Book of Common Prayer
20 (0) For the leader. A psalm of David:
2 (1) May Adonai answer you in times of distress,
may the name of the God of Ya‘akov protect you.
3 (2) May he send you help from the sanctuary
and give you support from Tziyon.
4 (3) May he be reminded by all your grain offerings
and accept the fat of your burnt offerings. (Selah)
5 (4) May he grant you your heart’s desire
and bring all your plans to success.
6 (5) Then we will shout for joy at your victory
and fly our flags in the name of our God.
May Adonai fulfill all your requests.
7 (6) Now I know that Adonai
gives victory to his anointed one —
he will answer him from his holy heaven
with mighty victories by his right hand.
8 (7) Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we praise the name of Adonai our God.
9 (8) They will crumple and fall,
but we will arise and stand erect.
10 (9) Give victory, Adonai!
Let the King answer us the day we call.
21 (0) For the leader. A psalm of David:
2 (1) Adonai, the king finds joy in your strength;
what great joy he displays in your victory!
3 (2) You give him his heart’s desire;
you don’t refuse the prayer from his lips. (Selah)
4 (3) For you come to meet him with the best blessings,
you place a crown of fine gold on his head.
5 (4) He asks you for life; you give it to him,
years and years forever and ever.
6 (5) Your victory brings him great glory;
you confer on him splendor and honor.
7 (6) For you bestow on him everlasting blessings,
you make him glad with the joy of your presence.
8 (7) For the king puts his trust in Adonai,
in the grace of ‘Elyon; he will not be moved.
9 (8) Your hand will find all your enemies;
your right hand will overtake those who hate you.
10 (9) At your appearing,
you will make them like a fiery furnace.
Adonai will swallow them up in his anger;
fire will consume them.
11 (10) You will destroy from the earth their descendants,
rid humankind of their posterity;
12 (11) for they intended evil against you;
but despite their scheme, they won’t succeed.
13 (12) For you will make them turn their back
by aiming your bow at their faces.
14 (13) Arise, Adonai, in your strength;
and we will sing and praise your power.
110 (0) A psalm of David:
(1) Adonai says to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
until I make your enemies
your footstool.”
2 Adonai will send your powerful scepter
out from Tziyon,
so that you will rule over
your enemies around you.
3 On the day your forces mobilize,
your people willingly offer themselves
in holy splendors from the womb of the dawn;
the dew of your youth is yours.
4 Adonai has sworn it,
and he will never retract —
“You are a cohen forever,
to be compared with Malki-Tzedek.”
5 Adonai at your right hand
will shatter kings on the day of his anger.
6 He will pass judgment among the nations,
filling it with dead bodies;
he will shatter heads
throughout an extensive territory.
7 He will drink from a stream as he goes on his way;
therefore he will hold his head high.
116 I love that Adonai heard
my voice when I prayed;
2 because he turned his ear to me,
I will call on him as long as I live.
3 The cords of death were all around me,
Sh’ol’s constrictions held me fast;
I was finding only distress and anguish.
4 But I called on the name of Adonai:
“Please, Adonai! Save me!”
5 Adonai is merciful and righteous;
yes, our God is compassionate.
6 Adonai preserves the thoughtless;
when I was brought low, he saved me.
7 My soul, return to your rest!
For Adonai has been generous toward you.
8 Yes, you have rescued me from death,
my eyes from tears and my feet from falling.
9 I will go on walking in the presence of Adonai
in the lands of the living.
10 I will keep on trusting even when I say,
“I am utterly miserable,”
11 even when, in my panic, I declare,
“Everything human is deceptive.”
12 How can I repay Adonai
for all his generous dealings with me?
13 I will raise the cup of salvation
and call on the name of Adonai.
14 I will pay my vows to Adonai
in the presence of all his people.
15 From Adonai’s point of view,
the death of those faithful to him is costly.
16 Oh, Adonai! I am your slave;
I am your slave, the son of your slave-girl;
you have removed my fetters.
17 I will offer a sacrifice of thanks to you
and will call on the name of Adonai.
18 I will pay my vows to Adonai
in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courtyards of Adonai’s house,
there in your very heart, Yerushalayim.
Halleluyah!
117 Praise Adonai, all you nations!
Worship him, all you peoples!
2 For his grace has overcome us,
and Adonai’s truth continues forever.
Halleluyah!
17 After three days Sha’ul called a meeting of the local Jewish leaders. When they had gathered, he said to them: “Brothers, although I have done nothing against either our people or the traditions of our fathers, I was made a prisoner in Yerushalayim and handed over to the Romans. 18 They examined me and were ready to release me, because I had done nothing to justify a death sentence. 19 But when the Judeans objected, I was forced to appeal to the Emperor — not that I had any charge to make against my own people. 20 This is why I have asked to see you and speak with you, for it is because of the hope of Isra’el that I have this chain around me.”
21 They said to him, “We have not received any letters about you from Y’hudah, and none of the brothers who have come from there has reported or said anything bad about you. 22 But we do think it would be appropriate to hear your views from you, yourself; for all we know about this sect is that people everywhere speak against it.”
23 So they arranged a day with him and came to his quarters in large numbers. From morning until evening he explained the matter to them, giving a thorough witness about the Kingdom of God and making use of both the Torah of Moshe and the Prophets to persuade them about Yeshua. 24 Some were convinced by what he said, 25 while others refused to believe.
So they left, disagreeing among themselves, after Sha’ul had made one final statement: “The Ruach HaKodesh spoke well in saying to your fathers through Yesha‘yahu the prophet,
26 ‘Go to this people and say,
“You will keep on hearing but never understand,
and you will keep on seeing but never perceive,
27 because the heart of this people has grown thick —
with their ears they barely hear,
and their eyes they have closed,
for fear that they should see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their heart,
and do t’shuvah,
so that I could heal them.”’[a]
28 Therefore, let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Goyim, and they will listen!” 29 [b]
30 Sha’ul remained two whole years in a place he rented for himself; and he continued receiving all who came to see him, 31 openly and without hindrance proclaiming the Kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Yeshua the Messiah.
37 The next day, as they were coming down out of the hill country, a large crowd met him. 38 Suddenly a man in the crowd shouted, “Rabbi! Look at my son, I beg you, because he’s my only child! 39 What happens is this: a spirit seizes him, and suddenly it lets out a shriek and throws him into convulsions with foaming at the mouth; and only with difficulty will it leave him. It’s destroying him! 40 I asked your talmidim to drive the spirit out, but they couldn’t.” 41 “Perverted people, without any trust!” Yeshua answered, “How long do I have to be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.” 42 Even as the boy was coming, the demon dashed him to the ground and threw him into a fit. But Yeshua rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father. 43 All were struck with amazement at the greatness of God. While they were all marvelling at everything Yeshua was doing, he said to his talmidim, 44 “Listen very carefully to what I’m going to say. The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men.” 45 But they didn’t understand what he meant by this. It had been concealed from them so that they would not grasp its meaning, and they were afraid to ask him about it.
46 An argument arose among the talmidim as to which of them might be the greatest. 47 But Yeshua, knowing the thoughts of their hearts, took a child, stood him beside himself, 48 and said to them, “Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the One who sent me. In other words, the one who is least among you all — this is the one who is great.” 49 Yochanan responded, “Rabbi, we saw someone expelling demons in your name; and we stopped him because he doesn’t follow you along with us.” 50 Yeshua said to him, “Don’t stop such people, because whoever isn’t against you is for you.”
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.