Old/New Testament
A Prayer Not to Be Killed
A psalm of David.
143 Lord, hear my prayer;
·listen [L give ear] to my ·cry for mercy [prayer of supplication].
Answer me
because you are ·loyal [faithful] and ·good [righteous].
2 Don’t ·judge me [L bring me into judgment], your servant,
because no one alive is ·right [righteous] before you [Rom. 3:22; Gal. 2:16].
3 My enemies are ·chasing [pursuing; persecuting] me;
they crushed me to the ground.
They made me ·live [sit] in darkness
like those long dead [Lam. 3:6].
4 ·I am afraid [I am depressed; L my spirit is faint; 142:3];
my ·courage is gone [L heart within me is desolated].
5 I remember ·what happened long ago [L the former days];
I ·consider [meditated on] everything you have done.
I ·think [considered] ·about all you have made [L the work of your hands].
6 I ·lift my hands to you in prayer [L spread out my hands to you].
·As a dry land needs rain, I thirst [L My life/soul is like a thirsty/parched land] for you. ·
7 Lord, answer me quickly,
because ·I am getting weak [L my spirit languishes].
Don’t ·turn away [L hide your face] from me,
or I will be like those who ·are dead [L go down to the pit].
8 ·Tell me [Make me hear] in the morning about your ·love [loyalty],
because I ·trust [have confidence in] you.
·Show me what I should do [L Make me know the way I should walk],
because ·my prayers go up [L I lift up my soul] to you.
9 Lord, ·save [protect] me from my enemies;
I hide in you.
10 Teach me to do ·what you want [your will],
because you are my God.
Let your good Spirit [or spirit]
·lead [guide] me on level ground.
11 Lord, let me live
·so people will praise you [L for the sake of your name].
In your ·goodness [righteousness]
·save me [L bring me out] from my ·troubles [distress].
12 In your ·love [loyalty] ·defeat [destroy] my enemies.
·Destroy [L Make perish] all those who ·trouble [distress] me,
because I am your servant.
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.
Praise to God the King
A psalm of praise. Of David.
145 I ·praise your greatness [exalt you], my God the King;
I will ·praise [bless] ·you [L your name] forever and ever.
2 I will ·praise [bless] you every day;
I will praise ·you [L your name] forever and ever.
3 The Lord is great and ·worthy of our praise [greatly to be praised; 48:1];
·no one can understand how great he is [L there is no searching out/limit to his greatness].
4 ·Parents [L A generation] will ·tell their children [L praise to a generation] what you have done.
They will ·retell [proclaim] your mighty acts,
5 ·wonderful majesty, and glory [L and the majestic glory of your splendor; C God’s manifest presence].
And I will ·think about [meditate on] your ·miracles [wonderful works].
6 They will tell about the ·amazing things you do [L might of your awesomeness],
and I will ·tell [recount] how great you are.
7 They will ·remember [bubble forth with] ·your great goodness [L the remembrance of your goodness]
and will sing about your ·fairness [righteousness].
8 The Lord is ·kind [gracious] and ·shows mercy [compassionate].
He ·does not become angry quickly [is slow to anger] but ·is full of love [has great loyalty].
9 The Lord is good to everyone;
he is ·merciful [compassionate] to all he has made [86:15; 103:8; Ex. 34:6–7; Neh. 9:17, 31; Joel 2:13; Jon. 4:2].
10 Lord, everything you have made will ·praise [bless] you;
·those who belong to you [your saints/loyal ones] will bless you.
11 They will tell about the glory of your kingdom
and will speak about your ·power [strength].
12 Then everyone will know the mighty things you do
and the glory and ·majesty [splendor] of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom ·will go on and on [L is an eternal kingdom],
and you will rule ·forever [L from generation to generation; Dan. 4:3].
The Lord ·will keep all his promises [L is faithful/true in all his words];
he is loyal to all he has made.[a]
14 The Lord ·helps [supports] those who have ·been defeated [L fallen]
and ·takes care of [L lifts up] those who are ·in trouble [bowed down].
15 ·All living things look to you for food [L The eyes of all look to you],
and you give ·it [L their food] to them at the right time.
16 You open your hand,
and you satisfy the desire of all living things [Matt. 6:25–27].
17 ·Everything the Lord does is right [L The Lord is righteous in all his ways].
He is loyal ·to all he has made [or in all his deeds].
18 The Lord is ·close [near] to everyone who ·prays to [calls on] him,
to all who ·truly pray to him [call on him in truth/faithfulness].
19 He ·gives those who respect him what they want [L accomplishes the desire of all who fear him; Prov. 1:7].
He listens when they cry, and he ·saves them [gives them victory].
20 The Lord ·protects [guards; keeps] everyone who loves him,
but he will destroy the wicked.
21 ·I will praise [L My mouth will speak the praise of] the Lord.
Let ·everyone [L all flesh] ·praise [bless] his holy name forever.
21 It is written in the ·Scriptures [L Law; C referring here to all of Scripture]:
“With people who use ·strange words [L different tongues/languages] and ·foreign languages [L different lips]
I will speak to these people.
But even then they will not ·listen to [or obey] me [Is. 28:11–12; see also Deut. 28:49],”
says the Lord. [C Israel didn’t listen when God used foreign-speaking Assyrians to punish them; similarly people won’t benefit from hearing tongues they don’t understand.]
22 So ·the gift of speaking in different kinds of languages [or ecstatic utterance; L tongues] is a sign for unbelievers, not for believers [C tongues served as a warning of judgment and a call to repentance; see Acts 2:4, 21, 38–40]. And prophecy is for believers, not for unbelievers. 23 Suppose the whole church meets together and everyone speaks in ·different languages [L tongues]. If some people come in who ·do not understand [or are inquirers/seekers; v. 16] or are unbelievers, they will say you are ·crazy [insane; C unintelligible tongues sound like babbling]. 24 But suppose everyone is prophesying and unbelievers or ·those who does not understand [or inquirers/seekers] come in. If everyone is prophesying, ·their sin will be shown to them [L they will be convicted by all], and they will be judged by ·all that they hear [L all]. 25 The secret things in their hearts will be made known. So they will ·bow down [L fall face down] and worship God saying, “Truly, God is ·with you [among you; in your midst].” [C Though prophecy is for believers (v. 22), it also convicts unbelievers better than uninterpreted (and so incoherent) tongues (see vv. 27–28), since it is a coherent message from God.]
Meetings Should Help the Church
26 So, brothers and sisters, what should you do? When you meet together, one person has a ·song [psalm; hymn], and another has a teaching. Another has a ·new truth from God [L revelation]. Another speaks ·in a different language [or with ecstatic utterance; L tongue], and another person ·interprets that language [L an interpretation]. The purpose of all these things should be ·to help the church grow strong [L for edification/building up]. 27 When you meet together, if anyone speaks ·in a different language [or with ecstatic utterance; L in a tongue], it should be only two, or not more than three, who speak. They should speak one after the other, and someone should interpret. 28 But if there is no interpreter, then they should ·be quiet [remain silent] in the church meeting. They should speak only to themselves and to God.
29 Only two or three prophets should speak, and the others should ·judge [evaluate; consider; weigh] what they say. 30 If a ·message from God [L revelation] comes to another person who is sitting, the first speaker should stop. 31 [L For] You can all prophesy one after the other. In this way all the people can be taught and encouraged. 32 The spirits of prophets are ·under the control of [subject to] the prophets themselves [C unlike in pagan religions, where a spirit would seize control of a speaker, causing frenzy, mania or ecstasy]. 33 [L For] God is not a God of ·confusion [disorder] but a God of peace.
As is true in all the ·churches [assemblies] of ·God’s people [T the saints; C some commentators take this clause as part of the previous sentence], 34 ·women [or wives] should keep quiet in the ·church meetings [churches; assemblies; C the context here may be the evaluation of prophecy (v. 29), rather than general worship (where women presumably could speak; see 11:2–16)]. [L For] They are not allowed to speak, but they must ·yield to this rule [or be in submission; or keep their ordered place] as the law says [C perhaps Gen. 3:16, or a nonbiblical Jewish tradition]. 35 If they want to ·learn something [or ask questions], they should ask their own husbands at home. It is ·shameful [disgraceful; improper] for a woman to speak in ·the church meeting [the assembly; church]. 36 Did ·God’s teaching [the word of God] ·come from [originate with] you? Or are you the only ones to whom it has come? [C Apparently, some women were being disruptive during meetings.]
37 Those who think they are prophets or spiritual persons should ·understand [or acknowledge] that what I am writing to you is the Lord’s command. 38 Those who ignore this will ·be ignored by God [or themselves be ignored].[a]
39 So my brothers and sisters, you should ·truly want [be eager] to prophesy. And do not ·stop people from using the gift of speaking in different kinds of languages [L forbid/hinder speaking in tongues]. 40 But let everything be done in a ·right [proper; fitting] and orderly way.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.