Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 37[a]
Of David.
37 Don’t get upset over evildoers;
don’t be jealous of those who do wrong,
2 because they will fade fast, like grass;
they will wither like green vegetables.
3 Trust the Lord and do good;
live in the land, and farm faithfulness.
4 Enjoy the Lord,
and he will give what your heart asks.
5 Commit your way to the Lord!
Trust him! He will act
6 and will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
your justice like high noon.
7 Be still before the Lord,
and wait[b] for him.
Don’t get upset when someone gets ahead—
someone who invents evil schemes.
8 Let go of anger and leave rage behind!
Don’t get upset—it will only lead to evil.
9 Because evildoers will be eliminated,
but those who hope in the Lord—
they will possess the land.
10 In just a little while the wicked won’t exist!
If you go looking around their place,
they won’t be there.
11 But the weak will inherit the land;
they will enjoy a surplus of peace.
12 The wicked plot against the righteous,
grinding their teeth at them.
13 But my Lord just laughs at them
because he knows that their day is coming.
14 The wicked draw their swords and bend their bows
to bring down the weak and the needy,
to slaughter those whose way is right.
15 But the sword of the wicked will enter their own hearts!
Their bows will be broken!
16 Better is the little that the righteous have
than the overabundant wealth of the wicked.[c]
17 The arms of the wicked will be broken,
but the Lord supports the righteous.
18 The Lord is intimately acquainted
with the lives of the blameless;
their heritage will last forever.
19 They won’t be ashamed in troubling times,
and in a period of famine they will eat their fill.
20 But the wicked will die,
the Lord’s enemies will disappear—
disappear like the beauty of a meadow—in smoke.
21 The wicked borrow and don’t pay it back, but the righteous are generous and giving.
22 Those blessed by God will possess the land,
but those cursed by God will be cut off.
23 A person’s steps are made secure by the Lord
when they delight in his way.
24 Though they trip up, they won’t be thrown down,
because the Lord holds their hand.
25 I was young and now I’m old,
but I have never seen the righteous left all alone,
have never seen their children begging for bread.
26 They are always gracious and generous.
Their children are a blessing.
27 Turn away from evil! Do good!
Then you will live in the land forever.
28 The Lord loves justice.
He will never leave his faithful all alone.
They are guarded forever,
but the children of the wicked are eliminated.
29 The righteous will possess the land;
they will live on it forever.
30 The mouths of the righteous recite wisdom;
their tongues discuss justice.
31 The Instruction of their God is in their hearts;
they don’t miss a step.
32 The wicked, on the other hand, target the righteous,
seeking to kill them.
33 But the Lord won’t leave the righteous
to the power of the wicked,
and won’t let the righteous
be found guilty when they are judged.
34 Hope in the Lord and keep his way!
He will lift you up so you can possess the land.
When the wicked are eliminated,
you will see it for yourself!
35 I myself have seen wicked powerful people,
exalting themselves like a stately cedar.[d]
36 But when I[e] came back, they were gone!
I looked all over for them,
but they couldn’t be found!
37 Observe those who have integrity
and watch those whose heart is right
because the future belongs to persons of peace.
38 But wrongdoers will be destroyed all together;
the future of the wicked will be cut short.
39 The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord;
he is their refuge in times of trouble.
40 The Lord will help them and rescue them—
rescue them from the wicked—and he will save them
because they have taken refuge in him.
Reassurance to King Ahaz
7 In the days of Ahaz (Jotham’s son and grandson of Judah’s King Uzziah), Aram’s King Rezin and Israel’s King Pekah (Remaliah’s son) came up to attack Jerusalem, but they couldn’t overpower it.
2 When the house of David was told that Aram had become allies with Ephraim, their hearts and the hearts of their people shook as the trees of a forest shake when there is a wind. 3 But the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out to meet Ahaz, you and your son Shear-jashub,[a] at the end of the channel of the Upper Pool, by the road to the field where laundry is washed, 4 and say to him, ‘Be careful and stay calm. Don’t fear, and don’t lose heart over these two pieces of smoking torches, over the burning anger of Rezin, Aram, and Remaliah’s son. 5 Aram has planned evil against you with Ephraim and Remaliah’s son, saying, 6 “Let’s march up against Judah, tear it apart, capture it for ourselves, and install Tabeel’s son as its king.” 7 But the Lord God says: It won’t happen; it won’t take place. 8 The chief of Aram is Damascus; the chief of Damascus is Rezin (in sixty-five more years Ephraim will be shattered as a nation); 9 the chief of Ephraim is Samaria; and the chief of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you don’t believe this, you can’t be trusted.’”
Day of the Lord
2 Brothers and sisters, we have a request for you concerning our Lord Jesus Christ’s coming and when we are gathered together to be with him. 2 We don’t want you to be easily confused in your mind or upset if you hear that the day of the Lord is already here, whether you hear it through some spirit, a message, or a letter supposedly from us. 3 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way. That day won’t come unless the rebellion comes first and the person who is lawless is revealed, who is headed for destruction. 4 He is the opponent of every so-called god or object of worship and promotes himself over them. So he sits in God’s temple, displaying himself to show that he is God. 5 You remember that I used to tell you these things while I was with you, don’t you? 6 Now you know what holds him back so that he can be revealed when his time comes. 7 The hidden plan to live without any law is at work now, but it will be secret only until the one who is holding it back is out of the way. 8 Then the person who is lawless will be revealed. The Lord Jesus will destroy him with the breath from his mouth. When the Lord comes, his appearance will put an end to him. 9 When the person who is lawless comes, it will happen through Satan’s effort, with all kinds of fake power, signs, and wonders. 10 It will happen with every sort of wicked deception of those who are heading toward destruction because they have refused to love the truth that would allow them to be saved. 11 This is why God will send them an influence that will mislead them so that they will believe the lie. 12 The result will be that everyone will be judged who is not convinced by the truth but is happy with injustice.
Plot to kill Jesus
22 The Festival of Unleavened Bread, which is called Passover, was approaching. 2 The chief priests and the legal experts were looking for a way to kill Jesus, because they were afraid of the people. 3 Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, who was one of the Twelve. 4 He went out and discussed with the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard how he could hand Jesus over to them. 5 They were delighted and arranged payment for him. 6 He agreed and began looking for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them—a time when the crowds would be absent.
Disciples prepare for the Passover
7 The Day of Unleavened Bread arrived, when the Passover had to be sacrificed. 8 Jesus sent Peter and John with this task: “Go and prepare for us to eat the Passover meal.”
9 They said to him, “Where do you want us to prepare it?”
10 Jesus replied, “When you go into the city, a man carrying a water jar will meet you. Follow him to the house he enters. 11 Say to the owner of the house, ‘The teacher says to you, “Where is the guestroom where I can eat the Passover meal with my disciples?” ’ 12 He will show you a large upstairs room, already furnished. Make preparations there.” 13 They went and found everything just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover meal.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible