Book of Common Prayer
148 Halleluyah!
Praise Adonai from the heavens!
Praise him in the heights!
2 Praise him, all his angels!
Praise him, all his armies!
3 Praise him, sun and moon!
Praise him, all shining stars!
4 Praise him, highest heaven,
and waters above the heavens!
5 Let them praise the name of Adonai;
for he commanded, and they were created.
6 He established them forever and ever;
he has given a law to which they must conform.
7 Praise Adonai from the earth,
sea monsters and watery depths,
8 fire and hail, snow and mist,
storm-winds that obey his word,
9 mountains and every hill,
fruit trees and all cedars,
10 wild animals and all livestock,
creeping reptiles, flying birds,
11 kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all rulers on earth,
12 young men and women alike,
old men and children.
13 Let them praise the name of Adonai,
for his name alone is exalted;
his glory is above both earth and heaven.
14 He has increased the power of his people,
granted praise to all his faithful,
to the descendants of Isra’el,
a people close to him.
Halleluyah!
149 Halleluyah!
Sing to Adonai a new song,
his praise in the assembly of the faithful.
2 Let Isra’el rejoice in their maker,
let Tziyon’s children take joy in their king.
3 Let them praise his name with dancing,
make melody to him with tambourine and lyre;
4 for Adonai takes delight in his people,
he crowns the humble with salvation.
5 Let the faithful exult gloriously,
let them sing for joy on their beds.
6 Let the high praises of God be in their throats,
but a two-edged sword in their hands
7 to carry out vengeance on the nations
and punishment on the peoples,
8 to bind their kings with chains
and put their nobles in irons,
9 to execute the judgments decreed for them;
for this will glorify all his faithful.
Halleluyah!
150 Halleluyah!
Praise God in his holy place!
Praise him in the heavenly dome of his power!
2 Praise him for his mighty deeds!
Praise him for his surpassing greatness!
3 Praise him with a blast on the shofar!
Praise him with lute and lyre!
4 Praise him with tambourines and dancing!
Praise him with flutes and strings!
5 Praise him with clanging cymbals!
Praise him with loud crashing cymbals!
6 Let everything that has breath praise Adonai!
Halleluyah!
114 When Isra’el came out of Egypt,
the house of Ya‘akov from a people of foreign speech,
2 Y’hudah became [God’s] sanctuary,
Isra’el his domain.
3 The sea saw this and fled;
the Yarden turned back;
4 the mountains skipped like rams,
the hills like young sheep.
5 Why is it, sea, that you flee?
Why, Yarden, do you turn back?
6 Why, mountains, do you skip like rams;
and you hills like young sheep?
7 Tremble, earth, at the presence of the Lord,
at the presence of the God of Ya‘akov,
8 who turned the rock into a pool of water,
flint into flowing spring.
115 Not to us, Adonai, not to us,
but to your name give glory,
because of your grace and truth.
2 Why should the nations ask,
“Where is their God?”
3 Our God is in heaven;
he does whatever pleases him.
4 Their idols are mere silver and gold,
made by human hands.
5 They have mouths, but they can’t speak;
they have eyes, but they can’t see;
6 they have ears, but they can’t hear;
they have noses, but they can’t smell;
7 they have hands, but they can’t feel;
they have feet, but they can’t walk;
with their throats they can’t make a sound.
8 The people who make them will become like them,
along with everyone who trusts in them.
9 Isra’el, trust in Adonai!
He is their help and shield.
10 House of Aharon, trust in Adonai!
He is their help and shield.
11 You who fear Adonai, trust in Adonai!
He is their help and shield.
12 Adonai has kept us in mind,
and he will bless.
He will bless the house of Isra’el;
he will bless the house of Aharon;
13 he will bless those who fear Adonai,
great and small alike.
14 May Adonai increase your numbers,
both yours and those of your children.
15 May you be blessed by Adonai,
the maker of heaven and earth.
16 Heaven belongs to Adonai,
but the earth he has given to humankind.
17 The dead can’t praise Adonai,
not those who sink down into silence.
18 But we will bless Adonai
from now on and forever.
Halleluyah!
9 Wisdom has built herself a house;
she has carved her seven pillars.
2 She has prepared her food, spiced her wine,
and she has set her table.
3 She has sent out her young girls [with invitations];
she calls from the heights of the city,
4 “Whoever is unsure of himself, turn in here!”
To someone weak-willed she says,
5 “Come and eat my food!
Drink the wine I have mixed!
6 Don’t stay unsure of yourself, but live!
Walk in the way of understanding!”
7 “He who corrects a scoffer only gets insulted;
reproving a wicked man becomes his blemish.
8 If you reprove a scoffer, he will hate you;
if you reprove a wise man, he will love you.
9 Give to a wise man, and he grows still wiser;
teach a righteous man, and he will learn still more.
10 The fear of Adonai is the beginning of wisdom,
and knowledge of holy ones is understanding.
11 For with me, your days will be increased;
years will be added to your life.
12 If you are wise, your wisdom helps you;
but if you scoff, you bear the consequences alone.”
14 When the emissaries in Yerushalayim heard that Shomron had received the Word of God, they sent them Kefa and Yochanan, 15 who came down and prayed for them, that they might receive the Ruach HaKodesh. 16 For until then he had not come upon any of them; they had only been immersed into the name of the Lord Yeshua. 17 Then, as Kefa and Yochanan placed their hands on them, they received the Ruach HaKodesh.
18 Shim‘on saw that the Spirit was given when the emissaries placed their hands on them, and he offered them money. 19 “Give this power to me, too,” he said, “so that whoever I place my hands on will receive the Ruach HaKodesh.” 20 But Kefa said to him, “Your silver go to ruin — and you with it, for thinking the free gift of God can be bought! 21 You have no part at all in this matter; because in the eyes of God, your heart is crooked. 22 So repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord. Perhaps you will yet be forgiven for holding such a thought in your heart. 23 For I see that you are extremely bitter and completely under the control of sin!” 24 Shim‘on answered, “Pray to the Lord for me, so that none of the things you have spoken about will happen to me.”
25 Then, after giving a thorough witness and speaking the Word of the Lord, Kefa and Yochanan started back to Yerushalayim, announcing the Good News to many villages in Shomron.
25 An expert in Torah stood up to try and trap him by asking, “Rabbi, what should I do to obtain eternal life?” 26 But Yeshua said to him, “What is written in the Torah? How do you read it?” 27 He answered, “You are to love Adonai your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your understanding; and your neighbor as yourself.”[a] 28 “That’s the right answer,” Yeshua said. “Do this, and you will have life.”
38 On their way Yeshua and his talmidim came to a village where a woman named Marta welcomed him into her home. 39 She had a sister called Miryam who also sat at the Lord’s feet and heard what he had to say. 40 But Marta was busy with all the work to be done; so, going up to him, she said, “Sir, don’t you care that my sister has been leaving me to do all the work by myself?” 41 However, the Lord answered her, “Marta, Marta, you are fretting and worrying about so many things! 42 But there is only one thing that is essential. Miryam has chosen the right thing, and it won’t be taken away from her.”
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.