Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer Against the Enemies
A song. 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].
83 God, do not keep quiet;
God, do not be silent or still.
2 Your enemies are ·making noises [in tumult];
those who hate you ·are getting ready to attack [L raise up their head; 2:1].
3 They are making secret ·plans [plots] against your people;
they plot against those you ·love [cherish; treasure].
4 They say, “Come, let’s ·destroy them [wipe them out] as a nation.
Then no one will ever remember the name ‘Israel.’”
5 They ·are united in their plan [L plot with one mind/heart].
These have ·made an agreement [L cut a covenant/treaty] against you:
6 the ·families [L tents] of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
Moab and the Hagrites,
7 the people of Byblos, Ammon, Amalek,
Philistia, and inhabitants of Tyre.
8 Even Assyria has joined them
to ·help Ammon and Moab, the [L be the arm of the] descendants of Lot [C a list of traditional enemies of Israel]. ·
9 God, do to them what you did to Midian,
what you did to Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon ·River [Wadi; Judg. 4–5].
10 They ·died [were destroyed] at Endor,
·and their bodies rotted [L like dung/manure] on the ground.
11 Do to their ·important leaders [princes; nobles] what you did to Oreb and Zeeb [Judg. 7:25].
Do to their princes what you did to Zebah and Zalmunna [Judg. 8:21].
12 They said, “Let’s take for ourselves
the pasturelands that belong to God.”
13 My God, make them like tumbleweed,
like chaff blown ·away by [before] the wind [C rootless and landless; 1:4].
14 Be like a fire that burns a forest
or like flames that blaze through the ·hills [mountains].
15 ·Chase [Pursue] them with your ·storm [tempest],
and ·frighten [terrify] them with your ·wind [hurricane].
16 ·Cover [L Fill] them with shame.
Then people will ·look for you [L seek your name], Lord.
17 Make them afraid and ashamed forever.
·Disgrace [Humiliate] them and destroy them.
18 Then they will know that ·you are the Lord [L the Lord is your name],
that only you are God Most High over all the earth.
Praise God Who Helps the Weak
146 Praise the Lord!
My ·whole being [soul; life], praise the Lord.
2 I will praise the Lord ·all [L with] my life;
I will ·sing praises [make a psalm] to my God as long as I live.
3 Do not put your ·trust [confidence] in princes
or other people, who cannot ·save you [give you victory; 118:8–9].
4 ·When people die [L Their spirit goes out], they ·are buried [L return to the ground].
·Then all of [L On that day] their plans ·come to an end [perish].
5 ·Happy [Blessed] are those who are helped by the God of Jacob [C another name for Israel].
Their hope is in the Lord their God.
6 He made heaven and earth,
the sea and everything in it [Gen. 1].
He ·remains [keeps; observes; guards] ·loyal [faithfulness; truth] forever.
7 He does ·what is fair [justice] for those who have been ·wronged [oppressed; exploited].
He gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets the prisoners free.
8 The Lord ·gives sight to [opens the eyes of] the blind.
The Lord lifts up people who are ·in trouble [bowed down; 145:14].
The Lord loves ·those who do right [the righteous].
9 The Lord ·protects [guards] the ·foreigners [sojourners].
He ·defends [supports] the orphans and widows [C the socially vulnerable],
but he ·blocks [frustrates] the way of the wicked.
10 The Lord will ·be King [reign] forever [47:2; 93:1; 96:10; 97:1; 98:6; 99:1; Rev. 19:6].
·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple], your God is everlasting.
Praise the Lord!
Praise God Who Helps His People
147 Praise the Lord!
It is good to ·sing praises [make a psalm] to our God;
it is pleasant and ·good [L fitting] to praise him.
2 The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem [51:18; 102:16; Is. 64:8–12];
he ·brings back [gathers; assembles] the ·captured [scattered; dispersed] Israelites [C perhaps a reference to those who returned after the Babylonian exile; Deut. 30:1–4; Is. 11:12].
3 He heals the brokenhearted
and ·bandages [binds up] their wounds.
4 He ·counts [L measures the number of] the stars
and ·names [L assigns names to] each one [Is. 40:26].
5 Our Lord is great and very powerful.
There is no limit to ·what he knows [L his understanding].
6 The Lord ·defends [supports] the ·humble [needy],
but he throws the wicked to the ground.
7 Sing ·praises [thanksgiving] to the Lord;
·praise [make a psalm to] our God with harps.
8 He ·fills [covers] the ·sky [heavens] with clouds
and ·sends [sets; establishes] rain to the earth
and makes grass ·grow [sprout] on the ·hills [mountains].
9 He gives food to cattle
and to the ·little birds [L young ravens] that call.
10 He ·is not impressed with [does not delight in] the strength of a horse,
nor does he take pleasure in ·human might [L the thighs of a person].
11 The Lord ·is pleased with [takes pleasure in] those who ·respect [fear] him [Prov. 1:7],
with those who ·trust [wait for; hope in] his ·love [loyalty].
12 Jerusalem, ·praise [celebrate] the Lord;
·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple], praise your God.
13 He ·makes your city gates strong [L strengthens the bars of your gates]
and blesses your children ·inside [L within you].
14 He ·brings [sets] peace to your ·country [L boundaries]
and ·fills [satisfies; satiates] you with the finest ·grain [wheat].
15 He ·gives a command [L sends forth his word] to the earth,
and ·it quickly obeys him [L his word quickly runs].
16 He ·spreads [L gives] the snow like wool
and scatters the frost like ashes.
17 He throws down hail like ·rocks [L morsels; bits; pieces].
No one can stand ·the cold he sends [L before his cold].
18 Then he ·gives a command [L sends forth his word], and it melts.
He sends the breezes, and the waters flow.
19 He ·gave [announced] his word to Jacob [C another name for Israel],
his laws [statutes; requirements; ordinances] and ·demands [judgments] to Israel [Ex. 19–24].
20 He didn’t do this for ·any other [L all the] nation.
They don’t know his ·laws [judgments].
Praise the Lord!
A Prayer for the Nation
For the director of music. A psalm of the sons of Korah [C descendants of Kohath, son of Levi, who served as temple musicians; 1 Chr. 6:22].
85 Lord, you ·have been kind to [delight in] your land;
you ·brought back [restored the fortunes of; C perhaps at the end of the exile] the people of Jacob [C another name for Israel].
2 You forgave the guilt of the people
and covered all their sins. ·
3 You ·stopped [drew back from] all your anger;
you turned back from your ·strong [burning] anger.
4 God our Savior, ·bring us back again [restore us again].
Stop being angry with us.
5 Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you ·stay angry [draw out your anger against us] from now on?
6 Won’t you give us life again?
Your people would rejoice in you.
7 Lord, show us your ·love [loyalty],
and ·save us [L give to us your salvation/victory].
8 I will listen to what God the Lord says.
He has ·ordered [spoken; promised] ·peace [prosperity] for ·those who worship him [L his people, his saints/loyal ones].
Don’t let them go back to foolishness.
9 ·God will soon save those who respect him [L His salvation/victory is near to those who fear him; Prov. 1:7],
and his glory will ·be seen [L dwell] in our land.
10 ·Love [Loyalty] and ·truth [faithfulness] ·belong to God’s people [L meet];
·goodness [righteousness] and ·peace [prosperity] ·will be theirs [L kiss].
11 ·On earth people will be loyal to God [Faithfulness sprouts/blooms from the earth/land],
and ·God’s goodness [righteousness] will ·shine [look] down from heaven.
12 The Lord will give his ·goodness [or good gifts],
and the land will give its crops.
13 ·Goodness [Righteousness] will go before ·God [L him]
and prepare the way for ·him [L his steps].
A Cry for Help
A prayer of David.
86 Lord, ·listen to me [L incline your ear] and answer me.
I am poor and ·helpless [needy].
2 ·Protect [Guard] me, because I ·worship you [am loyal/holy/a saint].
My God, ·save me [give me victory], your servant who ·trusts [has confidence] in you.
3 Lord, ·have mercy on [be gracious to] me,
because I have called to you all day.
4 Give ·happiness [joy] to me, your servant,
because I ·give [lift up] my life to you, Lord.
5 Lord, you are ·kind [good] and forgiving
and have great ·love [loyalty] for those who call to you [Ex. 34:7].
6 Lord, ·hear [L give ear to] my prayer,
and ·listen [pay attention] ·when I ask for mercy [L to the sound of my supplication].
7 I call to you in ·times of trouble [L the day of my distress],
because you will answer me.
8 Lord, there is ·no god like you [L none like you among the gods; Ex. 15:11; 20:3]
and no works like yours.
9 Lord, all the nations you have made
will come and ·worship [bow down before] you.
They will ·honor you [L glorify your name].
10 You are great and you do ·miracles [wonderful acts].
Only you are God.
11 Lord, teach me ·what you want me to do [L your way],
and I will ·live [walk] ·by your truth [in your faithfulness].
·Teach me to respect you completely [L Give me an undivided heart to fear your name].
12 Lord, my God, I will ·praise [thank] you with all my heart,
and I will ·honor [glorify] your name forever.
13 You have great ·love [loyalty] for me.
You have ·saved [T delivered] me from ·death [L Sheol down below; C the grave or the underworld].
14 God, ·proud [arrogant] people ·are attacking [rise up against] me;
a ·gang [assembly] of ·cruel [violent] people ·is trying to kill me [seek my life].
They do not ·respect you [L set you before them].
15 But, Lord, you are a God who shows ·mercy [compassion] and is ·kind [merciful; compassionate].
You ·don’t become angry quickly [are patient/longsuffering].
You have great ·love [loyalty] and ·faithfulness [truth; Ex. 34:6–7].
16 Turn to me and ·have mercy [be gracious].
Give me, your servant, strength.
·Save [Give victory to] me, the son of your female servant.
17 ·Show [L Give] me a sign of your goodness.
When my enemies look, they will be ashamed.
You, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.
Jerusalem Will Be Great
60 “Jerusalem, ·get up [arise] and shine, because your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord shines on you.
2 [L Look; T Behold] Darkness ·now covers [or will cover] the earth;
deep darkness covers ·her people [the nations].
But the Lord shines on you,
and people see his glory [C his manifest presence] ·around [upon] you.
3 Nations will come to your light;
kings will come to ·the brightness of your sunrise [or your radiance].
4 “[L Lift up your eyes and] Look around you.
People are gathering and coming to you.
Your sons are coming from far away,
and your daughters are ·coming with them [or carried on the hip; or nursed at their side; or escorted by guardians].
5 When you see them, you will ·shine with happiness [L shine; be radiant];
you will be excited and ·full of joy [L your heart will swell/enlarge],
because the wealth of the nations across the seas will be given to you;
the riches of the nations will come to you.
6 ·Herds [or Caravans; L An abundance of] of camels will cover your land,
young camels from Midian and Ephah.
·People [L All] will come from Sheba [C unknown location, perhaps present-day Yemen, Eritrea, or Ethiopia; see 1 Kin. 10:1–13]
bringing gold and ·incense [or frankincense],
and they will sing praises to the Lord.
7 All the sheep from Kedar will be ·given [gathered] to you;
the ·sheep [rams] from Nebaioth [Gen. 25:13] will ·be brought to [serve; minister to; C perhaps for sacrifices] you.
They will be ·pleasing [acceptable] sacrifices on my altar,
and I will ·make my beautiful Temple more beautiful [glorify/adorn my glorious Temple].
8 “·The people are returning to you [L Who are these who fly…?] like clouds,
like doves flying to their ·nests [shelters; L windows].
9 ·People in faraway lands [L For the coastlands/or islands] ·are waiting [or look] for me.
The ·great trading ships [L ships of Tarshish; 2:16] will come first,
bringing your children from ·faraway lands [afar],
and with them silver and gold.
·This will honor [L …for the name of] the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel [1:4],
·who does wonderful things for you [L because he has glorified/beautified you].
10 “Jerusalem, foreigners will rebuild your walls,
and their kings will serve you.
·When I was angry [L In my wrath], I ·hurt [struck] you,
but now ·I want to be kind to you and comfort you [L in grace/favor I will have compassion/mercy on you].
11 Your gates will always be open;
they will not be closed day or night
so the nations can bring their wealth to you,
and their kings ·will be led to you [or leading the way; C either as captives or leading the procession of gifts].
12 The nation or kingdom that doesn’t serve you will ·be destroyed [perish];
it will be completely ruined.
13 “The ·great trees [L glory] of Lebanon will ·be given [come] to you [35:2]:
its ·pine [juniper], fir, and cypress trees together.
You will use them to make ·my Temple [L the place of my sanctuary] beautiful,
and I will ·give much honor to [glorify] ·this place where I rest [L the place of] my feet [Ezek. 43:7].
14 The ·people who have hurt you [L children/sons of your oppressors] will bow down to you;
those who ·hated [despised] you will bow down at your feet.
They will call you The City of the Lord,
·Jerusalem, city [L Zion; 59:20] of the Holy One of Israel [1:4].
15 “You have been ·hated [despised] and ·left empty [abandoned; forsaken]
with no one passing through.
But I will make you great from now on;
you will be a place of ·happiness [pride; majesty] ·forever and ever [for generations to come].
16 You will ·be given what you need from [L drink the milk of] the nations,
like a child ·drinking milk from its mother [nursing at royal breasts].
Then you will know that it is I, the Lord, ·who saves you [your savior].
You will know that the Powerful One of Jacob ·protects [redeems] you.
17 I will bring you gold in place of bronze,
silver in place of iron,
bronze in place of wood,
iron in place of rocks.
I will ·change your punishment into peace [or make peace your governor/leader],
and ·you will be ruled by what is right [righteousness will be your ruler].
A Worker Pleasing to God
14 ·Continue teaching [L Remind them of] these things, ·warning people [L solemnly testifying/declaring] in God’s presence not to ·argue [quarrel] about words. It ·does not help anyone [is good for nothing], and it ruins those who listen. 15 ·Make every effort [Do your best; Be diligent] to ·give [present] yourself to God as the kind of person he will approve. Be a worker who ·is not ashamed [or will not be shamed] and who ·uses the true teaching in the right way [correctly handles the true message/word of truth; or holds carefully to the true message/word of truth]. 16 Stay away from ·foolish, useless talk [godless/irreverent chatter; 1 Tim. 1:3–4; 4:7; 6:20], because that will lead people ·further away from God [into even more ungodliness]. 17 Their evil teaching will spread like ·a sickness inside the body [L gangrene]. Hymenaeus [1 Tim. 1:20] and Philetus are like that [C probably false teachers and opponents of Paul from Ephesus]. 18 They have ·left [strayed away from] the ·true teaching [truth], saying that the ·rising from the dead [resurrection] has already taken place, and so they are ·destroying [undermining; overturning] the faith of some people. 19 But God’s strong foundation continues to stand, ·sealed [inscribed; engraved] with these words: “The Lord knows those who belong to him [Num. 16:5],” and “Everyone who ·wants to belong to [L names the name of] the Lord must ·stop doing wrong [L turn away from wickedess/injustice].”
20 In a ·large house [wealthy household] there are not only ·things [vessels; dishes] made of gold and silver, but also ·things [vessels; dishes] made of wood and clay. Some things are used for ·special [honorable; noble] purposes, and others are made for ·ordinary [dishonorable; ignoble] jobs [C such as garbage or excrement]. 21 All who make themselves clean from ·evil [L these things; C the false teaching described in vv. 16–18] will be used for ·special [honorable; noble] purposes. They will be made holy, useful to the Master, ready to do any good work.
22 But ·run away from [flee] the ·evil desires [passions; desires] of youth. ·Try hard to live right and to have [L Pursue righteousness,] faith, love, and peace, together with those who ·trust in [L call upon] the Lord from pure hearts. 23 ·Stay away from [Avoid; Having nothing to do with] foolish and ·stupid [ignorant] ·arguments [controversies; speculation], because you know they ·grow into [breed; beget] quarrels. 24 And a ·servant [slave; bondservant] of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, a ·good [qualified; able] teacher, and patient. 25 ·The Lord’s servant must gently teach [L …gently instructing/correcting] those who ·disagree [are opponents]. Then ·maybe [perhaps] God will ·let them change their minds [L grant them repentance] ·so they can accept [L leading to knowledge of] the truth. 26 And they may ·wake up [come to their senses] and escape from the ·trap [snare] of the devil, who catches them to do ·what he wants [his will].
A Rich Young Man’s Question(A)
17 As Jesus started ·to leave [on his way; on a journey], a man ran to him and ·fell on his knees [knelt] before Jesus. The man asked, “Good teacher, what must I do to ·have life forever [L inherit eternal life]?”
18 Jesus answered, “Why do you call me good? ·Only God is good [No one is good except One—God; C Jesus is not denying his own divinity, but is challenging the man’s understanding of goodness]. 19 You know the commands: ‘You must not murder. You must not ·be guilty of [commit] adultery. You must not steal. You must not ·tell lies about your neighbor [testify falsely; T bear false witness]. You must not ·cheat [defraud]. Honor your father and mother’ [Ex. 20:12–16; Deut. 5:16–20].”
20 The man said, “Teacher, I have ·obeyed [kept carefully; guarded] all these things since I was a boy.”
21 Jesus, looking at the man, loved him and said, “There is one more thing you need to do. Go and sell everything you have, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me.”
22 He was ·very sad [shocked; appalled] to hear Jesus say this, and he left ·sorrowfully [grieving], because he ·was rich [had many possessions].
23 Then Jesus looked [around] at his ·followers [disciples] and said, “How hard it will be for ·the rich [those with many possessions] to enter the kingdom of God!”
24 The ·followers [disciples] were ·amazed [astonished] at what Jesus said. [C In Judaism wealth was generally viewed as a reward from God.] But he said again, “My children, it is very hard[a] to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God [C meaning it is impossible, by human effort; see v. 27].”
26 They were even more ·surprised [amazed] and said to each other, “Then who can be saved?”
27 Jesus looked at them and said, “·For people [Humanly speaking,] this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.”
28 Peter ·said [spoke up] to Jesus, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.”
29 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, all those who have left houses, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, or ·farms [fields] for me and for the ·Good News [Gospel] 30 will get more than they left. Here in ·this world [the present age] they will have a hundred times more homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and ·fields [farms]. And with those things, ·they will also suffer for their belief [persecutions]. But in the ·age [world] that is coming they will have ·life forever [eternal life]. 31 Many who are first now will be last in the future. And many who are last now will be first in the future.”
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