Book of Common Prayer
ZAYIN ז
49 Remember the word to Your servant,
on which You have made me hope.
50 My comfort in my affliction is this:
Your word has kept me alive.
51 The arrogant have viciously ridiculed me,
yet I did not turn away from Your Torah.
52 I remember Your judgments from of old,
Adonai, and comfort myself.
53 Burning indignation grips me,
because of the wicked who forsake Your Torah.
54 Your decrees have become my songs
in the house where I dwell.
55 In the night I remember Your Name, Adonai,
and keep watching over Your Torah.
56 This is my own:
that I keep Your precepts.
CHET ח
57 Adonai is my portion.
I promised to guard Your words.
58 I have entreated Your favor with all my heart.
Be gracious to me according to Your word.
59 I have considered my ways
and turned my feet back to Your testimonies.
60 I hasten and do not delay
to obey Your mitzvot.
61 The ropes of the wicked are coiled around me,
but I did not forget Your Torah.
62 At midnight I rise to praise You,
because of Your righteous rulings.
63 I am a companion of all who fear You,
of those who observe Your precepts.
64 The earth is full of Your lovingkindness.
Adonai—teach me Your decrees.
TET ט
65 You do good to Your servant,
Adonai, according to Your word.
66 Teach me good sense and knowledge,
for I trusted in Your mitzvot.
67 Before I was afflicted I went astray,
but now I keep Your word.
68 You are good and keep doing good—
teach me Your decrees.
69 Though the proud smeared a lie on me,
with all my heart I keep Your precepts.
70 Their minds are insensible,
but Your Torah is my delight.
71 It is good for me that I was afflicted,
so that I may learn Your decrees.
72 The Torah from Your mouth is better to me
than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
Rich and Poor Alike
Psalm 49
1 For the music director: a psalm of the sons of Korah.
2 Hear this, all you peoples.
Give ear, all you inhabitants of the world,
3 both low and high,
rich and poor together.
4 My mouth speaks wisdom,
My heart’s meditation is understanding.
5 I will turn my ear to a proverb.
I will utter my riddle on the harp:
6 Why should I fear in evil days?
when the iniquity of my deceivers surrounds me?
7 Or those trusting in their wealth,
boasting about their great riches?
8 No man can redeem his brother,
or give to God a ransom for him.
9 For the redemption of a soul is costly—
so, one should stop trying forever.
10 Will he live forever—
and never see the Pit?
11 Surely he must see, even wise men die.
The fool and the brutish will alike perish,
leaving their wealth to others.[a]
12 Their inward thought is:
Their houses are eternal,
their dwellings for generation after generation.
They name their lands after themselves.
13 But the pompous man will not endure—
he is like the beasts that perish.
14 Such is the way of the self-confident,
and their followers who approve their sayings. Selah
15 Like sheep they are destined for Sheol.
Death will be their shepherd
and the upright will rule over them in the morning.
Their image will decay in Sheol—
far from its lofty place.
16 But God redeems my soul from the power of Sheol—
for He receives me. Selah
17 Do not be afraid when a man gets rich,
when his house’s splendor increases.
18 For when he dies he takes nothing away.
His splendor will not follow him down.
19 Though during his life he congratulates himself,
and men praise you when you do well for yourself—
20 He will still join his fathers’ company,
who will never see the light.
21 A pompous man, without understanding—
he is like the beasts that perish.
A Fool Denies God
Psalm 53
1 For the music director: on Mahalath, a contemplative song of David.
2 The fool says in his heart:
“There is no God.”
They are corrupt, commit vile injustice.
There is no one who does good.
3 God looks down from the heavens
on the children of men,
to see if anyone understands,
who seeks after God.
4 All have turned aside—
together they have become corrupt.
There is no one who does good—
no, not even one!
5 Will the evildoers never learn?
They consume My people as they would eat bread,
and never call upon God.
6 There they are in great dread—
where there is nothing to fear.
For God has scattered the bones of those besieging you.
You have put them to shame,
for God has rejected them.
7 Who will give salvation for Israel out of Zion?
When God restores His captive people,
let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad!
Joshua the Kohen Gadol
3 Then he showed me Joshua the kohen gadol standing before the angel of Adonai and the satan[a], standing at his right hand to accuse him. [b] 2 Adonai said to the satan, ‘Adonai rebukes you, the satan. Indeed Adonai, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebukes you.[c] Is not this man a brand plucked out of the fire?’
3 Now Joshua was wearing filthy garments and standing before the angel 4 who answered and spoke to those standing before him saying, ‘Remove the filthy garments from him.’ Then to Joshua he said, ‘See, I have removed your iniquity from you and will dress you with fine clothing.’[d]
5 Then I said, ‘Place a clean turban on his head.’
So they put a pure turban on his head and clothed him with garments while the angel of Adonai stood by.
6 The angel of Adonai exhorted Joshua saying:
7 ‘Thus says Adonai-Tzva’ot, “If you will walk in My ways and keep My charge, then you will judge My House and watch over My courts and I will give you a place to walk among these standing here. 8 Listen well, Joshua kohen gadol, both you and your companions seated before you, because they are men who are a sign—behold, I will bring forth My servant the Branch. 9 For behold! The stone I have laid before Joshua is one stone with seven facets. On it I will engrave an inscription,” declares Adonai-Tzva’ot, “that I will remove the iniquity of this land in one day. 10 In that day,” declares Adonai-Tzva’ot, “every man will invite his neighbor to sit under the vine and under the fig tree.’”
The Heavenly Throne of Adonai
4 After these things I looked, and behold, a door was standing open in heaven.[a] And the first voice, which I had heard speaking with me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.”
2 Immediately I was in the Ruach;[b] and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One seated on the throne. [c] 3 And the One who was seated was like jasper and carnelian in appearance, and a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance. [d] 4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders dressed in white clothes with golden crowns on their heads. 5 And out from the throne come flashes of lightning and rumblings and clashes of thunder[e]—and seven torches of fire burning before the throne,[f] which are the seven spirits of God. 6 And before the throne was something like a sea of glass, like crystal.
In the middle of the throne and around it were four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind.[g]
7 The first living creature was like a lion,
the second living creature was like an ox,
the third living creature had a face
like a man,
and the fourth living creature was
like a flying eagle.[h]
8 The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes all around and within.[i] They do not rest day or night, chanting,
“Kadosh, kadosh, kadosh
Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot,[j]
asher haya v’hoveh v’yavo!
Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God of Hosts,
who was and who is
and who is to come!”
The Faithful Servant
45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master put in charge of his household to give them food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that servant whose master finds him so doing when he comes. 47 Amen, I tell you, his master will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 But if that wicked servant says in his heart, ‘My master is taking a long time,’ 49 and he begins to beat his fellow servants, and he eats and drinks with drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know. 51 And he will cut him in two and assign his place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.