Book of Common Prayer
A Cry for God to Help Quickly
For the director of music. A psalm of David. ·To help people remember [For remembrance; or For a memorial offering].
70 God, ·come quickly and save [L protect] me.
Lord, hurry to help me.
2 Let those who are ·trying to kill me [L seeking my life]
be ashamed and ·disgraced [scorned; reproached].
Let those who want to hurt me
·run away [L turn back] in disgrace.
3 Let those who ·make fun of me [L say, “Aha, Aha!”]
·stop [withdraw] because of their shame.
4 But let all those who ·worship [L seek] you
rejoice and be glad.
Let those who love your ·salvation [victory]
always say, “·Praise the greatness of [Magnify] God.”
5 I am poor and ·helpless [needy];
God, hurry to me.
You ·help me and save me [L are my helper and my rescuer].
Lord, do not ·wait [delay].
An Old Person’s Prayer
71 In you, Lord, ·is my protection [L I find refuge].
Never let me be ashamed.
2 Because you ·do what is right [are righteous], ·save [protect] and rescue me;
·listen [L extend your ear] to me and ·save me [give me victory].
3 Be my ·place of safety [L rock of refuge]
where I can always come.
Give the command to ·save me [give me victory],
because you are my rock and my ·strong, walled city [fortress].
4 My God, ·save [rescue] me from the ·power [L hand] of the wicked
and from the ·hold [grasp; L palm] of evil and cruel people.
5 Lord, you are my hope.
Lord, I have ·trusted [had confidence in] you since I was young.
6 I have ·depended [L leaned] on you ·since I was born [L from the belly; C the womb];
you ·helped me even on the day of my birth [brought me forth/cut off my umbilical cord from my mother’s innards].
I will always praise you.
7 I am an ·example [portent] to many people,
because you are my strong ·protection [refuge].
8 ·I am always praising you [L My mouth is filled with your praise];
all day long I ·honor [glorify] you.
9 Do not ·reject me [cast me off] when I am old;
do not ·leave [abandon; forsake] me when my strength is ·gone [exhausted].
10 My enemies ·make plans [speak] against me,
and they ·meet [take counsel] together to kill me.
11 They say, “God has ·left [abandoned; forsaken] him.
·Go after [Pursue; Persecute] him and ·take [capture] him,
because no one will ·save [protect] him.”
12 God, don’t be far off.
My God, hurry to help me.
13 Let those who accuse me
be ashamed and ·destroyed [annihilated].
Let those who are ·trying [seeking] to hurt me
be covered with shame and disgrace.
14 But I will always have hope
and will praise you more and more.
15 ·I will tell how you do what is right [L My mouth will recount your righteousness].
I will tell about your ·salvation [victory] all day long,
even though ·it is more than I can tell [L I do not know the number].
16 I will come and tell about your powerful works, Lord God.
I will remind people ·that only you do what is right [L that you alone are righteous].
17 God, you have taught me since I was young.
To this day I tell ·about the miracles you do [of your wonderful works].
18 Even though I am old and gray,
do not ·leave [abandon; forsake] me, God.
I will tell ·the children [L a generation, to all that come] about your ·power [L arm];
I will tell of your might.
19 God, your ·justice [righteousness] reaches to the ·skies [L high heavens].
You have done great things;
God, there is no one like you.
20 You have ·given [L shown] me ·many troubles [much distress] and bad times,
but you will give me life again.
·When I am almost dead [L From the depths of the earth],
you ·will keep me alive [L again bring me up].
21 You will make me greater than ever,
and you will comfort me again.
22 I will ·praise [thank] you with the harp.
·I trust you […for your faithfulness], my God.
I will ·sing to [make a psalm for] you with the lyre,
Holy One of Israel.
23 ·I will [L My lips] shout for joy when I ·sing praises to [make a psalm for] you.
You have ·saved [redeemed] me.
24 ·I [L My tongue] will tell about your ·justice [righteousness] all day long.
And those who ·want [seek] to hurt me
will be ·ashamed [scorned and reproached] and disgraced.
A Nation in Trouble Prays
A ·maskil [skillful psalm; meditation] 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].
74 God, why have you rejected us ·for so long [forever]?
Why ·are you angry with us, [L does your anger smoke against] the sheep of your pasture [100:3]?
2 Remember the ·people [assembly; congregation] you ·bought [acquired] long ago.
You ·saved [redeemed] us, and we are ·your very own [L the tribe of your inheritance].
After all, you live on Mount Zion.
3 ·Make your way [Direct your steps] through ·these old [or the utter] ruins;
the enemy ·wrecked [destroyed] everything in the ·Temple [sanctuary; Holy Place; C perhaps a reference to the Babylonian destruction of the Temple; 2 Kin. 25:8–21; 2 Chr. 36:17–21; Lam. 2:6].
4 Those who were against you ·shouted [roared] in your meeting place
and ·raised their flags [L set their signs as signs] there.
5 ·They came with axes raised [or They hacked at the upper entrances]
as if to cut down a forest of trees.
6 They ·smashed [beat to pieces] the ·carved [engraved] panels
with their axes and ·hatchets [crowbars].
7 They ·burned your Temple to the ground [L set your sanctuary/Holy Place on fire];
they have made the ·place where you live [L residence of your name] ·unclean [profane].
8 They ·thought [L said in their hearts], “We will completely crush them!”
They burned ·every place where God was worshiped [L all the meeting places of God] in the land.
9 We do not see any signs.
There are no more prophets [C who can tell them what will happen],
and no one knows how long this will last.
10 God, how much longer will the enemy ·make fun of [scorn] you?
Will they ·insult [revile] ·you [L your name] forever?
11 Why do you ·hold back your power [L return your hand]?
·Bring your power out in the open [L Take your right hand out of your bosom] and ·destroy [annihilate] them!
12 God, you have been our king ·for a long time [of old; Ex. 15:18].
You bring ·salvation [victory] to the earth.
13 You split open the sea by your power
and broke the heads of the sea monster [C an ancient Near Eastern symbol of chaos].
14 You ·smashed [crushed in pieces] the heads of the monster Leviathan [C a sea monster and symbol of chaos; 104:26; Job 3:8; 41:1; Is. 27:1]
and gave it to the ·desert [wilderness] creatures as food.
15 You ·opened up [split] the springs and ·streams [wadis]
and made the flowing rivers run dry.
16 Both the day and the night are yours;
you made the sun and the moon [Gen. 1:14–18].
17 You set all the ·limits [borders] on the earth;
you ·created [formed] summer and winter [104:19–23; Gen. 8:22].
18 Lord, remember how the enemy ·insulted [scorned] you.
Remember how those foolish people ·made fun of you [L reviled your name].
19 Do not give us, your doves, to those wild animals.
Never forget your poor people.
20 ·Remember [Regard] the ·agreement [covenant] you made with us,
because violence fills every dark corner of this land.
21 Do not let your ·suffering [crushed] people be ·disgraced [humiliated].
Let the poor and ·helpless [needy] praise ·you [L your name].
22 God, arise and ·defend [contend for] yourself.
Remember the ·insults [scorn] that come from those foolish people all day long.
23 Don’t forget what your enemies said;
don’t forget their roar as they rise against you always.
9 “·When this happens [L In that day],” says the Lord,
“the ·king and officers will lose their courage [L heart of king and officers/princes will fail].
The priests will be ·terribly afraid [desolate],
and the prophets will be ·shocked [stunned; appalled]!”
10 Then I said, [“L Aha,] Lord God, you have ·tricked [deceived] ·the people of Judah [L this people] and Jerusalem. You said, ‘You will have peace,’ but now the sword ·is pointing at [L touches] our ·throats [or very lives]!”
Jeremiah’s Cry
19 Oh, ·how I hurt [my pain/anguish/L innards]! ·How I hurt [My pain/anguish/L innards]!
·I am bent over in pain [L My heart writhes].
Oh, the ·torture in [L walls of] my heart!
My heart is pounding inside me.
I cannot keep quiet,
because I have heard the sound of the ·trumpet [ram’s horn].
I have heard the shouts of war.
20 Disaster after disaster is reported;
the whole country has been ·destroyed [devastated].
My tents are ·destroyed [devastated] ·in only a moment [suddenly].
My curtains are torn down quickly.
21 How long must I look at the war flag?
How long must I listen to the ·war trumpet [L sound of the ram’s horn]?
22 The Lord says, “My people are ·foolish [stupid].
They do not know me.
They are stupid children;
they don’t understand.
They are ·skillful [wise] at doing evil,
but they don’t know how to do good.”
Disaster Is Coming
23 I looked at the earth,
and it ·had no form and was empty [was a formless void; Gen. 1:2].
I looked at the ·sky [L heavens],
and ·its light was gone [L there was no light].
24 I looked at the mountains,
and they were shaking.
All the hills were ·trembling [rocking; reeling].
25 I looked, and there were no people.
Every bird in the ·sky [heavens] had ·flown away [L fled].
26 I looked, and the good, ·rich land [fertile land; land of plenty; orchards] had become a ·desert [wilderness].
All its towns had been destroyed
by the Lord and his great anger.
27 This is what the Lord says:
“All the land will be ruined,
but I will not ·completely destroy it [L make a complete end].
28 So the people in the land will ·cry loudly [mourn; wail],
and the ·sky [L heavens above] will grow dark [Is. 13:10; 34:4; Zech. 14:6; Mark 13:24–25],
because I have spoken and made a decision.
I will not change my mind; I will not turn back.”
12 ·People [or For all those] who do not have the law [C Gentiles without the written law of Moses] and who are sinners will ·be lost [perish], although they do not have the law. And, in the same way, those who have the law [C Jews who have the law of Moses] and are sinners will be judged by the law. 13 Hearing the law does not make people ·right with [righteous/justified before] God. It is those who obey the law who will be ·right with [justified/declared righteous before] him. 14 (·Those who are not Jews [Gentiles] do not have the law, but when they ·freely [by nature; instinctively] do what the law commands, they ·are the law for themselves [or reveal their awareness of God’s law]. This is true even though they do not have the law [C the written law of Moses]. 15 They show that ·in their hearts they know what is right and wrong, just as the law commands [L the requirements of the law are written on their hearts]. And they show this by their consciences [L bearing witness]. Sometimes their thoughts ·tell them they did wrong [L accuse them], and sometimes their thoughts ·tell them they did right [defend them].) 16 ·All these things [or This] will happen on the day when, according to ·my Gospel [the Good News I preach], God, through Christ Jesus, will judge people’s secret thoughts.
The Jews and the Law
17 What about you? You call yourself a Jew. You ·trust in [rely on] the ·law of Moses [L law] and ·brag that you are close to God [L boast in God]. 18 You know ·what he wants you to do [his will] and ·what is important [can discern/test what is best/superior], because you have ·learned [been instructed in] the law. 19 You ·think [are convinced/confident that] you are a guide for the blind and a light for those who are in darkness. 20 You think you ·can show foolish people what is right [L are an instructor to the foolish] and ·teach [L a teacher for] ·those who know nothing [the immature/ignorant; or children/infants]. You have the law; so you think you ·know everything and have all truth [L have the embodiment/formulation of knowledge and truth]. 21 You teach others, so why don’t you teach yourself? You ·tell [preach to] others not to steal, but do you steal? 22 You say that others must not commit adultery, but do you commit adultery? You ·hate [abhor; detest] idols, but do you steal from temples [C perhaps (1) profiting by selling stolen idols to Gentiles; or (2) withholding what is due to God and so “robbing” his temple]? 23 You ·brag [boast] about ·having God’s law [L the law], but do you ·bring shame to [dishonor] God by breaking his law? 24 It is just as the Scriptures say: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you [Is. 52:5; Ezek. 36:20].”
Jesus Has God’s Authority
19 But Jesus ·said [answered them], “·I tell you the truth [L Truly, truly I say to you], the Son can do nothing ·alone [on his own initiative; by himself]. The Son does only what he sees the Father doing, ·because the Son does whatever the Father does [L for whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise]. 20 [L For] The Father loves the Son and shows the Son all the things he himself does. But the Father will show the Son even greater things than this so that you can all ·be amazed [marvel; be astonished]. 21 [L For] Just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to those he ·wants to [wishes; wills]. 22 ·In fact, [or For] the Father judges no one, but he has ·given [entrusted to] the Son ·power to do all the judging [L all judgment; Rev. 20:11–15] 23 so that all people will honor the Son as much as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.
24 “·I tell you the truth [L Truly, truly I say to you], whoever ·hears [obeys] ·what I say [L my word/message] and believes in the One who sent me has eternal life. That person will not ·be judged guilty [L come into judgment/condemnation] but has ·already left death and entered life [L passed from death into life]. 25 ·I tell you the truth [L Truly, truly I say to you], the ·time [L hour] is coming and is already here when the dead will ·hear [obey] the voice of the Son of God, and those who ·hear [obey] will ·have life [live]. 26 [L For] ·Life comes from the Father himself [just as the Father has life], ·and [so] he has ·allowed the Son to have [given the Son] life in himself as well. 27 And the Father has given the Son the ·approval [authority; power; right] to ·judge [execute judgment], because he is the Son of Man [C a title for the Messiah; Dan. 7:13–14]. 28 Don’t ·be surprised [marvel; be amazed] at this: A ·time [L hour] is coming when all who are dead and in their graves will hear his voice. 29 Then they will come out of their graves. Those who did good ·will rise and have life forever [L to the resurrection resulting in life], but those who did evil ·will rise to be judged guilty [L to the resurrection resulting in condemnation/judgment].
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.