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.
14 “So I am going to ·attract [allure; woo] her;
I will lead her into the ·desert [wilderness; C as in the Exodus, when God rescued Israel from slavery and cared for her; Ex. 12–17]
and speak tenderly to her.
15 There I will give her back her vineyards,
and I will make the Valley of ·Trouble [L Achor; C see Josh. 7:1–26] a door of hope.
There she will ·respond [or sing] as ·when she was young [L in the days of her youth],
as when she came out of Egypt.”
16 The Lord says, “In the future she[a] will call me ‘my husband’;
no longer will she[b] call me ‘my baal [C “baal” can mean “husband,” “master,” or “Baal” (the Canaanite god); in this wordplay, Israel has replaced one husband (the Lord) with another (Baal)].’
17 I will ·never let her say [remove from her lips] the names of Baal again;
people won’t ·use [utter; invoke; or remember] their names anymore.
18 At that time I will make an ·agreement [covenant; treaty] for them
with the ·wild animals [L beasts of the field], the ·birds [L birds of the sky/heavens], and the ·crawling things [T creeping things of the ground].
I will ·smash [shatter; abolish] from the land
the bow and the sword and ·the weapons of war [or war; battle],
so my people will ·live [L lie down] in safety.
19 And I will ·make you my promised bride [L betroth you to me] forever.
I will ·be good and fair [L betroth you in righteousness and justice];
I will show you my ·love [loyalty; unfailing love; lovingkindness] and mercy.
20 I will ·be true to you as my promised bride [L betroth you in faithfulness],
and you will ·know [or acknowledge me as] the Lord.
21 “At that time I will ·speak to you [answer; respond],” says the Lord.
“I will ·speak to [answer; respond to] the ·skies [or heavens],
and they will ·give rain to [L answer; respond to] the earth.
22 The earth will ·produce [L answer/respond with] grain, new wine, and oil;
·much will grow because my people are called [L and they will answer/respond to] Jezreel [C “God plants”; 1:4, 11].
23 I will plant ·my people [L her for myself] in the land,
and I will show pity to the one I had called ‘·not shown pity [L Lo-Ruhamah; 1:6–7].’
I will say, ‘You are my people’
to those I had called ‘·not my people [L Lo-Ammi; 1:9].’
And they will say to me, ‘You are our God.’”
The Elders from Ephesus
17 Now from Miletus [20:15] Paul sent to Ephesus [18:19; 19:1–41] and called for the elders [14:23; 1 Tim. 5:17] of the church. 18 When they came to him, he said, “You know about my life from the first day I came to Asia [18:19]. You know the way I lived all the time I was with you [19:1–41]. 19 ·Some Jewish opponents [L The Jews] ·made plans [plotted] against me, which ·troubled me very much [severely tested/tried me]. But you know I always served the Lord ·unselfishly [L with humility], and ·I often cried [in sorrowful times; L with tears]. 20 You know I preached to you and did not hold back anything that would help you. You know that I taught you in public and ·in your homes [from house to house]. 21 I ·warned [witnessed/testified to] both Jews and Greeks to ·change their lives and turn to God [repent] and believe in our Lord Jesus. 22 But now [L indeed; T behold] ·I must obey the Holy Spirit and [L bound/compelled by the Spirit, I must] go to Jerusalem. I don’t know what will happen to me there. 23 I know only that in every city the Holy Spirit ·tells [warns; testifies to] me that ·troubles and even jail [L chains and persecutions/afflictions] wait for me. 24 [L But] I don’t ·care about my own life [consider my life worth anything]. ·The most important thing [or My only goal] is that I ·complete [finish] my ·mission [task; course; L race; 2 Tim. 4:7; Heb. 12:1], the ·work [ministry; service] that ·the Lord Jesus gave me [L I received from the Lord Jesus]—to ·tell people [testify/witness to] the ·Good News [Gospel] about God’s grace.
25 “And now [L look; T behold], I know that none of you among whom I was ·preaching [proclaiming] the ·kingdom of God [L kingdom] will ever see ·me [L my face] again. 26 So today I ·tell [testify/witness to] you that ·if any of you should be lost, I am not responsible [L I am innocent/clean of the blood of everyone; Ezek. 33:9], 27 because I ·have told [L have not held back from telling] you ·everything God wants you to know [or the whole purpose/plan/will of God]. 28 ·Be careful for [Keep watch over] yourselves and for all the ·people [L flock] the Holy Spirit has ·given to you to oversee [L made you overseers/guardians; John 21:16]. You must be like shepherds to the church of God,[a] which he ·bought [or obtained] with the ·death of his own Son [L with the blood of his own (Son); or with his own blood]. 29 I know that after ·I leave [my departure; I am gone], ·some people will come like wild wolves [L wild/savage wolves will come in among you] and ·try to destroy [will not spare] the flock. 30 ·Also, [or Even] some from your own group will rise up and ·twist the truth [L speak perversions/distortions] and will ·lead away [lure; entice] ·followers [disciples] after them. 31 So ·be careful [keep watch]! Always remember that for three years, day and night, I never stopped warning [admonishing; instructing] each of you, ·and I often cried over you [L with tears].
32 “Now I ·am putting you in the care of [commend/commit/entrust you to] God and the ·message [word] about his grace. It is able to ·give you strength [edify you; build you up], and it will give you the ·blessings God has [L inheritance] ·for [or among] all ·his holy people [those who are sanctified; those set apart for himself]. 33 When I was with you, I never ·wanted [coveted] anyone’s ·money [L silver or gold] or fine clothes [Ex. 20:17; Deut. 5:21; 1 Sam. 12:3]. 34 You [L yourselves] know I always worked [L with my own hands] to take care of my own needs and the needs of those who were with me. 35 I ·showed [provided an example to] you ·in all things [in everything I did] that you should work as I did and help the weak. I taught you to remember the words Jesus said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive [C a saying of Jesus not recorded elsewhere in Scripture].’”
36 ·When [After] Paul had said this, he knelt down with all of them and prayed.
Jesus’ First Followers
5 One day while Jesus was standing beside ·Lake Galilee [L the Lake of Gennesaret; C another name for the Sea of Galilee], many people were ·pressing [crowding] all around him to hear the word of God. 2 Jesus saw two boats at the shore of the lake. The fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. 3 Jesus got into one of the boats, the one that belonged to Simon [C Peter], and asked him to push off a little from the ·land [shore]. Then Jesus sat down and continued to teach the people from the boat.
4 When Jesus had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Take the boat into deep water, and ·put [let down] your nets in the water to catch some fish.”
5 Simon answered, “Master, we ·worked [labored] hard all night trying to catch fish, and we caught nothing. But ·you say [because you say; L upon your word] to put the nets in the water, so I will.” 6 When the fishermen did as Jesus told them, they caught so many fish that the nets began to ·break [tear]. 7 They ·called [signaled; motioned] to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. They came and filled both boats so full that they were almost sinking.
8 When Simon Peter saw what had happened, he bowed down ·before [L at the knees of] Jesus and said, “Go away from me, Lord. I am a sinful man!” 9 [L For] He and the other fishermen were amazed at the many fish they caught, as were 10 James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.
Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid. From now on you will ·fish for people [catch people; T be fishers of men].” 11 When the men brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed Jesus.
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