Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 146
1 Praise the Eternal!
Praise the Eternal, O my soul;
2 I will praise the Eternal for as long as I live.
I will sing praises to my God as long as breath fills my lungs and blood flows through my veins.
3 Do not put your trust in the rulers of this world—kings and princes.
Do not expect any rescue from mortal men.
4 As soon as their breath leaves them, they return to the earth;
on that day, all of them perish—their dreams, their plans, and their memories.
5 Blessed are those whose help comes from the God of Jacob,
whose hope is centered in the Eternal their God—
6 Who created the heavens, the earth,
the seas, and all that lives within them;
Who stays true and remains faithful forever;
7 Who works justice for those who are pressed down by the world,
providing food for those who are hungry.
The Eternal frees those who are imprisoned;
8 He makes the blind see.
He lifts up those whose backs are bent in labor;
He cherishes those who do what is right.
9 The Eternal looks after those who journey in a land not their own;
He takes care of the orphan and the widow,
but He frustrates the wicked along their way.
10 The Eternal will reign today, tomorrow, and forever.
People of Zion, your God will rule forever over all generations.
Praise the Eternal!
Psalm 147
1 Praise the Eternal!
It is good to sing praises to our God,
for praise is beautiful and pleasant.
2 The Eternal, Architect of earth, is building Jerusalem,
finding the lost, gathering Israel’s outcasts.
3 He binds their wounds,
heals the sorrows of their hearts.
4 He counts all the stars within His hands,
carefully fixing their number
and giving them names.
5 Our Lord is great. Nothing is impossible with His overwhelming power.
He is loving, compassionate, and wise beyond all measure.
6 The Eternal will lift up the lowly
but throw down the wicked to the earth.
Psalm 147 is a postexilic hymn of praise to God as Creator and Sustainer. It celebrates the rebuilding of the walls and gates that protect Jerusalem. God secures the city, grants peace to the border towns, and controls the elements.
7 Open your mouths with thanks!
Sing praises to the Eternal!
Strum the harp in unending praise to our God
8 Who blankets the heavens with clouds,
sends rain to water the thirsty earth,
and pulls up each blade of grass upon the mountainside.
9 He opens His hands to feed all the animals
and scatters seed to nestlings when they cry.
10 He takes no pleasure in the raw strength of horses;
He finds no joy in the speed of the sprinter.
11 But the Eternal does take pleasure in those who worship Him,
those who invest hope in His unfailing love.
12 O Jerusalem, praise the Eternal!
O Zion, praise your God!
13 For His divine power reinforces your city gates,
blesses your children in the womb.
14 He establishes peace within your borders,
fills your markets with hearty golden wheat.
15 His command ripples across the earth;
His word runs out on swift feet.
16 He blankets the earth in wooly snow,
scattering frost like ashes over the land.
17 He throws down hail like stones falling from a mountain.
Can any withstand His wintry blast?
18 But He dispatches His word, and the thaw begins;
at His command, the spring winds blow, gently stirring the waters back to life.
19 He brings Jacob in on His plan, declaring His word—
His statutes and His teachings to Israel.
20 He has not treated any other nation in such a way;
they live unaware of His commands.
Praise the Eternal!
Psalm 111[a]
1 Praise the Eternal.
I will thank Him with all my heart
in the presence of the right-standing and with the assembly.
2 The works of the Eternal are many and wondrous!
They are examined by all who delight in them.
3 His work is marked with beauty and majesty;
His justice has no end.
4 His wonders are reminders that
the Eternal is gracious and compassionate to all.
5 He provides food to those who revere Him.
He will always remember His covenant.
6 He has shown the mighty strength of His works to His people
by giving the land of foreign nations to them.
7 All His accomplishments are truth and justice;
all His instructions are certain.
8 His precepts will continue year in and year out,
performed by His people with honesty and truth.
9 He has redeemed His people,
guaranteeing His covenant forever.
His name is holy and awe-inspiring.
10 Reverence for the Eternal is the first step toward wisdom.
All those who worship Him have a good understanding.
His praise will echo through eternity!
Psalm 112[b]
1 Praise the Eternal!
How blessed are those who revere the Eternal,
who turn from evil and take great pleasure in His commandments.
2 Their children will be a powerful force upon the earth;
this generation that does what is right in God’s eyes will be blessed.
3 His house will be stocked with wealth and riches,
and His love for justice will endure for all time.
4 When life is dark, a light will shine for those who live rightly—
those who are merciful, compassionate, and strive for justice.
5 Good comes to all who are gracious and share freely;
they conduct their affairs with sound judgment.
6 Nothing will ever rattle them;
the just will always be remembered.
7 They will not be afraid when the news is bad
because they have resolved to trust in the Eternal.
8 Their hearts are confident, and they are fearless,
for they expect to see their enemies defeated.
9 They give freely to the poor;
their righteousness endures for all time;[c]
their strength and power is established in honor.
10 The wicked will be infuriated when they see the good man honored!
They will clench their teeth and dissolve to nothing;
and when they go, their wicked desires will follow.
Psalm 113
Psalms 113–118 comprise an important unit called the Hallel, which in Hebrew means “praise.” Composed after the exile, these six psalms are recited together by observant Jews during some of the major holidays on the Jewish calendar. The Gospel writers tell us that Jesus and His disciples sang a song following their last meal together, which was the Passover (Matthew 26:30; Mark 14:26). That may have been the Hallel.
1 Praise the Eternal!
All of you who call yourselves the children of the Eternal, come and praise His name.
Lift Him high to the high place in your hearts.
2 At this moment, and for all the moments yet to come,
may the Eternal’s name ascend in the hearts of His people.
3 At every time and in every place—
from the moment the sun rises to the moment the sun sets—
may the name of the Eternal be high in the hearts of His people.
4 The Eternal is seated high above every nation.
His glory fills the skies.
5 To whom should we compare the Eternal, our God?
No one.
From His seat, high above,
6 He deigns to observe the earth and her thin skies,
stooping even to see her goings on, far beneath His feet.
7 He gathers up the poor from their dirt floors,
pulls the needy from the trash heaps,
8 And places them among heads of state,
seated next to the rulers of His people where they cannot be ignored.
9 Into the home of the childless bride,
He sends children who are, for her, a cause of happiness beyond measure.
Praise the Eternal!
12 (later God called to Moses) Hike up here, to the top of this mountain amidst the Abarim peaks. When you get to the top, you’ll be able to see the land I’ve already given to the Israelites. 13 After you’ve had that glance, you will join your ancestors, as your brother Aaron did not so long ago. 14 You will not set foot in the promised land, even after all you’ve done for Me and this people because you didn’t follow My instructions back in the Zin Wilderness when the people argued and rebelled. You failed to treat me as holy at the waters before the eyes of the people. This happened at the water called Meribah, in Kadesh of the Zin Wilderness.
15 Then Moses addressed the Eternal One.
Moses: 16-17 Please, take care of these people. Eternal One, God of the spirit in all human beings, see to it that an able leader is appointed to guide and direct Your people by going out and coming in before them so that they are not like sheep without a shepherd.
Eternal One (to Moses): 18-19 Single out Joshua (Nun’s son). In him is the breath of My Spirit. Before the whole congregation, bring him to stand before the priest, Eleazar. Put your hand on him, and commission him into leadership. 20 You should make clear that you are investing him with some of your authority, so that every Israelite accepts his leadership. 21 Joshua shall consult with Eleazar the priest, who will ask of Me (by consulting the Urim and Thummim) to show how they should proceed. In other words, Eleazar will consult the oracle and indicate when the people should go forward and when they should pull back, both he and the congregation of Israel.
Attention now shifts to their future in the land. Just as God has used Moses and Aaron to lead the congregation up until now, a new leader must be trained and in place for Israel to move forward. Remember that Moses and Aaron must be replaced because they are part of that unfaithful generation God won’t allow into the land; they, too, acted against Him and are being punished in spite of their consistent favor with God. The preparation to enter the land needed only a couple of years for God to provide the law, the plans for the congregation tent, and an orderly structuring of the tribes. But the time in the wilderness has stretched on for another 38 years because it took a generation for God to purge the lack of belief on the part of the people.
22-23 Moses did with Joshua and Eleazar exactly what the Eternal One instructed; he laid his hands on Joshua to indicate this transfer of authority. Just as the Eternal One commanded, Moses did.
11 Meanwhile, God did amazing miracles through Paul. 12 People would take a handkerchief or article of clothing that had touched Paul’s skin and bring it to their sick friends or relatives, and the patients would be cured of their diseases or released from the evil spirits that oppressed them.
13-14 Some itinerant Jewish exorcists noticed Paul’s success in this regard, so they tried to use the name of Jesus, the King, in an exorcism they were performing.
Imagine this: There are seven of them, all sons of a Jewish chief priest named Sceva, gathered around a demonized man in a house.
One of the Jewish Exorcists: I command you to depart, by the Jesus proclaimed by Paul!
Evil Spirit: 15 Jesus I know. Paul I know. But who are you?
16 Then the man leaps up, attacks them all, rips off their clothing, and beats them so badly that they run out of the house stark naked and covered in bruises.
17 Word of this strange event spread throughout Ephesus among both Jews and Greeks. Everyone was shocked and realized that the name of Jesus was indeed powerful and praiseworthy. 18 As a result, a number of people involved in various occult practices came to faith. They confessed their secret practices and rituals. 19 Some of them had considerable libraries about their magic arts; they piled up their books and burned them publicly. Someone estimated the value of the books to be 50,000 silver coins. 20 Again, word spread, and the message of the Lord overcame resistance and spread powerfully.
14 After John was arrested by Herod, who ruled the Jewish lands on behalf of Roman interests, Jesus went back into the region of Galilee and began to proclaim the good news of God.
Jesus: 15 It’s time! The kingdom of God is near! Seek forgiveness, change your actions,[a] and believe this good news!
16 As Jesus walked along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, He met the first of His disciples, two brothers, Simon and Andrew, both fishermen who were casting their fishing net into the shallow waters.
Jesus: 17 Come and follow Me, and I’ll send you to catch people instead of fish.
18 Simon and Andrew left their nets and followed Jesus at once.
19 When He had walked a little farther, He saw the sons of Zebedee, James and John, in their boat repairing their nets. 20 Right away He called to them, and they dropped what they were doing and left their father Zebedee and the hired men aboard the boat to follow Him as His disciples.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.