Book of Common Prayer
A Song About God’s Loyalty
A ·maskil [skillful psalm; meditation] of Ethan the Ezrahite [C a wise man; 1 Kin. 4:31].
89 I will always sing about the Lord’s ·love [loyalty];
I will ·tell of [L make known with my mouth] his ·loyalty [faithfulness] ·from now on [for generations].
2 I will say, “Your ·love [loyalty] ·continues [L is built] forever;
your ·loyalty [faithfulness] ·goes on and on [is established] like the ·sky [heavens].”
3 You said, “I ·made an agreement [L cut a covenant/treaty] with the man of my choice;
I made a promise to my servant David.
4 I told him, ‘I will ·make your family continue [L establish your seed] forever.
·Your kingdom will go on and on [L I will build your throne for generations; 2; 72; 78:70–72; 2 Sam. 7:11–16; 1 Chr. 17:10–14].’” ·
5 Lord, the heavens praise you for your ·miracles [wonderful acts]
and for your ·loyalty [faithfulness] in the ·meeting [assembly] of your holy ones.
6 Who in ·heaven [the skies] ·is equal to [ranks with] the Lord?
None of the ·angels [gods; divine council/assembly; L sons of God; 82:1] is like the Lord.
7 When the ·holy ones [L council of holy ones] meet, it is God they fear.
He is more ·frightening [awesome] than all who surround him.
8 Lord God ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], who is like you?
Lord, you are powerful and completely ·trustworthy [faithful].
9 You rule the ·mighty [raging; surging] sea
and ·calm [still] the ·stormy [rising] waves.
10 You crushed the Rahab [C a sea monster, representing chaos (Job 26:12; Is. 51:9) and in some contexts Egypt defeated at the Sea (87:4; Is. 30:7; Ezek. 29:3; 32:3)] like a corpse;
by your ·power [L strong arm] you scattered your enemies.
11 The ·skies [heavens] and the earth belong to you.
You ·made [founded] the world and ·everything in it [L its fullness].
12 You created the north and the south.
Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon [C majestic mountains] sing for joy at your name.
13 Your arm has great power.
Your hand is strong; your right hand is lifted up.
14 Your ·kingdom [L throne] is ·built [established] on ·what is right and fair [righteousness and judgment/justice].
·Love [Loyalty] and ·truth [faithfulness] are ·in all you do [L before your face].
15 ·Happy [Blessed] are the people who know how to ·praise [shout to] you.
Lord, let them ·live [L walk] in the light of your ·presence [L face].
16 In your name they rejoice
and continually ·praise [exalt] your ·goodness [righteousness].
17 You are their ·glorious [beautiful] strength,
and in your ·kindness [favor] you ·honor our king [L lift up our horn; C symbol of power and here of the king].
18 Our shield [C the king] belongs to the Lord,
our king to the Holy One of Israel.
19 ·Once [Then], in a vision [2 Sam. 7:4], you spoke
to ·those who worship you [your faithful ones/saints].
You said, “I have ·given strength to [L set help on] a warrior;
I have raised up a ·young man [chosen one] from my people [1 Sam. 13:14; Acts 13:22].
20 I have found my servant David;
I ·appointed him by pouring [L have anointed him with] holy oil on him [1 Sam. 16:1–13].
21 I will steady him with my hand
and strengthen him with my arm.
22 No enemy will ·make him give forced payments [make him pay tribute; or prevail over/or outwit him],
and wicked people will not ·defeat [afflict; humble] him.
23 I will ·crush [pound] his enemies in front of him;
I will ·defeat [strike down] those who hate him.
24 My ·loyalty [faithfulness] and ·love [loyalty] will be with him.
Through ·me [L my name] ·he will be strong [L his horn will be raised up; v. 17].
25 I will ·give him power [L set his hand] over the sea
·and control [L his right hand] over the rivers [C the waters represent chaos].
26 He will ·say [proclaim] to me, ‘You are my father,
my God, the Rock, my ·Savior [Victor].’
27 I will make him my firstborn son,
the ·greatest [highest] king on earth [2:7; 2 Sam. 7:14].
28 My ·love [loyalty] will ·watch over [keep; guard] him forever,
and my ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with him will ·never end [be faithful].
29 I will ·make his family continue [L set his seed forever],
and his ·kingdom [L throne] ·will last as long as the skies [L like the days of the skies/heavens].
30 “If his descendants ·reject [leave; abandon] my ·teachings [instructions; laws]
and do not ·follow [L walk in] my ·laws [judgments],
31 if they ·ignore [profane] my ·demands [statutes; ordinances; requirements]
and ·disobey [L do not keep/guard] my commands,
32 then I will punish their ·sins [transgressions] with a rod
and their ·wrongs [guilt] with ·a whip [lashes].
33 But I will not ·hold back [break; invalidate] my ·love [loyalty] from ·David [L him],
nor will I ·stop being loyal [L deal falsely with my faithfulness].
34 I will not ·break [profane; violate] my ·agreement [covenant; treaty]
nor ·change [alter] what ·I have said [L came out of my lips].
35 Once and for all I have ·promised [sworn] by my holiness,
I will not lie to David.
36 His ·family [L seed] will go on forever.
His ·kingdom [L throne] will last before me like the sun.
37 It will ·continue [be established] forever, like the moon,
like a ·dependable [reliable; faithful] witness in the sky.” ·
38 But now you have ·refused [spurned] and rejected him.
You have been angry with your ·appointed king [L anointed; v. 20].
39 You have ·abandoned [disavowed] the ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with your servant
and ·thrown [profaned; defiled] his crown ·to [or in] the ground [Jer. 13:18–19].
40 You have ·torn down [broken up] all his city walls;
you have turned his strong cities into ruins.
41 Everyone who passes by ·steals from [plunders] him.
·His neighbors insult him [L He is scorned by/a reproach to his neighbors].
42 You have ·given strength of [L exalted the right hand of] his ·enemies [foes]
and have made ·them all [L all his enemies] happy.
43 You have ·made his sword useless [turned back the blade/L rock of his sword];
you did not help him stand in battle.
44 You have ·kept him from winning [or put aside his purity]
and have thrown his throne to the ground.
45 You have cut ·his life [L the days of his youth] short
and ·covered [wrapped] him with shame. ·
46 Lord, how long will this go on?
Will you ·ignore [hide from] us forever?
How long will your anger burn like a fire?
47 Remember how ·short [fleeting] my life is.
Why did you create us? For ·nothing [futility; vanity; no purpose]?
48 What person alive will not ·die [L see death]?
Who can escape ·the grave [L from the hand/power of Sheol; C the grave or the underworld]? ·
49 Lord, where is your ·love [loyalty] from times past,
which in your ·loyalty [faithfulness] you ·promised [swore] to David [2 Sam. 7:11–14]?
50 Lord, remember ·how they insulted [L the reproach/scorn of] your servant;
remember how I ·have suffered the insults of the nations [L carry in my bosom all of the many peoples].
51 Lord, remember how your enemies ·insulted [reproached; scorned] you
and how they ·insulted [reproached; scorned] ·your appointed king wherever he went [L the footsteps of your anointed; v. 20].
52 ·Praise [Blessed be] the Lord forever!
Amen and amen.
The Map of Jerusalem
4 “Now, ·human [T son of man; 2:1], get yourself a brick, put it in front of you, and ·draw [inscribe; engrave] ·a map [L the city] of Jerusalem on it. 2 Then ·surround it with an army [lay a siege against it]. Build ·battle [siege] works against the city and a ·dirt road to the top of the city walls [siege ramp/mound against it]. Set up camps around it, and put ·heavy logs in place to break down the walls [battering rams all around]. 3 Then get yourself an iron ·plate [pan] and set it up like an iron wall between you and the city. Turn your face toward the city ·as if to attack it [or and it will be under siege] and then ·attack [besiege it]. This is a sign to [L the house of] Israel.
4 “Then lie down on your left side, and take the ·guilt [punishment; iniquity] of [L the house of] Israel on yourself. Their ·guilt [punishment; iniquity] will be on you for the number of days you lie on your left side. 5 I have ·given [assigned to] you the same number of days as the years of the people’s sin. So you will have the ·guilt of Israel’s sin on you [punishment/iniquity of the house of Israel] for three hundred ninety days.
6 “After you have finished these days, lie down a second time, on your right side. You will then have the ·guilt [punishment; iniquity] of [L the house of] Judah on you. I will give it to you for forty days, a day for each ·year of their sin [L year]. 7 Then you will ·look [L turn your face] toward Jerusalem, which is being ·attacked [besieged]. With your arm bare, you will prophesy against Jerusalem. 8 [L And look/T behold] I will put ·ropes [cords] on you so you cannot turn from one side to the other until you have finished the days of your ·attack on Jerusalem [siege].
9 “Take wheat, barley, beans, ·small peas [lentils], millet and spelt [C a kind of wheat; all foods common to Babylon, where Ezekiel was exiled], and put them in one ·bowl [vessel; container], and make them into bread for yourself. You will eat it the three hundred ninety days you lie on your side. 10 You will eat ·eight ounces [L twenty shekels] of food ·every day at set times [L from time to time]. 11 You will ·drink [L measure out and drink] ·about two-thirds of a quart [L a sixth of a hin] of water ·every day at set times [L from time to time]. 12 Eat your food as you would eat a barley cake, baking it over human dung where the people can see.” 13 Then the Lord said, “In the same way [L the sons/T children of] Israel will eat unclean food [C ritually; Lev. 11] among the nations where I ·force them to go [drive/banish them].”
14 But I said, “·No [Ah], Lord God! I have never ·been made unclean [defiled myself; C ritually]. From the time I was young until now I’ve never eaten anything that died ·by itself [naturally; C a carcass] or was ·torn [mauled] by ·animals [wild beasts]. ·Unclean [Impure; C ritually] meat has never entered my mouth.”
15 “Very well,” he said. “Then I will give you cow’s dung instead of human dung to use for your fire to bake your bread.”
16 He also said to me, “·Human [T Son of man; 2:1], I am going to cut off the supply of bread to Jerusalem. They will eat the bread that is measured out to them, and they will ·worry as they eat [eat anxiously]. They will drink water that is measured out to them, and they will be in ·shock [terror; dismay] as they drink it. 17 This is because bread and water will be hard to find [C because of the siege] The people will be ·shocked [terrified; dismayed] at the sight of each other, and they will ·become weak [waste away] because of their ·sin [punishment; iniquity].
6 ·So [Therefore] let us ·go on to grown-up teaching [L move forward to maturity/completeness]. Let us ·not go back over [L leave behind] the ·beginning [rudimentary; elementary] ·lessons [teaching; L word] we learned about ·Christ [or the Messiah; 5:5]. We should not again ·start teaching [L lay a foundation] about ·turning away [repentance] from ·those acts that lead to death [or useless works; L dead works] and about faith in God. 2 We should not return to the teaching about baptisms [C either Christian baptism or Jewish ceremonial washings], about laying on of hands [C a ritual of blessing and/or conferring of authority], about the raising of the dead and eternal judgment [C these may be Jewish practices or foundational Christian teaching]. 3 And we will ·go on to grown-up teaching [L do this] if God allows.
4 For it is impossible to ·bring back again to a changed life [L renew again to repentance] those who were once ·in God’s light [enlightened], and ·enjoyed [experienced; L tasted] ·heaven’s gift [or the heavenly gift; C perhaps the gift of salvation], and ·shared in [partook of] the Holy Spirit. 5 They ·found out [L tasted] how good God’s word is, and ·they received [L tasted] the ·powers [miracles] of ·his new world [the coming age/world]. 6 If they have ·fallen away [committed apostasy], it is impossible to ·bring them back to a changed life again [L renew them again to repentance], because they are nailing the Son of God to a cross again and are ·shaming him in front of others [making a public disgrace/exhibition of him].
7 ·Some people are like land that gets plenty of rain and [L Land that drinks in the abundance of rain] produces a ·good [useful] crop for those who ·work [farm] it. That land receives God’s blessings. 8 ·Other people are like land that [L But if it…] grows thorns and ·weeds [thistles] and is worthless. It is about to be cursed by God and ·will be destroyed by fire [L its end/fate is burning].
9 ·Dear friends [Loved ones; T Beloved], we are saying this to you, but we ·really expect [are convinced/confident of] better things from you that ·will lead to [or accompany; come with] your salvation. 10 [For] God is ·fair [L not unjust]; he will not forget the work you did and the love you showed ·for him [L in his name] by ·helping [serving] his ·people [holy people; T saints]. And he will remember that you are still ·helping [serving] them. 11 We ·want [desire for] each of you to ·go on with the same hard work [demonstrate the same zeal/diligence] ·all your lives [L until the end] ·so you will surely get what you hope for [or until your hope is fulfilled/attained]. 12 We do not want you to become ·lazy [sluggish; C in contrast to diligent; v. 11]. Be ·like [L imitators of] those who through faith and ·patience [endurance] will ·receive [inherit] what God has promised.
A Town Rejects Jesus
51 When the time was coming near for Jesus to ·depart [ascend], he ·was determined to go to [resolutely set out for; L set his face toward] Jerusalem [Matt. 19:1–2; Mark 10:1]. 52 He sent some messengers ahead of him, who went into a town in Samaria to make everything ready for him. 53 But the people there would not ·welcome [receive] him, because he was ·set on going to [heading towards; L traveling with his face toward] Jerusalem [C Samaritans worshiped at Mount Gerizim, not in Jerusalem]. 54 When James and John, ·followers [disciples] of Jesus, saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven and ·destroy [burn up; consume] those people[a] [2 Kin. 1:10]?”
55 But Jesus turned and ·scolded [rebuked] them. |And Jesus said, “You don’t know what kind of spirit you belong to. 56 The Son of Man [C a title for the Messiah; Dan. 7:13–14] did not come to destroy the ·souls [lives] of people but to save them.”|[b] Then they went to another town.
Following Jesus(A)
57 As they were going along the road, someone said to Jesus, “I will follow you ·any place [wherever] you go.”
58 Jesus said to them, “The foxes have ·holes [dens] to live in, and the ·birds [L birds of the sky] have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to ·rest [lay] his head.”
59 Jesus said to another man, “Follow me!”
But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
60 But Jesus said to him, “Let the people who are [C spiritually] dead bury their own dead. You must go and ·tell about [proclaim] the kingdom of God.”
61 Another man said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me go and say good-bye to my family.”
62 Jesus said, “Anyone who ·begins to plow a field [L puts a hand to the plow] but keeps looking back is ·of no use in [or not fit for] the kingdom of God.”
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.