Book of Common Prayer
Covenant with David’s Seed
Psalm 89
1 A contemplative song of Ethan the Ezrahite.
2 I will sing of the love of Adonai forever.
To all generations I will make known Your faithfulness with my mouth.
3 For I said, “Let your lovingkindness be built up forever!
The heavens—let Your faithfulness be made firm there!”
4 “I have made a covenant with My chosen one.
I have sworn to David My servant:
5 ‘Forever I will establish your seed,
and will build your throne from generation to generation.’”[a] Selah
6 The heavens praise Your wonders, Adonai
—Your faithfulness, too—
in the assembly of the kedoshim.
7 For who in the skies can compare to Adonai?
Who is like Adonai among the sons of gods?
8 God is greatly feared in the council of the holy ones,
and awesome above all around Him.
9 Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot, who is like You, mighty Adonai,
with Your faithfulness all around You?
10 You rule over the swelling of the sea.
When its waves mount up, You still them.
11 You crushed Rahab like a slain one.
You scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.
12 The heavens are Yours, also Yours the earth
—the world and its fullness—
You have founded them.
13 You created the north and the south.
Tabor and Hermon sing for joy at Your Name.
14 Your arm is mighty,
Your hand is strong,
exalted is Your right hand.[b]
15 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne.
Lovingkindness and truth go before You.
16 Blessed are the people who know the joyful shout,[c]
They walk in the light of Your presence, Adonai.
17 They rejoice in Your Name all day,
and by Your righteousness they are exalted.
18 For You are the glory of their strength,
and by Your favor our horn is exalted.
19 For our shield belongs to Adonai,
and our king to the Holy One of Israel.
20 Then You spoke in vision to Your godly ones, and said:
“I have bestowed help on a warrior.
I have exalted one chosen from among the people.
21 I have found David My servant.
With My holy oil I have anointed him.
22 With him My hand will be established.
Surely My arm will strengthen him.
23 No enemy will exact tribute from him,
no son of wickedness will oppress him.
24 I will crush his adversaries before him,
and strike down those who hate him.
25 My faithfulness and My lovingkindness will be with him,
and by My Name his horn will be exalted.
26 I will also set his hand over the sea,
his right hand over the rivers.
27 He will call to Me: ‘You are my Father,[d]
my God and the rock of my salvation.’
28 I also will set him as firstborn—[e]
the highest of the kings of earth.[f][g]
29 I will maintain My love for him forever,
and My covenant with him will be firm.
30 His seed I will establish forever,
and his throne as the days of heaven.
31 If his sons forsake My Torah,
and do not walk in My judgments,
32 if they violate My decrees,
and do not keep My mitzvot,
33 then I will punish their transgression with the rod,
and their iniquity with flogging.
34 But I will not withdraw My lovingkindness from him,
nor will I betray My faithfulness.
35 I will not violate My covenant,
nor alter what My lips have uttered.
36 Once for all I have sworn by My holiness
—surely I will not lie to David—
37 his descendants will endure forever,
and his throne as the sun before Me,
38 and as the moon, established forever,
and a trustworthy witness in the sky.” Selah
39 But You have cast off and spurned,
You have become furious with Your anointed one.
40 You have renounced the covenant of Your servant.
You have defiled his crown even to the ground.
41 You have broken down all his walls.
You reduced his strongholds to ruin.
42 All who pass by have plundered him.
He has become a taunt to his neighbors.
43 You exalted the right hand of his foes
and made all his enemies rejoice.
44 You turned back the edge of his sword
and have not supported him in battle.
45 You brought his splendor to an end,
and cast his throne down to the ground.
46 You cut short the days of his youth.
You covered him with shame. Selah
47 How long, Adonai, will You hide Yourself?
Forever?
Will Your fury keep burning like fire?
48 Remember how short my life span is!
For what futility have You created all the children of men?
49 What man can live and not see death?
Can he deliver himself from the clutches of Sheol? Selah
50 Where is Your former lovingkindness, my Lord,
which You swore to David in Your faithfulness?[h]
51 Remember, my Lord, the mockery against Your servants
that I bear in my heart from so many peoples.
52 How Your enemies have mocked, Adonai,
how they have mocked
the footsteps of Your Anointed One![i]
53 Blessed be Adonai forever.
Amen and Amen.
Parashat Korach
Rebellion of Korah
16 Now Korah, son of Izhar son of Kohath son of Levi, and sons of Reuben—Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth— 2 rose up against Moses and took 250 men from Bnei-Yisrael, men of renown who had been appointed to the council. 3 They assembled against Moses and Aaron. They said to them, “You’ve gone too far! All the community is holy—all of them—and Adonai is with them! Then why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of Adonai?”
4 When Moses heard this, he fell on his face.
5 Then he said to Korah and all his following saying, “In the morning Adonai will reveal who is His and who is holy. The one whom He will let come near to Him will be the one He chooses to come near to Him. 6 Do this, Korah and your whole following! Take for yourselves censers. 7 Put fire and incense into them in the presence of Adonai. Tomorrow the man that Adonai chooses will be the holy one! You sons of Levi are the ones who have gone too far!”
8 Moses also said to Korah, “Listen now, sons of Levi! 9 Isn’t it enough that the God of Israel has set you apart from the community of Israel to bring you near to Him to do the work of the Tabernacle of Adonai and to stand before the community to minister to them? 10 So He brought you close, along with all your fellow sons of Levi. But you are seeking the priesthood, too! 11 Therefore you and all your following are banding together against Adonai! Who then is Aaron—that you are grumbling against him?”
12 Then Moses sent word to call Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab. But they said, “We will not come! 13 Isn’t it enough that you brought us from a land flowing with milk and honey, only to kill us in the wilderness? And now you would lord it over us? 14 What’s more, you haven’t brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Would you now gouge out the eyes of those men? We won’t come!”
15 Then Moses became very angry and said to Adonai, “Do not accept their offering. I haven’t taken from them a single donkey, nor have I wronged one of them!”
16 So Moses said to Korah, “You and your whole following are to appear before Adonai—you, they and Aaron—tomorrow! 17 Each man will take his censer and you are to put incense into them—250 censers total. You are to present it before Adonai, you and Aaron each presenting his censer.”
18 So each man took his censer, put fire and incense into it, and stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. 19 When Korah and all his following had assembled in opposition to them at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, then the glory of Adonai appeared to the entire assembly.
How God Accepts Us
21 But now God’s righteousness apart from the Torah has been revealed, to which the Torah and the Prophets bear witness— 22 namely, the righteousness of God through putting trust in Messiah Yeshua,[a] to all who keep on trusting. For there is no distinction, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 24 They are set right as a gift of His grace, through the redemption that is in Messiah Yeshua. [b] 25 God set forth Yeshua as an atonement,[c] through faith in His blood, to show His righteousness in passing over sins already committed. 26 Through God’s forbearance, He demonstrates His righteousness at the present time—that He Himself is just and also the justifier of the one who puts his trust in Yeshua.[d]
27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. By what principle? Of works? No, but by the principle of faith. [e] 28 For we consider a person to be set right apart from Torah observance. 29 Is God the God of the Jewish people only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also. 30 Since God is One, He will set right the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then nullify the Torah through faithfulness? May it never be! On the contrary, we uphold the Torah.
Receiving the Kingdom of Heaven
13 Then little children were brought to Yeshua so that He might lay hands upon them and pray. Then the disciples rebuked those who brought them. [a] 14 But Yeshua said, “Let the little children come to Me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” 15 After laying His hands upon them, He went on from there.
16 Now behold, one came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good shall I do to have eternal life?”
17 “Why do you ask Me about what is good?” Yeshua said to him. “There is only One who is good; but if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
18 “Which ones?” he said.
Yeshua said, “‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’”[b]
20 “All these I’ve kept,” the young man said to Him. “What do I still lack?”
21 Yeshua said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you own, and give to the poor; and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.” 22 But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving, for he had much property.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.