Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer for Protection
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. Of David.
61 God, hear my cry;
·listen [pay attention] to my prayer.
2 I call to you from the ends of the earth [C far from the Temple]
when ·I am afraid [L my heart grows faint].
·Carry [Lead] me away to ·a high mountain [L the rock that is higher than I am; C a place of refuge, perhaps referring to God as the rock; 18:2, 46; 19:14; 62:2].
3 You have been my ·protection [refuge],
like a strong tower against my enemies.
4 Let me ·live [sojourn] in your ·Holy Tent [L tent; C the sanctuary] forever.
Let me find ·safety [refuge] in the shelter of your wings [C an image of compassion, or perhaps referring to the cherubim whose wings cover the Ark of the Covenant; Ex. 25:20]. ·
5 God, you have heard my ·promises [vows].
You have given me what belongs to those who fear ·you [L your name].
6 ·Give the king a long life [L Add days to the days of the king];
let ·him live many years [L his years be forever and ever].
7 Let him ·rule [reign] in the presence of God forever.
Protect him with your ·love [loyalty] and ·truth [faithfulness].
8 Then I will ·praise [sing a psalm to] your name forever,
and every day I will ·keep my promises [fulfill my vows].
Trust Only in God
For the director of music. For Jeduthun [C a Levitical musician; 1 Chr. 16:41–42; 25:1, 6; 2 Chr. 5:12]. A psalm of David.
62 I ·find rest [wait quietly] in God;
only he can ·save me [give me victory].
2 He is my rock [61:2] and my ·salvation [victory].
He is my ·defender [fortress];
I will not be ·defeated [shaken].
3 How long will you ·attack [assault] someone?
Will all of you ·kill [murder] that person?
Who is like a leaning wall, like a fence ·ready to fall [that totters; C the wicked take advantage of the weak]?
4 They are planning to make that person ·fall [totter].
They enjoy telling lies.
With their mouths they bless,
but in their ·hearts [L innards] they curse. ·
5 I ·find rest [wait quietly] in God;
·only he gives me hope [L for my hope is in him].
6 He is my rock [61:2] and my ·salvation [victory].
He is my ·defender [fortress];
I will not be ·defeated [shaken].
7 My ·honor [glory] and ·salvation [victory] come from God.
He is my ·mighty [strong] rock and my ·protection [refuge].
8 People, ·trust [have confidence in] God all the time.
·Tell him all your problems [L Pour out your heart before him],
because God is our ·protection [refuge]. ·
9 The least of people are only a ·breath [vapor; bubble; vanity],
and even the greatest are just a ·lie [delusion].
On the scales, they ·weigh nothing [L go up];
together they are only a ·breath [vapor; bubble; vanity].
10 Do not ·trust [have confidence] in ·force [oppression; extortion].
Stealing is ·of no use [meaningless].
Even if you gain more riches,
don’t ·put your trust in [L set your heart on] them.
11 God has said this once,
and I have heard it ·over and over [L twice]:
God is strong.
12 The Lord is ·loving [loyal].
You ·reward [repay] people for what they have done [1 Pet. 1:17; Rev. 20:12–13; 22:12].
Praise God Who Saved the Nation
For the director of music. A psalm of David. A song.
68 Let God rise up and scatter his enemies;
let those who hate him ·run away [flee] from him.
2 Blow them away as smoke
is ·driven [blown] away by the wind [Hos. 13:3].
As wax melts before a fire,
let the wicked ·be destroyed [perish] before God [Mic. 1:4].
3 But ·those who do right [the righteous] should be glad
and should rejoice before God;
they should be happy and glad.
4 Sing to God; ·sing praises [make a psalm] to his name.
Prepare the way for him
who rides ·through the desert [on the clouds; C as on a chariot; 18:10–19; 104:3; Is. 19:1; Dan. 7:13–14; Luke 21:27; Rev. 1:7],
whose name is the Lord.
Rejoice before him.
5 God is in his holy ·Temple [L abode].
He is a father to orphans [10:14; 146:9],
and he defends the widows [146:9].
6 God gives the lonely a home.
He leads prisoners out ·with joy [with singing; or to prosperity],
but ·those who turn against God [L the rebellious] will live in a dry land.
7 God, you led your people out
when you marched through the ·desert [wasteland; wilderness]. ·
8 The ·ground [earth; land] shook
and the ·sky [heavens] poured down rain
before God, the God of Mount Sinai [Ex. 19],
before God, the God of Israel.
9 God, you sent much rain;
you ·refreshed [restored] your ·tired [withering] ·land [L inheritance].
10 Your people settled there.
God, in your goodness
you took care of the poor.
11 The Lord gave the command,
and a great ·army [or company of women] told the news:
12 “Kings and their ·armies [hosts] ·run away [L flee].
·In camp they [L The abode of the house; C may indicate the women] divide the ·wealth taken in war [plunder].
13 Those who stayed ·by the campfires [L between the saddlebags/or sheepfolds]
will share the ·riches taken in battle [L wings of a dove covered with silver and its feathers with green gold; C specific precious items among the plunder].”
14 The Almighty scattered kings
like snow on Mount Zalmon [C perhaps near Shechem; Judg. 9:48].
15 The mountains of Bashan [C in the Golan heights, east of the Sea of Galilee] are ·high [mighty];
the mountains of Bashan have many peaks.
16 Why do you mountains with many peaks look with ·envy [or hostility]
on the mountain that God ·chose [L desired] for his home [C Zion, the location of the Temple]?
The Lord will live there forever.
17 God comes with ·millions [L twice ten thousand, thousands of thousands] of chariots;
the Lord ·comes from Mount Sinai to his holy place [L is among them Sinai in holiness].
18 When you went up to the heights,
you led a parade of captives.
You received gifts from the people,
even from those who ·turned [rebelled] against you [2 Cor. 2:14; Eph. 4:8].
And the Lord God will live there.
19 ·Praise [Blessed be] the Lord, God our ·Savior [Victor],
who ·helps us [L bears our burdens] every day. ·
20 Our God is a God who ·saves us [gives us victory];
the Lord God ·saves us [L brings us out] from death.
21 God will ·crush [shatter] his enemies’ heads,
the hairy ·skulls [pates; C tops of their heads] of those who continue to ·sin [L walk in their guilt].
22 The Lord said, “I will bring ·the enemy [L them] back from Bashan [v. 15];
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea [C representing chaos].
23 Then you can ·stick [bathe; or shatter] your feet in their blood,
and ·your dogs can lick [L the tongues of your dogs can have] their share.”
24 God, people have seen your victory ·march [procession];
God my King marched into the holy place [C the Tabernacle].
25 The singers are in front and the ·instruments [musicians] are behind.
In the middle are the girls with the tambourines.
26 ·Praise [Bless] God in the ·meeting place [assembly];
·praise [bless] the Lord ·in the gathering [or the fountain] of Israel.
27 There is the smallest tribe, Benjamin, ·leading them [L bringing them down].
And there are the ·leaders [princes] of Judah with their group.
There also are the ·leaders [princes] of Zebulun and of Naphtali.
28 God, ·order up [command] your power;
show the mighty power you have used for us before.
29 Kings will bring their ·wealth [L presents; gifts] to you,
·to [or because of] your Temple in Jerusalem.
30 ·Punish [Reprimand; Rebuke] the beast in the ·tall grass along the river [L reed; C crocodile or hippopotamus representing Egypt].
·Punish [Reprimand; Rebuke] ·those bulls among the cows [L the herd of bulls among the calves of the peoples; C leaders of other nations].
·Defeated [Trampled], they will bring you their silver.
Scatter those ·nations [peoples] that ·love [delight in] war.
31 Messengers will come from Egypt;
the people of ·Cush [Ethiopia] will ·pray [L stretch their hands] to God.
32 Kingdoms of the earth, sing to God;
·sing praises [make a psalm] to the Lord. ·
33 Sing to the one who rides through the ·skies [heavens], ·which are from long ago [the ancient heavens; v. 4].
He ·speaks with a thundering voice [L puts forth his voice, his strong voice].
34 ·Announce [Ascribe] that God is ·powerful [strong].
·He rules [L His majesty is] over Israel,
and his power is in the ·skies [clouds].
35 God, you are ·wonderful [awesome] in your ·Temple [sanctuary; L Holy Place].
The God of Israel gives his people strength and power.
·Praise [Bless] God!
The Dreams Come True
42 Jacob ·learned [L saw] that there was grain in Egypt, so he said to his sons, “Why are you just sitting here looking at one another? 2 I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy grain for us to eat, so that we will live and not die.”
3 So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with them, because he was afraid that ·something terrible [a fatal accident; harm; tragedy] might happen to him. 5 Along with many other people, the sons of Israel [C Jacob’s other name] went to Egypt to buy grain, because ·the people in the land of Canaan were also hungry [L there was famine in the land of Canaan].
6 Now Joseph was ·governor [administrator] over ·Egypt [L the land]. He was the one who sold the grain to people ·who came to buy it [L of the land/earth]. So Joseph’s brothers came to him and bowed facedown on the ground before him. 7 When Joseph saw his brothers, he ·knew who they were [recognized them], but he ·acted as if he didn’t know them [treated them as strangers/foreigners]. He asked ·unkindly [harshly], “Where do you come from?”
They answered, “We have come from the land of Canaan to buy food.”
8 Joseph ·knew they were [recognized] his brothers, but they did not ·know who he was [recognize him]. 9 And Joseph remembered his dreams ·about his brothers bowing to him [L which he dreamed about them; 37:5–11]. He said to them, “You are spies! You came to ·learn where the nation is weak [L see the nakedness of the land]!”
10 But his brothers said to him, “No, my ·master [lord]. We come as your servants just to buy food. 11 We are all sons of the same father. We are honest men, not spies.”
12 Then Joseph said to them, “No! You have come to ·learn where this nation is weak [L see the nakedness of the land]!”
13 And they said, “·We [L Your servants] are ·ten of twelve [L twelve] brothers, sons of the same father, and we live in the land of Canaan. Our ·youngest [smallest] brother is there with our father right now, and ·our other brother is gone [L one is no more].”
14 But Joseph said to them, “·I can see I was right [L It is as I spoke to you]! You are spies! 15 But ·I will give you a way to prove you are telling the truth [L in this way you will be tested]. As surely as ·the king [L Pharaoh] lives, you will not ·leave [go out from] this place ·until [or unless] your ·youngest [smallest] brother comes here. 16 One of you must go and get your brother. The rest of you will stay here in prison. We will ·see if you are telling the truth [L test your words/statements]. If not, as surely as ·the king [L Pharaoh] lives, you are spies.” 17 Then Joseph put them all in ·prison [the guardhouse] for three days.
Wickedness in the Church
5 It is actually being ·said [reported] that there is sexual sin among you. And it is a kind that ·does not happen [or is not tolerated] even among ·people who do not know God [pagans; Gentiles]. A man there ·has [is living in sin with; is sleeping with] his father’s wife [C probably his stepmother; Lev. 18:7–8; 20:11]. 2 And you are ·proud [arrogant; puffed up]! ·You should [L Should you not…?] have been filled with ·sadness [grief; mourning] so that the man who did this should be put out of your group. 3 I am not there with you in person, but I am with you in spirit. And I have already ·judged [condemned] the man who did that sin as if I were really there. 4 When you meet together in the name of our Lord Jesus, and I meet with you in spirit with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 then hand this man over to Satan. So his ·sinful self will be destroyed [sinful nature will be purged; or body/flesh will be destroyed; or body will be beaten down by sin], and his spirit will be saved on the day of the Lord.
6 Your ·bragging [boasting] is not good. You know the saying, “Just a little ·yeast [or leaven; C leaven is a small lump of fermented dough used to make a loaf rise, as yeast is today] makes the whole batch of dough rise [C yeast/leaven symbolizes the permeating influence of this man’s sin within the community; Gal. 5:9].” 7 ·Take out all [Cleanse; Purge] the old ·yeast [leaven] so that you will be a new batch of dough without ·yeast [leaven], which you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed [C Christ’s sacrificial death rescued us from spiritual death, just as the blood of the first Passover lambs rescued the children of Israel; Ex. 11—12]. 8 So let us celebrate this feast [C a new kind of Passover feast], but not with the bread that has the old ·yeast [leaven]—the ·yeast [leaven] of ·sin [evil; malice] and wickedness [C unleavened bread was used in the Passover celebration; Ex. 12:15; Deut. 16:3]. Let us celebrate this feast with the bread that has no ·yeast [leaven]—the bread of ·goodness [sincerity] and truth.
19 and Judas Iscariot [C Iscariot probably means “man of Kerioth”], who later ·turned against [betrayed] Jesus.
Some People Say Jesus Is Possessed by an Evil Spirit(A)
20 Then Jesus went ·home [into a house], but again a crowd gathered. There were so many people that Jesus and his followers could not eat. 21 When his ·family [own people] heard this, they went to ·get [seize; take charge of] him because they thought he was out of his mind. 22 But the ·teachers of the law [scribes] from Jerusalem were saying, “·Beelzebul [C another name for Satan] is ·living inside [possessing] him! He uses power from the ·ruler [prince] of demons to ·force [drive; cast] demons out of people.”
23 So Jesus called the people together and ·taught them with stories [L spoke to them in parables; C Greek parabolē, which can mean stories and analogies of various kinds]. He said, ·“Satan will not force himself out of people. [L “How can Satan drive out Satan?] 24 A kingdom that is ·divided [at war with itself] cannot ·continue [stand], 25 and a ·family [household; L house] that is divided cannot ·continue [stand]. 26 And if Satan ·is [rises; rebels] against himself and ·fights against his own people [is divided], he cannot ·continue [stand]; that is the end of Satan. 27 No one can enter a strong man’s house and ·steal [seize; plunder] his things unless he first ·ties up [binds] the strong man [Is. 49:24–25]. Then he can ·steal [seize; plunder] things from the house. [C Satan is the strong man and his possessions are the people Jesus is freeing from Satan’s power.] 28 I tell you the truth, all sins that people do and all ·the things people say against God [blasphemies] can be forgiven. 29 But anyone who ·speaks against [blasphemes] the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of ·a sin that continues forever [a sin with eternal consequences; L an eternal sin].”
30 Jesus said this because the teachers of the law said that he had an ·evil [defiling; L unclean] spirit inside him.
Jesus’ True Family(B)
31 Then Jesus’ mother and ·brothers [or brothers and sisters; C the Greek word can mean “siblings”; cf. 6:3] arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to tell him to come out. 32 Many people were sitting around Jesus, and they said to him, “Your mother and brothers[a] are ·waiting [looking; asking] for you outside.”
33 Jesus asked, “Who are my mother and my brothers [and sisters]?” 34 Then he looked at those sitting around him and said, “·Here are [Look; T Behold,] my mother and my brothers [and sisters]! 35 My true brother and sister and mother are those who do ·what God wants [the will of God].”
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.