Book of Common Prayer
145 I call to you with all my heart.
Answer me, Lord, and I will ·keep [protect] your ·demands [statutes; ordinances; requirements].
146 I call to you.
·Save me [Give me victory] so I can ·obey [keep; guard] your ·rules [decrees; testimonies].
147 I ·wake up early in the morning [get up before dawn] and cry out.
I hope in your word.
148 ·I stay awake all night [L My eyes awake in the watches of the night]
so I can ·think about [meditate on] your promises.
149 ·Listen to me [L Hear my voice] because of your ·love [loyalty];
Lord, ·give me [spare my] life by your ·laws [judgments].
150 Those who ·love evil [L pursue/persecute me with an evil plan] are near,
but they are far from your ·teachings [instructions; laws].
151 But, Lord, you are also near,
and all your commands are ·true [faithful].
152 Long ago I learned from your ·rules [decrees; testimonies]
that you made them ·to continue [foundational] forever.
153 See my ·suffering [affliction] and rescue me,
because I have not forgotten your ·teachings [instructions; laws].
154 Argue my case and ·save [redeem] me.
·Let me live [Spare my life] by your promises.
155 ·Wicked people are far from being saved [L Salvation/Victory is far from the wicked],
because they do not ·want [seek] your ·demands [statutes; ordinances; requirements].
156 Lord, ·you are very kind [L your compassion/mercies are abundant];
give me life by your ·laws [judgments].
157 Many ·enemies [foes] ·are after [pursue; persecute] me,
but I have not ·rejected [swerved from] your ·rules [decrees; testimonies].
158 I see those traitors, and I ·hate [loathe; am disgusted by] them,
because they do not ·obey [keep; guard] what you say.
159 See how I love your ·orders [precepts].
Lord, give me life by your ·love [loyalty].
160 ·Your words are true from the start [L The head of your word is true/faithful],
and all your ·laws [judgments] will be ·fair [righteous] forever.
161 Leaders ·attack [pursue] me for no reason,
but ·I fear your law in my heart [L my heart fears your words].
162 I ·am as happy over [delight in] your promises
as if I had found ·a great treasure [much plunder].
163 I hate and ·despise [loathe] lies,
but I love your ·teachings [instructions; laws].
164 Seven times a day I praise you
for your ·fair laws [righteous judgments].
165 Those who love your ·teachings [instructions; laws] will find ·true peace [or much prosperity],
and nothing will ·defeat them [make them stumble].
166 I am ·waiting [hoping] for ·you to save me [L your salvation/victory], Lord.
I will ·obey [L do] your commands.
167 I ·obey [keep; guard] your ·rules [decrees; testimonies],
and I love them very much.
168 I ·obey [keep; guard] your ·orders [precepts] and ·rules [decrees; testimonies],
because ·you know everything I do [L all my ways are before you].
169 ·Hear my cry to you [L Let my shout of joy come near you], Lord.
Let your word help me understand.
170 Listen to my ·prayer [supplication];
·save [protect] me as you promised.
171 Let ·me [L my lips] ·speak [bubble forth] your praise,
because you have taught me your ·demands [statutes; ordinances; requirements].
172 Let ·me [L my tongue] sing about your promises,
because all your commands are ·fair [righteous].
173 Give me your helping hand,
because I have chosen your ·commands [precepts].
174 I ·want you to save me [L desire your salvation/victory], Lord.
I ·love [delight in] your ·teachings [instructions; laws].
175 Let me live so I can praise you,
and let your ·laws [judgments] help me.
176 I have ·wandered [gone astray] like a lost sheep.
·Look for [Seek] your servant, because I have not forgotten your commands.
The Happy Home
A song ·for going up to worship [of ascents; C perhaps sung while traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate an annual religious festival like Passover].
128 ·Happy [Blessed] are those who ·respect [fear] the Lord [Prov. 1:7] and ·obey him [L walk in his ways].
2 You will ·enjoy what you work for [L eat the labor of your hands],
and you will be ·blessed [happy] with ·good things [prosperity].
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine [C produce many children] in your house [Prov. 31:10–31].
Your children will be like olive branches [C bringing much good] around your table [Mic. 4:4; Zech. 3:10].
4 This is how the man who ·respects [fears] the Lord [Prov. 1:7]
will be blessed.
5 May the Lord bless you from Mount Zion [C the location of the Temple];
may you ·enjoy [experience; L see] the ·good things [prosperity] of Jerusalem all the days of your life.
6 May you see your grandchildren.
Let there be peace in Israel.
A Prayer Against the Enemies
A song ·for going up to worship [of ascents; C perhaps sung while traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate an annual religious festival like Passover].
129 ·They have treated me badly all my life [L Many are my foes from my youth].
(Let Israel ·repeat this [L say].)
2 ·They have treated me badly all my life [L Many are my foes from my youth],
but they have not ·defeated [overcome; prevailed over] me.
3 ·Like farmers plowing, they plowed over my back [L The plowers plowed my back],
making ·long wounds [L their furrows long].
4 But the Lord does what is right;
he has ·set me free from those [L cut the cords of] wicked people.
5 Let those who hate ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple]
be ·turned back in shame [L humiliated and turn back].
6 Let them be like the grass on the roof
that dries up before it has grown.
7 There is not enough of it ·to [L for the harvester to] fill a hand
or ·to make into a bundle [those who bind sheaves] to fill one’s arms.
8 Let those who pass by them not say,
“May the Lord bless you.
We bless you by the ·power [L name] of the Lord.”
A Prayer for Mercy
A song ·for going up to worship [of ascents; C perhaps sung while traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate an annual religious festival like Passover].
130 Lord, ·I am in great trouble [L from the depths],
so I ·call out [pray] to you.
2 Lord, hear my voice;
·listen to my prayer for help [L let your ear pay attention to the sound of my supplication].
3 Lord, if you ·punished people for all their sins [L observed/watched/guarded against iniquity],
·no one would be left [L who could stand…?], Lord.
4 But you forgive ·us [L your people],
so you are ·respected [feared; Prov. 1:7].
5 I ·wait [hope] for the Lord ·to help me [L my soul hopes],
and I ·trust [hope in] his word.
6 I ·wait for the Lord to help me [hope for the Lord]
more than night watchmen wait for the ·dawn [morning],
more than night watchmen wait for the ·dawn [morning].
7 People of Israel, put your hope in the Lord
because he is ·loving [loyal]
and ·able to save [L with him is abundant redemption].
8 He will ·save [redeem] Israel
from all their ·sins [iniquities].
The Evil Plans of People
2 ·How terrible it will be for people [L Woe to those] who plan wickedness,
who lie on their beds and make evil plans.
When the morning light comes, they do what they planned,
because they have the power to do so.
2 They ·want [covet] fields, so they take them;
they ·want [covet] houses, so they ·take them away [seize them].
They ·cheat [defraud; oppress] people to get their houses;
they rob them even of their ·property [inheritance].
3 That is why the Lord says:
“Look, I am planning ·trouble [disaster] against such people,
·and you won’t be able to save yourselves [L from which you cannot remove your necks; C like a yoke].
You will no longer walk ·proudly [arrogantly],
because it will be a ·terrible time [time of calamity/catastrophe/evil].
4 ·At that time [L In that day] people will ·make fun of [ridicule; sing a taunt against] you
and ·sing this sad song [L lament with a lamentation] about you:
‘We are completely ·ruined [destroyed];
the Lord has taken away my people’s ·land [possession; inheritance].
Yes, he has taken it away from me
and divided our fields among ·our enemies [renegades; or the traitors]!’”
5 So you will have no one from the Lord’s ·people [assembly]
to throw lots to divide the land.
Micah Is Asked Not to Prophesy
6 The ·prophets [or preachers] say, “Don’t ·prophesy [or preach] to us!
Don’t ·prophesy [preach] about these things!
·Nothing to make us feel bad will happen [L Disgrace/Humiliation will not overtake us]!”
7 But I must say this, ·people [L house] of Jacob:
·The Lord is becoming angry [or Does not the Lord grow impatient…?] about what you have done.
·My words are welcome [or Are not my words good…?]
to the person who ·does what is right [L walks uprightly].
8 But ·you are fighting against my people like an enemy [or my people have risen up against me as an enemy].
You ·take the coats [strip off the rich robe] from people who pass by peacefully;
·you plan war [or …like men returning from war].
9 You have ·forced [cast out; evicted] the women of my people
from their ·nice [pleasant] houses;
you have taken my glory
from their children forever.
10 ·Get up [Arise] and leave.
This is not your place of rest anymore.
You have made this place ·unclean [defiled],
and it is doomed to destruction.
11 ·But you people want a false prophet
who will tell you nothing but lies
[L If a man, coming as wind/spirit and lies,
should lie to you…].
You want one who ·promises to prophesy good things for you
if you give him wine and beer [or will prophesy wine and beer for you].
He’s just the prophet for you.
The Lord Promises to Rescue His People
12 “Yes, ·people of Jacob [L Jacob], I will ·bring [assemble] all of you together;
I will bring together ·all those left alive in [the remnant of] Israel.
I will put them together like sheep in a pen,
like a flock in its pasture;
the place will be filled with ·many people [or a noisy crowd].
13 Someone will ·open the way [break out] and ·lead the people out [L go up before them].
The people will break through the gate and ·leave the city where they were held captive [L go out].
Their king will ·go out in front of [pass through before] them,
and the Lord will lead them.”
Paul Is Sent to Caesarea
23 Then ·the commander [L he] called two ·officers [centurions] and said, “Prepare two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred men with spears to leave for Caesarea at ·nine o’clock tonight [L at the third hour of the night; C night begins about 6 PM]. 24 Get ·some horses [mounts; L animals] for Paul to ride so he can be taken to Governor Felix [C held office from ad 52–59] safely.” 25 And he wrote a letter ·that said [of this kind; to this effect; L possessing this type/pattern]:
26 From Claudius Lysias.
To the Most Excellent Governor Felix:
Greetings.
27 Some of the Jews had ·taken [seized] this man and ·planned [were about] to kill him. But I learned that he is a Roman citizen, so I went with my soldiers and ·saved [rescued] him. 28 I wanted to know ·why [L the charge/reason] they were accusing him, so I brought him before their ·council meeting [Sanhedrin]. 29 I ·learned [L found; discovered] that the accusation had to do with ·questions [debates; disputed matters] about their own law [C the law of Moses], but no charge was worthy of death or ·jail [chains]. 30 When I was ·told [informed] that ·some of them were planning to kill Paul [L there was a plot against the man], I sent him to you at once. I also ·told [ordered] ·them [L his accusers] to tell you what they have against him.
31 So the soldiers ·did what they were told [followed orders] and took Paul and brought him to the city of Antipatris [C city 40 miles from Jerusalem and 25 miles from Caesarea] that night. 32 The next day the horsemen ·went [were sent] with ·Paul to Caesarea [L him], but the other soldiers went back to the ·army building in Jerusalem [L barracks]. 33 When ·the horsemen [L they] came to Caesarea and ·gave [delivered] the letter to the governor, they turned Paul over to him. 34 The governor read the letter and asked Paul, “What ·area [province] are you from?” When he learned that Paul was from Cilicia [9:11], 35 he said, “I will hear your case when ·those who are against you [your accusers] come here, too.” Then the governor gave orders for Paul to be kept under guard in Herod’s ·palace [headquarters; Praetorium].
John Asks a Question(A)
18 John’s ·followers [disciples] told him about all these things. He called for two of his ·followers [disciples] 19 and sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the ·One who is to come [the Expected One; C the Messiah], or should we ·wait for [look for; expect] someone else?”
20 When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you with this question: ‘Are you the ·One who is to come [Expected One], or should we ·wait for [look for; expect] someone else?” 21 At that time, Jesus healed many people of their sicknesses, diseases, and ·evil [defiling; L unclean; 4:33] spirits, and he gave sight to many blind people. 22 Then Jesus answered John’s ·followers [disciples], “Go tell John what you saw and heard here. The blind can see, the ·crippled [lame] can walk, and ·people with skin diseases [T lepers; see 5:12] are ·healed [L cleansed]. The deaf can hear, the dead are raised to life, and the ·Good News [Gospel] is ·preached [announced; proclaimed] to the poor [C signs of God’s restoration of creation, predicted by the prophet Isaiah; Is. 29:18–19; 35:5–6; 61:1–2]. 23 Those who ·do not stumble in their faith [are not offended] because of me are blessed.”
Jesus Comments on John(B)
24 When John’s ·followers [L messengers] left, Jesus began talking to the ·people [crowds] about John: “What did you go out into the ·desert [wilderness] to see? A reed ·blown by [shaken by; swaying in] the wind [C something fragile and easily swept away]? 25 [L But] What did you go out to see? A man dressed in ·fine [expensive; L soft] clothes? No, people who have ·fine [glorious; splendid] clothes and much ·wealth [luxury] ·live [are] in ·kings’ palaces [royal courts]. 26 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, and I tell you, ·John is [L one who is] more than a prophet. 27 This was written about him:
‘[L Look; T Behold] I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare ·the [your] way ·for [before; in front of] you
[Mal. 3:1].’
28 I tell you, John is greater than any other person ·ever born [L born to women], but even the least important person in the kingdom of God is greater than John [C because John was part of the old age of preparation, those in the new kingdom age have greater blessings and status].”
29 (When the people, including the tax collectors, heard this, they all agreed that God’s ·teaching was good [way was right/just], because they had been baptized by John. 30 But the Pharisees and experts on the law ·refused to accept [rejected] God’s ·plan [purpose] for themselves; they did not let John baptize them.)
31 Then Jesus said, “·What shall I say about [L To what, therefore, shall I compare] the people of this ·time [L generation]? What are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace, calling to one another and saying,
‘We played ·music [L the pipe/flute] for you, but you did not dance;
we sang a ·sad song [funeral song; dirge], but you did not ·cry [weep].’ [C The religious leaders wanted John to “dance” (lighten up his severe message) and wanted Jesus to “mourn” (follow their restrictive lifestyle).]
33 [L For] John the Baptist came and did not eat bread or drink wine, and you say, ‘He ·has [is possessed by] a demon in him.’ 34 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! ·He eats too much and drinks too much wine [L A glutton and a drunkard], and he is a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 35 But wisdom is ·proved to be right [vindicated] by ·what it does [or the behavior of her followers; L all her/its children; C Wisdom is personified as a woman (Prov. 8), her “children” being those who respond favorably to the message of John and Jesus].”
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