Old/New Testament
A Hymn About the Lord’s Power
97 The Lord ·is king [reigns; 47:2; 93:1; 96:10; 98:6; 99:1; Rev. 19:6]. Let the earth rejoice;
·faraway lands [or islands; or coastlands] should be glad.
2 Thick, dark clouds surround him.
His ·kingdom [L throne] is ·built [established] on ·what is right [righteousness] and ·fair [justice].
3 A fire goes before him
and ·burns up [flames] his enemies all around.
4 His lightning ·lights up [illuminates] the world;
when the ·people [earth] see it, they ·tremble [writhe].
5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of all the earth.
6 The heavens ·tell about [declare] his ·goodness [righteousness],
and all the people see his glory [C his manifest presence].
7 Those who ·worship [serve] idols should be ·ashamed [embarrassed; Is. 42:17; 45:16];
they brag about their ·gods [worthless things].
All the gods should ·worship [bow down to] the Lord.
8 When ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple] hears this, she is glad,
and the ·towns [L daughters] of Judah rejoice.
They are happy because of your judgments, Lord.
9 You are the Lord Most High over all the earth;
you are ·supreme [exalted] over all gods.
10 People who love the Lord hate evil.
The Lord ·watches over [keeps; guards] ·those who follow him [his loyal ones/saints]
and ·frees [rescues] them from the ·power [L hand] of the wicked.
11 Light ·shines [L is sown] on ·those who do right [the righteous];
joy belongs to those who are ·honest [L virtuous/upright in heart].
12 Rejoice in the Lord, you who ·do right [are righteous].
Praise his ·holy name [or unforgettable holiness].
The Lord of Power and Justice
A psalm.
98 Sing to the Lord a new song [C celebrating victory; 33:3; 40:3; 96:1; 144:9; 149:1; Is. 42:10; Rev. 5:9; 14:3],
because he has done ·miracles [wonderful acts].
By his right hand and holy arm
he has won the victory.
2 The Lord has made known his ·power to save [salvation; victory];
he has ·shown [revealed to] ·the other [L before the eyes of the] nations his ·victory for his people [righteousness].
3 He has remembered his ·love [loyalty]
and his ·loyalty [faithfulness] to the ·people [L house] of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
God’s ·power to save [salvation; victory].
4 Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth;
·burst into songs [L break forth and sing for joy] and make ·music [a psalm].
5 Make music to the Lord with harps,
with harps and the sound of singing.
6 Blow the trumpets and the ·sheep’s [ram’s] horns;
shout for joy to the Lord the King [47:2; 93:1; 96:10; 97:1; 99:1; Rev. 19:6].
7 Let the sea and ·everything in it [its fullness] ·shout [thunder];
let the world and everyone in it sing.
8 Let the rivers clap their hands;
let the mountains sing together for joy.
9 Let them sing before the Lord,
because he is coming to judge the world.
He will judge the world ·fairly [with righteousness];
he will judge the peoples with fairness [96:13].
The Lord, the Fair and Holy King
99 The Lord ·is king [reigns; 47:2; 93:1; 96:10; 97:1; 98:6; Rev. 19:6].
Let the peoples ·shake [tremble; C with fear].
He sits between the ·gold creatures with wings [L cherubim; C above the Ark of the Covenant; Ex. 25:17–22; 1 Kin. 8:7].
Let the earth shake.
2 The Lord in ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple] is great;
he is ·supreme [exalted] over all the peoples.
3 Let them ·praise [thank] your name;
it is great, holy and ·to be feared [awesome].
4 The King is ·powerful [strong] and loves justice.
Lord, you ·made [established] things fair;
you have done what is ·fair [righteous] and ·right [just]
for the people of Jacob [C another name for Israel].
5 ·Praise [Exalt] the Lord our God,
and ·worship [bow down] at the footstool of his feet [C the Ark located in the Temple].
He is holy.
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
and Samuel was among ·his worshipers [L those who called on his name].
They called to the Lord,
and he answered them [Ex. 32:11–13, 30–32; Num. 12:13; 14:13–19; 1 Sam. 7:5, 8–9; 12:16–18; Jer. 15:1].
7 He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud [Ex. 13:21].
They ·kept [observed; guarded] the ·rules [statutes; ordinances; requirements] and ·laws [decrees; testimonies] he gave them.
8 Lord our God, you answered them.
You showed them that you are a forgiving God,
but you ·punished them [are an avenger] for their wrongs [Deut. 32:35; Is. 34:8; Ezek. 24:8; 25:14–17; Nah. 1:2; Rom. 12:19; 1 Thess. 4:6].
9 ·Praise [Exalt] the Lord our God,
and ·worship [bow down] at his holy mountain,
because the Lord our God is holy.
Greetings to the Christians
16 I ·recommend [commend] to you our sister Phoebe, who is a ·helper [or servant; or minister; or deacon; 1 Tim. 3:11] in the church in Cenchrea [C Phoebe may have been the messenger carrying this letter]. 2 I ask you to ·accept [welcome] her in the Lord in the way ·God’s people should [worthy of the saints]. Help her with anything she needs, because she has ·helped [been a benefactor/patron to] many people, ·including [or especially] me.
3 Give my greetings to Priscilla and Aquila [Acts 18:2, 18, 26], ·who work together with me [L my coworkers] in Christ Jesus 4 and who risked their own ·lives [neck] ·to save [L for] my life. I am thankful to them, and [L not only I, but] all the Gentile churches are thankful as well. 5 Also, greet for me the church that meets at their house.
Greetings to my dear friend Epenetus, who was the ·first person in Asia to follow Christ [L firstfruit of Asia for Christ]. 6 Greetings to Mary, who worked very hard for you. 7 Greetings to Andronicus and Junia [C Junia is probably a woman’s name, though not certainly], my ·relatives [or fellow Jews], ·who were in prison with me [and fellow prisoners]. They are ·very important [prominent; or well known to/among the] apostles. They were believers in Christ before I was. 8 Greetings to Ampliatus, my ·dear [beloved] friend in the Lord. 9 Greetings to Urbanus, a worker together with me for Christ. And greetings to my ·dear [beloved] friend Stachys. 10 Greetings to Apelles, ·who was tested and proved that he truly loves Christ [or a proven servant of Christ; L approved in Christ]. Greetings to all those who are in the family of Aristobulus. 11 Greetings to Herodion, my ·fellow citizen [or fellow Jew; or relative]. Greetings to all those in the family of Narcissus who ·belong to [L are in] the Lord. 12 Greetings to Tryphena and Tryphosa, ·women who work very hard for [L laborers in] the Lord. Greetings to ·my dear friend [the beloved] Persis, who also has worked very hard ·for [L in] the Lord. 13 Greetings to Rufus, who is ·a special person [L chosen] in the Lord, and to his mother, who has been like a mother to me also. 14 Greetings to Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and all the brothers and sisters who are with them. 15 Greetings to Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and to all ·God’s people [T the saints] with them. 16 Greet each other with a holy kiss. All of Christ’s churches send greetings to you.
17 Brothers and sisters, I ·ask [urge; encourage] you to look out for those who cause ·divisions [dissension] and who ·upset other people’s faith [create obstacles/stumbling blocks]. ·They [or Such things] are against the true teaching you learned, so stay away from them. 18 Such people are not serving our Lord Christ but are ·only doing what pleases themselves [serving their own appetites/L bellies]. They use ·fancy [smooth] talk and ·fine words [flattery] to ·fool [deceive] the ·minds of those who do not know about evil [L hearts of the innocent/naive]. 19 All the believers have heard ·that you obey [about your obedience/faithfulness], so I ·am very happy [rejoice] because of you. But I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil.
20 The God ·who brings [L of] peace will soon ·defeat Satan and give you power over him [crush Satan under your feet; Gen. 3:15].
The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
21 Timothy [Acts 16:1–2; 1 Tim. 1:2; 2 Tim. 1:2], ·a worker together with me [my coworker], sends greetings, as well as Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my ·relatives [or fellow Jews].
22 I am Tertius, and I am writing this letter from Paul [C Tertius was the scribe, or amanuensis, to whom Paul was dictating the letter]. I send greetings to you in the Lord.
23 Gaius [1 Cor. 1:14; Acts 19:29] is ·letting me and the whole church here use his home [L host to me and to the whole church; C churches met in homes at this time]. He also sends greetings to you, as do Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus. |24 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you. Amen.|[a]
25 ·Glory to God [L Now to the one] who can make you strong in faith ·by [or in accord with] ·the Good News that I tell people [L my Gospel] and ·by [or in accord with] the ·message [preaching; proclamation] about Jesus Christ. The message about Christ is the ·secret [mystery; 11:25] that was hidden for long ages past but is now ·made known [revealed; disclosed]. 26 It has been ·made clear [revealed; disclosed] through the writings of the prophets. And by the command of the eternal God it is ·made known [revealed; disclosed] to all ·nations [Gentiles] ·that they might believe and obey [or for the obedience that follows faith; L for the obedience of faith].
27 To the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.
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