Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Prayer for Victory
Of David.
144 ·Praise [Blessed be] the Lord, my Rock [61:2],
who trains ·me [L my hands] for war,
who trains ·me [L my fingers] for battle.
2 ·He protects me like a strong, walled city, and he loves me [L He is my loyal one and my fortress].
He is my ·defender [stronghold] and my ·Savior [rescuer],
my shield ·and my protection [L in whom I find refuge].
He ·helps me keep my people under control [L subdues my people under me].
3 Lord, ·why are people important to you [L what are people that you care about them]?
·Why do you even think about human beings [L What are human beings that you think about them; 8:4]?
4 People are like ·a breath [vapor; 39:5, 11; 62:9; Eccl. 1:2];
their ·lives [L days] are like passing shadows [102:11; 109:23; Eccl. 6:12].
5 Lord, ·tear open [bend] the ·sky [heavens] and come down.
Touch the mountains so they will smoke [18:9; Ex. 19:11, 18–19].
6 Send the lightning and scatter ·my enemies [L them].
Shoot your arrows and ·force them away [rout them; 18:14].
7 ·Reach down [L Send forth your hand] from above.
·Save me [Set me free] and ·rescue [protect] me ·out of this sea of enemies [L from the mighty waters; C symbolizing chaos],
from ·these [L the hand/power of] foreigners.
8 ·They are liars [L Their mouths speak vanities/falsehood];
·they are dishonest [L their right hand is a false right hand].
9 God, I will sing a new song [C celebrating victory; 33:3; 40:3; 96:1; 98:1; 149:1; Is. 42:10; Rev. 5:9; 14:3] to you;
I will ·play [make a psalm] to you on the ten-stringed harp.
10 You give ·victory [salvation] to kings.
You ·save [set free] your servant David from ·cruel [evil] swords.
11 ·Save me [Set me free], ·rescue [protect] me from ·these [L the hand/power of the] foreigners.
·They are liars [L Their mouths speak vanities/falsehood]; ·they are dishonest [L their right hand is a false right hand].
12 Let our sons in their youth
·grow like plants [or be like full-grown plants; C robust and vital; 128:3].
Let our daughters be
like the ·decorated [cut] ·stones [or pillars] in the ·Temple [or palace; C stately and beautiful].
13 Let our barns be filled
with crops of all kinds.
Let our sheep in the fields have
thousands and tens of thousands of lambs.
14 Let our cattle be ·strong [well fed; or heavy with young].
Let ·no one break in [L there be no breach; or no miscarriage; C in the city walls].
Let there be no ·war [L going out; C in war or exile, or perhaps referring to premature birth],
no screams in our ·streets [public areas].
15 ·Happy [Blessed] are ·those [L the people] who are like this;
·happy [blessed] are the people whose God is the Lord.
10 “‘Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard,
planted beside the water.
The vine had many branches and gave much fruit,
because there was plenty of water.
11 The vine had strong ·branches [boughs],
good enough for a king’s scepter.
The vine became tall
among the thick branches.
And it ·was seen [stood out], because it was tall
with many branches.
12 But it was pulled up by its roots in anger
and thrown down to the ground.
The east wind dried it up.
Its fruit was ·torn [stripped] off.
Its strong branches were broken off
and burned up.
13 Now the vine is planted in the ·desert [wilderness],
in a dry and thirsty land.
14 Fire spread from the vine’s main branch,
·destroying [consuming] its fruit.
There is not a strong branch left on it
·that could become a [L no] scepter for a king.’
This is a ·funeral song [lament]; it ·is to be used as [or has become] a funeral song.”
4 Come to the Lord Jesus, the ·“stone” that lives [L a living stone; C Jesus is the most important stone in the spiritual temple described in v. 5]. ·The people of the world did not want this stone, but he was the stone God chose, and he was precious [L …rejected by people, but chosen and precious/valuable to God]. 5 You also are like living stones, so let yourselves be used to build a spiritual ·temple [house]—to be holy priests who offer spiritual sacrifices that are ·acceptable [pleasing] to God ·through [or because they are mediated by] Jesus Christ. 6 The Scripture ·says [L contains]:
“[L See; Look,] I will ·put a stone in the ground in Jerusalem [L lay a stone in Zion; C Zion is a poetic term for Jerusalem].
·Everything will be built on this important and precious rock [L a chosen and precious cornerstone; C the stone that supports the others].
Anyone who ·trusts [believes; has faith] in him
will never be ·disappointed [L put to shame; Is. 28:16].”
7 ·This stone is worth much to you who believe [or You who believe see the honor/value/preciousness of the stone; L The honor is to you who believe]. But to the people who do not believe,
“the stone that the builders rejected
has become ·the cornerstone [L head of the corner; C the precise meaning is uncertain, but clearly refers to the most important stone in a building; Ps. 118:22; compare Mark 12:10–11; Acts 4:11; Eph. 2:20–22].”
8 ·Also, he is [L And]
“a stone that causes people to stumble,
a rock that ·makes them fall [trips them; snares them; causes them to sin; offends them; Is. 8:14; Rom. 9:32–33].”
They stumble because they do not obey ·what God says [the message/word], which is what God ·planned to happen to [destined/appointed for] them.
9 But you are a chosen ·people [or generation; Is. 43:21], royal ·priests [L priesthood], a holy nation, a people ·for God’s own possession [who belong to God; Ex. 19:5–6]. You were chosen to ·tell about the wonderful acts of God, who [proclaim the praises/virtues of him who] called you out of darkness into his ·wonderful [marvelous] light. 10 At one time you were not a people, but now you are God’s people. In the past you had ·never [L not] received mercy, but now you have received God’s mercy [Hos. 2:23].
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