Book of Common Prayer
Childlike Trust in the Lord
A song ·for going up to worship [of ascents; C perhaps sung while traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate an annual religious festival like Passover]. Of David.
131 Lord, my heart is not proud;
·I don’t look down on others [L my eyes are not haughty/lifted up].
I don’t ·do [consider doing] great things,
and I ·can’t do [don’t consider doing] ·miracles [wonderful acts].
2 But I ·am calm and quiet [L have stilled and quieted my soul]
like a ·baby [L weaned child] with its mother,
like a ·baby [L weaned child] with its mother [C a relationship with God is like that of a mother with her weaned child resting comfortably in her arms].
3 People of Israel, put your hope in the Lord
now and forever.
In Praise of the Temple
A song ·for going up to worship [of ascents; C perhaps sung while traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate an annual religious festival like Passover].
132 Lord, remember David
and all his ·suffering [afflictions].
2 He ·made an oath [swore] to the Lord,
a ·promise [vow] to the Mighty God of Jacob [Gen. 49:24].
3 He said, “I will not ·go home to my house [L enter into the tent of my house],
or ·lie down on my bed [L go up to the couch of my bed],
4 or ·close [L give sleep to] my eyes,
or ·let myself sleep [L slumber to my pupils]
5 until I find a place for the Lord.
I want to provide a home for the Mighty God of Jacob [Gen. 49:24].”
6 We heard about it [C the Ark] in ·Bethlehem [L Ephrathah].
We found it in the fields of Jearim [C Kiriath Jearim; 1 Sam 6:21—7:2].
7 Let’s go to ·the Lord’s house [L his dwelling].
Let’s worship at his footstool [C the Ark].
8 Rise, Lord, and come to your resting place;
come with the Ark that shows your strength.
9 May your priests ·do what is right [L be clothed with righteousness].
May your ·people [saints; loyal ones] sing for joy.
10 For the sake of your servant David,
do not ·reject [L turn from the face of] your ·appointed [anointed] king.
11 The Lord ·made a promise [swore] to David,
a sure promise that he will not take back [2 Sam. 7:12–16, 28].
He promised, “I will ·make one of your descendants
rule as king after you [L set on your throne from the fruit of your womb; Acts 2:30].
12 If your sons ·keep [observe; guard] my ·agreement [covenant; treaty]
and the ·rules [decrees; testimonies] that I teach them,
then their sons after them will ·rule [L sit]
on your throne forever and ever.”
13 The Lord has chosen ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple];
he ·wants [desires] it for his home.
14 He says, “This is my resting place forever.
Here is where I ·want to stay [L will sit/reside because I desire it].
15 I will bless her with ·plenty [provisions];
I will ·fill [satisfy] her poor with ·food [bread].
16 I will ·cover [L clothe] her priests with ·salvation [victory],
and ·those who worship me [L her saints/loyal ones] will really sing for joy.
17 “I will ·make a king come from the family of [L cause a horn to sprout up for; C an animal’s horn symbolizes strength] David [Luke 1:69–70].
I will ·provide my appointed one descendants to rule after him [L prepare a lamp for my anointed king; 2 Sam. 21:17].
18 I will ·cover [L clothe] his enemies with shame,
but his crown will shine.”
The Love of God’s People
A song ·for going up to worship [of ascents; C perhaps sung while traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate an annual religious festival like Passover]. Of David.
133 ·It is [L How] good and pleasant
when ·God’s people [L brothers] live together [C in unity]!
2 It is like ·perfumed [fine] oil on the head
and running down his beard [Ex. 30:22–33].
It ran down Aaron’s beard
and on to the collar of his robes.
3 It is like the dew of Mount Hermon [C in the extreme north of Israel]
falling on the hills of ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple].
There the Lord ·gives [L commanded] his blessing
of life forever.
Temple Guards, Praise the Lord
A song ·for going up to worship [of ascents; C perhaps sung while traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate an annual religious festival like Passover].
134 ·Praise [L Bless] the Lord, all you servants of the Lord,
you who ·serve [L stand] at night in the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord.
2 Raise your hands in the ·Temple [L holy place]
and ·praise [bless] the Lord.
3 May the Lord bless you from Mount Zion [L the location of the Temple],
he who made heaven and earth [Gen. 1].
The Lord Saves, Idols Do Not
135 Praise the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord;
praise him, you servants of the Lord,
2 you who stand in the Lord’s ·Temple [L house]
and in the ·Temple courtyards [L courtyards of the house of our God].
3 Praise the Lord, because the Lord is good;
·sing praises [make a psalm] to him, because it is pleasant.
4 The Lord has chosen the people of Jacob for himself;
he has chosen the people of Israel ·for his very own [as his special possession/treasure; Ex. 19:5–6; Deut. 7:6; 14:2; Mal. 3:17].
5 I know that the Lord is great.
Our Lord is greater than all the gods.
6 The Lord does what he pleases,
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and the deep oceans.
7 He brings the clouds from the ends of the earth.
He ·sends [L makes] the lightning with the rain.
He brings out the wind from his storehouses [Job 38:22–23].
8 He ·destroyed [L struck] the firstborn sons in Egypt
the firstborn of both people and animals [Ex. 12].
9 He ·did [L sent] many signs and ·miracles [wonders] in Egypt
against ·the king [L Pharaoh] and all his servants [L the plagues; Ex. 7–12].
10 He ·defeated [L struck] many nations
and killed ·powerful [strong] kings:
11 Sihon king of the Amorites,
Og king of Bashan [Num. 21:21–35],
and all the kings of Canaan [Num. 21:1–3; Josh. 1–12].
12 Then he gave their land as a ·gift [L inheritance],
a ·gift [L inheritance] to his people, the Israelites [Josh. 13–24].
13 Lord, your name is everlasting;
Lord, you will be remembered forever.
14 The Lord ·defends [vindicates] his people
and ·has mercy on [shows grace to] his servants.
15 The idols of other nations are made of silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
16 They have mouths, but they cannot speak.
They have eyes, but they cannot see.
17 They have ears, but they cannot hear.
They have no breath in their mouths.
18 People who make idols will be like them,
and so will those who ·trust [have confidence in] them [115:4–8; Is. 44:9–20; 46:6–7; Jer. 10:1–9; Hab. 2:18–19].
19 ·Family [L House] of Israel, ·praise [bless] the Lord.
·Family [L House] of Aaron [C the priests], ·praise [bless] the Lord.
20 ·Family [L House] of Levi [C assistants to the priests], ·praise [bless] the Lord.
You who ·respect [fear] the Lord [Prov. 1:7] should ·praise [bless] him.
21 You ·people of [L who live in] Jerusalem, ·praise [bless] the Lord on Mount Zion [C the location of the Temple].
Praise the Lord!
14 At mealtime Boaz told Ruth, “Come here. Eat some of our bread and dip it in ·our sauce [the vinegar/wine-vinegar].”
So Ruth sat down beside the ·workers [reapers; harvesters]. Boaz ·handed [offered; served] her some roasted grain, and she ate until she was ·full [satisfied]; she even had some food left over. 15 When Ruth rose and went back to work, Boaz commanded his ·workers [young men], “Let her ·gather [glean] even around the ·piles of cut grain [sheaves]. Don’t ·tell her to go away [reprimand/insult/humiliate her]. 16 In fact, pull out some full heads of grain for her from the bundles and let her gather them. Don’t ·tell her to stop [rebuke/scold her].”
17 So Ruth gathered grain in the field until evening. Then she ·separated the grain from the chaff [threshed/beat out what she had gleaned], and there was about ·one-half bushel [L an ephah; C about 30 pounds] of barley. 18 Ruth carried the grain into town, and her mother-in-law saw how much she had ·gathered [gleaned]. Ruth also took out the food that was left over ·from lunch [L after she was full/satisfied] and gave it to Naomi.
19 ·Naomi [L Her mother-in-law] asked her, “Where did you ·gather all this grain [glean] today? Where did you work? Blessed be whoever noticed you!”
Ruth told her mother-in-law in whose field she had worked. She said, “The man I worked with today is named Boaz.”
20 Naomi told her daughter-in-law, “The Lord bless him! ·He continues to be kind to us—both [L …who has not abandoned] the living and the dead!” Then Naomi told Ruth, “Boaz is one of our close relatives, one ·who should take care of us [of our guardians/T kinsmen-redeemers; C a relative who would care for a bereaved family in various ways: looking after destitute members (Lev. 25:35); avenging a murdered relative (Num. 35:19); marrying a sister-in-law to raise up children for her deceased husband (Deut. 25:5–10; called “levirate” marriage); buying back family land (Lev. 25:25) or redeeming family members who had been sold as slaves (Lev. 25:47–49)].”
21 Then Ruth, the Moabite, said, “Boaz ·also [even] told me, ‘Keep close to my ·workers [young men] until they have finished my whole harvest.’”
22 But Naomi said to her daughter-in-law Ruth, “It is better for you to continue working with his ·women workers [female servants; young women]. If you work in another field, someone might ·hurt [harm; or harass] you.” 23 So Ruth continued working closely with the ·workers [female workers; young women] of Boaz, gathering grain until the barley harvest [C March-April] and the wheat harvest [C April-May] were finished. And she continued to live with Naomi, her mother-in-law.
Servants of the New Agreement
3 Are we starting to ·brag about [praise; commend] ourselves again? Do we need letters of ·introduction [recommendation] to you or from you, like some other people [C Paul’s opponents evidently carried letters of reference (perhaps from Jerusalem)]? 2 You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone [C the changed lives of the Corinthians prove Paul’s credibility as an apostle of Jesus Christ]. 3 You show that you are a letter from Christ ·sent through us [delivered by us; or produced by us; the result of our ministry]. This letter is not written with ink but ·with [by] the Spirit of the living God. It is not written on stone tablets [C the law of Moses was written on stone tablets; Ex. 24:12; 32:16] but on human hearts [L hearts of flesh; Jer. 31:33; Ezek. 11:19; 36:26].
4 We can say this, because through Christ we ·feel certain before God [have confidence in God’s presence; or can trust in God]. 5 We are not saying that we ·can do this work ourselves [L are able/competent/adequate to consider anything as from ourselves]. ·It is God who makes us able to do all that we do [L But our ability/competence/adequacy is from God]. 6 He made us ·able [adequate; competent] to be servants of a new ·agreement from himself to his people [covenant; Jer. 31:31–34; Luke 22:20]. This new ·agreement [covenant] is not ·a written law [L of the letter], but it is of the Spirit. The ·written law [L letter] brings death, but the Spirit gives life.
7 The ·law [or old system; L ministry] that brought death was ·written in words [L engraved with letters] on stone. It came with ·God’s glory [L glory], which made Moses’ face so ·bright [glorious] that the ·Israelites [L children of Israel] could not ·continue to look [gaze] at it. But that glory ·later disappeared [was fading; or was made ineffective (by the veil on his face)]. 8 So ·surely [L will not…?] the ·new way that brings [L ministry of] the Spirit has even more glory. 9 [L For] If the ·law that judged people guilty of sin [L ministry of condemnation] had glory, surely the ·new way that makes people right with God [L ministry of righteousness] has much greater glory. 10 For that which had glory [C the law] ·really loses its glory [L has no glory] when it is compared to the much greater glory [C the new way through the Spirit]. 11 [L For] If that which ·disappeared [faded; was made ineffective; C the law; v. 7] came with glory, then that which ·continues forever [remains; abides; C the new way through the Spirit] has much greater glory.
12 We have this hope, so we ·are very bold [or speak with boldness/confidence]. 13 We are not like Moses, who put a ·covering [veil] over his face so the ·Israelites [L children of Israel] would not see it [Ex. 34:29–35]. The glory was ·disappearing [fading; or made ineffective], and Moses did not want them to see it end. 14 But their minds were ·closed [stubborn; hardened], and even today that same ·covering [veil] ·hides the meaning [L remains] when they read the old ·agreement [covenant]. That covering is ·taken away [L not lifted, because it is removed] only through Christ. 15 Even today, when they read ·the law of Moses [L Moses], there is a ·covering over [L veil laying upon] their ·minds [hearts]. 16 But when a person ·changes and follows [L turns to] the Lord, that ·covering [veil] is taken away [Ex. 34:34]. 17 The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 ·Our faces, then, are not covered [L With an unveiled face…]. We all ·show [reflect; or behold; or contemplate] the Lord’s glory, and we are being ·changed [transformed] ·to be like him [L into the same image]. This change in us ·brings ever greater glory [or is from one degree of glory to another; L is from glory to glory], which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
Jesus Teaches About Sexual Sin(A)
27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You ·must [shall] not ·be guilty of [commit] adultery [Ex. 20:14; Deut. 5:18].’ 28 But I tell you that if anyone looks at a woman ·and wants to sin sexually with her [lustfully; L with a desire for her], in his ·mind [heart] he has already ·done that sin [committed adultery] with her. 29 If your right eye causes you to ·sin [L stumble], ·take [tear; gouge] it out and throw it away. [L For] It is better to lose one part of your body than to have your whole body thrown into ·hell [L Gehenna; v. 22]. 30 If your right hand causes you to ·sin [L stumble], cut it off and throw it away. It is better to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into ·hell [L Gehenna; v. 22].
Jesus Teaches About Divorce(B)
31 “It was also said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a written divorce ·paper [notice; certificate; Deut. 24:1].’ 32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife ·forces [causes; makes] her ·to be guilty of [commit] adultery. ·The only reason for a man to divorce his wife is if she has sexual relations with another man [L …except in the case of sexual immorality]. And anyone who marries that divorced woman ·is guilty of [commits] adultery.
Make Promises Carefully
33 “[L Again] You have heard that it was said to ·our people long ago [our ancestors; the ancients], ‘Don’t break your ·promises [vows; oaths], but ·keep [fulfill] the ·promises [vows; oaths] you make to the Lord [Lev. 19:12; Num. 30:2; Deut. 23:21].’ 34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all. ·Don’t swear an oath using the name of heaven [L …neither by heaven], because heaven is God’s throne. 35 ·Don’t swear an oath using the name of the earth [L …nor by earth], because the earth ·belongs to God [L is his footstool; Is. 66:1]. ·Don’t swear an oath using the name of Jerusalem […nor by Jerusalem], because it is the city of the great King [Ps. 48:2]. 36 Don’t even swear by your own head, because you cannot make one hair on your head become white or black. 37 ·Say only yes if you mean yes, and no if you mean no [L Let your word “yes” be “yes”; your “no” be “no”]. ·If you say more than yes or no, it [L Anything more than this] is from the Evil One.
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