Book of Common Prayer
49 Remember your promise to me, your servant.
It gives me hope.
50 When I suffer, this comforts me:
Your promise gives me life.
51 Proud people make fun of me all the time.
But I do not reject your teachings.
52 I remember your laws from long ago.
They comfort me, Lord.
53 I become angry with wicked people.
They have not kept your teachings.
54 I sing about your demands
wherever I live.
55 Lord, I remember you at night.
I will obey your teachings.
56 This is what I do:
I follow your orders.
57 Lord, you are my share in life.
I have promised to obey your words.
58 I prayed to you with all my heart.
Be kind to me as you have promised.
59 I thought about my life,
and I decided to obey your rules.
60 I hurried and did not wait
to obey your commands.
61 Wicked people have surrounded me.
But I have not forgotten your teachings.
62 In the middle of the night, I get up to thank you
because your laws are right.
63 I am a friend to everyone who fears you.
I am a friend to anyone who follows your orders.
64 Lord, your love fills the earth.
Teach me your demands.
65 You have done good things for me, your servant,
as you have promised, Lord.
66 Teach me wisdom and knowledge
because I trust your commands.
67 Before I suffered, I did wrong.
But now I obey your word.
68 You are good, and you do what is good.
Teach me your demands.
69 Proud people have made up lies about me.
But I will follow your orders with all my heart.
70 Those people have no feelings,
but I love your teachings.
71 It was good for me to suffer
so I would learn your demands.
72 Your teachings are worth more to me
than thousands of pieces of gold and silver.
Trusting Money Is Foolish
For the director of music. A song of the sons of Korah.
49 Listen to this, all you nations.
Listen, all you who live on earth.
2 Listen, both great and small,
rich and poor together.
3 What I say is wise.
My heart speaks with understanding.
4 I will pay attention to a wise saying.
I will explain my riddle on the harp.
5 Why should I be afraid of bad days?
Why should I fear when evil men surround me?
6 They trust in their money.
They brag about their riches.
7 No one can buy back the life of another person.
No one can pay God for his own life.
8 The price of a life is high.
No payment is ever enough.
9 Do people live forever?
Don’t they all face death?
10 See, even wise men die.
Fools and stupid people also die.
They leave their wealth to others.
11 Their graves will always be their homes.
They will live there from now on,
even though they named places after themselves.
12 Even rich people do not live forever.
Like the animals, people die.
13 This is what will happen to people who trust in themselves.
And this will happen to their followers who believe them. Selah
14 Like sheep, they must die.
And death will be their shepherd.
Honest people will rule over them in the morning.
Their bodies will rot in a grave far from home.
15 But God will save my life.
He will take me from the grave. Selah
16 Don’t be afraid of a rich man
because his house is more beautiful.
17 He won’t take anything to the grave.
His wealth won’t die with him.
18 He was praised when he was alive.
(And people may praise you when you succeed.)
19 But he will go to where his ancestors are.
He will never see light again.
20 Rich people with no understanding
are just like animals that die.
The Unbelieving Fool
For the director of music. By mahalath. A maskil of David.
53 A wicked fool says to himself,
“There is no God.”
Fools are evil. They do terrible things.
None of them does anything good.
2 God looked down from heaven at all the people.
He looked to see if anyone was wise,
if anyone was looking to God for help.
3 But everyone has turned away.
Together, everyone has become evil.
None of them does anything good.
4 Don’t the wicked understand?
They destroy my people as if they were eating bread.
They have not asked God for help.
5 The wicked became filled with terror
where there had been nothing to be terrified of.
God will scatter the bones of your enemies.
You will defeat them,
because God has rejected them.
6 I pray that victory will come to Israel from Mount Zion!
May God give them back their riches.
Then the people of Jacob will rejoice.
And the people of Israel will be glad.
25 While Joseph was in the well, the brothers sat down to eat. When they looked up, they saw a group of Ishmaelites. They were traveling from Gilead to Egypt. Their camels were carrying spices, balm and myrrh.
26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and hide his death? 27 Let’s sell him to these Ishmaelites. Then we will not be guilty of killing our own brother. After all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.” And the other brothers agreed. 28 So when the Midianite traders came by, the brothers took Joseph out of the well. They sold him to the Ishmaelites for eight ounces of silver. And the Ishmaelites took him to Egypt.
29 Reuben was not with his brothers when they sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites. When Reuben came back to the well, Joseph was not there. Reuben tore his clothes to show he was sad. 30 Then he went back to his brothers and said, “The boy is not there! What will I do?” 31 The brothers killed a goat and dipped Joseph’s long-sleeved robe in its blood. 32 Then they brought the robe to their father. They said, “We found this robe. Look it over carefully. See if it is your son’s robe.”
33 Jacob looked it over and said, “It is my son’s robe! Some savage animal has eaten him. My son Joseph has been torn to pieces!” 34 Then Jacob tore his clothes and put on rough cloth to show that he was sad. He continued to be sad about his son for a long time. 35 All of Jacob’s sons and daughters tried to comfort him. But he could not be comforted. Jacob said, “I will be sad about my son until the day I die.” So Jacob cried for his son Joseph.
36 Meanwhile the Midianites who had bought Joseph had taken him to Egypt. There they sold him to Potiphar. Potiphar was an officer to the king of Egypt and captain of the palace guard.
The Message of Christ’s Death
2 Dear brothers, when I came to you, I did not come as a proud man. I preached God’s truth, but not with fancy words or a show of great learning. 2 I decided that while I was with you I would forget about everything except Jesus Christ and his death on the cross. 3 When I came to you, I was weak and shook with fear. 4 My teaching and my speaking were not with wise words that persuade people. But the proof of my teaching was the power that the Spirit gives. 5 I did this so that your faith would be in God’s power, not in the wisdom of a man.
God’s Wisdom
6 Yet I speak wisdom to those who are mature. But this wisdom is not from this world or of the rulers of this world. (These rulers are losing their power.) 7 But I speak God’s secret wisdom, which he has kept hidden. God planned this wisdom for our glory, before the world began. 8 None of the rulers of this world understood it. If they had, they would not have killed the Lord of glory on a cross. 9 But as it is written in the Scriptures:
“No one has ever seen this.
No one has ever heard about it.
No one has ever imagined
what God has prepared for those
who love him.” Isaiah 64:4
10 But God has shown us these things through the Spirit.
The Spirit knows all things, even the deep secrets of God. 11 It is like this: No one knows the thoughts that another person has. Only a person’s spirit that lives in him knows his thoughts. It is the same with God. No one knows the thoughts of God. Only the Spirit of God knows God’s thoughts. 12 We did not receive the spirit of the world, but we received the Spirit that is from God. We received this Spirit so that we can know all that God has given us. 13 When we speak, we do not use words taught to us by the wisdom that men have. We use words taught to us by the Spirit. We use spiritual words to explain spiritual things.
Jesus Heals Many People
29 Jesus and his followers left the synagogue. They all went at once with James and John to the home of Simon[a] and Andrew. 30 Simon’s mother-in-law was sick in bed with a fever. The people there told Jesus about her. 31 So Jesus went to her bed, took her hand, and helped her up. Immediately the fever left her, and she was healed. Then she began serving them.
32 That night, after the sun went down, the people brought to Jesus all who were sick. They also brought those who had demons in them. 33 The whole town gathered at the door of the house. 34 Jesus healed many who had different kinds of sicknesses. He also forced many demons to leave people. But he would not allow the demons to speak, because they knew who he was.
35 Early the next morning, Jesus woke and left the house while it was still dark. He went to a place to be alone and pray. 36 Later, Simon and his friends went to look for Jesus. 37 They found him and said, “Everyone is looking for you!”
38 Jesus answered, “We should go somewhere else, to other towns around here. Then I can preach there too. That is the reason I came.” 39 So he traveled everywhere in Galilee. He preached in the synagogues and forced demons to leave people.
Jesus Heals a Sick Man
40 A man who had a harmful skin disease came to Jesus. The man fell to his knees and begged Jesus, “I know that you can heal me if you will.”
41 Jesus felt sorry for the man. So he touched him and said, “I want to heal you. Be healed!” 42 At once the disease left the man, and he was healed.
43 Jesus told the man to go at once. But Jesus warned him strongly, 44 “Don’t tell anyone about what I did for you. But go and show yourself to the priest. And offer a gift to God because you have been healed. Offer the gift that Moses commanded.[b] This will show the people that you are healed.” 45 The man left there, but he told everyone he saw that Jesus had healed him. So the news about Jesus spread. That is the reason Jesus could not enter a town if people saw him. He stayed in places where nobody lived. But people came from all the towns to wherever he was.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.