Book of Common Prayer
Book I
Psalms 1–41
1 Blessed is the person who obeys the law of the Lord.
They don’t follow the advice of evil people.
They don’t make a habit of doing what sinners do.
They don’t join those who make fun of the Lord and his law.
2 Instead, the law of the Lord gives them joy.
They think about his law day and night.
3 That kind of person is like a tree that is planted near a stream of water.
It always bears its fruit at the right time.
Its leaves don’t dry up.
Everything godly people do turns out well.
4 Sinful people are not like that at all.
They are like straw
that the wind blows away.
5 When the Lord judges them, their life will come to an end.
Sinners won’t have any place among those who are godly.
6 The Lord watches over the lives of godly people.
But the lives of sinful people will lead to their death.
2 Why do the nations plan evil together?
Why do they make useless plans?
2 The kings of the earth rise up against the Lord.
The rulers of the earth join together against his anointed king.
3 “Let us break free from their chains,” they say.
“Let us throw off their ropes.”
4 The God who sits on his throne in heaven laughs.
The Lord makes fun of those rulers and their plans.
5 When he is angry, he warns them.
When his anger blazes out, he terrifies them.
6 He says to them,
“I have placed my king on my holy mountain of Zion.”
7 I will announce what the Lord has promised.
He said to me, “You are my son.
Today I have become your father.
8 Ask me, and I will give the nations to you.
All nations on earth will belong to you.
9 You will break them with an iron scepter.
You will smash them to pieces like clay pots.”
10 Kings, be wise!
Rulers of the earth, be warned!
11 Serve the Lord and have respect for him.
Celebrate his rule with trembling.
12 Obey the son completely, or he will be angry.
Your way of life will lead to your death.
His anger can blaze out at any moment.
Blessed are all those who go to him for safety.
A psalm of David when he ran away from his son Absalom.
3 Lord, I have so many enemies!
So many people are rising up against me!
2 Many are saying about me,
“God will not save him.”
3 Lord, you are like a shield that keeps me safe.
You bring me honor. You help me win the battle.
4 I call out to the Lord.
He answers me from his holy mountain.
5 I lie down and sleep.
I wake up again, because the Lord takes care of me.
6 I won’t be afraid even though tens of thousands
attack me on every side.
7 Lord, rise up!
My God, save me!
Strike all my enemies in the face.
Break the teeth of sinful people.
8 Lord, you are the one who saves.
May your blessing be on your people.
For the director of music. A psalm of David to be played on stringed instruments.
4 My faithful God,
answer me when I call out to you.
Give me rest from my trouble.
Have mercy on me. Hear my prayer.
2 How long will you people turn my glory into shame?
How long will you love what will certainly fail you?
How long will you pray to statues of gods?
3 Remember that the Lord has set apart his faithful servant for himself.
The Lord hears me when I call out to him.
4 Tremble and do not sin.
When you are in bed,
look deep down inside yourself and be silent.
5 Offer to the Lord the sacrifices that godly people offer.
Trust in him.
6 Lord, many are asking, “Who will make us successful?”
Lord, may you do good things for us.
7 Fill my heart with joy
when the people have lots of grain and fresh wine.
8 In peace I will lie down and sleep.
Lord, you alone keep me safe.
A shiggaion of David. He sang it to the Lord about Cush, who was from the tribe of Benjamin.
7 Lord my God, I go to you for safety.
Help me. Save me from all those who are chasing me.
2 If you don’t, they will tear me apart as if they were lions.
They will rip me to pieces so that no one can save me.
3 Lord my God, suppose I have done something wrong.
Suppose I am guilty.
4 Or I have done evil to my friend.
Or I have robbed my enemy without any reason.
5 Then let my enemy chase me and catch me.
Let him stomp me into the ground.
Let him bury me in the dust.
6 Lord, rise up in your anger.
Rise up against the great anger of my enemies.
My God, wake up. Command that the right thing be done.
7 Let all the people of the earth gather around you.
Rule over them from your throne in heaven.
8 Lord, judge all people.
Lord, show that I have done what is right.
Most High God, remember that I am honest.
9 God, you always do what is right.
You look deep down inside the hearts and minds of people.
Bring to an end the terrible things sinful people do.
Make godly people safe.
10 The Most High God is like a shield that keeps me safe.
He saves those whose hearts are honest.
11 God judges fairly.
He shows his anger every day.
12 If evil people don’t change their ways,
God will sharpen his sword.
He will get his bow ready to use.
13 He has prepared his deadly weapons.
He has made his flaming arrows ready.
14 Whoever is full of evil
plans trouble and ends up telling lies.
15 Whoever digs a hole and shovels it out
falls into the pit they have made.
16 The trouble they cause comes back on them.
The terrible things they do will happen to them.
17 I will give thanks to the Lord because he does what is right.
I will sing the praises of the name of the Lord Most High.
Naomi Loses Her Husband and Sons
1 There was a time when Israel didn’t have kings to rule over them. But they had leaders to help them. This is a story about some things that happened during that time. There wasn’t enough food in the land of Judah. So a man went to live for a while in the country of Moab. He was from Bethlehem in Judah. His wife and two sons went with him. 2 The man’s name was Elimelek. His wife’s name was Naomi. The names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites whose home had been in Bethlehem in Judah. They went to Moab and lived there.
3 Naomi’s husband Elimelek died. So she was left with her two sons. 4 They married women from Moab. One was named Orpah. The other was named Ruth. Naomi’s family lived in Moab for about ten years. 5 Then Mahlon and Kilion also died. So Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.
Naomi and Ruth Return to Bethlehem
6 While Naomi was in Moab, she heard that the Lord had helped his people. He had begun to provide food for them again. So Naomi and her two daughters-in-law prepared to go from Moab back to her home. 7 She left the place where she had been living. Her daughters-in-law went with her. They started out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah.
8 Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Both of you go back. Each of you go to your own mother’s home. You were kind to your husbands, who have died. You have also been kind to me. So may the Lord be just as kind to you. 9 May the Lord help each of you find rest in the home of another husband.”
Then she kissed them goodbye. They broke down and wept loudly. 10 They said to her, “We’ll go back to your people with you.”
11 But Naomi said, “Go home, my daughters. Why would you want to come with me? Am I going to have any more sons who could become your husbands? 12 Go home, my daughters. I’m too old to have another husband. Suppose I thought there was still some hope for me. Suppose I married a man tonight. And later I had sons by him. 13 Would you wait until they grew up? Would you stay single until you could marry them? No, my daughters. My life is more bitter than yours. The Lord’s power has turned against me!”
14 When they heard that, they broke down and wept again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye. But Ruth held on to her.
15 “Look,” said Naomi. “Your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her.”
16 But Ruth replied, “Don’t try to make me leave you and go back. Where you go I’ll go. Where you stay I’ll stay. Your people will be my people. Your God will be my God. 17 Where you die I’ll die. And there my body will be buried. I won’t let even death separate you from me. If I do, may the Lord punish me greatly.” 18 Naomi realized that Ruth had made up her mind to go with her. So she stopped trying to make her go back.
1 I, Paul, am writing this letter. I am an apostle of Christ Jesus, just as God our Savior commanded. Christ Jesus also commanded it. We have put our hope in him.
2 Timothy, I am sending you this letter. You are my true son in the faith.
May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you grace, mercy and peace.
Paul Warns Timothy to Oppose False Teachers
3 Timothy, stay there in Ephesus. That is what I told you to do when I went into Macedonia. I want you to command certain people not to teach things that aren’t true. 4 And command them not to spend their time on stories that are made up. They must not waste time on family histories that never end. These things only lead to fights about ideas. They don’t help God’s work move forward. His work is done by faith. 5 Love is the purpose of my command. Love comes from a pure heart. It comes from a good sense of what is right and wrong. It comes from faith that is honest and true. 6 Some have turned from these teachings. They would rather talk about things that have no meaning. 7 They want to be teachers of the law. And they are very sure about that law. But they don’t know what they are talking about.
8 We know that the law is good if it is used properly. 9 We also know that the law isn’t made for godly people. It is made for those who break the law. It is for those who refuse to obey. It is for ungodly and sinful people. It is for those who aren’t holy and who don’t believe. It is for those who kill their fathers or mothers. It is for murderers. 10 It is for those who commit sexual sins. It is for those who commit homosexual acts. It is for people who buy and sell slaves. It is for liars. It is for people who tell lies in court. It is for those who are a witness to things that aren’t true. And it is for anything else that is the opposite of true teaching. 11 True teaching agrees with the good news about the glory of the blessed God. He trusted me with that good news.
The Lord Pours Out His Grace on Paul
12 I am thankful to Christ Jesus our Lord. He has given me strength. I thank him that he considered me faithful. I thank him for appointing me to serve him. 13 I used to speak evil things against Jesus. I tried to hurt his followers. I really pushed them around. But God showed me mercy anyway. I did those things without knowing any better. I wasn’t a believer. 14 Our Lord poured out more and more of his grace on me. Along with it came faith and love from Christ Jesus.
15 Here is a saying that you can trust. It should be accepted completely. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And I am the worst sinner of all. 16 But for that very reason, God showed me mercy. And I am the worst of sinners. He showed me mercy so that Christ Jesus could show that he is very patient. I was an example for those who would come to believe in him. Then they would receive eternal life. 17 The eternal King will never die. He can’t be seen. He is the only God. Give him honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Turn Away From Sin or Die
13 Some people who were there at that time told Jesus about certain Galileans. Pilate had mixed their blood with their sacrifices. 2 Jesus said, “These people from Galilee suffered greatly. Do you think they were worse sinners than all the other Galileans? 3 I tell you, no! But unless you turn away from your sins, you will all die too. 4 Or what about the 18 people in Siloam? They died when the tower fell on them. Do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no! But unless you turn away from your sins, you will all die too.”
6 Then Jesus told a story. “A man had a fig tree,” he said. “It was growing in his vineyard. When he went to look for fruit on it, he didn’t find any. 7 So he went to the man who took care of the vineyard. He said, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree. But I haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’
8 “ ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year. I’ll dig around it and feed it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’ ”
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