Book of Common Prayer
Taste and See
Psalm 34
1 Of David, when he feigned insanity before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he left.
2 I will bless Adonai at all times.
His praise is continually in my mouth.
3 My soul boasts in Adonai.
The humble ones hear of it and rejoice.
4 Magnify Adonai with me
and let us exalt His Name together.
5 I sought Adonai, and He answered me,
and delivered me from all my fears.
6 They who looked to Him were radiant,
and their faces will never be ashamed.
7 This poor man cried, and Adonai heard,
and saved him out of all his troubles.
8 The angel of Adonai encamps around those who fear Him,
and delivers them.
9 Taste and see how good Adonai is.
Blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.
10 Fear Adonai, His kedoshim,
For those who fear Him lack nothing.
11 Young lions may lack, and go hungry,
but those who seek Adonai want for no good thing.
12 Come, children, listen to me:
I will teach you the fear of Adonai.
13 Who is the one who delights in life,
and loves to see good days?
14 Keep your tongue from evil,
and your lips from speaking treachery.
15 Depart from evil and do good.
Seek shalom and pursue it.[a]
16 The eyes of Adonai are on the righteous,
and His ears are attentive to their cry.
17 The face of Adonai is against evildoers,
to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
18 The righteous cry out and Adonai hears,
and delivers them from all their troubles.
19 Adonai is close to the brokenhearted,
and saves those crushed in spirit.
20 Many are the distresses of the righteous,
but Adonai delivers him out of them all.
21 He keeps all his bones—
not one of them is broken.[b]
22 Evil kills the wicked—
those who hate the righteous will be held guilty.
23 Adonai redeems the soul of His servants
—no one who takes refuge in Him will be held guilty.
All Creation Praise the Creator
Psalm 33
1 Sing for joy to Adonai, you righteous.
Praise is fitting for the upright.
2 Praise Adonai with the harp.
Sing praises to Him with a ten string lyre.
3 Sing to Him a new song![a]
Play skillfully amid shouts of joy.
4 For the word of Adonai is upright
and all His work is done in faithfulness.
5 He loves righteousness and justice.
The earth is full of the love of Adonai.
6 By Adonai’s word were the heavens made,
and all their host by the breath of His mouth.
7 He gathers the waters of the sea together in a heap.
He lays up deep waters in storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear Adonai.
Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.
9 For He spoke, and it came to be.
He commanded, and it stood firm.
10 Adonai foils the purpose of the nations.
He thwarts the plans of the peoples.
11 The plan of Adonai stands forever,
the purposes of His heart from generation to generation.
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is Adonai,
the people He chose for His own inheritance.
13 Adonai looks down from heaven.
He observes all humanity.
14 From His dwelling place He gazes
on all the inhabitants of the earth—
15 He who fashions the hearts of all,
who discerns all their deeds.
16 No king is saved by his great army,
no warrior is delivered by great strength.
17 A horse is a false hope for victory,
nor can its great strength save.
18 Behold, the eyes of Adonai are on those who fear Him,
waiting for His love,
19 to deliver their souls from death,
and to keep them alive in famine.
20 Our soul waits for Adonai—
He is our help and our shield.
21 Our heart rejoices in Him,
because we trusted in His holy Name.
22 Let Your lovingkindness, Adonai,
be upon us, as we have waited for You.
Whisper at the Cave
19 Then Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done and how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah saying, “So let the gods do to me and worse if by this time tomorrow I don’t make your life like the life of one of them.” 3 Frightened, he got up and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, he left his servant there. 4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom bush. He prayed that he might die. “It’s too much!” he said. “Now, Adonai, take my life! For I’m no better than my fathers.”
5 Then he lay down and slept under the broom bush. Then behold, an angel touched him, and said to him, “Get up, and eat.” 6 So he looked, and to his surprise, there by his head was a cake baked on the hot stones and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again. 7 Then the angel of Adonai came again a second time, touched him and said. “Get up and eat, because the journey is too much for you.” 8 So he arose and ate and drank, and in the strength of that meal forty days and forty nights went to Horeb, the mountain of God.
Unity of the Body and of God
4 Therefore I, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you were called— 2 with complete humility and gentleness, with patience, putting up with one another in love, 3 making every effort to keep the unity of the Ruach in the bond of shalom.
4 There is one body and one Ruach,
just as you also were called in one hope of your calling;
5 one Lord, one faith, one immersion;
6 one God and Father of all,[a]
who is over all and through all and in all.
7 But to each one of us grace was given in keeping with the measure of Messiah’s gift. 8 Therefore it says,
“When He went up on high,
He led captive a troop of captives
and gave gifts to his people.”[b]
9 Now what does “He went up” mean, except that He first went down to the lower regions of the earth? [c] 10 The One who came down is the same One who went up far above all the heavens, in order to fill all things.
11 He Himself gave some to be emissaries, some as prophets, some as proclaimers of the Good News, and some as shepherds and teachers— 12 to equip the kedoshim for the work of service, for building up the body of Messiah. 13 This will continue until we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of Ben-Elohim—to mature adulthood, to the measure of the stature of Messiah’s fullness. 14 As a result, we are no longer to be like children, tossed around by the waves and blown all over by every wind of teaching, by the trickery of men with cunning in deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all ways into Messiah, who is the Head. 16 From Him the whole body is fitted and held together by every supporting ligament. The proper working of each individual part produces the body’s growth, for building itself up in love.
New Manna in the Wilderness
6 Afterwards, Yeshua went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also known as the Sea of Tiberias. 2 A large crowd kept following Him, because they were watching the signs He was performing on the sick. 3 Then Yeshua went up the mountainside and sat down there with His disciples. 4 Passover, the Jewish feast, was near.
5 Lifting up His eyes and seeing a large crowd coming to Him, Yeshua said to Philip, “Where will we buy bread so these may eat?” 6 Now Yeshua was saying this to test him, for He knew what He was about to do.
7 Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii[a] isn’t enough to buy bread for each to get a little bit!”
8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, 9 “There’s a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish—but what’s that for so many?”
10 Yeshua said, “Make the people recline.” There was much grass in the area. So the men reclined, about five thousand in number. 11 Then Yeshua picked up the loaves. And having given thanks, He distributed bread to everyone who was reclining. He did the same with the fish, as much as they wanted.
12 When the people were full, Yeshua said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftovers, so nothing is wasted.” 13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with broken pieces from the five barley loaves, which were left over by those who had finished eating.
14 When the people saw the sign that Yeshua performed, they began to say, “This is most certainly the Prophet who is to come into the world!”
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.