Book of Common Prayer
97 How I love your ·teachings [instructions; laws]!
I ·think about [ponder; meditate on] them all day long.
98 Your commands make me wiser than my enemies,
because they are mine forever.
99 I am ·wiser [more insightful] than all my teachers,
because I ·think about [ponder; meditate on] your ·rules [decrees; testimonies].
100 I have more understanding than the elders,
because I ·follow [protect] your ·orders [precepts].
101 I have ·avoided [L kept my feet from] every evil way
so I could ·obey [keep; guard] your word.
102 I haven’t ·walked [turned] away from your ·laws [judgments],
because you yourself are my teacher.
103 ·Your promises are sweet to me [L How sweet your words slip/slide down my palate],
sweeter than honey in my mouth!
104 Your ·orders [precepts] give me understanding,
so I hate lying ways.
105 Your word is like a lamp for my feet
and a light for my path [C it shows how life should be lived].
106 I ·will do what I have promised [L have sworn and confirmed it]
and ·obey [keep; guard] your ·fair [righteous] ·laws [judgments].
107 I have suffered ·for a long time [or greatly].
Lord, ·give me [spare my] life by your word.
108 Lord, accept my ·willing [offering of] praise
and teach me your ·laws [judgments].
109 My life is always in ·danger [L my hand],
but I haven’t forgotten your ·teachings [instructions; laws].
110 Wicked people have set a trap for me,
but I haven’t ·strayed [wandered] from your ·orders [precepts].
111 ·I will follow your rules forever [L Your rules/decrees/precepts are my inheritance forever],
because they make ·me [L my heart] happy.
112 I will ·try [L incline my heart] to do ·what you demand [L your statutes/ordinances]
forever, until the end.
113 I hate ·disloyal [or double-minded] people,
but I love your ·teachings [instructions; laws].
114 You are my hiding place and my shield;
I hope in your word.
115 Get away from me, you who do evil,
so I can ·keep [protect] my God’s commands.
116 ·Support [Uphold] me as you promised so I can live.
Don’t let me be embarrassed because of my hopes.
117 ·Help [Strengthen] me, and I will ·be saved [have victory].
I will always ·respect [care about] your ·demands [statutes; ordinances; requirements].
118 You ·reject [treat as worthless] those who ·ignore [go astray from] your ·demands [statutes; ordinances; requirements],
because their lies ·mislead them [leave them in the lurch].
119 You throw away the wicked of the world like ·trash [dross].
So I will love your ·rules [decrees; testimonies].
120 ·I [L My flesh] ·shake [shudder] in ·fear [dread] of you;
I ·respect [fear] your ·laws [judgments].
A Song for a Holiday
For the director of music. By the gittith [C perhaps a musical term or instrument]. A psalm of Asaph [C a Levitical musician, a descendant of Gershon, at the time of David; 1 Chr. 6:39; 15:17; 2 Chr. 5:12].
81 Sing for joy to God, our strength;
shout out loud to the God of Jacob [C another name for Israel].
2 ·Begin the music [Lift up a psalm]. ·Play [Sound; L Give] the tambourines [68:25; 149:3; 150:4; Ex. 15:20].
·Play pleasant music on the harps [L …the pleasant/sweet harps] and lyres.
3 Blow the ·trumpet [ram’s horn] at ·the time of the New Moon [L the month; C a monthly religious festival],
when the moon is full, when our feast begins.
4 This is the ·law [statute; ordinance; requirement] for Israel;
it is the ·command [judgment] of the God of Jacob [v. 1].
5 He ·gave [set] this ·rule [decree; testimony] to the people of Joseph [C reference to the northern tribes]
when they went out of the land of Egypt [C the exodus; Ex. 12–15].
I heard a ·language [L tongue] I did not know, saying [C God now speaks]:
6 “I ·took the load off [removed the burden from] their shoulders;
·I let them put down their baskets [L Their hands were removed from the baskets].
7 When you were in ·trouble [distress], you called, and I ·saved [rescued] you.
I answered you ·with thunder [L in the secret place of thunder; Ex. 19:18–19].
I tested you at the waters of Meribah [95:8; 106:32; Ex. 17:1–17; Num. 20:1–13]. ·
8 My people, listen. I ·am warning [bear testimony/witness against] you.
Israel, please listen to me!
9 You must not have ·foreign [strange] gods;
you must not worship any ·false [foreign] god.
10 I, the Lord, am your God,
who brought you out of Egypt.
·Open [L Widen] your mouth and I will feed you [Deut. 29:6; 32:10–14].
11 “But my people did not listen to ·me [L my voice];
Israel did not ·want [accept] me.
12 So I ·let them go their stubborn way [L threw them away because of their stubborn hearts]
and ·follow [walk according to] their own advice.
13 I wish my people would listen to me;
I wish Israel would ·live [L walk on] my way.
14 Then I would quickly ·defeat [subdue; quell] their enemies
and turn my hand against their foes.
15 Those who hate the Lord would ·bow [cringe; cower] before him.
Their ·punishment [doom] would continue forever.
16 But I would give you the finest wheat [Deut. 32:14]
and fill you with honey from the rocks [Deut. 32:13].”
A Cry for Justice
A psalm of Asaph [C a Levitical musician, a descendant of Gershon, at the time of David; 1 Chr. 6:39; 15:17; 2 Chr. 5:12].
82 God ·is in charge of the great meeting [L takes his place/presides in the great assembly/or the assembly of the gods/divine council; C the angels (powers and authorities; Eph. 6:12) are here called “gods”];
he judges among the “gods” [John 10:35–36].
2 He says, “How long will you ·defend evil people [or judge unfairly]?
How long will you show ·greater kindness [favor; preference] to the wicked? ·
3 ·Defend [Judge] the ·weak [or poor] and the orphans;
·defend the rights of [vindicate] the poor and ·suffering [needy].
4 ·Save [Rescue] the ·weak [or poor] and helpless;
·free [protect] them from the ·power [L hand] of the wicked.
5 “You know nothing. You don’t understand.
You walk in the dark,
while the ·world is falling apart [L foundations of the earth are tottering].
6 I said, ‘You are “gods.”
You are all sons of God Most High.’
7 But you will die like any other person;
you will fall like all the ·leaders [princes; C God will punish these evil angels].”
8 God, ·come [rise up] and judge the earth,
because you ·own [inherit] all the nations.
Mordecai Is Honored
6 That same night the ·king could not sleep [L king’s sleep fled]. So he gave an order for the ·daily court record [book of history/remembrances, the annals/chronicles] to be brought in and read to him. 2 It was found recorded that Mordecai had warned the king about Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s ·officers [eunuchs] who guarded the doorway and who had ·planned [plotted] to ·kill [assassinate] the king.
3 The king asked, “What honor and ·reward [recognition; distinction; L greatness] have been given to Mordecai for this?”
The king’s ·personal servants [attendants] answered, “Nothing has been done for Mordecai.”
4 The king said, “Who is in the courtyard?” Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king’s ·palace [L house]. He had come to ask the king about ·hanging [impaling] Mordecai on the ·platform [pole] he had prepared.
5 The king’s ·personal servants [attendants] said, “Haman is standing in the courtyard.”
The king said, “Bring him in.”
6 So Haman came in. And the king asked him, “What should be done for a man whom the king ·wants very much [delights] to honor?”
And Haman thought to himself, “Whom would the king want to honor more than me?” 7 So he answered the king, “Do this for the man you ·want very much [delight] to honor. 8 Have them bring a royal robe that the king himself has worn. And also bring a horse with a royal ·crown [crest; emblem; insignia] on its head, a horse that the king himself has ridden. 9 Let the robe and the horse be given to one of the king’s most ·important [noble] ·men [officials]. Let ·them [or him] ·put the robe on [clothe; array; robe] the man the king ·wants [delights] to honor, and let ·them [or him] lead him on the horse through the city ·streets [square]. Let ·them [or him] announce: ‘This is what is done for the man whom the king ·wants [delights] to honor!’”
10 The king commanded Haman, “Go quickly. Take the robe and the horse just as you have said, and do all this for Mordecai the Jew who sits at the king’s gate. Do not ·leave out [neglect; L let fall] anything you have ·suggested [recommended].”
11 So Haman took the robe and the horse, and he ·put the robe on [clothed; arrayed; robed] Mordecai. Then he led him on horseback through the city ·streets [square], announcing before Mordecai: “This is what is done for the man whom the king ·wants [delights] to honor!”
12 Then Mordecai returned to the king’s gate, but Haman hurried home with his head covered in ·mourning [humiliation]. 13 He told his wife, Zeresh, and all his friends everything that had happened to him.
Haman’s wife and ·advisers [wise friends] said, “You are ·starting to lose power to [L beginning to fall before] Mordecai. ·Since [or If] he is ·a Jew [L from the seed of the Jews], you cannot ·win [prevail; stand] against him. You will surely ·be ruined [fall before him].” 14 While they were still talking, the king’s eunuchs came to Haman’s house and hurried him to the banquet Esther had prepared.
Paul in Ephesus
19 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions [C the mountainous northern route through the interior of Phrygia; 18:23] to Ephesus [C a major city in western Asia Minor; 18:23]. There he found some ·followers [disciples] 2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit ·when [or after] you believed?”
They said, “We have never even heard ·of [or that there is] a Holy Spirit.”
3 So he asked, “·What kind of baptism did you have [L Into what were you baptized]?”
They said, “·It was the baptism that John taught [L Into John’s baptism].” [C These followers of John the Baptist either (1) knew only of John’s ministry but had not heard that Jesus was the Messiah, or less likely, (2) believed in Jesus as Messiah, but had not been baptized in his name to receive the Holy Spirit.]
4 Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of ·changed hearts and lives [repentance; C in preparation for the Messiah]. He told people to believe in the one who would come after him, and that one is Jesus.”
5 When they heard this, they were baptized ·in [or into] the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 Then Paul ·laid [placed] his hands on them [C a ritual of blessing and/or conferring of authority], and the Holy Spirit came upon them. They began speaking ·different languages [or in tongues; ecstatic utterance] and prophesying. 7 There were about twelve people in this group.
8 Paul went into the synagogue and spoke out ·boldly [confidently; fearlessly] for three months. He ·talked [reasoned; argued] with the people and persuaded them ·to accept the things he said about [L concerning] the kingdom of God. 9 But some of them became ·stubborn [hardened]. They refused to believe and ·said evil things about [slandered; cursed] ·the Way of Jesus [L the Way; C another name for the Christian movement; 9:2; 18:25; 22:4] before ·all the people [the crowd]. So Paul left them, and taking the ·followers [disciples] with him, he went to the ·school [lecture hall] of a man named Tyrannus. There Paul ·talked [discussed; reasoned; debated] with people every day 10 for two years. Because of his work, ·everyone who lived in [the whole population of] the province of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord.
Jesus Is Tempted by the Devil(A)
4 Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. The Spirit led Jesus into the ·desert [wilderness] 2 where the devil ·tempted [or tested] Jesus for forty days [C like Israel’s forty years of testing in the wilderness]. Jesus ate nothing during that time, and when those days were ended, he was very hungry [Ex. 34:28].
3 The devil said to Jesus, “If you are the Son of God, ·tell [command] this rock to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written in the Scriptures: ‘A person does not live on bread alone [Deut. 8:3].’”
5 Then the devil took Jesus [L up] and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in an instant. 6 The devil said to Jesus, “I will give you all these kingdoms and all their ·power [authority] and ·glory [splendor]. [L …because] It has all been ·given [handed over] to me, and I can give it to anyone I wish. 7 If you worship me, then it will all be yours.”
8 Jesus answered, “It is written in the Scriptures: ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him [Deut. 6:13; 10:20].’”
9 Then the devil led Jesus to Jerusalem and put him on ·a high place [the pinnacle] of the Temple. He said to Jesus, “If you are the Son of God, ·jump [throw yourself] down [L from here]. 10 [L For] It is written in the Scriptures:
‘He ·has put his angels in charge of you [or will order his angels to protect you; L will command his angel concerning you]
to ·watch over you [guard you carefully; Ps. 91:11].’
11 It is also written:
‘They will ·catch you in [lift you up with] their hands
so that you will not ·hit your foot on [trip/stumble over] a rock [Ps. 91:12].’”
12 Jesus answered, “But it also says in the Scriptures: ‘Do not test the Lord your God [Deut. 6:16].’”
13 After the devil had ·tempted [tested] Jesus ·in every way [or with all these temptations], he left him to wait until a ·better [opportune] time.
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