Book of Common Prayer
49 Remember your promise to me, your servant;
it gives me hope.
50 When I suffer, this comforts me:
Your promise gives me life.
51 ·Proud [Arrogant] people always ·make fun of [mock] me,
but I do not ·reject [stray from] your ·teachings [instructions; laws].
52 I remember your ·laws [judgments] from long ago,
and they comfort me, Lord.
53 ·I become angry with wicked people [L Indignation seizes me because of the wicked]
who ·do not keep [abandon; forsake] your ·teachings [instructions; laws].
54 I sing about your ·demands [statutes; ordinances; requirements]
·wherever I live [L in the house of my dwelling].
55 Lord, I remember ·you [L your name] at night,
and I will ·obey [keep; guard] your ·teachings [instructions; laws].
56 This is what I do:
I ·follow [protect] your ·orders [precepts].
57 Lord, you are my ·share in life [portion; lot];
I have promised to ·obey [keep; guard] your words.
58 I ·prayed to [entreat; implore] you with all my heart.
·Have mercy on [Be gracious to] me as you have promised.
59 I ·thought about [considered] my ·life [L path],
and I ·decided to follow [L turned my feet to] your ·rules [decrees; testimonies].
60 I hurried and did not wait
to ·obey [keep; obey] your commands.
61 Wicked people have ·tied me up [ensnared me],
but I have not forgotten your ·teachings [instructions; laws].
62 In the middle of the night, I get up to ·thank [praise] you
because your ·laws [judgments] are ·right [righteous].
63 I am a ·friend [companion] to everyone who fears you,
to anyone who ·obeys [keeps; guards] your ·orders [precepts].
64 Lord, your ·love [loyalty] fills the earth.
Teach me your ·demands [statutes; ordinances; requirements].
65 You have done good things for your servant,
as you have promised, Lord.
66 Teach me ·wisdom [L good judgment] and knowledge
because I ·trust [believe] your commands.
67 Before I ·suffered [was humbled], I ·did wrong [wandered],
but now I ·obey [keep; guard] your word.
68 You are good, and you do what is good.
Teach me your ·demands [statutes; ordinances; requirements].
69 ·Proud [Arrogant] people ·have made up lies about me [smear me with lies],
but I will ·follow [keep; protect] your ·orders [precepts] with all my heart.
70 ·Those people have no feelings [L Their hearts are gross and fat],
but I ·love [delight in] your ·teachings [instructions; laws].
71 It was good for me to ·suffer [be humbled]
so I would learn your ·demands [statutes; ordinances; requirements].
72 ·Your teachings [L The instructions/laws of your mouth] are ·worth more to [better for] me
than thousands of pieces of gold and silver.
Trusting Money Is Foolish
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].
49 Listen to this, all you ·nations [peoples];
·listen [L give ear], all you who live on earth.
2 Listen, both ·great [high] and ·small [low],
rich and poor together.
3 ·What I say is wise [L My mouth speaks wisdom],
and ·my heart speaks with [L the meditation of my heart is] understanding.
4 I will ·pay attention [extend my ear] to a ·wise saying [proverb];
I will ·explain [solve] my riddle on the ·harp [lyre].
5 Why should I ·be afraid of [fear] ·bad [evil] days?
·Why should I fear when evil people […when the guilt of deceivers/the treacherous] surround me?
6 They ·trust [find refuge] in their ·money [wealth]
and ·brag [boast] about their riches.
7 No one can ·buy back [ransom; redeem] the life of ·another [or a brother].
No one can ·pay [L give a ransom to] God for his own life,
8 because the ·price [ransom; redemption] of a life is ·high [precious].
No payment is ever enough.
9 Do people live forever?
Don’t they all ·face death [L see the Pit; 16:10]?
10 See, even wise people die.
Fools and stupid people also ·die [perish; Eccl. 2:12–16]
and ·leave [abandon; forsake] their wealth to others.
11 Their graves will ·always [forever] be their homes.
·They will live there from now on [L …their dwelling to all generations],
even though they named places after themselves.
12 Even rich people do not ·live forever [abide];
like the animals, people ·die [perish; Eccl. 3:19].
13 This is ·what will happen to [L the way/path for] those who trust in themselves
and ·to their followers [or the end of those; L after them] who ·believe them [L are pleased with their mouth]. ·
14 Like sheep, they ·must die [L head to Sheol; C the grave or the underworld],
and death will be their shepherd.
·Honest [Virtuous; Upright] people will ·rule [have dominion] over them in the morning,
and their bodies will ·rot in a grave [waste away in Sheol] far from ·home [their grand homes].
15 But God will ·save [ransom; redeem] my life
and will take me from ·the grave [or the underworld; L Sheol; v. 14]. ·
16 Don’t be afraid of ·rich [wealthy] people
because their houses are more ·beautiful [or substantial].
17 They don’t take anything ·to the grave [when they die];
their ·wealth [substance] won’t go down with them.
18 Even though they were ·praised [blessed] when they were alive—
and people may praise you when you ·succeed [do well]—
19 they will go to where their ancestors are [C the grave].
They will never see light again.
20 Rich people with no understanding
are just like animals that ·die [perish].
The Unbelieving Fool
For the director of music. By mahalath [C perhaps “sickness”]. A ·maskil [skillful psalm; meditation] of David.
53 Fools say ·to themselves [L in their hearts],
“There is no God [C Psalm 14 largely parallels this psalm].”
·Fools are evil [L They are corrupt] and do ·terrible [detestable] things [Deut. 32:5];
none of them does anything good.
2 God looked down from heaven on all people
to see if anyone was ·wise [insightful],
if anyone was ·looking to God for help [seeking God].
3 But all have ·turned [wandered] away.
Together, everyone has become ·evil [perverse];
none of them does anything good.
Not a single person [Rom. 3:10–12].
4 Don’t ·the wicked [L those who do evil] ·understand [know]?
They ·destroy [consume; L eat] my people as if they were ·eating [consuming] bread.
They do not ·ask God for help [call on God].
5 The wicked are ·filled [terrified] with terror
where there ·had been nothing to [L was no] fear.
God will scatter the bones of ·your enemies [the godless].
You will ·defeat [shame; humiliate] them,
because God has rejected them.
6 I pray that ·victory [salvation] will come to Israel from Mount Zion [C the location of the Temple, the house of God]!
May God ·bring them back [restore the fortunes of his people; C perhaps at the end of the exile].
Then the people of Jacob will rejoice,
and the people of Israel will be glad.
23 When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and ·bowed facedown on the ground [prostrated herself] before him. 24 She fell at David’s feet and said, “My ·master [lord], let the ·blame [guilt] be on me! Please let ·me [L your maidservant] talk to you. Listen to what ·I [L your maidservant has to] say. 25 My ·master [lord], [L please] don’t ·pay attention to [L set your heart/mind on] this worthless man Nabal. He is like his name. His name means ·‘fool’ [‘brute’], and he is truly a ·fool [brute]. But I, your servant, didn’t see the men you sent. 26 The Lord has kept you from killing and ·punishing anyone [taking revenge/vengeance by your own hand]. As surely as the Lord lives and as surely as you live, may your enemies [L and those who seek to harm my lord] become like Nabal! 27 ·I [L Your maidservant] have brought a gift to you for the men who follow you. 28 Please forgive ·my [L your maidservant’s] ·wrong [offense; transgression]. The Lord will certainly ·let your family have many kings [make a lasting/enduring dynasty/house for my lord; 2 Sam. 7], because you fight ·his [L the Lord’s] battles. As long as you live, ·may you do nothing bad [L no evil/wrong will be found in you]. 29 Should someone try to chase you to ·kill you [L seek your life], the Lord your God will ·keep you alive [L wrap/bind you up with the living]. He will ·throw [sling; hurl; fling] away your enemies’ lives as ·he would throw a stone from [L the pocket of] a sling. 30 When the Lord has done all the good he promised, he will make you ·leader [ruler; prince] over Israel. 31 Then you won’t feel ·guilty [grieved; anxious] or ·troubled [remorse] because you ·killed innocent people and punished them [L shed blood without cause and avenged yourself]. Please remember ·me [L your maidservant] when the Lord ·brings you success [has done well by you].”
32 David answered Abigail, “·Praise [Blessed be] the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you to meet me today. 33 May you be blessed for your ·wisdom [good sense/judgment; discernment]. You have kept me from ·killing [bloodshed] or ·punishing people [L avenging myself with my own hand] today. 34 As surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, he has kept me from ·hurting [harming] you. If you hadn’t come quickly to meet me, not one of Nabal’s ·men [L those who urinate against a wall] would ·have lived until [still be alive in the] morning.”
35 Then David ·accepted Abigail’s gifts [L received from her hand that which she had brought]. He told her, “Go home in peace. I have heard your words, and ·I will do what you have asked [granted your request/petition].”
Nabal’s Death
36 When Abigail went back to Nabal, he was in the house, ·eating [feasting; drinking] like a king. He was very drunk and in ·a good mood [high spirits]. So she told him nothing until ·the next morning [daybreak; dawn]. 37 In the morning when ·he was not drunk [L the wine had left him], his wife told him everything. ·His heart stopped [He had a stroke], and he became like stone. 38 About ten days later the Lord struck Nabal and he died.
39 When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “·Praise [Blessed be] the Lord! Nabal insulted me, but the Lord has ·supported me [avenged me; pleaded/judged my case; upheld my cause]! He has kept ·me [L his servant] from doing ·wrong [evil]. The Lord has ·punished Nabal for his wrong [L returned Nabal’s evildoing on his own head].”
Then David sent a ·message [proposal] to Abigail, asking her to be his wife. 40 His servants went to Carmel and said to Abigail, “David sent us to take you so you can become his wife.”
41 Abigail ·bowed facedown [prostrated herself] on the ground and said, “·I am [L Your maidservant is] your ·servant [slave]. I’m ready to serve you and to wash the feet of my ·master’s [lord’s] servants.” 42 Abigail quickly got on a donkey and went with David’s messengers, with her five ·maids [servant-girls] following her. And she became David’s wife.
43 David also had married Ahinoam of Jezreel. So they were both David’s wives. 44 Saul’s daughter Michal was also David’s wife [18:20–29], but Saul had given her to Paltiel son of Laish, who was from Gallim.
19 Then some Jews [C those who had opposed them earlier; 13:50–51; 14:2, 5] came from Antioch and Iconium and persuaded the people to turn against Paul. So they threw stones at him [2 Cor. 11:25; C stoning was the main Jewish method of execution] and dragged him out of town, thinking they had killed him. 20 But the ·followers [disciples] ·gathered around him [or surrounded him; C either to protect from further attack or to check on his condition], and he got up and went back into the town [C perhaps a miracle; certainly evidence of Paul’s perseverance]. The next day he and Barnabas left and went to the city of Derbe [v. 6].
The Return to Antioch in Syria
21 ·Paul and Barnabas [L They] ·told the Good News [preached the Gospel] in Derbe, and many became ·followers [disciples]. ·Paul and Barnabas [L They] returned to Lystra [14:6], Iconium, and Antioch, 22 ·making the followers of Jesus stronger [L strengthening the souls/lives of the disciples] and ·helping them stay [L encouraging/exhorting them to remain/persevere] in the faith. They said, “We must ·suffer many things [endure/pass through many trials/persecutions] to enter God’s kingdom.” 23 They ·chose [appointed; or elected] elders [1 Tim. 5:17–20; Titus 1:5–9] for each church, ·by [after; L with] praying and fasting [C giving up eating for spiritual purposes]. These elders had ·trusted [believed in] the Lord, so Paul and Barnabas ·put them in [committed them to] the Lord’s care.
24 Then they went through Pisidia [13:14] and came to Pamphylia [13:13]. 25 When they had ·preached the message [L spoken the word] in Perga [13:13], they went down to Attalia [C eight miles southwest of Perga]. 26 And from there they sailed away to Antioch [C in Syria about 400 miles away] where ·the believers had put them into God’s care [L they had been delivered over to God’s grace] to do the work that they had now ·finished [completed; fulfilled].
27 When they arrived in Antioch, ·Paul and Barnabas [L they] gathered the church together. They ·told [reported/recounted to] the church all about what God had done with them and how God had ·made it possible for the Gentiles to believe [L opened a door of faith to the Gentiles]. 28 And they stayed there ·a long [a considerable; L no little] time with the ·followers [disciples].
Jesus Calms a Storm(A)
35 That evening, Jesus said to ·his followers [L them], “Let’s go across the lake.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him in the boat just as he was [C meaning he was already in the boat; 4:1]. There were also other boats with them. 37 A very strong wind came up on the lake. The waves came over the sides and into the boat so that it was ·already full of water [nearly swamped]. 38 Jesus was at the ·back of the boat [stern], sleeping on a cushion. ·His followers [L They] woke him and said, “Teacher, don’t you care that we are ·drowning [perishing]?”
39 Jesus stood up and ·commanded [reprimanded; rebuked] the wind and said to the ·waves [sea], “·Quiet! [T Peace!] Be still!” Then the wind stopped, and it became completely calm. [C This parallels God’s subduing of the waters representing chaos in the OT; Ps. 65:7; 89:9; 107:29.]
40 Jesus said to ·his followers [L them], “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
41 They were ·very afraid [terrified; filled with awe] and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the ·waves [sea] obey him!”
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