Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer for the King
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
20 May the Lord answer you in ·times [L the day] of ·trouble [distress].
May the name of the God of Jacob ·protect [defend; provide refuge for] you [Num. 6:24].
2 May he send you help from ·his Temple [L the sanctuary]
and support you from Mount Zion [C location of the Temple].
3 May he remember all your ·offerings [gifts; tributes; grain offerings; Lev. 2]
and ·accept [look with favor on] all your ·sacrifices [L whole burnt offerings; Lev. 1]. ·
4 May he give you ·what you want [L all your heart]
and ·make all your plans succeed [L fulfill all your plans],
5 and we will shout for joy when you ·succeed [are victorious; C as in battle],
and we will raise a ·flag [banner] in the name of our God.
May the Lord ·give you [fulfill] all that you ask for.
6 Now I know the Lord ·helps [saves; gives victory to] his ·appointed king [anointed].
He answers him from his holy heaven
and ·saves him [gives him victory] with his strong right hand.
7 Some ·trust in [boast in; rely on] chariots, others in horses,
but we ·trust [boast in; rely on] the name of the Lord our God [Is. 2:7].
8 They ·are overwhelmed and defeated [collapse and fall],
but we ·march forward and win [L rise and stand erect].
9 Lord, ·save [give victory to] the king!
Answer us when we call for help.
Thanksgiving for the King
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
21 Lord, the king rejoices because of your strength;
he is so happy when you ·save him [give him victory/help]!
2 You gave the king ·what he wanted [L the desire of his heart]
and did not ·refuse [withhold] ·what he asked for [L the request of his lips]. ·
3 You put ·good things [rich blessings] before him
and placed a gold crown on his head.
4 He asked you for life,
and you gave it to him,
·so his years go on and on [L length of days forever and ever].
5 He has great glory because you gave him ·victories [help];
you gave him ·honor [splendor] and ·praise [majesty].
6 You ·always [forever] gave him blessings;
you made him glad because ·you were with him [L of the joy of your presence].
7 The king truly ·trusts [has confidence in] the Lord.
Because God Most High always ·loves [is loyal toward] him,
he will not be ·overwhelmed [moved].
8 Your hand ·is against [L will find out] all your enemies;
·those who hate you will feel your power [L your right hand will find out those who hate you].
9 When ·you [L the Lord] appear,
you will burn them as in a furnace.
In your anger you will swallow them up,
and fire will burn them up.
10 You will destroy their ·families [offspring] from the earth;
their ·children [L seed] will not live.
11 They made evil plans against you,
but ·their traps [L the schemes they devise] won’t ·work [succeed].
12 You will make them turn their backs
when you aim your arrows at ·them [L their faces].
13 Be ·supreme [exalted], Lord, in your power.
We sing and praise your ·greatness [strength].
The Lord Appoints a King
A psalm of David.
110 ·The Lord said [L Utterance/Oracle of the Lord] to my Lord,
“Sit at my right ·side [L hand]
until I put your enemies under your ·control [L feet; Matt. 22:44; 26:64; Mark 12:36; 16:19; Luke 20:42–44; 22:59; Acts 2:34–35; Rom. 8:34; 1 Cor. 15:25; Eph. 1:20; Col. 3:1; Heb. 1:3, 13; 8:1; 10:12–13; 12:2].”
2 The Lord will ·enlarge [L send] ·your kingdom [L the scepter of your strength; C symbol of royal power] beyond ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C location of the Temple],
and ·you will rule over [L give you dominion in the midst of] your enemies.
3 Your people will ·join [freely offer themselves to] you on ·your day of battle [L the day of your power/army].
You have been dressed in ·holiness [splendor of holiness] from ·birth [L the womb of dawn];
you have the ·freshness of a child [L dew of your youth].
4 The Lord has made a promise
and will not ·change his mind [waver].
He said, “You are a priest forever,
a priest like Melchizedek [C in reference to an ancient priest-king in Jerusalem; ultimately fulfilled in Christ; Gen. 14:18; Heb. 5:6; 7:17, 21].”
5 The Lord is ·beside you to help you [L by your right hand].
·When he becomes angry [L In the day of his anger], he will ·crush [shatter] kings.
6 He will judge those nations, filling them with ·dead bodies [corpses];
he will ·defeat rulers [L crush/shatter heads] ·all over the [L throughout the wide] world.
7 ·The king [or The Lord; L He] will drink from the brook on the way.
Then he will ·be strengthened [L lift up his head].
Thanksgiving for Escaping Death
116 I love the Lord,
because he ·listens to my prayers for help [L hears/or heard my voice, my prayer of supplication].
2 He ·paid attention [L extends his ear] to me,
so I will ·call to him for help [call; pray] ·as long as I live [L in my days].
3 The ·ropes [cords] of death ·bound [encompass] me,
and the ·fear [hardship; distress] of ·the grave [L Sheol; C the grave or the underworld] ·took hold of [reached; found] me.
I ·was troubled and sad [L found distress and sadness].
4 Then I ·called out [prayed in] the name of the Lord.
I said, “Please, Lord, ·save [rescue] me!”
5 The Lord is ·kind [gracious] and ·does what is right [righteous];
our God is ·merciful [compassionate; Ex. 34:6–7].
6 The Lord ·watches over [keeps; guards] the ·foolish [immature; simpleminded];
when I was ·helpless [brought low], he ·saved me [gave me victory].
7 I said to myself, “·Relax [L Return, my soul/life to your rest],
because the Lord ·takes care of you [treats you well].”
8 Lord, you ·saved [rescued] me from death.
·You stopped my eyes from crying [L …and my eyes from tears];
·you kept me from being defeated [L …my feet from stumbling].
9 So I will walk ·with [before; in the presence of] the Lord
in the land of the living [C as opposed to the grave].
10 I ·believed [trusted], so I said,
“I am ·completely ruined [afflicted greatly; 2 Cor. 4:13].”
11 In my ·distress [worry] I said,
“All people are liars [Rom. 3:4].”
12 What can I ·give [L return to] the Lord
for all the ·good things [benefits] he has given to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation,
and I will pray ·to [L in the name of] the Lord.
14 I will ·give the Lord what I promised [pay my vow to the Lord]
in front of all his people.
15 The death of ·one that belongs to the Lord [his loyal ones/saints]
is precious in his ·sight [L eyes].
16 Lord, I am your servant;
I am your servant and the son of your female servant.
You have ·freed me from [loosened] my chains.
17 I will give you ·an offering to show thanks to you [a thanksgiving offering],
and I will pray ·to [L in the name of] the Lord.
18 I will ·give the Lord what I promised [pay my vow to the Lord]
in front of all his people,
19 in the ·Temple courtyards [L courtyards of the house of the Lord]
in your midst, Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!
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!
Noah and the Great Flood
9 This is the family history [2:4] of Noah. Noah was a ·good [righteous; just] man, the most ·innocent [blameless; Job 1:1] man of his ·time [generation], and he walked with God [5:24]. 10 He had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth [9:18–10:32].
11 ·People on earth [L The earth] did what ·God said was evil [L was corrupt before God], and ·violence was everywhere [L the earth was filled with violence]. 12 When God saw that [L the earth was corrupt because] ·everyone [L all flesh] on the earth ·did only evil [L was corrupt], 13 God said to Noah, “·I have decided to bring an end to all living creatures [L The end of all flesh is coming before me]. Because people have made the earth full of violence, I will destroy all of them from the ·earth [land]. 14 ·Build [Make] ·a boat [L an ark] of ·cypress [or gopher; C the precise meaning is uncertain] wood for yourself. Make rooms in it and cover it inside and outside with ·tar [pitch]. 15 This is how ·big I want you to build the boat [L you should make it]: ·four hundred fifty feet [L three hundred cubits] long, ·seventy-five feet [L fifty cubits] wide, and ·forty-five feet [L thirty cubits] high. 16 Make an opening around the top of the boat [C probably a window] that is ·eighteen inches [L a cubit] high from the edge of the roof down. Put a door in the side of the boat. Make an ·upper, middle, and lower [L lower, second, and third] deck in it. 17 I will bring a flood of water on the earth to destroy all ·living things [L flesh] that live under ·the sky [heaven], including everything that has the breath of life. Everything on the earth will die. 18 But I will ·make [establish] an ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with you—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives will all go into the boat. 19 Also, you must bring into the ·boat [L ark] two of ·every living thing [L all flesh], male and female. Keep them alive with you. 20 Two of every kind of bird, animal, and ·crawling [creeping] thing will come to you to be kept alive. 21 Also ·gather [take] some of every kind of food and store it on the boat as food for you and the animals.”
22 Noah did everything that God commanded him.
4 ·Now [Therefore], since ·God has left us the promise [the promise remains/still stands] that we may enter his rest, let us ·be very careful [beware; be wary/afraid] so none of you will ·fail to enter [appear/be found to fall short]. 2 [L For] The ·Good News [Gospel] was preached to us just as it was to them. But the ·teaching [message; word] they heard did not help them, because they heard it but did not ·accept [combine; join] it with faith.[a] 3 [L For; Now] We who have believed are able to enter ·and have God’s rest [L the rest]. As God has said,
“I was angry and ·made a promise [declared/swore an oath],
‘They will never enter my rest [Ps. 95:11].’”
But God’s work was finished from the ·time he made [foundation/creation of] the world. 4 ·In the Scriptures [L For somewhere] he talked about the seventh day of the week: “And on the seventh day God rested from all his works [Gen. 2:2].” 5 And again in ·the Scripture [or this passage; C Psalm 95, the passage the author has been discussing] God said, “They will never enter my rest [Ps. 95:11].”
6 ·It is still true that some people will [or This passage shows that some can still] enter God’s rest, but those who ·first [or formerly] ·heard the way to be saved [L had the Good News/Gospel proclaimed to them] did not enter, because they did not ·obey [believe; remain faithful]. 7 So God ·planned [set; established; ordained] another day, called “today” [3:13]. He spoke about that day through David a long time later in the ·same Scripture used before [words quoted before]:
“Today ·listen to what he says [L if you hear his voice…].
Do not ·be stubborn [L harden your hearts; Ps. 95:7–8].”
8 [L For; Now] If Joshua [C Moses’ successor, who led God’s people into the Promised Land; Josh. 3—4] had ·led the people into that [L given them] rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. 9 This shows that the ·rest [L Sabbath rest; C sharing in the rest God enjoyed after Creation] for God’s people ·is still coming [or is still available; L remains]. 10 [L For] Anyone who enters God’s rest ·will rest [or has also rested] from his work as God did. 11 Let us ·try as hard as we can [strive; make every effort] to enter ·God’s [L that] rest so that no one will ·fail [be lost; L fall] by following the example of those who ·refused to obey [or did not believe; were unfaithful].
12 [L For] God’s word is alive and ·working [active; powerful; effective] and is sharper than a double-edged sword. It ·cuts all the way into us, where the soul and the spirit are joined, to the center of our joints and bones [L penetrates until it divides even soul and spirit, joints and marrow]. And it ·judges [discerns] the ·thoughts [ideas] and ·feelings [attitudes; intentions] in our hearts. 13 ·Nothing in all the world [Nothing in all creation; or No creature] can be hidden from God. Everything is ·clear [naked] and ·lies open before him [L exposed to his eyes], and to him we must ·explain the way we have lived [give an account; answer].
13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover Feast [C annual festival that celebrates God’s rescue of Israel from Egypt; Ex. 12], Jesus ·went [L went up] to Jerusalem. 14 In the Temple [area; C not in the Temple proper, but in the outer courtyard, the Court of the Gentiles] he found people selling cattle, sheep, and ·doves [or pigeons; C for sacrifices in the Temple]. ·He saw others sitting at tables, exchanging different kinds of money [L …and moneychangers sitting; C the annual temple tax (Ex. 30:11–16) had to be paid in Tyrian shekels, because of their high quality silver]. 15 Jesus made a whip out of cords and forced all of them, ·both [with] the sheep and cattle, to leave the Temple. He turned over the tables and scattered the money of ·those who were exchanging it [L the moneychangers]. 16 Then he said to those who were selling ·doves [or pigeons], “Take these things out of here! Don’t make my Father’s house [C the Temple was God’s home on earth; 1 Kin. 8] a ·place for buying and selling [L a house of market/trade]!”
17 When this happened, the ·followers [disciples] remembered what was written [C in the Scriptures]: ·“My strong love for your Temple completely controls me [L “Zeal for your house will consume me”; Ps. 69:9].”
18 Some of ·his people [L the Jews] ·said to [responded to; demanded of] Jesus, “Show us a ·miracle [L sign] to ·prove you have the right to do these things [justify your actions].”
19 Jesus ·answered [replied to] them, “Destroy this temple, and I will ·build [L raise] it again in three days [C an allusion to his resurrection; 2:22; Matt. 26:61; 27:40].”
20 ·They [The Jewish leaders; L The Jews] answered, “It took forty-six years [C Herod the Great began a reconstruction and expansion of the Temple complex in 20 bc, thus dating this statement to about ad 27] to ·build [reconstruct] this Temple! Do you really believe you can ·build [raise] it again in three days?”
21 (But the temple Jesus meant was his own body [C Jesus was claiming divinity, his body corresponding with the Temple, the home/dwelling place of God; 1:14]. 22 After Jesus was raised from the dead, his ·followers [disciples] remembered that Jesus had said this. Then they believed the Scripture [compare Ps. 16:10] and the words Jesus had said.)
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