Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer for God to Guide
Of David.
25 Lord, I ·give myself [L lift my soul] to you;
2 my God, I ·trust [have confidence in] you.
Do not let me be ·disgraced [shamed];
do not let my enemies ·laugh at [triumph/exult over] me.
3 No one who ·trusts [hopes in; waits on] you will be ·disgraced [shamed],
but those who ·sin [betray; are treacherous] without excuse will be ·disgraced [shamed].
4 Lord, ·tell me [make me know] your ways.
·Show [L Teach] me ·how to live [L your paths].
5 ·Guide [Lead] me in your truth,
and teach me, my God, my ·Savior [Helper; Victor].
I ·trust [hope in; wait on] you all day long.
6 Lord, remember your ·mercy [compassion] and ·love [loyalty; covenant love]
that you have shown since long ago.
7 Do not remember the sins
and ·wrong things I did when I was young [transgressions of my youth].
But remember ·to love me [L according to your love/loyalty/covenant love] always
·because you are good [on account of your goodness], Lord.
8 The Lord is good and ·right [upright; virtuous];
he ·points [instructs] sinners to the right way.
9 He shows those who are humble how to do right,
and he teaches them his ways.
10 All the Lord’s ·ways [paths] are ·loving [loyal] and ·true [reliable]
for those who ·follow [keep; guard] the demands of his ·agreement [covenant].
11 For the sake of your ·name [reputation], Lord,
forgive my many sins.
12 ·Are there [L Who are…?] those who ·respect [fear] the Lord [Prov. 1:7]?
He will ·point [teach] them ·to the best way [L the way they should choose].
13 ·They will enjoy a good life [L Their soul will dwell/lodge in goodness],
and their ·children [L seed] will inherit the ·land [or earth].
14 The Lord ·tells his secrets to [confides in; or makes friends with] those who ·respect [fear] him;
he ·tells them about [makes known to them] his ·agreement [covenant].
15 My eyes are always ·looking to the Lord for help [L toward the Lord].
He will ·keep me [L remove my feet] from any traps.
16 Turn to me and ·have mercy on [L be gracious to] me,
because I am lonely and hurting.
17 ·My troubles have [L The distress of my heart has] ·grown larger [widened];
·free me from [bring me out of] my ·problems [anguish; distress].
18 Look at my ·suffering [affliction] and troubles,
and ·take away [forgive] all my sins.
19 Look at how many enemies I have!
See how ·much [L violently] they hate me!
20 Protect me and ·save [rescue; T deliver] me.
I ·trust [find refuge in] you, so do not let me be ·disgraced [shamed].
21 My hope is in you,
so may ·goodness [blamelessness; innocence] and ·honesty [virtue] guard me.
22 God, ·save [redeem; ransom] Israel from all their ·troubles [distress]!
Thanksgiving for Victory
For the director of music. To the tune of “The Death of the Son.” A psalm of David.
9 I will ·praise [or give thanks to] you, Lord, with all my heart.
I will ·tell [recount] all ·the miracles you have done [your wonderful deeds].
2 I will be happy and rejoice because of you;
God Most High, I will sing praises to your name.
3 My enemies turn back;
they ·are overwhelmed [L stumble] and ·die [perish] ·because of [or before] you.
4 You have ·heard [upheld; maintained] my ·complaint [just cause; or right and my cause];
you sat on your throne and judged ·by what was right [righteously].
5 You ·spoke strongly against the [rebuked; reproved] foreign nations and destroyed the wicked;
you ·wiped out [blotted out; erased] their names forever and ever.
6 The enemy is ·gone [done; a ruin] forever.
You ·destroyed [uprooted] their cities;
·no one even remembers them [L their memory perishes].
7 But the Lord ·rules [is enthroned; L sits] forever.
He ·sits on his throne to judge [L has established his throne for justice/judgment],
8 and he will judge the world ·in fairness [with righteousness];
he will decide what is fair for the ·nations [peoples; 96:10; 98:9].
9 The Lord ·defends [L is a refuge for] those who ·suffer [are oppressed/exploited];
·he defends them [L a refuge] in times of ·trouble [distress].
10 Those who know ·the Lord [L your name] trust ·him [L you],
because ·he [L you] will not ·leave [abandon; forsake] those who ·come to him [L seek you; Deut. 31:6, 8; Matt. 28:20; Heb. 13:5].
11 Sing praises to the Lord who ·is king on Mount [L dwells on] Zion [C the location of the Temple].
Tell ·the nations [L among the peoples] what he has done.
12 ·He remembers who the murderers are [or The one who avenges blood remembers them; C God];
he will not forget the cries of those who suffer.
13 Lord, ·have mercy on [be gracious toward] me.
See how ·my enemies [L those who hate me] ·hurt [afflict; persecute] me.
·Do not let me go through [L Lift me up from] the gates of death.
14 Then, at the gates of ·Jerusalem [the daughter of Zion; C a name of Jerusalem], I will ·praise you [L declare your praises];
I will rejoice ·because you saved me [L in your salvation].
15 The nations have ·fallen [L sunk] into the pit they ·dug [L made].
Their feet are caught in the nets they ·laid [L hid].
16 The Lord has made himself known by ·his fair decisions [L the judgments he has made];
the wicked get trapped by ·what they do [L the deeds of their palms/hands]. ·
17 Wicked people will ·go [L return] to the ·grave [or underworld; L Sheol],
and so will all ·those who [L the nations that] forget God.
18 But those who ·have troubles [are afflicted] will not always be forgotten.
The hopes of the ·poor [oppressed; exploited] will never ·die [perish].
19 Lord, rise up and don’t let people ·think they are strong [L prevail].
Judge the nations in your presence.
20 ·Teach them to fear you [or Strike them with terror; Deut. 4:34; 28:8; 34:12], Lord.
The nations must learn that they are ·only human [mere mortals]. ·
What the Lord Demands
A psalm of David.
15 Lord, who may ·enter [dwell/abide/sojourn in] your Holy Tent [C the Tabernacle]?
Who may live on your holy mountain [C Mount Zion]?
2 Only those who ·are innocent [walk innocently]
and who do ·what is right [righteousness; 1:1; Job 1:1].
Such people speak the truth from their hearts
3 and do not ·tell lies about others [slander with their tongue].
They do no ·wrong [evil] to their neighbors
and do not ·gossip [L raise a reproachful matter with their associates].
4 ·They do not respect hateful people [L The wicked are despised in their eyes]
but honor those who ·honor [L fear] the Lord.
They keep their promises to their neighbors,
even when it hurts.
5 They do not charge interest on money they lend [Ex. 22:25–27; Lev. 25:35–36; Deut. 23:19]
and do not take ·money [a bribe] to hurt innocent people [Ex. 23:8; Deut. 16:19].
Whoever does all these things will never be ·destroyed [L moved].
Daniel Explains the Dream
19 Then Daniel, ·who was called [L whose name is] Belteshazzar [1:7], was very quiet for a while, because his understanding of the dream ·frightened [scared; terrified] him. So the king said, “Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its ·meaning [interpretation] ·make you afraid [terrify you].”
Then Belteshazzar answered, “My master, I wish the dream were about your enemies, and I wish its ·meaning [interpretation] were for those who are against you! 20 You saw a tree in your dream that grew large and strong. Its top ·touched [reached] the ·sky [heavens], and it could be seen from all over the earth. 21 Its leaves were beautiful, and it had plenty of fruit for everyone to eat. It was a home for the ·wild animals [L animals of the field], and its branches were nesting places for the birds of the ·sky [heavens]. 22 O king, you are that tree! You have become great and powerful, like the tall tree that ·touched [reached] the ·sky [heavens]. Your ·power [sovereignty] reaches to the ·far parts [ends] of the earth.
23 “O king, you saw an ·observer, a holy angel [L holy watcher], coming down from heaven who said, ‘Cut down the tree and destroy it. But leave the stump and its roots in the ground with a band of iron and bronze around it; leave it in the field with the grass. Let him become wet with dew and live like a ·wild animal [L animal of the field] for seven ·years [L periods; times].’
24 “This is the ·meaning of the dream [interpretation], O king. The Most High God has ·commanded [decreed] these things to happen to my master the king: 25 You will be ·forced [driven] away from people to live among the ·wild animals [L animals of the field]. People will feed you grass like an ox, and dew from the ·sky [heavens] will make you wet. Seven ·years [L periods; times] will pass, and then you will learn this lesson: The Most High God is ·ruler [sovereign] over every kingdom on earth, and he gives those kingdoms to anyone he chooses.
26 “Since the stump of the tree and its roots were left in the ground, your kingdom will be given back to you when you learn that ·one in heaven rules your kingdom [L heaven is sovereign]. 27 So, O king, please accept my advice. ·Stop sinning [Atone for/L Break off your sins] and ·do what is right [be righteous]. Stop doing wicked things and be kind to the ·poor [oppressed]. Then you might continue to be ·successful [prosperous].”
Warning Against False Teachers
4 ·My dear friends [L Beloved], many false prophets [Deut. 13:1–5; 18:14–22; Mark 13:22] have gone out into the world. So do not ·believe [trust] every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they are from God [C the false teachers evidently claimed that their teaching was from the Spirit; 1 Cor. 12:1–3; 14:29; 1 Thess. 5:19–21]. 2 This is how you can ·know [recognize] God’s Spirit: Every spirit [C a teacher/prophet claiming inspiration from the Spirit] who ·confesses [acknowledges] that Jesus Christ came ·to earth as a human [L in the flesh] is from God. 3 And every spirit who ·refuses to say this about Jesus [L does not confess/acknowledge Jesus] is not from God [2 John 7]. It is the spirit of the ·enemy of Christ [L antichrist; 2:18, 22], which you have heard is coming, and now he is already in the world.
4 ·My dear children [2:1], you ·belong to [L are from] God and have ·defeated [conquered; overcome] them [C the antichrists/false teachers]; because ·God’s Spirit, who is in you, is greater than the devil, who is in the world [L that which is in you is greater than that which is in the world]. 5 And they ·belong to [L are from] the world, so what they say is from the world, and the world ·listens to [hears; obeys] them. 6 But we ·belong to [are from] God, and those who know God ·listen to [hear; obey] us. But those who are not from God do not ·listen to [hear; obey] us. That is how we ·know [recognize] the Spirit that is true and the spirit that ·is false [deceives; errs].
Jesus Teaches the People(A)
14 Jesus returned to Galilee ·in the power of [empowered by] the Holy Spirit, and ·stories [news; reports] about him spread all through the ·area [region; countryside]. 15 He began to teach in their synagogues, and everyone ·praised [acclaimed; glorified] him.
16 Jesus traveled to Nazareth, where he had grown up. On the Sabbath day he went to the synagogue, as he always did, and stood up to read. 17 The ·book [or scroll] of Isaiah the prophet was given to him. He ·opened [L unrolled] the ·book [or scroll] and found the place where this is written:
18 “·The Lord has put his Spirit in me [L The Spirit of the Lord is on me],
because he ·appointed [L anointed; C at Jesus’ baptism he was anointed by the Spirit as the Messiah, meaning the Anointed One] me to ·tell [proclaim; preach] the ·Good News [Gospel] to the poor.
He has sent me to ·tell the captives they are free [proclaim liberty/release for the captives/prisoners]
and to tell the blind that they can see again [Is. 61:1].
God sent me to free ·those who have been treated unfairly [the oppressed; Is. 58:6]
19 and to ·announce [proclaim] the ·time [year] when the Lord will show his ·kindness [favor; Is. 61:2; C an allusion to the release of slaves during the Jubilee year; Lev. 25].”
20 Jesus ·closed the book [or rolled up the scroll], gave it back to the ·assistant [synagogue attendant], and sat down. ·Everyone [L All the eyes] in the synagogue was watching Jesus closely. 21 He began to say to them, “·While you heard these words just now, they were coming true [L Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your ears]!”
22 All the people spoke well of Jesus and were amazed at the ·words of grace [or gracious words] he spoke. They asked, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”
23 Jesus said to them, “·I know that [No doubt; Surely] you will ·tell [quote] me ·the old saying [this proverb]: ‘·Doctor [T Physician], heal yourself.’ You want to say, ‘We heard about the things you did in Capernaum [C a town in Galilee where Jesus lived and ministered]. Do those things here in your own town!’” 24 Then Jesus said, “·I tell you the truth [L Truly/Amen I say to you], a prophet is not ·accepted [welcomed] in his hometown. 25 But I tell you ·the truth [truly], there were many widows in Israel during the time of Elijah. ·It did not rain [L The sky/heavens were shut] in Israel for three and one-half years, and there was ·no food anywhere [L a great famine] in the whole country [1 Kin. 17]. 26 But Elijah was sent to none of those widows, only to a widow in Zarephath, a town in Sidon [C a Gentile city on the coast north of Israel]. 27 And there were many ·with skin diseases [T lepers] living in Israel during the time of the prophet Elisha. But none of them were ·healed [cured; cleansed], only Naaman, ·who was from the country of Syria [L the Syrian; 2 Kin. 5].”
28 When all the people in the synagogue heard these things, they ·became very angry [were furious; L were filled with wrath]. 29 They got up, ·forced [drove] Jesus out of town, and took him to the ·edge [brow] of the ·cliff [hill] on which the town was built. They planned to throw him off the ·edge [cliff], 30 but Jesus ·walked [passed] through the crowd and went on his way.
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