why do you hide your face from us?
Have you forgotten our ·pain [affliction] and ·troubles [oppression]?
25 We have ·been pushed down [sunk down] into the ·dirt [dust];
·we are flat on the ground [L our stomachs cleave to the earth].
26 ·Get [Rise] up and help us.
Because of your ·love [loyalty], ·save [redeem; ransom] us.
The Vision of the Horses
7 It was on the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month [C February 15, 519 bc], which is the month of Shebat, in Darius’s second year as king [v. 1]. The ·Lord spoke his word [L word of the Lord came] to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, who was the son of Iddo.
8 During the night I had a vision. I saw a man ·riding [or sitting on] a red horse. He was standing among some myrtle trees in a ravine, with red, brown, and white horses behind him [Rev. 6].
9 I asked, “What are these, ·sir [or my lord]?”
The ·angel [messenger] who was talking with me answered, “I’ll show you what they are.”
10 Then the man standing among the myrtle trees explained, “They are the ones the Lord ·sent [L sent to walk/patrol] through all the earth.”
11 Then they spoke to the ·Lord’s angel [or angel of the Lord; C an OT figure closely identified with the Lord himself; Gen. 16:11; 22:11–12], who was standing among the myrtle trees. They said, “We have ·gone [walked; patrolled] through all the earth, and [L look; T behold] everything is calm and quiet.”
12 Then the ·Lord’s angel [angel of the Lord; v. 11] asked, “Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], how long will ·it be before you show [L you withhold] mercy to Jerusalem and the cities of Judah? You have been angry with them for seventy years now.” 13 So the Lord answered the ·angel [messenger] who was talking with me, and his words were comforting and good.
14 Then the ·angel [messenger] who was talking to me said to me, “Announce this: This is what the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says: ‘I ·have a strong love [am very jealous/zealous; Nah. 1:2] for Jerusalem. 15 And I am very angry with the nations that feel so ·safe [secure; at ease]. I was only a little angry at them, but they ·made things worse [added to/increased the calamity/disaster].’
16 “So this is what the Lord says: ‘I will return to Jerusalem with mercy. My ·Temple [L house] will be rebuilt,’ says the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], ‘and the measuring line will be ·used to rebuild [L stretched out over] Jerusalem.’
17 “Also announce: This is what the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says: ‘My towns will ·be rich again [L overflow with prosperity]. The Lord will comfort Jerusalem again, and I will again choose Jerusalem.’”
Jesus’ Message to the Churches
4 From John.
To the seven churches in Asia [C the Roman province of Asia, today part of western Turkey]:
Grace and peace to you from the One who is and [the One who] was and [the One who] is coming [C these three descriptions function like titles for God; Ex. 3:14–15], and from ·the seven spirits [C referring either to angels or to the “sevenfold Spirit”—the Holy Spirit portrayed in his perfection (the number seven indicating completeness)] before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ. Jesus is ·the faithful witness [or the faithful one, the witness], the ·first among those raised from [L firstborn of/from among] the dead. He is the ruler of the kings of the earth.
·He is the One [L To him] who loves us, who made us free[a] from our sins ·with the blood of his death [L by his blood]. 6 He made us to be a ·kingdom of priests [or kingdom and priests; or kingdom, that is, priests; Ex. 19:6] who serve ·God his Father [L his God and Father]. To ·Jesus Christ [L him] be glory and ·power [dominion] forever and ever! Amen.
7 Look [T Behold], Jesus is coming with the clouds [Dan. 7:13–14], and ·everyone [L every eye] will see him, even those who ·stabbed [pierced] him [C a reference to the crucifixion; Zech. 12:10]. And all ·peoples [people groups; tribes] of the earth will ·cry loudly [wail; mourn] because of him. ·Yes, this will happen [So it shall be; L Yes]! Amen.
8 The Lord God says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega [C the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet; 21:6; 22:13]. I am the One who is and [the One who] was and [the One who] is coming [see 1:4]. I am the ·Almighty [All-powerful].”
9 I, John, ·am your brother. All of us share [L your brother and partner] ·with Jesus [or in Jesus; C referring to salvation as joining oneself to Christ] in ·suffering [persecution], in the kingdom, and in ·patience to continue [perseverance]. I was on the island of Patmos [C a small island in the Aegean Sea near Asia Minor, present-day Turkey], because ·I had preached [L of] the word of God and the ·message [witness; testimony] about Jesus. 10 On the Lord’s day [C probably a reference to the first day of the week, Sunday, when Christians met for worship] I was in the ·Spirit [or spirit; C a state of deep spiritual communion with God], and I heard a loud voice behind me that sounded like a trumpet [C trumpet blasts often precede a divine appearance or speech; Ex. 19:16, 19]. 11 The voice said, “Write what you see in a ·book [scroll] and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea [C locations in western Asia Minor, present-day Turkey].”
12 I turned to see who was talking to me. When I turned, I saw seven golden lampstands 13 and someone among the lampstands who was “like a Son of Man [C referring to Jesus; the title he most often used to refer to himself; Dan. 7:13–14].” He was dressed in a long robe and had a gold ·band [sash] around his chest [C the clothes of a dignitary; Dan. 10:5]. 14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow [Dan. 7:9], and his eyes were like ·flames of [blazing] fire [Dan. 10:6]. 15 His feet were like bronze ·that glows hot [refined; fired] in a furnace [Dan. 10:6], and his voice was like the noise of ·flooding water [rushing water; L many waters; Ezek. 43:2]. 16 He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp double-edged sword came out of his mouth. ·He [L His face] looked like the sun shining ·at its brightest time [or with full power/force; L in its strength].
17 When I saw him, I fell down at his feet like a dead man. He put his right hand on me and said, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the One who lives; I was dead, but ·look [T behold], I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys to death and ·to the place of the dead [L Hades]. 19 So write the things you ·see [or have seen], ·what is now [L what is] and what will happen ·later [L after these things]. 20 Here is the ·secret [mystery] of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the ·angels [or messengers; C these may be guardian angels, human leaders, or the personified “spirit” of each church] of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
People Today Are Full of Evil(A)
43 “When an ·evil [defiling; L unclean] spirit comes out of a person, it travels through ·dry [waterless; arid] places, looking for a place to rest, but it doesn’t find it. 44 So the spirit says, ‘I will go back to the house [C the person] I left.’ When the spirit comes back, it finds the house still empty, swept clean, and ·made neat [put in order; fixed up]. 45 Then the evil spirit goes out and brings seven other spirits even more ·evil [wicked] than it is, and they go in and live there. So ·the person has even more trouble than before [L the last state of that person is worse than the first]. ·It is the same way [L So it will be] with ·the evil people who live today [this evil generation].”
Jesus’ True Family(B)
46 While Jesus was talking to the ·people [crowds], [L look; T behold] his mother and ·brothers [or brothers and sisters; C the Greek word can mean “siblings”] stood outside, ·trying to find a way [seeking; asking] to talk to him. 47 Someone told Jesus, “[L Look; T Behold] Your mother and brothers [and sisters] are standing outside, ·and they want [seeking; asking] to talk to you.”[a]
48 He answered, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers [and sisters]?” 49 Then he ·pointed to [or stretched out his hand toward] his ·followers [disciples] and said, “·Here are [L Look; T Behold] my mother and my brothers. 50 My true brother and sister and mother are those who do ·what my Father in heaven wants [the will of my Father in heaven].”
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