Book of Common Prayer
A Promise to Rule Well
A song of David.
101 I will sing of love and fairness.
Lord, I will sing praises to you.
2 I will be careful to live an innocent life.
When will you come to me?
I will live an innocent life in my house.
3 I will not look at anything wicked.
I hate those who turn against you.
They will not be found near me.
4 Let those who want to do wrong stay away from me.
I will have nothing to do with evil.
5 If anyone secretly says things against his neighbor,
I will stop him.
I will not allow people
to be proud and look down on others.
6 I will look for trustworthy people
so I can live with them in the land.
Only those who live innocent lives
will be my servants.
7 No one who is dishonest will live in my house.
No liars will stay around me.
8 Every morning I will destroy
the wicked in the land.
I will rid the Lord’s city
of people who do evil.
A Prayer Against an Enemy
For the director of music. A song of David.
109 God, I praise you.
Do not be silent.
2 Wicked people and liars have spoken against me.
They have told lies about me.
3 They have said hateful things about me.
They attack me for no reason.
4 They attacked me, even though I loved them
and prayed for them.
5 I was good to them, but they repay me with evil.
I loved them, but they hate me in return.
6 They say about me, “Have the Evil One work against him.
Let the devil accuse him.
7 When he is judged, let him be found guilty.
Let even his prayers show that he is guilty.
8 Let his life be cut short.
Let another man replace him as leader.
9 Let his children become orphans.
Let his wife become a widow.
10 Make his children wander around, begging for food.
Let them be forced out of the ruins they live in.
11 Let the people he owes money to take everything he owns.
Let strangers steal everything he has worked for.
12 Let no one show him love.
Let no one have mercy on his children.
13 Let all his descendants die.
Let him be forgotten by people who live after him.
14 Let the Lord remember how wicked his ancestors were.
Don’t let the sins of his mother be wiped out.
15 Let the Lord always remember their sins.
Then he will make people forget about them completely.
16 “He did not remember to be loving.
He hurt the poor, the needy and those who were sad
until they were nearly dead.
17 He loved to put curses on others.
So let those same curses fall on him.
He did not like to bless others.
So do not let good things happen to him.
18 He cursed others as often as he wore clothes.
Cursing others filled his body and his life,
like drinking water and using olive oil.
19 So let curses cover him like clothes.
Let them wrap around him like a belt.”
20 May the Lord do these things to those who accuse me,
to those who speak evil against me.
21 But you, Lord God,
be kind to me so others will know you are good.
Because your love is good, save me.
22 I am poor and helpless.
And I am very sad.
23 I am dying like an evening shadow.
I am shaken off like a locust.
24 My knees are weak from hunger.
I have become thin.
25 My enemies insult me.
They look at me and shake their heads.
26 Lord my God, help me.
Because you are loving, save me.
27 Then they will know that you have saved me.
They will know it was your power, Lord.
28 They may curse me, but you bless me.
They may attack me, but they will be disgraced.
Then I, your servant, will be glad.
29 Let those who accuse me be disgraced.
Let them be covered with shame like a coat.
30 I will thank the Lord very much.
I will praise him in front of many people.
121 I have done what is fair and right.
Don’t leave me to my enemies.
122 Promise that you will help me, your servant.
Don’t let proud people hurt me.
123 My eyes are tired from looking for your salvation
and for your good promise.
124 Show your love to me, your servant.
Teach me your demands.
125 I am your servant. Give me wisdom
so I can understand your rules.
126 Lord, it is time for you to do something.
People have disobeyed your teachings.
127 I love your commands
more than the purest gold.
128 I respect all your orders.
So I hate lying ways.
129 Your rules are wonderful.
That is why I obey them.
130 Learning your words gives wisdom
and understanding for the foolish.
131 I want to learn your commands.
I am like a person breathing hard and waiting impatiently.
132 Look at me and have mercy on me
as you do for those who love you.
133 Guide my steps as you promised.
Don’t let any sin control me.
134 Save me from harmful people.
Then I will obey your orders.
135 Show your kindness to me, your servant.
Teach me your demands.
136 Tears stream from my eyes
because people do not obey your teachings.
137 Lord, you do what is right.
And your laws are fair.
138 The rules you commanded are right
and completely trustworthy.
139 I am so upset I am worn out.
This is because my enemies have forgotten your words.
140 Your promises are proven.
I, your servant, love them.
141 I am unimportant and hated.
But I have not forgotten your orders.
142 Your goodness continues forever.
And your teachings are true.
143 I have had troubles and misery.
But I love your commands.
144 Your rules are good forever.
Help me understand so I can live.
The Search for the Stolen Idols
25 So Laban caught up with Jacob. Now Jacob had made his camp in the mountains. So Laban and his relatives set up their camp in the mountains of Gilead. 26 Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done? Why did you trick me? You took my daughters as if you had captured them in a war. 27 Why did you run away without telling me? Why did you trick me? Why didn’t you tell me? Then I could send you away with joy and singing. There would be the music of tambourines and harps. 28 You did not even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters good-bye. You were very foolish to do this! 29 I have the power to harm you. But last night the God of your father spoke to me. He warned me not to say anything to you, good or bad. 30 I know you want to go back to your home. But why did you steal my idols?”
31 Jacob answered Laban, “I left without telling you, because I was afraid! I thought you would take your daughters away from me. 32 If you find anyone here who has taken your idols, he will be killed! Your relatives will be my witnesses. You may look for anything that belongs to you. Take anything that is yours.” (Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen Laban’s idols.)
33 So Laban looked in Jacob’s tent and in Leah’s tent. He looked in the tent where the two slave women stayed. But he did not find his idols. When he left Leah’s tent, he went into Rachel’s tent. 34 Rachel had hidden the idols inside her camel’s saddle. And she was sitting on them. Laban looked through the whole tent, but he did not find them.
35 Rachel said to her father, “Father, don’t be angry with me. I am not able to stand up before you. I am having my monthly period.” So Laban looked through the camp, but he did not find his idols.
36 Then Jacob became very angry. He said, “What wrong have I done? What law have I broken to cause you to chase me? 37 You have looked through everything I own. But you have found nothing that belongs to you. If you have found anything, show it to everyone. Put it in front of your relatives and my relatives. Then let them decide which one of us is right. 38 I have worked for you now for 20 years. During all that time none of the lambs and kids died during birth. And I have not eaten any of the male sheep from your flocks. 39 Any time a sheep was killed by wild animals, I did not bring it to you. I made up for the loss myself. You made me pay for any animal that was stolen during the day or night. 40 In the daytime the sun took away my strength. At night I was cold and could not sleep. 41 I worked like a slave for you for 20 years. For the first 14 years I worked to get your two daughters. The last 6 years I worked to earn your animals. And during that time you changed my pay ten times. 42 But the God of my father was with me. He is the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac. If God had not been with me, you would have sent me away with nothing. But he saw the trouble I had and the hard work I did. And last night God corrected you.”
Jacob and Laban’s Agreement
43 Laban said to Jacob, “These girls are my daughters. Their children belong to me, and these animals are mine. Everything you see here belongs to me. But I can do nothing to keep my daughters and their children. 44 Let us make an agreement. Let us set up a pile of stones to remind us of our agreement.”
45 So Jacob took a large rock and set it up on its end. 46 He told his relatives to gather rocks. So they took the rocks and piled them up. Then they ate beside the pile of rocks. 47 Laban named that place in his language A Pile to Remind Us. And Jacob gave the place the same name in Hebrew.
48 Laban said to Jacob, “This pile of rocks will remind us of the agreement between us.” That is why the place was called A Pile to Remind Us. 49 It was also called Mizpah.[a] This was because Laban said, “Let the Lord watch over us while we are separated from each other. 50 Remember that God is our witness. This is true even if no one else is around us. He will know if you harm my daughters or marry other women.
12 I write to you, dear children,
because your sins are forgiven through Christ.
13 I write to you, fathers,
because you know the One who existed from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
because you have defeated the Evil One.
14 I write to you, children,
because you know the Father.
I write to you, fathers,
because you know the One who existed from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
because you are strong;
the word of God lives in you,
and you have defeated the Evil One.
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 These are the evil things in the world: wanting things to please our sinful selves, wanting the sinful things we see, being too proud of the things we have. But none of those things comes from the Father. All of them come from the world. 17 The world is passing away. And everything that people want in the world is passing away. But the person who does what God wants lives forever.
The Shepherd and His Sheep
10 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth. The man who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The man who guards the door opens it for him. And the sheep listen to the voice of the shepherd. He calls his own sheep, using their names, and he leads them out. 4 He brings all of his sheep out. Then he goes ahead of them and leads them. They follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger. They will run away from him because they don’t know his voice.” 6 Jesus told the people this story, but they did not understand what it meant.
Jesus Is the Good Shepherd
7 So Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth. I am the door for the sheep. 8 All the people who came before me were thieves and robbers. The sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. The person who enters through me will be saved. He will be able to come in and go out and find pasture. 10 A thief comes to steal and kill and destroy. But I came to give life—life in all its fullness.
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. 12 The worker who is paid to keep the sheep is different from the shepherd who owns them. So when the worker sees a wolf coming, he runs away and leaves the sheep alone. Then the wolf attacks the sheep and scatters them. 13 The man runs away because he is only a paid worker. He does not really care for the sheep.
14 “I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep, and my sheep know me, 15 just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. I give my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not in this flock here. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock and one shepherd. 17 The Father loves me because I give my life. I give my life so that I can take it back again. 18 No one takes it away from me. I give my own life freely. I have the right to give my life, and I have the right to take it back. This is what my Father commanded me to do.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.