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].
Ruth Meets Boaz
2 Now Naomi had a ·rich [or influential; L man of great wealth/standing] relative named Boaz, from Elimelech’s ·family [clan].
2 One day Ruth, the Moabite, said to Naomi, “[L Please] Let me go to the fields. Maybe someone ·will be kind enough to [L in whose eyes/sight I find grace/favor will] let me ·gather the grain he leaves behind [L glean among the sheaves/bundles; Deut. 24:21–22].”
Naomi said, “Go, my daughter.”
3 So Ruth went ·to the fields and gathered the grain that the workers cutting the grain had left behind [L and gleaned in the field behind the reapers/harvesters]. It just so happened that the field belonged to Boaz, from Elimelech’s ·family [clan; C a chance event from Ruth’s perspective, but part of God’s plan].
4 ·Soon [or Just then; L And look/T behold] Boaz came from Bethlehem and greeted his ·workers [reapers; harvesters], “The Lord be with you!”
And the workers answered, “May the Lord bless you!”
5 Then Boaz asked his ·servant [young man; foreman] in charge of the ·workers [reapers; harvesters], “·Whose girl is that [To whom does that young woman belong; C referring, in this patriarchal culture, to her husband or father]?”
6 The ·servant [young man; foreman] answered, “She is the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the ·country [land] of Moab. 7 She said, ‘Please let me follow the ·workers cutting grain [reapers; harvesters] and ·gather what they leave behind [L glean among the sheaves/bundles].’ She came and has remained here, from morning until just now. She ·has stopped only a few moments [or just now stopped for a moment] to rest in the ·shelter [hut; house].”
8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “·Listen [L Have you not heard…?], my daughter. Don’t go to ·gather grain for yourself [glean] in another field. Don’t even leave this field at all, but ·continue following closely behind [stay close to; cling to] my ·women workers [servant girls; young women]. 9 Watch to see into which fields ·they [the men reaping; C the Hebrew pronoun is masculine] go to ·cut grain [reap] and follow ·them [the women gathering; C the Hebrew pronoun is feminine]. I ·have warned [or will warn] the young men not to ·bother [harass; touch] you. When you are thirsty, you may go and drink from the water jugs that the young men have ·filled [L drawn (from the well)].”
10 Then Ruth bowed low with her face to the ground and said to him, “I am ·not an Israelite [L a foreigner]. Why have ·you been so kind to notice me [L I found favor/grace in your eyes]?”
11 Boaz answered her, “I ·know [have been fully informed] about all ·the help you have given [that you have done for] your mother-in-law after your husband died. You left your father and mother and your ·own country [native land] to come to a ·nation [people] where you did not know anyone. 12 May the Lord reward you for all you have done. May your wages be paid in full by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for shelter [C like a protective mother bird].”
13 Then Ruth said, “·I hope I can continue to please you [May I continue to find grace/favor in your eyes; or I have found favor/grace in your eyes], ·sir [my lord]. [L Because] You have ·said kind and encouraging words to [L comforted and spoken to the heart of] me, your servant, though I am not one of your servants.”
23 Now I ·ask [call on; appeal to] God to be my witness ·that this is true [or staking my life on it; L against my soul/life; C a very serious vow or oath]: The reason I did not come back to Corinth was to ·keep you from being punished or hurt [L spare you]. 24 We are not trying to ·control [rule; lord it over] your faith. You ·are strong [stand firm; are well established] in faith. But we are workers with you for your own joy.
2 So I decided that my next visit to you would not be another ·one to make you sad [painful/sorrowful one; C Paul’s first visit (1:16; 1 Cor. 16:5) had resulted in conflict, rejection, and hurt feelings]. 2 If I ·make you sad [cause you pain/sorrow], who will make me glad? Only you can make me glad—·particularly the person [or those] whom I made sad [C either the church generally, or a particular opponent (vv. 5–10)]. 3 I wrote you a letter for this reason: that when I came to you I would not be made ·sad [sorrowful] by the people who should ·make me happy [bring me joy; C Paul wrote a severe letter (now lost) after his painful visit (v. 1) to call the church to repentance]. I felt sure of all of you, that you would share my joy. 4 When I wrote to you before [v. 3], I was very ·troubled [distressed] and ·unhappy [anguished] in my heart, and I wrote with many tears. I did not write to make you ·sad [sorrowful], but to let you know how much I love you.
Forgive the Sinner
5 ·Someone [L If someone…; C evidently the ringleader who opposed Paul on his previous visit (v. 1)] there among you has caused sadness, ·not [L …it is not] to me, but to all of you. I mean he caused sadness to all ·in some way [or to some extent]. (I do not want to ·make it sound worse than it really is [exaggerate; put it too severely].) 6 The punishment that ·most of you [the majority] gave him is enough for him [C the church as a whole has now sided with Paul and disciplined this individual]. 7 But now you should forgive him and ·comfort [encourage] him to keep him from ·having too much sadness and giving up completely [being overwhelmed/swallowed up by excessive sorrow/grief]. 8 So I ·beg [urge; encourage] you to ·show [reaffirm] that you love him. 9 I wrote you to test you and to see if you obey in everything [C Paul’s “severe” letter (vv. 1, 3) evidently called the church to submit again to his authority]. 10 If you forgive someone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven—if I had anything to forgive—I forgave it for you, ·as if Christ were with me [or in the presence of Christ]. 11 I did this so that Satan would not ·win anything from [outwit; take advantage of] us, because we ·know very well [L are not ignorant of] what Satan’s ·plans [schemes; intentions] are.
Paul’s Concern in Troas
12 When I came to Troas [C a city in northwest Asia Minor; Acts 16:8, 11; 20:5–6; 2 Tim. 4:13] to preach the Good News of Christ, ·the Lord gave me a good opportunity there [L a door opened for me by/in the Lord]. 13 But I had no ·peace [L rest in my spirit], because I did not find my brother Titus [Gal. 2:1–3; Titus 1:4–5]. So I said good-bye to them at Troas and went to Macedonia [1:16; Acts 20:1–3]. [C Paul evidently sent his severe letter (vv. 1, 3, 9) with Titus, and now awaited the church’s response. Starting in v. 14 he digresses into a long expression of joy because of their favorable reaction (2:14—7:1). He picks up the story again in 7:5.]
Victory Through Christ
14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s victory ·parade [procession; C the image is of a victorious Roman general leading his army and his captives through the streets]. God uses us to spread ·his knowledge everywhere like a sweet-smelling perfume [L the aroma/fragrance of the knowledge of him; C incense or spices were burned during such victory parades]. 15 ·Our offering to God is this: [or For God’s sake; or To God] We are the ·sweet smell [aroma; fragrance] of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are ·being lost [perishing; headed for destruction]. 16 To those who are ·lost [perishing; headed for destruction], we are the ·smell [aroma] of death that brings death, but to those who are being saved, we are the ·smell [aroma] of life that brings life. So who is ·able [qualified; adequate] to do this work? 17 We do not ·sell [peddle] the word of God for a profit as many other people do. But in Christ we speak the truth ·before [in the presence of] God, as ·messengers of [envoys of; L from] God.
Jesus Teaches About Anger(A)
21 “You have heard that it was said to ·our people long ago [our ancestors; the ancients], ‘You ·must [L shall] not murder [Ex. 20:13; Deut. 5:17]. Anyone who murders another will be ·judged [subject to judgment].’ 22 But I tell you, ·if you are [L everyone who is] angry with a brother or sister,[a] you will be ·judged [subject to judgment]. ·If you say [L Whoever says] ·bad things [“Fool!”; L Raca; C an Aramaic term of derision] to a brother or sister, you will be ·judged [subject/liable to judgment] by the ·council [Sanhedrin]. And if you call someone a ·fool [idiot; moron], you will be in danger of the fire of ·hell [L Gehenna; C a valley outside of Jerusalem where in the OT period children were sacrificed to a pagan god; later used as a burning trash heap; a metaphor for hell].
23 “So when you ·offer your gift to God [present your offering/sacrifice] at the altar, and you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your ·gift [offering; sacrifice] there at the altar. Go and ·make peace [be reconciled] with that person [L first], and then come and ·offer your gift [present your offering/sacrifice].
25 “If your ·enemy [opponent; adversary; accuser] is taking you to court, ·become friends [reach agreement; settle matters] quickly, ·before you go [on the way] to court. Otherwise, your ·enemy [opponent; adversary; accuser] might turn you over to the judge, and the judge might give you to the ·guard [officer; warden] to ·put [throw] you in ·jail [prison]. 26 I tell you the truth, you will ·not [never; certainly not] leave there until you have paid ·everything you owe [the last penny; C Greek: the last quadrans; a small copper coin of very low value].
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