Book of Common Prayer
Inheritance of the Kedoshim
Psalm 37
1 Of David.
Do not fret because of evildoers,
nor be envious of them who do wrong.
2 For like the grass they soon wither
and fade like a green herb.
3 Trust in Adonai and do good.
Dwell in the land, feed on faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself in Adonai,
and He will give you the requests of your heart.
5 Commit your way to Adonai.
Trust in Him, and He will do it.
6 He will bring out your vindication as light,
and your cause will shine as noonday.
7 Be still before Adonai and wait patiently for Him.
Do not fret over one prospering in his way,
over one carrying out wicked schemes.
8 Put away anger and turn from wrath.
Do not fret—it only leads to doing evil.
9 For evildoers will be cut off,
but those who wait for Adonai—
they will inherit the land.
10 Yet a little while,
and the wicked will be no more.
Yes, you will look at his place,
but he will not be there.
11 But the meek will inherit the land,
and delight in abundant shalom.
12 The wicked plots against the righteous
and gnashes at him with his teeth.
13 The Lord laughs at him—
for He sees his day is coming.
14 The wicked have unsheathed their sword and have bent their bow
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those whose conduct is upright.
15 Their sword will pierce their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.
16 Better a little that the righteous have
than the wealth of many wicked.
17 For the arms of the wicked will be broken,
while Adonai upholds the righteous.
18 Adonai knows the days of the blameless—
their inheritance endures forever.
19 They will not be ashamed in an evil time
and in days of famine they will be satisfied.
20 For the wicked will perish,
and the enemies of Adonai will be like the beauty of the fields—
they will vanish—vanish like smoke.
21 The wicked borrows and does not repay,
but the righteous is a gracious giver.
22 For His blessed ones inherit the land.
But those He curses will be cut off.
23 From Adonai a man’s steps are made firm,
when He delights in his way.
24 Though he stumble,
he will not fall headlong,
for Adonai is holding his hand.
25 I was young and now I am old,
yet I have never seen the righteous one forsaken,
nor his children begging for bread.
26 All day long he is gracious and lends.
So his offspring will be a blessing.
27 Turn from evil and do good,
so you may live forever.
28 For Adonai loves justice
and does not abandon His godly ones.
They will be preserved forever,
but the seed of the wicked will be cut off.
29 The righteous will inherit the land
and dwell in it forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom
and his tongue speaks justice.
31 The Torah of his God is in his heart.
His steps do not slip.
32 The wicked lies in wait for the righteous,
seeking to slay him.
33 But Adonai will not leave him in his hand,
or let him be condemned when judged.
34 Wait for Adonai and keep His way,
and He will exalt you to inherit the land.
When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
35 I have seen a wicked, ruthless man
flourishing like a leafy tree in native soil.
36 But once he passed by, he was no more.
Though I looked for him, he could not be found.
37 Notice the man of integrity and watch the upright—
for the man of shalom has a future.
38 But transgressors will be destroyed altogether.
The future of the wicked will be cut off.
39 Yet the salvation of the righteous is from Adonai.
He is their stronghold in time of trouble.
40 Adonai helps them and delivers them.
He rescues them from the wicked and saves them—
because they take refuge in Him.
9 Then the fifth angel trumpeted, and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to earth. The key to the bottomless pit was given to him. 2 He opened the pit, and smoke rose from the pit like the smoke of a gigantic furnace.[a] The sun and the air were darkened by the smoke from the pit.
3 Then from the smoke came locusts upon the earth, and power was given to them like the scorpions have power over the earth. [b] 4 They were told to do no harm to the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only the people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. [c] 5 And they were permitted not to kill them, but to torment them for five months—and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings a person. 6 In those days, people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will flee from them.[d]
7 Now the appearance of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle.[e] On their heads were something like crowns of gold, and their faces were like human faces. 8 They had hair like women’s hair, and their teeth were like those of lions. [f] 9 They had chests like iron breastplates; and the noise of their wings was like the noise of many horse-drawn chariots rushing into battle. [g] 10 They have tails like scorpions with stingers; and in their tails is their power to harm people for five months. 11 They have as king over them the angel of the abyss. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek he has the name Apollyon.[h]
12 The first woe is past. Behold, two woes are still coming after these things.
Who Is My Neighbor?
25 Now a certain Torah lawyer stood up to entrap Yeshua, saying, “Teacher, what should I do to gain eternal life?”
26 Then Yeshua said to him, “What has been written in the Torah? How do you read it?”
27 And he replied, “You shall love Adonai your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”[a]
28 Yeshua said to him, “You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live.”
29 But wanting to vindicate himself, he said to Yeshua, “Then who is my neighbor?”
30 Yeshua replied, “A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. He was attacked by robbers, who stripped him and beat him. Then they left, abandoning him as half dead. 31 And by chance, a kohen was going down that road; but when he saw the man, he passed by on the opposite side. 32 Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the opposite side. 33 But a Samaritan who was traveling came upon him; and when he noticed the man, he felt compassion. 34 He went up to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on olive oil and wine. Then setting him on his own animal, he brought him to a lodge for travelers and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii[b] and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him. And whatever else you spend, upon my return I will repay you myself.’ 36 Which of these three seems to you a neighbor to the one attacked by robbers?”
37 And he said, “The one who showed mercy to him.”
Then Yeshua said to him, “Go, and you do the same.”
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.