Book of Common Prayer
Book One
Book One (Psalms 1–41) is attributed almost entirely to David; all but four of the psalms (1–2; 10; 33) are ascribed to him. In Hebrew Psalm 10 is a continuation of Psalm 9 because it was composed as an acrostic poem. Likewise, many Hebrew manuscripts combine Psalm 33 with 32. Only later are these divided into separate psalms. Psalm 1 sets the stage for the entire collection by explaining that the study of the Word of God is the foundation of a meaningful, prosperous life.
Psalm 1
1 God’s blessings follow you and await you at every turn:
when you don’t follow the advice of those who delight in wicked schemes,
When you avoid sin’s highway,
when judgment and sarcasm beckon you, but you refuse.
2 For you, the Eternal’s Word is your happiness.
It is your focus—from dusk to dawn.
3 You are like a tree,
planted by flowing, cool streams of water that never run dry.
Your fruit ripens in its time;
your leaves never fade or curl in the summer sun.
No matter what you do, you prosper.
4 For those who focus on sin, the story is different.
They are like the fallen husk of wheat, tossed by an open wind, left deserted and alone.
5 In the end, the wicked will fall in judgment;
the guilty will be separated from the innocent.
6 Their road suddenly will end in death,
yet the journey of the righteous has been charted by the Eternal.
Psalm 2
1 You are wondering: What has provoked the nations to embrace anger and chaos?[a]
Why are the people making plans to pursue their own vacant and empty greatness?
2 Leaders of nations stand united;
rulers put their heads together,
plotting against the Eternal One and His Anointed King, trying to figure out
3 How they can throw off the gentle reign of God’s love,
step out from under the restrictions of His claims to advance their own schemes.
4 At first, the Power of heaven laughs at their silliness.
The Eternal mocks their ignorant selfishness.
5 But His laughter turns to rage, and He rebukes them.
As God displays His righteous anger, they begin to know the meaning of fear. He says,
6 “I am the One who appointed My king who reigns from Zion, My mount of holiness.
He is the one in charge.”
7 I am telling all of you the truth. I have heard the Eternal’s decree.
He said clearly to me, “You are My son.
Today I have become your Father.
8 The nations shall be yours for the asking,
and the entire earth will belong to you.
9 They are yours to crush with an iron scepter,
yours to shatter like fragile, clay pots.”
10 So leaders, kings, and judges,
be wise, and be warned.
11 There is only one God, the Eternal;
worship Him with respect and awe;
take delight in Him and tremble.
12 Bow down before God’s son.
If you don’t, you will face His anger and retribution,
And you won’t stand a chance.
For it doesn’t take long to kindle royal wrath,
But blessings await all who trust in Him.
They will find God a gentle refuge.
Psalm 3
A song of David composed while fleeing from his son Absalom.
This Davidic psalm recalls the time when David fled from Jerusalem after Absalom, his son, rebelled and claimed the throne (2 Samuel 15–17).
1 Eternal One, my adversaries are many, too many to count.
Now they have taken a stand against me!
2 Right to my face they say,
“God will not save you!”
[pause][b]
3 But You, Eternal One, wrap around me like an impenetrable shield.
You give me glory and lift my eyes up to the heavens.
4 I lift my voice to You, Eternal One,
and You answer me from Your sacred heights.
[pause]
5 I lie down at night and fall asleep.
I awake in the morning—healthy, strong, vibrant—because the Eternal supports me.
6 No longer will I fear my tens of thousands of enemies
who have surrounded me!
7 Rise up, O Eternal One!
Rescue me, O God!
For You have dealt my enemies a strong blow to the jaw!
You have shattered their teeth! Do so again.
8 Liberation truly comes from the Eternal.
Let Your blessings shower down upon Your people.
[pause]
Psalm 4
For the worship leader. A song of David accompanied by strings.
1 Answer my prayers, O True God, the righteous, who makes me right.
I was hopelessly surrounded, and You rescued me.
Once again hear me; hide me in Your favor;
bring victory in defeat and hope in hopelessness.
2 How long will you sons of Adam steal my dignity, reduce my glory to shame?
Why pine for the fruitless and dream a delusion?
[pause][c]
3 Understand this: The Eternal One treats as special those like Him.
The Eternal will answer my prayers and save me.
4 Think long; think hard. When you are angry, don’t let it carry you into sin.
When night comes, in calm be silent.
[pause]
5 From this day forward, offer to God the right sacrifice from a heart made right by God.
Entrust yourself to the Eternal.
6 Crowds of disheartened people ask, “Who can show us what is good?”
Let Your brilliant face shine upon us, O Eternal One, that we may know the undeniable answer.
7 You have filled me with joy, and happiness has risen in my heart, great delight and unrivaled joy,
even more than when bread abounds and wine flows freely.
8 Tonight I will sleep securely on a bed of peace
because I trust You, You alone, O Eternal One, will keep me safe.
Psalm 7
A song[a] of David to the Eternal regarding Cush, the Benjaminite.
1 O Eternal my God, in You I seek refuge.
Save me from those who are chasing me. Rescue me,
2 Or else they will tear me to pieces as a lion devours his prey;
they will carry me off with no one to snatch me from their jaws.
3 O Eternal my God, if I have done anything wrong to deserve this,
if there is blood on my hands,
4 If I have mistreated a friend,
or if I have stolen from an adversary without just cause,
5 Then let my enemy come after me and catch me,
stomping me into the ground, ending my life,
and grinding my honor into the dirt.
[pause][b]
6 Arise, O Eternal One, inflamed by Your anger.
Come and counter the rage of my adversaries;
open Your eyes, my God; hear my plea for justice once and for all.
7 Let the people gather around You.
Return to Your rightful place above them in the high court.
8 The Eternal will judge the nations.
Judge me now, Eternal One, according to my virtue and integrity.
9 Please, bring the evil actions of these wicked, wicked people to an end!
But secure the righteous,
For You, righteous God,
examine our hearts and minds.
10 God is my defender;
He rescues those who have a pure heart.
11 God is a just judge;
He passes judgment daily against the person who does evil.
12 If the wicked do not turn from their evil deeds, God will sharpen His sword;
He will bend His bow, stringing it in readiness.
13 Yes, He has prepared His deadly weapons
with His arrows flaming hot.
14 See, my enemies are fertile with evil.
They conceive trouble
and give birth to deception.
15 They prepare a trap, digging a deep pit,
and fall into the snare they have made.
16 The trouble they plan will return to punish them,
and their violent acts will come back to haunt them.
17 As a result, I will thank the Eternal for His justice
and sing praises in honor of the Eternal, Most High.
From the descendants of Omri (his son Ahab, daughter-in-law Jezebel, and granddaughter Athaliah) come many of the sins of Israel.
7 Israel: I am filled with sadness, like one who, after the grapes have been gathered,
after all the summer fruit has been picked, can find nothing to eat,
Not a cluster of grapes, not even one of those early figs I love.
2 The faithful have disappeared from the land, and no one honest remains;
they are all alert for blood, hunting their neighbors with a net.
3 The hands of those who should know better are good at doing evil:
the ruler and the judge ask for bribes;
The people in power merely mention their deepest desires,
and the ruler and judge make sure they happen.
4 The best of them is as painful to deal with as a briar,
the most honest of them like a hedge heavy with thorns.
So the day your watchmen have awaited—
the day of your punishment—has come.
Now you will be confused and confounded.
5 Do not trust your neighbor or rely on a friend.
Do not tell your secrets even to the spouse who shares your bed,
6 For the son insults the father, the daughter rebels against the mother,
and the daughter-in-law rises up against the mother-in-law.
Your enemies can be found within your own household.
7 But as for me, I will look to the Eternal One, and my hope is in the True God
who will save me. My God will hear me.
26 Agrippa (to Paul): Go ahead. You may speak for yourself.
Paul (extending his hand): 2 I am indeed fortunate to be standing before you, King Agrippa, to humbly defend myself against accusations from my Jewish opponents. 3 You are extraordinarily familiar with Jewish customs and controversies, so I beg your patience as I begin. 4 My way of life is well known to the whole Jewish community, how I have lived in the Jewish community abroad and in Jerusalem. 5 If they are willing to speak, they themselves will tell you something they have long known—that I was a member of the strictest sect of our religion and lived for many years as a Pharisee. 6 But now I am on trial here for this simple reason: I have hope. I have hope rooted in a promise God made to our ancestors. 7 All our twelve tribes have hope in this promise—they express their hope as they worship day and night. How strange it is, then, Your Excellency, that I am accused by the Jews of having hope! 8 Why would any of you think it is absurd to have hope that God raises the dead? 9 As you know, we’re talking specifically about Jesus of Nazareth. For a long time, I was convinced that I should work against that name. 10 I opposed it in Jerusalem. I received authorization from the chief priests to lock many of His followers in prison. When they were threatened with execution, I voted against them. 11 I would find them in synagogues across Jerusalem and try to force them to blaspheme. My fury drove me to pursue them to foreign cities as well.
The importance of Paul’s conversion experience on the way to Damascus is highlighted as he recounts it in his defense.
12 On one occasion, I was traveling to Damascus, authorized and commissioned by the chief priests to find and imprison more of His followers. 13 It was about midday, Your Excellency, when I saw a light from heaven—brighter than the noonday sun—shining around my companions and me. 14 We all fell to the ground in fear, and I then heard a voice. The words were in Aramaic: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? When you kick against the cattle prods, you’re only hurting yourself.” 15 I asked, “Lord, who are You?” and the Lord answered, “I am Jesus, the One you are persecuting. 16 Get up now, and stand upright on your feet. I have appeared to you for a reason. I am appointing you to serve Me. You are to tell My story and how you have now seen Me, and you are to continue to tell the story in the future. 17 I will rescue you from your Jewish opponents and from the outsiders—for it is to the outsiders I am sending you. 18 It will be your mission to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the kingdom of Satan to the kingdom of God. This is so that they may receive forgiveness of all their sins and have a place among those who are set apart for a holy purpose through having faith in Me.”
19 King Agrippa, I did not disobey this vision from heaven. 20 I began in Damascus, then continued in Jerusalem, then throughout the Judean countryside, then among the outsiders—telling everyone they must turn from their past and toward God and align their deeds and way of life with this new direction. 21 So then, this is my crime. This is why my Jewish opponents seized me that day in the temple and tried to kill me. 22 God has helped me right up to this very moment, so I can stand here telling my story to both the humble and the powerful alike. I only say what the prophets and Moses said would happen— 23 that the Anointed One must suffer, and then, by being the first to rise from the dead, He would proclaim light to both Jews and outsiders.
26 When they get to the other side of the lake, in the Gerasene country opposite Galilee, 27 a man from the city is waiting for Jesus when He steps out of the boat. The man is full of demonic spirits. He’s been running around for a long time stark naked, and he’s homeless, sleeping among the dead in a cemetery. 28-29 This man has on many occasions been tied up and chained and kept under guard, but each time he has broken free and the demonic power has driven him back into remote places away from human contact. Jesus commands the demonic force to leave him. The man looks at Jesus and starts screaming. He falls down in front of Jesus.
Possessed Man (shouting): Don’t torment me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God! Why are You here?
Jesus (calmly and simply): 30 What’s your name?
Possessed Man: Battalion.
He says this because an army of demons is inside of him. 31 The demons start begging Jesus not to send them into the bottomless pit. 32 They plead instead to enter into a herd of pigs feeding on a steep hillside near the shore. Jesus gives them permission to do so. 33 Suddenly the man is liberated from the demons, but the pigs—they stampede, squealing down the hill and into the lake where they drown themselves.
34 The pig owners see all this. They run back to their town and tell everyone in the region about it. 35 Soon a crowd rushes from the town to see what’s going on out by the lake. There they find Jesus seated to teach with the newly liberated man sitting at His feet learning in the posture of a disciple. This former madman is now properly dressed and completely sane. This frightens the people. 36 The pig owners tell them the whole story—the healing, the pigs’ mass suicide, everything.
37 The people are scared to death, and they don’t want this scary abnormality happening in their territory. They ask Jesus to leave immediately. Jesus doesn’t argue. He prepares to leave, 38 but before they embark, the newly liberated man begs to come along and join the band of disciples.
Jesus: 39 No. Go home. Tell your people this amazing story about how much God has done for you.
The man does so. In fact, he tells everyone in the whole city how much Jesus did for him that day on the shore.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.