Book of Common Prayer
God Will Reward Fairly
Of David.
37 Don’t be upset because of evil people.
Don’t be jealous of those who do wrong.
2 Like the grass, they will soon dry up.
Like green plants, they will soon die away.
3 Trust the Lord and do good.
Live in the land and enjoy its safety.
4 Enjoy serving the Lord.
And he will give you what you want.
5 Depend on the Lord.
Trust him, and he will take care of you.
6 Then your goodness will shine like the sun.
Your fairness will shine like the noonday sun.
7 Wait and trust the Lord.
Don’t be upset when others get rich
or when someone else’s plans succeed.
8 Don’t get angry.
Don’t be upset; it only leads to trouble.
9 Evil people will be sent away.
But people who trust the Lord will inherit the land.
10 In a little while there will be no more wicked people.
You may look for them, but they will be gone.
11 People who are not proud will inherit the land.
They will enjoy complete peace.
12 The wicked make evil plans against good people.
They grind their teeth at them in anger.
13 But the Lord laughs at the wicked.
He sees that their day is coming.
14 The wicked draw their swords.
They bend their bows.
They try to kill the poor and helpless.
They want to kill those who are honest.
15 But their swords will stab their own hearts.
Their bows will break.
16 It’s better to have little and be right
than to have much and be wrong.
17 The power of the wicked will be broken.
But the Lord supports those who do right.
18 The Lord watches over the lives of the innocent.
Their reward will last forever.
19 They will not be ashamed when trouble comes.
They will be full in times of hunger.
20 But the wicked will die.
The Lord’s enemies will be like the flowers of the fields.
They will disappear like smoke.
21 The wicked people borrow but don’t pay back.
But those who do right give freely to others.
22 Those people the Lord blesses will inherit the land.
But those he curses will be sent away.
23 When a man’s steps follow the Lord,
God is pleased with his ways.
24 If he stumbles, he will not fall,
because the Lord holds his hand.
25 I was young, and now I am old.
But I have never seen the Lord leave good people helpless.
I have never seen their children begging for food.
26 Good people always lend freely to others.
And their children are a blessing.
27 Stop doing evil and do good.
Then you will live forever.
28 The Lord loves justice.
He will not leave those who worship him.
He will always protect them.
But the children of the wicked will die.
29 Good people will inherit the land.
They will live in it forever.
30 A good person speaks with wisdom.
He says what is fair.
31 The teachings of his God are in his heart.
He does not fail to keep them.
32 The wicked watch for good people.
They want to kill them.
33 The Lord will not take away his protection.
He will not judge good people guilty.
34 Wait for the Lord’s help
and follow him.
He will honor you and give you the land.
And you will see the wicked people sent away.
35 I saw a wicked and cruel man.
He looked strong like a healthy tree in good soil.
36 But he died and was gone.
I looked for him, but he couldn’t be found.
37 Think of the innocent person.
Watch the honest one.
The man who has peace
will have children to live after him.
38 But sinners will be destroyed.
In the end the wicked will die.
39 The Lord saves good people.
He is their strong city in times of trouble.
40 The Lord helps them and saves them.
He saves them from the wicked
because they trust in him for protection.
The Ten Commandments
20 Then God spoke all these words:
2 “I am the Lord your God. I brought you out of the land of Egypt where you were slaves.
3 “You must not have any other gods except me.
4 “You must not make for yourselves any idols. Don’t make something that looks like anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the water below the land. 5 You must not worship or serve any idol. This is because I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God. A person may sin against me and hate me. I will punish his children, even his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. 6 But I will be very kind to thousands who love me and obey my commands.
7 “You must not use the name of the Lord your God thoughtlessly. The Lord will punish anyone who is guilty and misuses his name.
8 “Remember to keep the Sabbath as a holy day. 9 You may work and get everything done during six days each week. 10 But the seventh day is a day of rest to honor the Lord your God. On that day no one may do any work: not you, your son or daughter, or your men or women slaves. Neither your animals nor the foreigners living in your cities may work. 11 The reason is that in six days the Lord made everything. He made the sky, earth, sea and everything in them. And on the seventh day, he rested. So the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
12 “Honor your father and your mother. Then you will live a long time in the land. The Lord your God is going to give you this land.
13 “You must not murder anyone.
14 “You must not be guilty of adultery.
15 “You must not steal.
16 “You must not tell lies about your neighbor in court.
17 “You must not want to take your neighbor’s house. You must not want his wife or his men or women slaves. You must not want his ox or his donkey. You must not want to take anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
18 The people heard the thunder and the trumpet. They saw the lightning on the mountain and smoke rising from the mountain. They shook with fear and stood far away from the mountain. 19 Then they said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself. Then we will listen. But don’t let God speak to us, or we will die.”
20 Then Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. God has come to test you. He wants you to respect him so you will not sin.”
21 The people stood far away from the mountain while Moses went near the dark cloud where God was.
Paul’s Work for the Church
24 I am happy in my sufferings for you. There are many things that Christ must still suffer through his body, the church. I am accepting my part of these things that must be suffered. I accept these sufferings in my body. I suffer for his body, the church. 25 I became a servant of the church because God gave me a special work to do that helps you. My work is to tell fully the teaching of God. 26 This teaching is the secret truth that was hidden since the beginning of time. It was hidden from everyone, but now it is made known to God’s holy people. 27 God decided to let his people know this rich and glorious truth which he has for all people. This truth is Christ himself, who is in you. He is our only hope for glory. 28 So we continue to preach Christ to all men. We use all wisdom to warn and to teach everyone. We are trying to bring each one into God’s presence as a mature person in Christ. 29 To do this, I work and struggle, using Christ’s great strength that works so powerfully in me.
2 I want you to know that I am trying very hard to help you. And I am trying to help those in Laodicea and others who have never seen me. 2 I want them to be strengthened and joined together with love. I want them to be rich in the strong belief that comes from understanding. I mean I want you to know fully God’s secret truth. That truth is Christ himself. 3 And in him all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are safely kept.
4 I say this so that no one can fool you by arguments that seem good, but are false. 5 I am not there with you, but my heart is with you. I am happy to see your good lives and your strong faith in Christ.
Continue to Live in Christ
6 As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so continue to live in him. 7 Keep your roots deep in him and have your lives built on him. Be strong in the faith, just as you were taught. And always be thankful.
The Temptation of Jesus
4 Then the Spirit led Jesus into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2 Jesus ate nothing for 40 days and nights. After this, he was very hungry. 3 The devil came to Jesus to tempt him. The devil said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these rocks to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written in the Scriptures, ‘A person does not live only by eating bread. But a person lives by everything the Lord says.’”[a]
5 Then the devil led Jesus to the holy city of Jerusalem. He put Jesus on a very high place of the Temple. 6 The devil said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off. It is written in the Scriptures,
‘He has put his angels in charge of you.
They will catch you with their hands.
And you will not hit your foot on a rock.’” Psalm 91:11-12
7 Jesus answered him, “It also says in the Scriptures, ‘Do not test the Lord your God.’”[b]
8 Then the devil led Jesus to the top of a very high mountain. He showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and all the great things that are in those kingdoms. 9 The devil said, “If you will bow down and worship me, I will give you all these things.”
10 Jesus said to the devil, “Go away from me, Satan! It is written in the Scriptures, ‘You must worship the Lord your God. Serve only him!’”[c]
11 So the devil left Jesus. And then some angels came to Jesus and helped him.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.