Book of Common Prayer
ק qof
145 I cry out with all my heart:
“Lord, answer me so I can guard your statutes!”
146 I cry out to you, “Save me
so I can keep your laws!”
147 I meet the predawn light and cry for help.
I wait for your promise.
148 My eyes encounter each hour of the night
as I think about your word.
149 Listen to my voice, according to your faithful love.
Lord, make me live again, according to your justice.
150 The people who love to plot wicked schemes are nearby,
but they are so far from your Instruction!
151 But you, Lord, are nearby too,
and all your commandments are true.
152 Long ago I learned from your laws
that you had established them forever.
ר resh
153 Look at my suffering and deliver me
because I haven’t forgotten your Instruction.
154 Argue my case and redeem me.
Make me live again by your word.
155 Salvation is far from the wicked
because they haven’t pursued your statutes.
156 You have so much compassion, Lord—
make me live again, according to your rules.
157 My oppressors and enemies are many,
but I haven’t turned away from your laws.
158 I look on the faithless, and I am disgusted
because they haven’t kept your word.
159 Look at how much I love your precepts.
Make me live again, Lord, according to your faithful love!
160 The first thing to know about your word is that it is true
and that all your righteous rules last forever.
שׂ sin and שׁ shin
161 Rulers oppress me without cause,
but my heart honors what you’ve said.
162 I’m overjoyed at your word,
like someone who finds great treasure.
163 I hate, I absolutely despise, what is false,
but I’m in love with your Instruction.
164 I praise you seven times a day
for your righteous rules.
165 The people who love your Instruction enjoy peace—and lots of it.
There’s no stumbling for them!
166 Lord, I wait for your saving help.
I do what you’ve commanded.
167 I keep your laws;
I love them so much!
168 I keep your precepts and your laws
because all my ways are seen by you.
ת tav
169 Let my cry reach you, Lord;
help me understand according to what you’ve said.
170 Let my request for grace come before you;
deliver me according to your promise!
171 Let my lips overflow with praise
because you’ve taught me your statutes.
172 Let my tongue declare your word,
because all your commandments are righteous.
173 Let your power help me
because I have chosen your precepts.
174 Lord, I long for your saving help!
Your Instruction is my joy!
175 Let me live again so I can praise you!
Let your rules help me!
176 I’ve wandered off like a sheep, lost.
Find your servant
because I haven’t forgotten
your commandments!
Psalm 128
A pilgrimage song.
128 Everyone who honors the Lord,
who walks in God’s ways, is truly happy!
2 You will definitely enjoy what you’ve worked hard for—
you’ll be happy; and things will go well for you.
3 In your house, your wife will be like a vine full of fruit.
All around your table, your children will be like olive trees, freshly planted.
4 That’s how it goes for anyone who honors the Lord:
they will be blessed!
5 May the Lord bless you from Zion.
May you experience Jerusalem’s goodness your whole life long.
6 And may you see your grandchildren.
Peace be on Israel!
Psalm 129
A pilgrimage song.
129 From youth, people have constantly attacked me—
let Israel now repeat!—
2 from youth people have constantly attacked me—
but they haven’t beaten me!
3 They plowed my back like farmers;
they made their furrows deep.
4 But the Lord is righteous—
God cut me free from the ropes of the wicked!
5 Let everyone who hates Zion be ashamed, thoroughly frustrated.
6 Let them be like grass on a roof
that dies before it can be pulled up,
7 which won’t fill the reaper’s hand
or fill the harvester’s arms.
8 Let no one who passes by say to them:
“May the Lord’s blessing be on you!
We bless you in the Lord’s name!”
Psalm 130
A pilgrimage song.
130 I cry out to you from the depths, Lord—
2 my Lord, listen to my voice!
Let your ears pay close attention to my request for mercy!
3 If you kept track of sins, Lord—
my Lord, who would stand a chance?
4 But forgiveness is with you—
that’s why you are honored.
5 I hope, Lord.
My whole being[a] hopes,
and I wait for God’s promise.
6 My whole being waits for my Lord—
more than the night watch waits for morning;
yes, more than the night watch waits for morning!
7 Israel, wait for the Lord!
Because faithful love is with the Lord;
because great redemption is with our God!
8 He is the one who will redeem Israel
from all its sin.
The good shepherd
34 The Lord’s word came to me: 2 Human one, prophesy against Israel’s shepherds. Prophesy and say to them, The Lord God proclaims to the shepherds: Doom to Israel’s shepherds who tended themselves! Shouldn’t shepherds tend the flock? 3 You drink the milk, you wear the wool, and you slaughter the fat animals, but you don’t tend the flock. 4 You don’t strengthen the weak, heal the sick, bind up the injured, bring back the strays, or seek out the lost; but instead you use force to rule them with injustice. 5 Without a shepherd, my flock was scattered; and when it was scattered, it became food for all the wild animals. 6 My flock strayed on all the mountains and on every high hill throughout all the earth. My flock was scattered, and there was no one to look for them or find them. 7 So now shepherds, hear the Lord’s word! 8 This is what the Lord God says: As surely as I live, without a shepherd, my flock became prey. My flock became food for all the wild animals. My shepherds didn’t seek out my flock. They tended themselves, but they didn’t tend my flock.
9 So, shepherds, hear the Lord’s word! 10 The Lord God proclaims: I’m against the shepherds! I will hold them accountable for my flock, and I will put an end to their tending the flock. The shepherds will no longer tend them, because I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and they will no longer be their food.
11 The Lord God proclaims: I myself will search for my flock and seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out the flock when some in the flock have been scattered, so will I seek out my flock. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered during the time of clouds and thick darkness. 13 I will gather and lead them out from the countries and peoples, and I will bring them to their own fertile land. I will feed them on Israel’s highlands, along the riverbeds, and in all the inhabited places. 14 I will feed them in good pasture, and their sheepfold will be there, on Israel’s lofty highlands. On Israel’s highlands, they will lie down in a secure fold and feed on green pastures. 15 I myself will feed my flock and make them lie down. This is what the Lord God says. 16 I will seek out the lost, bring back the strays, bind up the wounded, and strengthen the weak. But the fat and the strong I will destroy, because I will tend my sheep[a] with justice.
Motivations for writing
12 Little children, I’m writing to you because your sins have been forgiven through Jesus’ name. 13 Parents, I’m writing to you because you have known the one who has existed from the beginning. Young people, I’m writing to you because you have conquered the evil one. 14 Little children, I write to you because you know the Father. Parents, I write to you because you have known the one who has existed from the beginning. Young people, I write to you because you are strong, the word of God remains in you, and you have conquered the evil one.
Warning about the world
15 Don’t love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in them. 16 Everything that is in the world—the craving for whatever the body feels, the craving for whatever the eyes see and the arrogant pride in one’s possessions—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world and its cravings are passing away, but the person who does the will of God remains forever.
Commissioning of the Twelve
5 Jesus sent these twelve out and commanded them, “Don’t go among the Gentiles or into a Samaritan city. 6 Go instead to the lost sheep, the people of Israel. 7 As you go, make this announcement: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with skin diseases, and throw out demons. You received without having to pay. Therefore, give without demanding payment. 9 Workers deserve to be fed, so don’t gather gold or silver or copper coins for your money belts to take on your trips. 10 Don’t take a backpack for the road or two shirts or sandals or a walking stick. 11 Whatever city or village you go into, find somebody in it who is worthy and stay there until you go on your way. 12 When you go into a house, say, ‘Peace!’ 13 If the house is worthy, give it your blessing of peace. But if the house isn’t worthy, take back your blessing. 14 If anyone refuses to welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet as you leave that house or city. 15 I assure you that it will be more bearable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on Judgment Day than it will be for that city.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible