Book of Common Prayer
146 Halleluyah!
Praise Adonai, my soul!
2 I will praise Adonai as long as I live.
I will sing praise to my God all my life.
3 Don’t put your trust in princes
or in mortals, who cannot help.
4 When they breathe their last, they return to dust;
on that very day all their plans are gone.
5 Happy is he whose help is Ya‘akov’s God,
whose hope is in Adonai his God.
6 He made heaven and earth,
the sea and everything in them;
he keeps faith forever.
7 He secures justice for the oppressed,
he gives food to the hungry.
Adonai sets prisoners free,
8 Adonai opens the eyes of the blind,
Adonai lifts up those who are bent over.
Adonai loves the righteous.
9 Adonai watches over strangers,
he sustains the fatherless and widows;
but the way of the wicked he twists.
10 Adonai will reign forever,
your God, Tziyon, through all generations.
Halleluyah!
147 Halleluyah!
How good it is to sing praises to our God!
How sweet, how fitting to praise him!
2 Adonai is rebuilding Yerushalayim,
gathering the dispersed of Isra’el.
3 He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
4 He determines how many stars there are
and calls them all by name.
5 Our Lord is great, his power is vast,
his wisdom beyond all telling.
6 Adonai sustains the humble
but brings the wicked down to the ground.
7 Sing to Adonai with thanks,
sing praises on the lyre to our God.
8 He veils the sky with clouds;
he provides the earth with rain;
he makes grass grow on the hills;
9 he gives food to the animals,
even to the young ravens when they cry.
10 He takes no delight in the strength of a horse,
no pleasure in a runner’s speed.
11 Adonai takes pleasure in those who fear him,
in those who wait for his grace.
12 Glorify Adonai, Yerushalayim!
Praise your God, Tziyon!
13 For he strengthens the bars of your gates,
he blesses your children within you,
14 he brings peace within your borders,
he gives you your fill of the finest wheat.
15 He sends his word out over the earth,
his command runs swiftly.
16 Thus he gives snow like wool,
scatters hoarfrost like ashes,
17 sends crystals of ice like crumbs of bread —
who can withstand such cold?
18 Then he sends his word out and melts them;
he makes the winds blow, and the water flows.
19 He reveals his words to Ya‘akov,
his laws and rulings to Isra’el.
20 He has not done this for other nations;
they do not know his rulings.
Halleluyah!
111 Halleluyah!
I will wholeheartedly give thanks to Adonai
in the council of the upright and in the assembly.
2 The deeds of Adonai are great,
greatly desired by all who enjoy them.
3 His work is full of majesty and splendor,
and his righteousness continues forever.
4 He has gained renown for his wonders.
Adonai is merciful and compassionate.
5 He gives food to those who fear him.
He remembers his covenant forever.
6 He shows his people how powerfully he works
by giving them the nations as their heritage.
7 The works of his hands are truth and justice;
all his precepts can be trusted.
8 They have been established forever and ever,
to be carried out truly and honestly.
9 He sent redemption to his people
and decreed that his covenant should last forever.
His name is holy and fearsome —
10 the first and foremost point of wisdom is the fear of Adonai;
all those living by it gain good common sense.
His praise stands forever.
112 Halleluyah!
How happy is anyone who fears Adonai,
who greatly delights in his mitzvot.
2 His descendants will be powerful on earth,
a blessed generation of upright people.
3 Wealth and riches are in his house,
and his righteousness stands forever.
4 To the upright he shines like a light in the dark,
merciful, compassionate and righteous.
5 Things go well with the person who is merciful and lends,
who conducts his affairs with fairness;
6 for he will never be moved.
The righteous will be remembered forever.
7 He will not be frightened by bad news;
he remains steady, trusting in Adonai.
8 His heart is set firm, he will not be afraid,
till finally he looks in triumph at his enemies.
9 He distributes freely, he gives to the poor;
his righteousness stands forever.
His power will be increased honorably.
10 The wicked will be angry when they see this;
they will gnash their teeth and waste away,
the desires of the wicked will come to nothing.
113 Halleluyah!
Servants of Adonai, give praise!
Give praise to the name of Adonai!
2 Blessed be the name of Adonai
from this moment on and forever!
3 From sunrise until sunset
Adonai’s name is to be praised.
4 Adonai is high above all nations,
his glory above the heavens.
5 Who is like Adonai our God,
seated in the heights,
6 humbling himself to look
on heaven and on earth.
7 He raises the poor from the dust,
lifts the needy from the rubbish heap,
8 in order to give him a place among princes,
among the princes of his people.
9 He causes the childless woman
to live at home happily as a mother of children.
Halleluyah!
1 The words of ‘Amos, one of the sheep owners in T’koa, which he saw concerning Isra’el in the days of ‘Uziyah king of Y’hudah and Yarov‘am the son of Yo’ash, king of Isra’el, two years before the earthquake; 2 he said:
Adonai is roaring from Tziyon
thundering from Yerushalayim;
the shepherds’ pastures will mourn,
and Mount Karmel’s summit will wither.
3 Here is what Adonai says:
“For Dammesek’s three crimes,
no, four — I will not reverse it —
because they threshed Gil‘ad
with an iron-spiked threshing-sledge;
4 I will send fire to the house of Haza’el,
and it will consume the palaces of Ben-Hadad.
5 I will break the bars of Dammesek’s gates.
I will cut off the inhabitants from Bik‘at-Aven,
and him who holds the scepter from Beit-‘Eden.
Then the people of Aram will go into exile
in Kir,” says Adonai.
13 Here is what Adonai says:
“For the people of ‘Amon’s three crimes,
no, four — I will not reverse it —
because they ripped apart pregnant women
just to expand their territory,
14 I will set fire to the wall of Rabbah,
and it will consume its palaces
amid shouts on the day of battle,
amid a storm on the day of the whirlwind.
15 Their king will go into exile,
he and his princes together,” says Adonai.
2 Here is what Adonai says:
“For Mo’av’s three crimes,
no, four — I will not reverse it —
because he burned the bones of the king of Edom,
turning them into lime;
2 I will send fire on Mo’av,
and it will consume the palaces of K’riot.
Mo’av will die with turmoil and shouting,
along with the sound of the shofar.
3 I will cut off the judge from among them
and kill all his princes with him,” says Adonai.
4 Here is what Adonai says:
“For Y’hudah’s three crimes,
no, four — I will not reverse it —
because they rejected Adonai’s Torah
and haven’t observed his laws,
and their lies caused them to fall into error
and live the way their ancestors did;
5 I will send fire on Y’hudah,
and it will consume the palaces of Yerushalayim.
6 Here is what Adonai says:
“For Isra’el’s three crimes,
no, four — I will not reverse it —
because they sell the upright for silver
and the poor for a pair of shoes,
7 grinding the heads of the poor in the dust
and pushing the lowly out of the way;
father and son sleep with the same girl,
profaning my holy name;
8 lying down beside any altar
on clothes taken in pledge;
drinking wine in the house of their God
bought with fines they imposed.
5 But you have no need to have anything written to you, brothers, about the times and dates when this will happen; 2 because you yourselves well know that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 When people are saying, “Everything is so peaceful and secure,” then destruction will suddenly come upon them, the way labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there is no way they will escape.
4 But you, brothers, are not in the dark, so that the Day should take you by surprise like a thief; 5 for you are all people who belong to the light, who belong to the day. We don’t belong to the night or to darkness, 6 so let’s not be asleep, like the rest are; on the contrary, let us stay alert and sober. 7 People who sleep, sleep at night; and people who get drunk, get drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us stay sober, putting on trust and love as a breastplate and the hope of being delivered as a helmet.[a] 9 For God has not intended that we should experience his fury, but that we should gain deliverance through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, 10 who died on our behalf so that whether we are alive or dead, we may live along with him. 11 Therefore, encourage each other, and build each other up — just as you are doing.
5 As some people were remarking about the Temple, how beautiful its stonework and memorial decorations were, he said, 6 “The time is coming when what you see here will be totally destroyed — not a single stone will be left standing!” 7 They asked him, “Rabbi, if this is so, when will these events take place? And what sign will show that they are about to happen?” 8 He answered, “Watch out! Don’t be fooled! For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time has come!’ Don’t go after them. 9 And when you hear of wars and revolutions, don’t panic. For these things must happen first, but the end will not follow immediately.”
10 Then he told them, “Peoples will fight each other, nations will fight each other, 11 there will be great earthquakes, there will be epidemics and famines in various places, and there will be fearful sights and great signs from Heaven. 12 But before all this, they will arrest you and persecute you, handing you over to the synagogues and prisons; and you will be brought before kings and governors. This will all be on account of me, 13 but it will prove an opportunity for you to bear witness. 14 So make up your minds not to worry, rehearsing your defense beforehand; 15 for I myself will give you an eloquence and a wisdom that no adversary will be able to resist or refute. 16 You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends; some of you they will have put to death; 17 and everyone will hate you because of me. 18 But not a hair of your head will be lost. 19 By standing firm you will save your lives.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.