Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 80
For the choir director; according to shoshannim eduth; by Asaph; a psalm.
1 Open your ears, O Roeh of Israel,
the one who leads the descendants of Joseph like sheep,
the one who is enthroned over the angels.[a]
2 Appear in front of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh.
Wake up your power, and come to save us.
3 O Elohim, restore us and smile on us
so that we may be saved.
4 O Yahweh Elohim Tsebaoth, how long will you smolder in anger
against the prayer of your people?
5 You made them eat tears as food.
You often made them drink their own tears.
6 You made us a source of conflict to our neighbors,
and our enemies made fun of us.
7 O Elohim Tsebaoth, restore us and smile on us
so that we may be saved.
8 You brought a vine from Egypt.
You forced out the nations and planted it.
9 You cleared the ground for it
so that it took root and filled the land.
10 Its shade covered the mountains.
Its branches covered the mighty cedars.
11 It reached out with its branches to the Mediterranean Sea.
Its shoots reached the Euphrates River.
12 Why did you break down the stone fences around this vine?
All who pass by are picking its fruit.
13 Wild boars from the forest graze on it.
Wild animals devour it.
14 O Elohim Tsebaoth, come back!
Look from heaven and see!
Come to help this vine.
15 Take care of what your right hand planted,
the son you strengthened for yourself.
16 The vine has been cut down and burned.
Let them be destroyed by the threatening look on your face.
17 Let your power rest on the man you have chosen,
the son of man you strengthened for yourself.
18 Then we will never turn away from you.
Give us life again, and we will call on you.
19 O Yahweh Elohim Tsebaoth, restore us, and smile on us
so that we may be saved.
Psalm 77
For the choir director; according to Jeduthun; a psalm by Asaph.
1 Loudly, I cried to Elohim.
Loudly, I cried to Elohim
so that he would open his ears to hear me.
2 On the day I was in trouble, I went to Adonay for help.
At night I stretched out my hands in prayer without growing tired.
Yet, my soul refused to be comforted.
3 I sigh as I remember Elohim.
I begin to lose hope as I think about him. Selah
4 (You keep my eyelids open.)
I am so upset that I cannot speak.
5 I have considered the days of old,
the years long ago.
6 I remember my song in the night
and reflect on it.
My spirit searches for an answer:
7 Will Adonay reject me for all time?
Will he ever accept me?
8 Has his mercy come to an end forever?
Has his promise been canceled throughout every generation?
9 Has El forgotten to be merciful?
Has he locked up his compassion because of his anger? Selah
10 Then I said, “It makes me feel sick
that the power of Elyon is no longer the same.”[a]
11 I will remember the deeds of Yah.
I will remember your ancient miracles.
12 I will reflect on all your actions
and think about what you have done.
13 O Elohim, your ways are holy!
What god is as great as our Elohim?
14 You are the El who performs miracles.
You have made your strength known among the nations.
15 With your might you have defended your people,
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. Selah
16 The water saw you, O Elohim.
The water saw you and shook.
Even the depths of the sea trembled.
17 The clouds poured out water.
The sky thundered.
Even your arrows flashed in every direction.
18 The sound of your thunder rumbled in the sky.[b]
Streaks of lightning lit up the world.
The earth trembled and shook.
19 Your road went through the sea.
Your path went through raging water,
but your footprints could not be seen.
20 Like a shepherd, you led your people.
You had Moses and Aaron take them by the hand.
Psalm 79
A psalm by Asaph.
1 O Elohim, the nations have invaded the land that belongs to you.
They have dishonored your holy temple.
They have left Jerusalem in ruins.
2 They have given the dead bodies of your servants
to the birds for food.
They have given the flesh of your godly ones
to the animals.
3 They have shed the blood of your people around Jerusalem
as though it were water.
There is no one to bury your people.
4 We have become a disgrace to our neighbors,
an object of ridicule and contempt to those around us.
5 How long, O Yahweh?
Will you remain angry forever?
Will your fury continue to burn like fire?
6 Pour your fury on the nations that do not know you,
on the kingdoms that have not called you.
7 They have devoured Jacob.
They have destroyed his home.
8 Do not hold the crimes of our ancestors against us.
Reach out to us soon with your compassion,
because we are helpless.
9 Help us, O Elohim, our savior, for the glory of your name.
Rescue us, and forgive our sins for the honor of your name.
10 Why should the nations be allowed to say,
“Where is their Elohim?”
Let us watch as the nations learn
that there is punishment for shedding the blood of your servants.
11 Let the groans of prisoners come into your presence.
With your powerful arm rescue those who are condemned to death.
12 Pay each one of our neighbors back
with seven times the number of insults they used to insult you, O Adonay.
13 Then we, your people, the flock in your pasture,
will give thanks to you forever.
We will praise you throughout every generation.
The Jubilee for the People
35 “If an Israelite becomes poor and cannot support himself, help him. He must live with you as a stranger without a permanent home. 36 Don’t collect interest or make any profit from him. Fear your Elohim by respecting other Israelites’ lives. 37 Never collect any kind of interest on your money or on the food you give them. 38 I am Yahweh your Elohim, who brought you out of Egypt to give you Canaan and to be your Elohim.
39 “If an Israelite becomes poor and sells himself to you, don’t work him like a slave. 40 He will be like a hired worker or a visitor to you. He may work with you until the year of jubilee. 41 Then you will release him and his children to go back to their family and the property of their ancestors. 42 They are my servants. I brought them out of Egypt. They must never be sold as slaves. 43 Do not treat them harshly. Fear your Elohim.
44 “You may have male and female slaves, but buy them from the nations around you. 45 You may also buy them from the foreigners living among you and from their families born in your country. They will be your property. 46 You may acquire them for yourselves and for your descendants as permanent property. You may work them as slaves. However, do not treat the Israelites harshly. They are your relatives.
47 “Someone who is a foreigner without a permanent home among you may become rich, and your relative living with him may be poor. The poor Israelite may sell himself to that foreigner or a member of his family. 48 After he has sold himself, he has the right to be bought back. One of his brothers may buy him back. 49 His uncle, his cousin, or some other relative could also buy him back. If he becomes rich, he could buy his own freedom. 50 Then he and his buyer must take into account the number of years from the year he was bought until the year of jubilee. His sale price will be adjusted based on the number of years he was with his buyer, like the wages of a hired worker. 51 If there are many years left, he must refund from his purchase price an amount equal to those years. 52 If there are only a few years left until the year of jubilee, he must take them into account. He must refund from his purchase price an amount equal to those years. 53 During those years he should serve his buyer as a hired worker. His buyer should not treat him harshly. 54 If he cannot buy his freedom in these ways, he and his children will be released in the year of jubilee.
55 “The Israelites belong to me as servants. They are my servants. I brought them out of Egypt. I am Yahweh your Elohim.”
9 For this reason we have not stopped praying for you since the day we heard about you. We ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through every kind of spiritual wisdom and insight. 10 We ask this so that you will live the kind of lives that prove you belong to the Lord. Then you will want to please him in every way as you grow in producing every kind of good work by this knowledge about God. 11 We ask him to strengthen you by his glorious might with all the power you need to patiently endure everything with joy. 12 You will also thank the Father, who has made you able to share the light, which is what God’s people inherit.
What God Has Done Through Christ
13 God has rescued us from the power of darkness and has brought us into the kingdom of his Son, whom he loves. 14 His Son paid the price to free us, which means that our sins are forgiven.
A Story about a Farmer(A)
13 That same day Yeshua left the house and sat down by the Sea of Galilee. 2 The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat. He sat in the boat while the entire crowd stood on the shore. 3 Then he used stories as illustrations to tell them many things.
He said, “Listen! A farmer went to plant seed. 4 Some seeds were planted along the road, and birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds were planted on rocky ground, where there was little soil. The plants sprouted quickly because the soil wasn’t deep. 6 But when the sun came up, they were scorched. They withered because their roots weren’t deep enough. 7 Other seeds were planted among thornbushes, and the thornbushes grew up and choked them. 8 But other seeds were planted on good ground and produced grain. They produced one hundred, sixty, or thirty times as much as was planted. 9 Let the person who has ears listen!”
10 The disciples asked him, “Why do you use stories as illustrations when you speak to people?”
11 Yeshua answered, “Knowledge about the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you. But it has not been given to the crowd. 12 Those who understand these mysteries will be given more knowledge, and they will excel in understanding them. However, some people don’t understand these mysteries. Even what they understand will be taken away from them. 13 This is why I speak to them this way. They see, but they’re blind. They hear, but they don’t listen. They don’t even try to understand. 14 So they make Isaiah’s prophecy come true:
‘You will hear clearly but never understand.
You will see clearly but never comprehend.
15 These people have become close-minded
and hard of hearing.
They have shut their eyes
so that their eyes never see.
Their ears never hear.
Their minds never understand.
And they never return to me for healing!’
16 “Blessed are your eyes because they see and your ears because they hear.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.