Book of Common Prayer
137 By the rivers of Bavel we sat down and wept
as we remembered Tziyon.
2 We had hung up our lyres
on the willows that were there,
3 when those who had taken us captive
asked us to sing them a song;
our tormentors demanded joy from us —
“Sing us one of the songs from Tziyon!”
4 How can we sing a song about Adonai
here on foreign soil?
5 If I forget you, Yerushalayim,
may my right hand wither away!
6 May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth
if I fail to remember you,
if I fail to count Yerushalayim
the greatest of all my joys.
7 Remember, Adonai, against the people of Edom
the day of Yerushalayim’s fall,
how they cried, “Tear it down! Tear it down!
Raze it to the ground!”
8 Daughter of Bavel, you will be destroyed!
A blessing on anyone who pays you back
for the way you treated us!
9 A blessing on anyone who seizes your babies
and smashes them against a rock!
144 (0) By David:
(1) Blessed be Adonai, my rock,
who trains my hands for war
and my fingers for battle.
2 He shows me grace; and he is my fortress,
my stronghold, in whom I find shelter,
my shield, in whom I take refuge,
who subdues my people under me.
3 Adonai, what are mere mortals,
that you notice them at all;
humans, that you think about them?
4 Man is like a puff of wind,
his days like a fleeting shadow.
5 Adonai, lower the heavens, and come down;
touch the mountains, make them pour out smoke.
6 Shoot out lightning, and scatter them;
send out your arrows, and rout them.
7 Reach out your hands from on high;
rescue me; save me out of deep water,
out of the power of strangers,
8 whose mouths speak worthless words
and whose right hands swear false oaths.
9 God, I will sing a new song to you;
sing praises to you with a ten-stringed harp.
10 You give kings their victories;
you save your servant David from the cruel sword.
11 Rescue me, save me from the power of strangers,
whose mouths speak worthless words
and whose right hands swear false oaths.
12 Our sons in their youth will be
like full-grown saplings,
our daughters will be like sculptured pillars
fit for the corner of a palace.
13 Our barns are full with crops of every kind;
the sheep in our fields number thousands, tens of thousands.
14 our oxen are well-fed,
our city walls have no breach,
our people are not taken captive,
and there are no cries of protest in our cities’ open places.
15 How happy the people who live in such conditions!
How happy the people whose God is Adonai!
104 Bless Adonai, my soul!
Adonai, my God, you are very great;
you are clothed with glory and majesty,
2 wrapped in light as with a robe.
You spread out the heavens like a curtain,
3 you laid the beams of your palace on the water.
You make the clouds your chariot,
you ride on the wings of the wind.
4 You make winds your messengers,
fiery flames your servants.
5 You fixed the earth on its foundations,
never to be moved.
6 You covered it with the deep like a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.
7 At your rebuke they fled;
at the sound of your thunder they rushed away,
8 flowing over hills, pouring into valleys,
down to the place you had fixed for them.
9 You determined a boundary they could not cross;
they were never to cover the earth again.
10 You make springs gush forth in the vadis;
they flow between the hills,
11 supplying water to all the wild animals;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 On their banks the birds of the air build their nests;
among the branches they sing.
13 You water the mountains from your palace;
the earth is satisfied with how you provide —
14 You grow grass for the cattle;
and for people you grow the plants they need
to bring forth bread from the earth,
15 wine that gladdens the human heart,
oil to make faces glow,
and food to sustain their strength.
16 Adonai’s trees are satisfied —
the cedars of the L’vanon, which he has planted.
17 In them sparrows build their nests,
while storks live in the fir trees.
18 For the wild goats there are the high mountains,
while the coneys find refuge in the rocks.
19 You made the moon to mark the seasons,
and the sun knows when to set.
20 You bring darkness, and it is night,
the time when all forest animals prowl.
21 The young lions roar after their prey
and seek their food from God.
22 The sun rises, they slink away
and lie down to rest in their dens;
23 while people go out to their work,
laboring on till evening.
24 What variety there is in your works, Adonai!
How many [of them there are]!
In wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creations.
25 Look at the sea, so great, so wide!
It teems with countless creatures,
living beings, both large and small.
26 The ships are there, sailing to and fro;
Livyatan, which you formed to play there.
27 All of them look to you
to give them their food when they need it.
28 When you give it to them, they gather it;
when you open your hand, they are well satisfied.
29 If you hide your face, they vanish;
if you hold back their breath, they perish
and return to their dust.
30 If you send out your breath, they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth.
31 May the glory of Adonai last forever!
May Adonai rejoice in his works!
32 When he looks at the earth, it trembles;
when he touches the mountains, they pour out smoke.
33 I will sing to Adonai as long as I live,
sing praise to my God all my life.
34 May my musings be pleasing to him;
I will rejoice in Adonai.
35 May sinners vanish from the earth
and the wicked be no more!
Bless Adonai, my soul!
Halleluyah!
16 Sha’ul’s men on watch in Giv‘at-Binyamin could see the enemy camp scattering and running in all directions. 17 Sha’ul ordered the forces with him to call the roll and see who was missing. So they called the roll, and found Y’honatan and his armor-bearer not present. 18 Sha’ul told Achiyah, “Bring the ark of God here”; for at that time the ark of God was with the people of Isra’el. 19 But while Sha’ul was talking to the cohen, the uproar in the camp of the P’lishtim continued and kept getting louder. Sha’ul said to the cohen, “Put your hand down.” 20 Sha’ul and the entire force with him assembled and went to battle, but they found the P’lishtim all fighting each other in utter confusion. 21 The Hebrews from the surrounding countryside who had previously been with the P’lishtim and had gone up with them into the camp deserted and went over to Isra’el with Sha’ul and Y’honatan. 22 Likewise, on hearing that the P’lishtim were fleeing, all the men of Isra’el who had hidden themselves in the hills of Efrayim pursued them in battle. 23 So Adonai saved Isra’el that day, and the battle spread as far as Beit-Aven.
24 Isra’el’s soldiers had been driven to exhaustion that day; but Sha’ul issued this warning to the people: “A curse on any man who eats any food until evening, when I will have finished taking vengeance on my enemies.” So none of the people even tasted food. 25 Now the people came to a forest where there was a honeycomb on the ground. 26 When the people had entered the forest, they saw there the honeycomb with honey dripping out; but no one put his hand to his mouth, because the people feared the oath. 27 But Y’honatan hadn’t heard his father charging the people with the oath, so he put out the end of the staff in his hand, dipped it in the honeycomb and raised it to his mouth; whereupon his eyes lit up. 28 But one of the people said in response, “Your father strictly charged the people with an oath, ‘A curse on any man who eats any food today’; even though the people are fainting with hunger.” 29 Y’honatan answered, “My father has brought trouble to the land. Just look how my eyes have lit up because I tasted a little of this honey. 30 How much greater would the slaughter of the P’lishtim have been today, then, if the people had eaten freely of the spoil they found with their enemies!”
10 There was a talmid in Dammesek, Hananyah by name; and in a vision the Lord said to him, “Hananyah!” He said, “Here I am, Lord.” 11 The Lord said to him, “Get up and go to Straight Street, to Y’hudah’s house; and ask for a man from Tarsus named Sha’ul; for he is praying, 12 and in a vision he has seen a man named Hananyah coming in and placing his hands on him to restore his sight.” 13 But Hananyah answered, “Lord, many have told me about this man, how much harm he has done to your people in Yerushalayim; 14 and here he has a warrant from the head cohanim to arrest everyone who calls on your name.” 15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, because this man is my chosen instrument to carry my name to the Goyim, even to their kings, and to the sons of Isra’el as well. 16 For I myself will show him how much he will have to suffer on account of my name.”
17 So Hananyah left and went into the house. Placing his hands on him, he said, “Brother Sha’ul, the Lord — Yeshua, the one who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here — has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Ruach HaKodesh.” 18 In that moment, something like scales fell away from Sha’ul’s eyes; and he could see again. He got up and was immersed; 19 then he ate some food and regained his strength.
Sha’ul spent some days with the talmidim in Dammesek,
32 Two other men, both criminals, were led out to be executed with him. 33 When they came to the place called The Skull, they nailed him to a stake; and they nailed the criminals to stakes, one on the right and one on the left. 34 Yeshua said, “Father, forgive them; they don’t understand what they are doing.”
They divided up his clothes by throwing dice.[a] 35 The people stood watching, and the rulers sneered at him.[b] “He saved others,” they said, “so if he really is the Messiah, the one chosen by God, let him save himself!” 36 The soldiers too ridiculed him; they came up, offered him vinegar[c] 37 and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself!” 38 And there was a notice over him which read,
THIS IS
THE KING OF THE JEWS
39 One of the criminals hanging there hurled insults at him. “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other one spoke up and rebuked the first, saying, “Have you no fear of God? You’re getting the same punishment as he is. 41 Ours is only fair; we’re getting what we deserve for what we did. But this man did nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Yeshua, remember me when you come as King.” 43 Yeshua said to him, “Yes! I promise that you will be with me today in Gan-‘Eden.”
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.