Book of Common Prayer
49 Remember the word you gave me.
Through it you gave me hope.
50 This is my comfort in my misery:
Your promise gave me a new life.
51 Arrogant people have mocked me with cruelty,
yet I have not turned away from your teachings.
52 I remembered your regulations from long ago, O Yahweh,
and I found comfort in them.
53 I am burning with anger because of wicked people,
who abandon your teachings.
54 Your laws have become like psalms to me
in this place where I am only a foreigner.
55 At night I remember your name, O Yahweh,
and I follow your teachings.
56 This has happened to me
because I have obeyed your guiding principles.
57 You are my inheritance, O Yahweh.
I promised to hold on to your words.
58 With all my heart I want to win your favor.
Be kind to me as you promised.
59 I have thought about my life,
and I have directed my feet back to your written instructions.
60 Without any hesitation I hurry to obey your commandments.
61 Though the ropes of wicked people are tied around me,
I never forget your teachings.
62 At midnight I wake up to give thanks to you
for the regulations, which are based on your righteousness.
63 I am a friend to everyone who fears you
and to everyone who follows your guiding principles.
64 Your mercy, O Yahweh, fills the earth.
Teach me your laws.
65 You have treated me well, O Yahweh,
as you promised.
66 Teach me to use good judgment and knowledge,
because I believe in your commandments.
67 Before you made me suffer, I used to wander off,
but now I hold on to your word.
68 You are good, and you do good things.
Teach me your laws.
69 Arrogant people have smeared me with lies,
yet I obey your guiding principles with all my heart.
70 Their hearts are cold and insensitive,
yet I am happy with your teachings.
71 It was good that I had to suffer
in order to learn your laws.
72 The teachings that come from your mouth are worth more to me
than thousands in gold or silver.
Psalm 49
For the choir director; a psalm by Korah’s descendants.
1 Listen to this, all you people.
Open your ears, all who live in the world—
2 common people and important ones,
rich people and poor ones.
3 My mouth will speak wise sayings,
the insights I have carefully considered.
4 I will turn my attention to a proverb.
I will explain my riddle with the music of a lyre.
5 Why should I be afraid in times of trouble,
when slanderers surround me with evil?
6 They trust their riches
and brag about their abundant wealth.
7 No one can ever buy back another person
or pay Elohim a ransom for his life.
8 The price to be paid for his soul is too costly.
He must always give up
9 in order to live forever and never see the pit.
10 Indeed, one can see that wise people die,
that foolish and stupid people meet the same end.
They leave their riches to others.
11 Although they named their lands after themselves,
their graves[a] have become their homes for ages to come,
their dwelling places throughout every generation.
12 But mortals will not continue here with what they treasure.
They are like animals that die.
13 This is the final outcome for fools and their followers
who are delighted by what they say: Selah
14 Like sheep, they are driven to hell
with death as their shepherd.
(Decent people will rule them in the morning.)
Their forms will decay in the grave,
far away from their comfortable homes.
15 But Elohim will buy me back from the power of hell
because he will take me. Selah
16 Do not be afraid when someone becomes rich,
when the greatness of his house increases.
17 He will not take anything with him when he dies.
His greatness cannot follow him.
18 Even though he blesses himself while he is alive
(and they praise you when you do well for yourself),
19 he must join the generation of his ancestors,
who will never see light again.
20 Mortals, with what they treasure, still don’t have understanding.
They are like animals that die.
Psalm 53[a]
For the choir director; according to mahalath,[b] a maskil by David.
1 Godless fools say in their hearts,
“There is no Elohim.”
They are corrupt.
They do disgusting things.
There is no one who does good things.
2 Elohim looks down from heaven on Adam’s descendants
to see if there is anyone who acts wisely,
if there is anyone who seeks help from Elohim.
3 Everyone has fallen away.
Together they have become rotten to the core.
No one, not even one person, does good things.
4 Are all those troublemakers,
those who devour my people as if they were devouring food,
so ignorant that they do not call on Elohim?
5 There they are—panic-stricken—
but there was no reason to panic,
because Elohim has scattered the bones
of those who set up camp against you.[c]
You put them to shame.
After all, Elohim has rejected them.
6 If only salvation for Israel would come from Zion!
When Elohim restores the fortunes of his people,
Jacob will rejoice.
Israel will be glad.
The Lord Assures Moses That He Will Have Mercy on Israel
33 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “You and the people you brought out of Egypt must leave this place. Go to the land I promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob with an oath, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ 2 I will send a Messenger ahead of you, and I will force out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 3 Go to that land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not be with you, because you are impossible to deal with, and I would destroy you on the way.”
4 When the people heard this bad news, they acted as if someone had died. No one wore any jewelry. 5 Yahweh had said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites, ‘You are impossible to deal with. If I were with you, I might destroy you at any time. Now take off your jewelry, and I’ll decide what to do with you.’” 6 After they left Mount Horeb, the Israelites no longer wore their jewelry.
7 Now, Moses used to take a tent and set it up far outside the camp. He called it the tent of meeting. Anyone who was seeking Yahweh’s will used to go outside the camp to the tent of meeting. 8 Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise and stand at the entrances to their tents and watch Moses until he went in. 9 As soon as Moses went into the tent, the column of smoke would come down and stay at the entrance to the tent while Yahweh spoke with Moses. 10 When all the people saw the column of smoke standing at the entrance to the tent, they would all bow with their faces touching the ground at the entrance to their own tents. 11 Yahweh would speak to Moses personally, as a man speaks to his friend. Then Moses would come back to the camp, but his assistant, Joshua, son of Nun, stayed inside the tent.
12 Moses said to Yahweh, “You’ve been telling me to lead these people, but you haven’t let me know whom you’re sending with me. You’ve also said, ‘I know you by name, and I’m pleased with you.’ 13 If you really are pleased with me, show me your ways so that I can know you and so that you will continue to be pleased with me. Remember: This nation is your people.”
14 Yahweh answered, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you peace.”
15 Then Moses said to him, “If your presence is not going with us, don’t make us leave this place. 16 How will anyone ever know you’re pleased with your people and me unless you go with us? Then we will be different from all other people on the face of the earth.”
17 Yahweh answered Moses, “I will do what you have asked, because I am pleased with you, and I know you by name.”
18 Then Moses said, “Please let me see your glory.”
19 Yahweh said, “I will let all my goodness pass in front of you, and there I will call out my name ‘Yahweh.’ I will be kind to anyone I want to. I will be merciful to anyone I want to. 20 But you can’t see my face, because no one may see me and live.”
21 Then Yahweh said, “Look, there’s a place near me. Stand by this rocky cliff. 22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a crevice in the cliff and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will take my hand away, and you’ll see my back, but my face must not be seen.”
Paul Remembers When He Was with the Thessalonians
2 You know, brothers and sisters, that our time with you was not wasted. 2 As you know, we suffered rough and insulting treatment in Philippi. But our God gave us the courage to tell you his Good News in spite of strong opposition.
3 When we encouraged you, we didn’t use unethical schemes, corrupt practices, or deception. 4 Rather, we are always spreading the Good News. God trusts us to do this because we passed his test. We don’t try to please people but God, who tests our motives. 5 As you know, we never used flattery or schemes to make money. God is our witness! 6 We didn’t seek praise from people, from you or from anyone else, 7 although as apostles of Christ we had the right to do this.
Instead, we were gentle when we were with you, like a mother taking care of her children. 8 We felt so strongly about you that we were determined to share with you not only the Good News of God but also our lives. That’s how dear you were to us! 9 You remember, brothers and sisters, our work and what we did to earn a living. We worked night and day so that we could bring you the Good News of God without being a burden to any of you. 10 You and God are witnesses of how pure, honest, and blameless we were in our dealings with you believers. 11 You know very well that we treated each of you the way a father treats his children. We comforted you and encouraged you. Yet, we insisted that 12 you should live in a way that proves you belong to the God who calls you into his kingdom and glory.
Jesus Fulfills the Old Testament Scriptures
17 “Don’t ever think that I came to set aside Moses’ Teachings or the Prophets. I didn’t come to set them aside but to make them come true. 18 I can guarantee this truth: Until the earth and the heavens disappear, neither a period nor a comma will disappear from the Scriptures before everything has come true. 19 So whoever sets aside any command that seems unimportant and teaches others to do the same will be unimportant in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever does and teaches what the commands say will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 I can guarantee that unless you live a life that has God’s approval and do it more faithfully than the experts in Moses’ Teachings and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.